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Hi all,
Going to be in London for a day next week, and will have a couple of hours to myself, so I plan to trawl for some transformers! Anyone local have any recommendations for toy shops over there?

Thanks!

Its been some time since I was last in London, but Forbidden Planet and the like are your best bet. There are also a couple of other specialist shops in the area that are well worth a look. IIRC its near Tottenham Court Road ...ish, best to check on the site for the address as it's been so long. There's also a big toy shop near Oxford Circus tube station, goodness, Hamleys(?), perhaps others can be of help. Its not like Dublin where Smyths is just off Henry Street, to get to a Toys'R'Us you'll have to go to the outskirts of the city, well off the beaten track to find a mass retailer. Wish I could be more help, but its been a good 8-9 years since I was there last.

Hamleys was a bit lame, IMHO. Went there last summer - quite a small section, ridiculous mark-up (HFTD Deluxes at something like 160% of UK RRP IIRC). Suspect Harrods is much the same, though it's worth a look if you've never been there (Hamleys however is quite horrid and will be absolutely rabid during the summer). FP actually had a pretty good selection, and seemed to actually reduce their stock. While most FPs are terrible places, the London one's pretty good, huge toy section - worth going to have a look even if you end up not buying anything.

Aside from that I didn't really find a lot that wouldn't be the same anywhere else, sadly. More regular visitors might be able to point you in the direction of some hidden gems; we pretty much did London as tourists. There is a shop that does nothing but Sylvanian Families which is worth seeing just because it's mental, though it is a bit out of the way if you don't like Sylvanian Families.

London's probably the worst place in the UK to buy Transformers. Everything is super expensive and the toy shops are more interested in things that say I <3 London than actual toys kids would want.

But to be fair, the UK is just generally crap for buying anything interesting . . .

Thanks lads, I'll check out Forbidden Planet anyway. Have been in Hamley's once before, had a similar experience to yours Cliffy, exorbitantly priced!

No joy in London, the highlight of Forbidden Planet was an unboxed Masterpiece Rodimus for the princely sum of £234.99. An oddity I noticed across lines in there was that individual toys within the same price point had different prices.