On Time?

 Well, I'm actually a little late, but the post is literally on "time" so.... Uh... I'm confused now.

This post ran late because I was waiting on the US Mail to deliver something. You know how I got the huge Mickey watch wall clock (if you don't, just look at last week's post). Now it didn't work, so I figured I would just grab a new quartz movement, slap that sucker in and Presto! I'd have a working clock! Yay!!

Well, in reality, not so much "Yay" as "Yuck." 

You see, life teaches us many lessons. Don't spit in the wind. Don't touch a hot stove. Don't assume a quartz clock movement from forty years ago is in any way "standard." 

First, after removing the little black box movement out of my clock (which was about the only easy step in the process), I took it to Hobby Lobby where I found that they only sell two movements that are even close. Neither of them had the shaft size (the shaft is the part the clock hands fit onto) that would fit Mickey's hands. 

Ok, no problem. That's why God gave us a ruler and Amazon, right? I measured that stupid shaft (length and diameter) and ordered...the wrong one. Twice. 

I was getting a little discouraged, but I was determined that my clock would work...and that I would not waste twenty bucks. 

I then had the great idea to take a picture of what I wanted, along with a ruler beside it, and let AI tell me where to get it! AI gladly told me to order...the wrong one.

I was now really miffed and peeved (and disappointed in our computer overlords). I decided that it was close enough that with a little whittling with an Ex-Acto knife, I just might be able to get the hands on it. I didn't want to damage the hands, so I focused on the shaft.

And....

I won! Now, it isn't "factory perfect," but the hands stay on and it keeps time! Yay!!!

Some pictures...

This is the broken movement I replaced. It's in two parts because I wanted to see if I could switch the shaft out into a working clock. Nope! If the outside ain't standardized, you can sure bet the inside isn't either!

The new movement mounted in the back of the clock. Note the little piece of wood shim on the left. Even the box sizes were close...but not perfect...

Flipping it around you see the front with the hands in place. When I first put them on after trimming down the shaft diameter, the second hand would move, but not the hour and minute hands. I found the trick was to gently push the hands on the shaft instead of firmly. Now it works! If we had a bad earthquake the hands might fall off, but we never have, so I'm not that worried.

And mounted on the wall, ticking right along! I actually let it run all night before I posted this to make sure it really really worked. It really really does!

So there you have it! My twenty dollar clock ended up costing me closer to fifty bucks when it was all said and done, but I think it's worth it!

So until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Watch My Ketchup Post!

 A double pun! Don't worry, there's no extra charge. Today I'm featuring a little item that I bought off of Facebook Marketplace last week. I really didn't know anything about it before I bought it, but I knew that it looked pretty cool and I had never seen one before. Most of all, I liked that it said "Disneyland" on it. 

So, I drove an hour across town with my ever-patient wife, plunked down our money and bought this...

Yep! It's a giant Mickey Mouse watch wall clock! The whole thing is about three feet long (with strap), and runs on a quartz clock movement.

Here is a close up of the dial...

Ketchup? Disneyland ketchup? What is this thing all about anyway? Well, I did a little digging and found out that this little item is from the early 1980s. Disneyland (and Walt Disney World) made a deal with Hunt's ketchup so that it was the "official ketchup of Disneyland!" In fact, I found this commercial with Roy Clark...

Commercial!

Apparently, these watches/clocks were made to promote this brand relationsip. They were never sold to the general public, but were used in grocery stores for end-cap displays of Hunts ketchup. After the promotion, they were supposed to be destroyed, or at least thrown away, but many weren't because they were pretty cool. Still, they're pretty rare.

Also, apparently, the strap is difficult to find in good condition because the vinyl degrades and gets sticky as it ages. The strap on this one isn't sticky at all, though, so it must have been kept in a cool place. 

The going rate for an unworking display only example is about 50-100 dollars while a fully working example goes for closer to 75-150. I paid 20 bucks for mine, which doesn't work, so I did ok. What's better, though, is that the clock movement is a standard quartz movement, and the clock is easy to disassemble. I have a new movement on order as we speak!

So there you have it! A fun piece of Disneyland history that will look good on the wall! 

By the way, if you go to Disneyland, don't look for Hunts ketchup. Although the exact date is difficult to pin down, by 2010 Disney was dealing with Heinz rather than Hunts. 

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Music of the World! (Display...)

 Ok, my item today doesn't actually make music, but it IS from the other side of the world, so there's that. This is a tourist item from Vietnam. I've never been to Vietnam, but I have been to an estate sale of someone who went there...or knew someone who went there. Here it is!

Yep, a whole lot of little toy instruments! These are hand made in small Vietnamese shops to sell to tourists. The instruments apparently range over several regions of Vietnam. I asked AI to translate and this is what it said...

"Left Case (from left to right, as visible):

Sen → Đàn Sen (a two-stringed moon-shaped lute, also related to Đàn Nguyệt)

Tam → Đàn Tam (three-stringed lute with snakeskin head)

Đàn (part of a longer label, likely Đàn Co or similar)

Co → Đàn Co (or Đàn Nhị – the two-stringed fiddle/violin)

Additional smaller instruments in the center/upper areas (drum, etc.) may have shorter or less visible labels.

Right Case (from left to right):

...anh or similar (possibly part of Đàn Tranh or another)

Kim → Đàn Kim (another two-stringed lute)

Sao → Sáo (bamboo flute, often Sáo Trúc)

Tỳ Bà → Đàn Tỳ Bà (pear-shaped lute, equivalent to the Chinese pipa)

Gao / Cò / etc. → Likely Đàn Gao or continuation of Đàn Co variants, plus others like a small drum or wind instrument.

Common full set in these souvenir cases typically includes 10–12 instruments such as:

Đàn Sen / Nguyệt

Đàn Tam

Đàn Co / Nhị

Đàn Tỳ Bà

Sáo (flute)

Đàn Kim

Sometimes Đàn Tranh (zither), Đàn Bầu (monochord), small percussion, etc.

The labels are abbreviated Vietnamese names, which is standard for these tourist sets."

Ah... that clears it up! ....sort of...

Anyway, this set was probably made in the late 1970s or early 1980s. It's not worth tons of money, only about 50 to 100 bucks at best. Still, it's pretty cool, I think; even if it doesn't really make music.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Researching a Car

 This week I decided to do a little research on an unknown car in my collection just for fun (because that's what this is all about, after all)

The car in question didn't give me much to go on. It's about the same scale as a Hot Wheels or Matchbox car. It is die cast, with a metal base. It seems to be rather Ford LTD station wagon inspired. However, there is no brand name anywhere on it (although there is a large FORD, NO. 1015  and MADE IN HONG KONG). Here it is...

So, I dug into the ol' interwebs and found out the following:

It was made by the Hong Kong company, Yat Ming

It was made in 1981.

It's one of the last metal base cars they made.

They actually took a model of a Ford Thunderbird they made, cut off the back, and made it into a station wagon. Ford never had a wagon made from the Ford Thunderbird front clip, but the 1977 Ford LTD II looked close.

They are fairly rare and desireable.

Yat Ming stopped making cars in the early 2000s.

That being said, Yat Ming toys were always "budget" items (even though I think at least this one looks pretty cool). There are collectors for them, but they don't command the big bucks like Hot Wheels or Matchbox. The going rate for this sought after Yat Ming? $10.00- $20.00. 

So, if you want to start a budget collection, this might be the way to go! I'll hang onto mine, and stick it back up on a shelf. The real value was the fun I had rediscovering and researching it!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

The Toyman Cometh

 Several years ago I picked up a Matchbox car at a garage sale. I usually don't collect Matchbox (although I do have a few) but I just liked this one. I especially liked the graphics that said "Toyman." Here it is...

Doing a little research, I found out that this car, the Dodge Challenger, has been around since the 70s with many different paint schemes. This particular edition is a little special, though. You see, it was released in the early 90s...in yellow.

Mine, obviously, isn't yellow, so where the heck did it come from? Well, in 1992 Sam's Clubs released a 30 car gift set just for their members. One of the cars included was the white Toyman Challenger. So, it's a limited edition. That's cool. But does that really affect the value? 

I did what I always do when I want to answer that question, I go to Ebay "sold" auctions (current listings don't tell you much). So what have they sold for? Take a look!

Huh, I guess I did ok. I don't remember what I paid, but I know it wouldn't have been over a buck. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

My Oldest Die Cast Car...

 ...Is in no way my most interesting and certainly not the most valuable vehicle in my collection. In fact, for years I've simply had it sitting around and I've pretty much ignored it. Finally, I decided to do a little research on it, and I'm glad that I did. Oh, here is the vehicle...

This is a Tootsietoy tanker. As you can see, it has been well played with. It used to be blue. Now, not so much.

And here is the interesting part. The "Tootsietoy," "Chicago," and "U.S.A." molded into the casing in little ovals. This immediately tells you that this is pre-1960. However, a little more digging tells us just how much older...

Well, it turns out that this casting was made in the late 1930s to early 1940s. That's right, it's a pre-war toy! That's about 90 years old! No wonder the paint looks a little "rough." 

Now, you might think that a survivor toy that old would be worth a lot, but you'd be wrong. Tootsietoys have never had a huge collector following, and if there are no collectors, there is no real money. This car, in this condition goes from between five and twenty bucks. That's it. That's all the money.

Still, I'll hang onto it, not because of it's cash value, but because of it's place in history. It's interesting though, how something that I ignored for years actually is pretty interesting.

Umtil next time, keep searching for treasure!

The Next Best Haunting

 In last week's comments, JB pointed out that I don't have the "holy grail" Disney album (which he is lucky enough to own!) Well, the truth is I do have it...sort of. 

Probably the coolest Disney album ever released is The Story and Song From the Haunted Mansion. Why, here it is...

That's a fantastic cover, isn't it? This is my copy, but all is not what it seems. Here, let's get a little perspective...

You see, my version isn't the original 1969 vinyl version, but rather the 40 year anniversary released on CD! Although not nearly as cool as the original, this version has a couple of "extras." First, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" is presented as a complete separate track here. Ans second, when inserted into a computer, you can view Collin Campbell's original illustrations in high def. 

Let's look a bit more...

Here is the back of the CD case...

And when you open it, you see the CD and the booklet with the story!

You have to pull the disc out to see the credits (Ron Howard!,  Thurl Ravenscroft!!, Eleanor Audley!!!, Robie Lester!!!! and the great Pete Renoudet!!!!!) Ok, you might not know Robie or Pete right off since "Karen" isn't actually part of the ride and Pete didn't make the cut as Ghost Host for the actual attraction. Robie actually voiced a lot of Disneyland Records (including Piglett, who's voice you can hear sneak by just a bit when she says, "But I'm scared!" on this album.)

Now, I didn't know it (but y'all probably did) that Pete is actually a pretty big Disneyland (the park) star! Here are his credits (not including movies)

Henry the MC bear and Max the deer in Country Bear Jamboree (Magic Kingdom and variations)

Captain Nemo in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea submarine voyage (Walt Disney World)

Abraham Lincoln in The Hall of Presidents (1994–2008)

Narrator for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Disneyland version)

Narrator for The Walt Disney Story

Voices for Tomorrowland Transit Authority (PeopleMover), Adventure Thru Inner Space, Mark Twain Riverboat, Flight to the Moon / Mission to Mars, and others

So losing out to Paul Frees as Ghost Host wasn't exactly a huge blow to his career. 

And here is the booklet...

And now we'll take a quick look at the Campbell gallery. This is the menu page. The candles float around a bit, but don't really do anything. You click on the "paintings" to see the art.

Like this! One of the great renderings of our beloved mansion!

And this! Ah, it looks like home, eh?

I don't have to tell you how interesting the story itself is. Having been written and recorded late in the Mansion's development, it shows how much was still in flux right up until opening day! I think of it as "The Mansion that almost was...but kind of is..." 

So there you have it! If I ever do stumble across a reasonably priced vintage vinyl copy, you can be sure I'll snap it up before you can say, "BOO!" Until then, this serves as a pretty good placeholder!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure....And don't forget your Death Certificate...