A Couple of Goofy Guys!

 Ok, maybe just a couple of Goofys...er, Goofies...er Goofi...You get my point. 

Anyway, I picked both of these up at estate sales. The first one is from Marx. Here he is:

He's about five inches tall and is solid molded plastic. At first glance, one might think he's a Disneykin, but he's simply too big. Marx made a whole line of the large figures...but most of them aren't painted. That makes this one strange. I have heard of them, but can find almost nothing on them. He's from the 1960s.

Here's another view:

I know even less about the next one. He's slightly smaller at about four inches tall, and is jointed. He is simply marked "Walt Disney Productions." I'm pretty sure he's from the 1970s, and he's based on a slightly different model. Here he is:

And another view:

And the comparison view (just to cover all the bases).

Which do I like better?

 Both!

Ok, that may seem like a cop out, but they are so different, I think it's ok. 

They happily live on my bookcase shelf, and make me smile. So, even though they aren't worth a whole lot, they do their job well!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Holy Grail Hot Wheel

 There are a few...or maybe a couple...of Hot Wheels that are considered Holy Grail cars. These are vehicles that are not only difficult to get, but have a large enough following to create high demand. The "Rear Loading Beach Bomb" (a VW bus with surf boards sticking out the back window) is one, with examples going for thousands (even tens of thousands) of dollars. Why? It was never really issued. The design was modified with boards in "side pods" before being released. A few escaped the factory, however.

But what is the Holy Grail of actual released production cars? That would probably be the 1971 Olds 442. The Olds 442 was produced only by the Hong Kong factory, and for only one year (1971). It is so rare that even examples in poor shape have value. Nice examples go for around 1200.00 to 1500.00.  So, getting one in good shape, for a decent price, is pretty much unheard of.

And this is mine...

How did I, a collector not known parting with his money easily get a car that could easily sell in that price range? 

I stole it. 

Well, not literally. You see, for years I stalked this car on eBay, putting in what I considered a "reasonable" bid on examples I liked, and then getting pretty much instantly outbid. I even tried to snag a couple in raffles, but no dice (nor car). Finally, I pretty much gave up. I was not going to pay a thousand plus bucks for a toy car. 

Then, one day, I saw the above car on eBay. I decided that it was so clean that I would put in a large (for me) bid of 275.00. It was a huge amount for me, but I had some extra money I had made playing bass so I figured why not. I knew I would get outbid anyway.

I wanted to put my bid in at the last second. However, the auction ended at 2:30 a.m. So, I decided to stay up. I think that's why I got it. At 2:29 and 30 seconds I put in my bid as the last second rolled off and...I won!

It was a pawn shop that was selling it, and I guess they just put it on and didn't really watch it. I was glad it wasn't an individual with bad luck. I sometimes have too much empathy, I guess.

Anyway, it just goes to show you that with enough patience, you can still get fairly goid deals on things. But you have to be willing to wait...and wait...and (if need be) wait.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

It's Major's Fault!

 Well, a couple of weeks ago I featured my Johnny Lightning Monkeemobile. I mentioned that it was a later run, since it does not have the logo, which Playing Mantis did not have the rights to. They found this fact out after the first run of cars (I'm sure lawyers were involved). 

I published it, and soon my old friend and fellow (much more popular) blogger Major Pepperidge chimed in and asked about how much the logo cars were. I admitted that I wasn't sure. He added that I needed one...bad. Now I know how much they are because I went on eBay and looked. And...

Yep, I bought one. It was 50 bucks and I said no. Then they reduced it to 30  (40 with shipping) and well...a deal's a deal!

Anyway it was the only one on there at the time, so I bought it.

All because of Major making me go look. 

Thanks, man!

Now I just have to decide if I'm going to open it...

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Secret Agent Car!

 Probably the most iconic movie car is the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 used in several James Bond films, notably Goldfinger. Many toy companies made examples, including Corgi (I still have my childhood version) and Johnny Lightning. There are plastic models and slot car versions as well. Yes, it would seem the DB5 was completely covered...until Danbury Mint released the ultimate version about 20 years ago!

The Danbury Mint 1/24 scale Aston Martin is the gold standard of Aston Martin models. I originally saw an ad in Collecting Toys magazine (R.I.P.), and I had to have it! I paid for it on a payment plan (yes, it was that expensive, and I'm that cheap).

And here she is!

The car uses a LOT of metal, so it's very heavy. It't about 7.5 inches long and 3 inches wide. The paint is the actually factory correct.

A nice side shot. I have the ejection seat roof off and the bulletproof shield up.

It was so nice, I'll show it again...

A nice shot of the rear of the car showing the ridiculous amount of detail. You can see the retractable shield, the tail light that folds down to release a smoke screen, the rotating liscense plates and even the opening gas cap.

A front view showing the front wheels that are turned by the steering wheel. The antenna raises and lowers.

The spring loaded ejection seat sitting on top of the car. The instructions say to remove the roof panel before hitting the switch. I'm pretty sure Bond didn't have to do that.

Ridiculous details continued: It's hard to see, but the center (or should I say "centre?") console opens to show a phone.

...and there is an opening secret hiding spot in the driver's door.

The very detailed underside.

The center console also boasts a radar screen because why not?

There is a weapons tray that pulls out from under the drivers seat...

Machine guns hidden behind the parking lights...

The fully detailed engine, complete with wires.

A close up of the smoke screen tail light. Ot actually opens and closes.

The trunk opens (of course) and the spare tire (tyre?) comes out. When it's inside the trunk, it's under a lift out plate in the floor.

A tire ripper...and another opening gas cap.

My title! Each one was personalized.

And additional car info!

So there you have it! She sits proudly on my bookcase waiting for potential 1/24 scale super villians to try to take over the 1/24 scale world! 

Until next time keep searching for treasure!