When Tikis Trumped!

 This week I went to an estate sale the next street over from my house and although my wife found several things to love (she is really into glass and china- I'm not so much), only one thing caught my eye. These...

Yes, a vintage deck of Hawaiin souvenir cards! Let's take a look at the other side of the box, shall we?

Ah, yes. A beautiful Hawaiin maiden dancing in front of beautiful Hawaiin views in colors that just scream "vintage!"

Just for completeness, the end of the box...

Whenever you buy cards, there is a chance that some are missing. I only payed a buck for the deck, so I didn't bother checking until I got home. I got lucky! All there!

Notice the card with Bridge instructions. Bridge was very big in the 50's and early 60's. Now you would be more likely to have a card explaining poker hands...

The cards were made by Dainippon, which is a Japanese company (hence "Nippon" in the name.) If you look at the joker in the above photo, you can see the Japanese influence. I hadn't heard of Dainippon, but I have heard of another Japanese company that started out by making playing cards- Nintendo.

My best research (I Googled a couple of times, not just once!) only revealed that these cards are "vintage," which I already knew. In fact, I only found one exact match to this deck and it wasn't specifically mentioned in the post. Rats!

Putting on our detective caps, we can guess that these are from the late 50's to very early 60's (I'd wager 1959- 1961). Hawaii became a state in 1959 and these play up that aspect. They could have even been made before official statehood was granted, since it was no secret that Eisenhower was going to do it. 

Why do I like them? Because I like the whole Tiki culture boom that was born around that time! Don the Beachcomber, The Enchanted Tiki Room! All cherished gems of American kitch! And now I have my little part as well.

I think it's neat that I found these in the same year that I was able to once again sit in the original Tiki Room at Disneyland and enjoy the show with my daughter! These are a great reminder of that moment!

So there you go! Sometimes "treasure" is only worth a buck to some people, but a lot more to others!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Wheels of Lightning!

 This week we have an "also ran" of sorts. In 1969, Topper Corporation, a fairly successful toy company out of New Jersey, decided to cash in on Mattel's Hot Wheels craze that had started in 1968. Their answer to the Hot Wheel was the Johnny Lightning.

TOY HISTORY SIDEBAR: Topper Toys started out as Deluxe Toys (later Deluxe Reading Toys) in 1951. In 1966 they changed to Topper Toys (because they "topped" the others) and released both the "Johnny" and "Suzy" lines of toys. "Suzy Homemaker" is still well remembered. I suppose the Womens Liberation movement did them in and in 1971 they went out of business. In 1994 the name was purchased by Playing Mantis toys and a few were re-released. They also released a ton of new cars with much better tooling and style that the originals. The Topper cars are really the most interesting to me, though. Now back to our regularly scheduled post...

Johnny Lightnings lacked the style of Hot Wheels, but one thing they did win on is speed. They had a place under the nose that hooked onto a catapult device that could fling the cars faster than gravity or an electric Super Charger! Great, until you got hit by one!

I have about three of the Topper cars. I don't go out of my way to find them, but I'll pick one up if I run across it. My latest one is this:

This is the Topper Johnny Lightning "Smuggler!" (See the barrel in the back) It's typical of the original cars; kind of clunky and angular, but with a certain weird charm. I actually kind of like it.

Note the oval "Topper" logo under the nose. That's how you know it's an original. Well, that and the really banged up paint from being turned into a high speed projectile by that catapult. 

That's about it for this week. If you hapoen to stumble across a weirdly styled Hot Wheel, flip it over and look for the oval! You might have just found a real live Topper Johnny Lightning!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

When Hot Wheels Flew...

 The year was 1970. Mattel had conquered the boys' toy industry with a new line of cars called "Hot Wheels" just two years ago, and they were looking to cash in on that brand in any way possible. Someone at R&D came up with a brilliant idea. "Kids love rockets and jets! Let's develope a line of Hot Wheels jets!" ...and thus, in 1971, Hot Birds were born.

Hot Birds were a line of six die cast planes meant to inspire kids' imaginations with visions of zipping through the atmosphere and beyond. They were all pure sci-fi designs, with little relation to any actual aircraft being produced at the time. I bought one:

The Hot Birds "Maching Bird"

This picture isn't the one I had as a kid. That one was purple, as I remember it. This one was picked up on eBay recently. Still, its the same model.

The planes were designed to "fly" down a string. There was a wire harness that clipped into that slot between the engines. By the way, the engine hatch also opened and the wheels retract. The cockpit doesn't open.

Hot Birds never caught on. I think that while Hot Wheels cars were exciting because they were really fast, Hot Birds just weren't. In fact, I remember them getting hung up on their string and just hopelessly hanging in mid air. Really, it was a good thing they weren't any faster. These things are a lot bigger than a Hot Wheels car and made of metal. Getting hit in the head with one of these suckers would not have been fun! They only lasted one year and then were forgotten.

Still, that means that they are pretty darn collectible now. If you go to eBay in search of one, plan on forking out just shy of fifty bucks (with shipping.) Not bad for a toy that was a flop.

Thanks for taking a flight down memory lane! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Yet Another Moonliner

Disneyland's first rocket to the moon was certainly a hit. Crowds' imaginations were ignited by the towering "weenie" in Tomorrowland. 

There have been a few Moonliner models over the years. First, in the 50s, was the Strombecker model...(not mine- picture from eBay)

Next, we had Glenco re-release it....several times over the years. (this one IS mine)

Then there is the one I built from scratch. Here it is next to my Walt Cunningham signed Apollo 7 Saturn IB.

And, yes, it flys...

And I consider this one a model too...I took this on my recent Disneyland trip!

Now, however, I found a model that I completely forgot about! I had a friend that passed away a number of years ago, and another friend that was helping with his estate gave me this...

Ok, not too interesting. But inside we have...

A Moonliner model!

But what is this and where did it come from? Well it seems that in 1999 the International Plastic Model Society (IPMS) packaged a custom version to welcome the new century. The IPMS is still around, by the way. Here is their story about this Moonliner...

This kit comes with a custom slice of Mars!

 Mine is kit number 527...

It also comes with a custom decal sheet...

The instructions are pretty much the Glenco originals, with added hints about the Mars display stand.

Will I build it? Probably not. I really think it's cooler as a kit! 

By the way, there is apparently a new kit out that I know nothing about...but I just might have to get!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!