Just Burning Time...

This week I'm going to share something a little different. A few years ago, my beautiful wife gave me a clock for my birthday. Now this was no ordinary clock, of course. This is it:

This is a Mastercrafters 272 Fireplace Clock. This clock was probably made in the 1950's and features a illuminated rotating cylinder that simulates a roaring fire.

Mastercrafters made clocks starting right after WWII and continued for quite a few years. They usually produced "novelty" clocks, and their three biggest sellers were a clock that featured a swinging little girl, a clock with an animated waterfall, and this one.

These can still be found fairly easily on eBay, but as with any vintage collectible, condition and working order is everything. For example, that gold plastic grate in front of the fireplace is often missing, and that will drop the price about 50 bucks.

Mine is complete and still works great! I think my wife did a great job with this find! Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Little Lost Corgis

Ok, these are not really lost, but I did leave them off of my recent Corgi post. So, in the spirit of completeness, I offer you these!

This is a Raygo Rascal Road Roller. It's about five inches long and weighs about three tons. Not really, but it feels like it!

A 57 Chevy highway patrol car? Sure, why not? This is about the same size as the Road Roller...

If it's good enough for the highway patrol, it's good enough for the Chicago Fire Department!

I might have shared this one before, but I can't remember. Anyway this is the Corgi Juniors version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. It's about two inches long and is missing one wing and Mr. Potts. Oh well....

Another Corgi Junior, this Daimler Scout Car has a gunman that flops side to side with gravity...

Finally, we have a Volkswagen Kubelwagen. Although it isn't marked as a Corgi Junior, it is the same size. It also has a lot of neat detailing.

So there you have it! I think that covers all of my current Corgis. However, if I find any more, I'll let you know!

Until next time keep searching for treasure!

Requiescat, Francis Xavier...

Today's post is a tribute to one of the last of the great Imagineers, that we lost in September of this year. Francis Xavier Atencio was instumental in several attractions, but none more so than Pirates of the Caribbean and The Haunted Mansion.

X was working for the Disney Company as an artist when Walt asked him to write for those attractions. X said that he didn't consider himself a writer, but that Walt could spot things in people that they didn't see in themselves. Thanks to Walt's insight, X gave words and songs to both pirates and ghosts! (He once said that he used a thesaurus religiously for the Ghost Host's spiel...)

Here are a couple of autographed items I have from him...

These hang in my office at work for inspiration. I never met Mr. Atencio, but in every interview I ever saw he seemed kind and very excited to talk about his beloved attractions.

He will be greatly missed, especially in a day when Imagineers seem to have lost their way and are more worried about roller coasters and being PC than actually creating anything. (Don't ask me about my opinion of the latest Pirate travesty.)

Hopefully, somewhere Walt just greeted X and told him his new job with the real Imagineers who went before.

Keep searching for treasure.

When Rods Were Odd....

In celebration of the Halloween season, I give you this quick glimpse of a monster driving a Mini Cooper....because, why not?

This is my only example of an Odd Rod sticker. I got it because 1. it was very cheap, and 2. I drive a Mini (although not a cool purple one). When I was a kid my bedroom door had quite a collection of these stuck on it. They came in a packet with gum, like baseball cards. Now you can still find them on eBay for pretty low prices. Even after 40 years, I still think they are pretty cool!

So that's it for this time! Happy Halloween and keep searching for treasures!

Cards From the Crypt...

Usually I talk about vintage items here, but today I thought I'd share something that my daughter and son-in-law gave me. You see, they just took my grandkids to Walt Disney World, and when they got back (after being in a hurricane, by the way) they gave me this:

The brand new official Haunted Mansion Playing Cards! Yes, they glow in the dark. They come in their very own coffin, which is even more impressive when you open it up...

Yep, it's lined with purple "silk." A magnet keeps the lid closed. Here are a couple more pictures:

Pretty cool, huh? My daughter and her hubby really know my taste! Now I need to actually play a game with them!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

My Birthday Wheels!

Well, my birthday just passed and one of my gifts was the next Hot Wheels in the 1971 lineup that I'm collecting right now. May I introduce to you, The Heavyweights Racer Rig!

Now I actually already had an extra Indy Eagle, so I chose to display it on the rig.

Now, I'm not sure what makes one car sell for so much more than another, but some do (don't even ask about the 1971 Olds 442). The Racer Rig is one of the rather pricy ones (the Indy Eagle isn't). Therefore I'm glad to mark this one off of my list!

Soon, I should have a new Rocket Bye Baby (again, a cheaper car) and I will set my sights on a S'cool Bus (higher priced car). But that's the ups and downs of collecting!

Now, if I could ever afford that stupid Olds 442....

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Tales of Mystery and Imagination

Today I'm going to share a couple of books from my childhood that really mean a lot to me. Now, by the title you may think I'm talking about Poe, but actually these books have a much more honored spot in my heart than he. I'm referring to Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators.

When I was in about fourth grade, my grandmother (who was a fifth grade teacher) gave me this book:

Inside, I was introduced to Jupiter Jones, Bob Andrews, and Pete Crenshaw...and Alfred Hitchcock, of course! The story was a huge adventure with ghosts, pirates, abandoned amusement parks, and general wonder that kept me turning pages like never before.

There were also great illustrations like this:

That's a ghost on that merry-go-round, by the way...or is it? The book is filled with twists and turns that are both intelligent and clever (unlike any Scooby Doo cartoon ever made).

I enjoyed the book so much that on my 10th birthday I got this:

This is actually the first book in the series, and it tells about how the guys started their investigation agency and met Mr. Hitchcock. It's also a really fun haunted house mystery. Here's an illustration from it:

Here are a couple more, featuring stickers with my name on them that I got for the same birthday...

By the way, my fifth grade signature was much better than my current one...

Anyway, I ended up sharing a large part of my childhood with these books. I have read them again as an adult and I'm surprised that they still hold up.  I think the key is that they never talk down to the reader and that the clues actually make sense. In fact, I read the series to my daughter when she was growing up because I liked the fun way the books make you think. She loved them too!

So, if you are looking for a good mystery series for kids (which is much better than The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew, in my opinion) I recommend Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators!

You can still get the original books on eBay or Amazon, or at Half Price Books. These were rewritten after the deal with Alfred Hitchcock ran out, but the ones with him are the best. 

So get out to those used book stores and keep searching for treasure!