You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!!!

The year was 1971. I had just moved to Garland, Texas from Denison, Texas with my family. I was in the third grade, and it was Christmas Eve. The family was all gathered at my Aunt Sandra and Uncle Duke's house in Irving, Texas for our yearly Christmas Eve Gift Extravaganza! (Ok, it was actually just the Christmas family get together, but to a kid, the first name seems more appropriate). I don't really remember most of what I got that year, but I do remember one item...but let me back up first.

The summer before, my grandparents had taken my older cousin Greg and myself to Arkansas. While there, we toured the Daisy BB gun plant in Rogers. I seem to remember that they had a little museum and a store, but none of it is in real sharp focus all these years later. Now, we flash back forward...

My grandfather handed my cousin and I packages that were about a foot by a foot and a half long and about three inches deep. Now these might have been shirt boxes (groan), except that they had a bit of heft to them. We ripped into them and found that we had each gotten one of the coolest gifts ever! In each box was a brand new Daisy 179 Spitting Image BB pistol!
You see, when we were at the Daisy plant, my grandfather had slipped back in as we were leaving and bought us each one for Christmas!

It has now been 46 years since that day, but for Christmas 2017, I own the gun again. You see, I had been on the lookout for one on eBay for quite a while. I needed good condition and a reasonable price. Those two things don't often go together. However, one came up and I bid, and I won! Here she is:

The Daisy 179 is a pretty good copy of a real Peacemaker.

Yep, it's a Daisy!

Daisy made the 179 from the early 1960s to the late 1980s, with slight modifications. For a gun with such a long run, they still go for a fairly hefty price, so I was lucky to find this one. As far as shooting your eye out goes, you would have to really work at it. This gun is extremely weak, and really just a target plinker. Still, it looks and feels great, plus you can't beat the nostalgia factor.

So, with collecting, you really can visit the Ghost of Christmas Past. Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

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!