The Corgis Are Coming, The Corgis Are Coming!

That title makes me think of a bunch of short, cute, British dogs running pell-mell toward us, which makes me smile. I should probably end this one right now on a high note, but I'm going to push ahead and point out that the Corgis of which I speak are not, in fact, dogs, but are actually toy cars.

Corgi Toys were made in Great Britain and imported to the states. The quality of the cars was extremely high, and they often had functioning features for extra play value. You couldn't get them just anywhere, and they were more expensive that your typical Matchbox or Hot Wheels. Maybe that's why I actually still have some from my childhood!

Therefore I present to you, my childhood Corgis...

This Jeep FC-150 is a hardy survivor from my kid days. It used to have a cover on the back, but I lost it decades ago. 

The Ford Tractor is missing its exhaust stacks and it's trailor. However it still steers well and the lever by the seat still opens and closes the trailor hitch. Notice the "jewel" headlights. 

This was one of my first cars. The Morris Mini-Minor must have made an impression on me because I now drive a real Mini Cooper. The real one isn't as cool. 

How could you be a boy in the 60's and not love James Bond? My Astin Martin still has functioning machine gun button, spinning plates, tire rippers, bullet shield, and ejection seat. What's not to love?

The Stingray on the top is from my childhood. I found the (in slightly better shape) Stingray on the bottom at a Goodwill store years later. 

This Batmobile isn't from my childhood, although I had one. I got this one at a toy show as an adult. Batman and Robin have stepped away for a while. Also, I'm pretty sure the one I had as a kid had the "Bat-Hub" wheels on it. Still, it's a pretty good example.

Like the Batmobile, my Green Hornet Black Beauty is a fill in for my lost childhood toy. I got it at a toy show as well...

So there you have it! It's amazing what great memories can still be found in these little cars!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Serving Up Some Disney...Part Two

Well, after I posted last week's look at a couple of trays, I noticed that I actually have a couple more. I've had these longer than last week's examples. I picked them up years ago at a toy show...So here you go!

First, we have this Disneyland tray from around 1967-1970. I think it's from that time frame due to the Pirates of the Caribbean being included in the images. It opened in 1967.  I also think this had to be made within a couple of years of the Walt Disney World tray I featured last week, since they are pretty much identical.

Next, we have a very early Walt Disney World tray in the style of the World's Fair tray I shared last week. I know that it's early because when WDW was first opening, they went out of their way to highlight other attractions in Florida to draw as many people as possible. I really like the characters playing on the beach!

As an added bonus, I give you this:

This is an unused first year EPCOT window sticker from 1982! I like the old-style graphics. This is from when EPCOT actually had a mission to educate and entertain folks...unlike now where they just cram in whatever intellectual property they think will sell tickets (I'm looking at YOU, Frozen and Guardians of the Galaxy!) Unfortunately, "vision" is not something the current batch of imagineers seems to possess.

Anyway, there you go! Once again, if these items didn't say anything about Disney, I never would have looked twice at them.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Serving Up Some Disney

Sometimes I get Disney items just because they are Disney items. I might not care much about the item, but if it ties in with Disney, I'll snatch it up.

Case in point are these two serving trays that I got at a thrift store a while back...

The first tray is from 1964. It was made for the '64-'65 New York World's Fair. As any Disney nut worth his salt knows, this fair was a huge deal in Disney history. I will buy a NYSF item if it features a Disney related attraction, and this one does...The "Ford Motor" building featured an early People Mover type track and the dinos that now live by the Disneyland train tracks.

The second tray comes from seven years later. I'm pretty sure this one dates from Walt Disney World's first year because all of the attractions pictured were there the first year, the logo used is the original one, and it is a direct takeoff on a Disneyland tray from the same time. I like the vintage illustrations of the park!

So there you have it. If these had just been trays, I never would have looked twice at them. However, slap some Disney on there, and now they live with me! That's called successful marketing!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Wrapping Up 1970- Hot Wheels Style!

Well, today we finally get to the end of the 1970 run of new Hot Wheels! I kind of feel like we should drop the ball and sing "Auld Lang Syne." (Yes, I had to look up how to spell that...but I go to great lengths for this blog!) Anyway, here are the final five cars!

The Swingin' Wing features a large (and easily breakable) plastic wing...that does swing!

The TNT Bird is pretty much a Custom T-Bird with no hood and a spoiler on the back. My stickers aren't great, but they're original!

With the Tow Truck, the Heavyweights line completes its bland car name mission. Still, it's a pretty cool car that can actually tow other cars!

The Tri-Baby features three turbo jets under that funky, swoopy back hood. Groovy!

Finally, we have the Whip Creamer. The coolest thing about this car is the orange turbo spinner in the back that you can blow on to spin. I did it as a kid, and I did it when I took this picture!

So there you have it! Thanks to those of you who hung in there through the whole year. I have some different stuff coming up, so we'll let the Hot Wheels rest for a while.

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

1970, The Hot Wheels Year That Keeps On Giving!

Here we are with part four of our look at 1970 Hot Wheels! Believe it or not, there's one more post to go after this one before we can wrap this year up...So, here we go again!

The Porsche 917 in gray enamel is one of my favorite cars. I think the level of detailing sculpted into this model is fantastic!

The Power Pad is all about that 70's "mod" vibe!

Tom Daniel had another hit with the Red Baron! Intrestingly enough, he never actually worked on the Hot Wheels line. All of his Hot Wheels designs were borrowed from his Monogram plastic models.

The Sand Crab looks great in this spectra-flame magenta paint!

Sticking with the beach theme, we have the Seasider with its removable plastic boat.

Mattel released two action sets that featured cars that could launch airplanes from little ramps when they hit a trigger on the track. This is the Sky Show Deora. 

The other Sky Show car was the Sky Show Fleetside. This is it! Notice that the ramps are actually different on both cars...

Finally, we have the other half of the Hot Wheels drag racing team...The Snake!

Well, as I said, we have one more week (with five more cars) to go!

So, until then, keep searching for treasure!

1970 Hot Wheels...The Third Batch

You know, one thing you can say about the 1970 batch of Hot Wheels, is that there are a LOT of 'em! This week, I give you the next eight...Don't worry, there's more after these!!!

So let's jump right in, shall we?

The Mantis features a flip-up windshield and futuristic styling!

The Mighty Maverick has a huge hood bulge and wing on the back. This car just screams early '70s!

Hot Wheels had already done a car with two engines (the Twin Mill) so why not FOUR??? I give you, the Mod Quad!

1970 was the first year that the Mattel sponsored Mongoose and Snake racing teams were featured. Here is the first of several Mongoose cars...

The Heavyweights Moving Van once again shows that the person they payed for clever car names really just phoned it in on this series...

They made it up by calling this Mercury Cougar the "Nitty Gritty Kitty!" Cool, huh?

Some of the most iconic Hot Wheels were designed by Tom Daniel. The Paddy Wagon fits this description.

The Peeping Bomb has an intresting feature. You can pull a lever in the cockpit and the black covers over the headlights pull back. Very cool!

So that's it until next time! Keep searching for treasure!

1970 Hot Wheels...Part Two!

There's nothing too fancy about this week's post. I'm continuing highlighting Mattel's 1970 Hot Wheels offerings. That said, let's jump right in, shall we?

Based on a Plymouth Fury, the Fire Chief Cruiser is a handsome car. It only came in spectroflame red.

The Fire Engine continues the Heavyweights' tradition of witty car names...or not. This one is interesting because it has the red enamel cab (although it's a little rough). The spectroflame is much more common. 

The Heavy Chevy is a Spoilers Series take on a Camaro. These are fairly popular cars.

Ah, another club car. This is the Heavy Chevy all decked out in chrome!

The Jack "Rabbit" Special is very popular. In fact, it was the hero's car on the Hot Wheels Saturday morning cartoon! It's always been a favorite of mine. It only came in white enamel.

The King Kuda is still a good looking car. What could make it better?.....

How about doing it up in chrome as a Club Car??? Ok, I actually like the green a little better...

And finally, one of my favorites. The Light My Firebird is a great looking car only made cooler by that missing roof!

So there you go! We have quite a few more to go, but that does it for now. Until next time, keep searching for treasure!