Pistol Packin' Pampers

 Ok...they aren't really Pampers. But my item for this week IS related. This is what I have:

That "gold plated" shootin' iron is only about 2 and a half inches long. The holster is made out of real leather, though. So what is the tie in? 

This!

Yep! It came on a pair of Diaper Jeans!

Diaper Jeans were invented by Martha Treadway in the early 1950's, and in 1957 they opened a factory in my home town of Denison, Texas. What could be more Texan than jean diapers with a six gun? Not much. 

I found the ad on the ol' interwebs. I also found an example. Here they are:

As you can see, the holster was attatched with a brad to the jeans, and the loop on the gun went through a loop on the jeans. It would make it pretty tough to fast draw, but since most of the hombres were struggling to walk, it probably wasn't a big issue.

Diaper Jeans were made into the 1960s, so they and I overlap. I never had any, though. I found the gun in a little antique shop. They didn't know the history of it, and I went ahead and bought it for a couple of bucks.

I think it's pretty neat, in a weird way. It certainly speaks to the western heritage of Denison, and to the cowboy craze that swept the country in the 50s. Now, I'm sure someone would get all bent out of shape about it, but back then everyone knew it was just good fun. 

They haven't made them in quite a while, so if you want your baby packing heat, you'll have to buy a vintage pair. But, my baby girl is 31 so I just keep it on the mantle where it's nice and safe!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

Hoisting the Jolly Rodger!

 As a kid, I loved all the wacky "show cars" from the 60s. Actually, the wackier, the better! Ed Roth, Tom Daniel and George Barris were my heroes. They could take a crazy idea and turn it into something insanely cool!

But what happens when someone who isn't a car designer decides to create a car? Someone who, say, oversees the model car division of a national hobby company. Like...AMT....

You might well get something like this:

Yep. The story I was told is that a boss at AMT wanted to use some existing molds to create a new model, so he picked up a car and a ship, stuck them together and said, "We'll do this!" Is that true? Heck, I don't know, but it is certainly possible.

The Jolly Rodger is a show car that never should have been. It went to the edge of credibility and plowed right over, without ever looking back. Where other models have had full size cars built of them, I'm pretty sure The Rodger never has. Why? It's kind of stupid.

Let's take another look:

Ok, that's not really any better. As you can see, the front of the car is a fairly standard rod. (An Olds touring car, actually. I'll explain how I know that later). The back is...well...a pirate ship. The ship part doesn't even seem to fit on the chassis real well. The rear wheels are almost in the middle of the...vehicle. 

Another look? Sure:

The rear of the car shows the lantern tail lights (which actually just hang on the back. No glue!). They are probably the coolest part of the ship section. You can also see the completely useless dingy, and you're looking down the twin cannon (that would, in all honesty, but fun in traffic).

What? A front view? Sure!:

Now we get to something interesting. The front of the car is actually a TV star! Yep, as it turns out, it comes from the AMT Beverly Hillbillies truck! It uses the parts Jethro added to turn it into a hot rod (you could build either version). That's how I know it's an Olds touring car. That's what George Barris used to create the truck. That also means that a car designer had at least something to do with the design. But not much.

By the way, the factory paint job on the Jolly Rodger didn't help its appearance. Here it is:

Yuck! Cream? Really? I went with a black and gold scheme that, I think, looks better. I also left off the hood because...well, it couldn't hurt. I also left off the saily bits in front because there is a limit to how stupid I was willing to go. 

So, there you go. A truly stupid car. Why did I buy and build it? I was drawn to it because it was so outlandish. Was it worth messing with? Probably not, but it was kind of fun. 

So, I guess the moral is if you like something, you can even appreciate really bad examples of it. Even this bad.

Until next time, keep searching for (buried?) treasure!

Mars Attacks!

 When people find out that you're a collector, they sometimes just give stuff to you! Really! Case in point: this attractive fellow from the 1996 release Mars Attacks!

Mars Attacks! was a Tim Burton movie based on a trading cards. I saw it when it first came out, and I have to admit that I found it...different. It's s pretty dark comedy and satirical send up of 1950s sci-fi B movies. Upon second viewing, I found it pretty funny (especially Tom Jones).

When it came out, the market was flooded with toys and collectibles. The movie didn't do quite as well as they hoped, and the collectibles flew back to Mars pretty quickly. Except for a few. Like this guy!

A friend in my rocket club gifted him to me a few years ago. Since it was still in the blister pack, I just kept him there. He has stood on my bookcase, plotting the destruction of the word, ever since. 

Of course this begs some questions. For example, what did his button do before the batteries died? Exactly what does a Chaos Ray do? (it "shoots" apparently). If I open him and put fresh batteries in him, will I accidently bring about the end of the world? That would be a bummer. 

Well, we'll never know, because I'm not going to risk it! He can go right back on my shelf and brood all by himself. The world is safe! Yay!

As he would say, "ACK, ACK, ACK, ACK, ACK!"*

*"Keep searching for treasure!"

Spy Gear! (sort of)

 A while back I went to an auction that had a little bit of everything. On a table, I spotted a little reel to reel recorder. Now, I had one of these as a kid, and nostalgia soon had me itching to bid! (Not literally, that would be weird)

As the lots came and went, I kept my eye on my little recorder. It hadn't seemed to draw much attention, so that was good. Of course, there was no way to tell if it actually worked, so that may have been chasing people off. 

The lot came up and opened at five bucks. I raised my hand and then the price shot up to...well, five bucks. No one else bid. For better or worse, it was mine. Of course for five bucks, what could go wrong?

Well, long story short, it actually does work! The included tape is some kid (in the 70s, I guess) trying to be a rock star. I've never really used it, other than testing it, but it's nice to have. 

So there you go! Be careful what you bid on, you just might get it.

Keep searching for treasure!

When Luck Goes Your Way!

 Sometimes in life, the stars align and everything just goes right! A while back, the good folks at LOC Rockets had a drawing for a 75.00 gift certificate and...

That's right, I won!!! I can't wait to dig into this 38mm mount monster,  but life is being a little tricky right now. When I do, I'll try to post something here!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!

A Note From the Haunted Mansion

 Many Disney Parks lovers have certain attractions that they are particularly in love with, and one of the most popular is The Haunted Mansion. In fact, it is so popular that many people collect items associated with it and swap tales and back stories about it. 

Although there are tons of new items (Disney has always been great at merchandising) I like items from the first couple of years best. Here is one of thise items:

This book of magic tricks was sold at Disneyland when the Haunted Mansion first opened. It has quite a few tricks that are loosly based on the attraction (ok...very loosly based), but the fun is in the illustrations and art work. Also, this little book reveals a real secret about the HM!

For many years, fans have considered "Master Gracey" to be the master of the house. This comes from a tombstone in the family plot dedicated to imagineer Yale Gracey. The "Master" part throws people because it is generally forgotten that "master" used to refer to a boy, not an actual "master." 

So, who was the real "master" of the Mansion? The book tells us! Take a look at this!

Yup, Phineas J. Pock was supposed to be the real master of The Haunted Mansion. He is actually mentioned in other early records as well, but he was, sadly, forgotten. 

So now, when you hear people going on and on about "Master Gracey" you can rest assured that the real shadowy figure in the background goes by the name of Pock...Phineas Pock.

Keep searching for treasure!

Smooshing Two Blogs

 Hey guys! Well, once I decided to start the ol' blog up again, I needed to decide exactly what I was going to do with it. You see, I ran two blogs for a few years, one on rockets and one on my "collections." In reality, it all became a bit too much. Therefore, we're going to change things up a little.

Therefore, I've decided to continue Stu's Attic, but not Shroudlines, the Blog. Actually, STB isn't going away, it will just be part of SA. That way I'll have more content for the one blog and it should make things easier.

Of course, I'm well aware that blog readership is pretty dead, and I could well be writing these just for myself, but that's ok. In a way, that takes any remaining pressure off. I can just write "whatever" about "whatever." 

Speaking of rockets, I recently went into the garage and took a bunch of pictures to document all of them. In the pictures it looks like they are just thrown everywhere, but I can assure you they have been carefullu placed so as not to damage them. I thought I'd include a few of those shots today to properly "rocket-offy" the blog. Don't judge. ;-)