I have not been on here in a year, more or less.
Why? Well let me tell you. I am a secret agent. I was on a secret mission, and I was captured. After I escaped, I wandered through the jungle for months. I lived off of what I could find...bugs, roots, the occasional rodent. It was a rough life, but I really feel like I found myself out there. I now know that I must dedicate my life to helping....oh, nevermind. That's all just stuff I made up. Really I've just been more interested in spending time with my family and doing other things besides sitting at a computer.
I started this as a Star Wars blog, but I got Star Wars burnout. I really only care about the OT and vintage collecting. The new stuff is fine, but not for me.
My action figure collecting got pushed aside in favor of spending time with my family.
Overall, I just haven't had anything to say.
Then came model trains.
Yep, trains. I love model trains. I always have. When I was very young, I pushed my Dad's junked Lionel around the garage floor. When I was older, I got into HO scale. I've never really felt like I could explore both my sci-fi, comic book, nerd side and my rural, railroad fan, backwoodsy side at the same time. As I get older, I start to appreciate it all. It's all good stuff. There's no reason it can't all work together.
I've been posting on model train sites a lot lately, and it's been a lot of fun. So now, as time allow, I'll add this to the plethora of topics I discuss here. Just think of it as yet another side to the complex individual that is me.
So let me say "hey" to Anthony, NoelCT, and my new friend DJdeTrainman, if he finds his way here. I'm still alive and well, just not as loud as I used to be.
Showing posts with label star wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label star wars. Show all posts
Friday, October 23, 2009
Monday, October 27, 2008
Groovy Garage Sale Goodness, or Reasons to Wake Up on a Saturday Morning
After my last entry on the Sectaurs, I started thinking about all the good luck I've had over the last 5 years at garage sales. In fact, garage sales are second only to ebay in contributing to the growth of my collection. If you've never paid attention to them, try it sometime. Right now isn't the best time of the year (if you live in the Midwest, anyway) but once spring rolls around they'll be back in full force.
Anyway, I'm going to show off some of my best finds and tell how I found them. Maybe they will inspire you to go out and find some deals of your own!
These first pictures are what started it all. Back around the time of Attack of the Clones, I re-dedicated myself to collecting. One drizzly Saturday morning, I rolled up to a friend's garage sale only to find a box full of Star Wars goodies for only $20. Of course I thought he was crazy, but I didn't complain. I just gave him the twenty and went on my way. When I sorted it all out, there was a complete Imperial shuttle, B-Wing, Slave-1 and an incomplete Darth Vader TIE fighter. All vintage. There were also several very rough loose figures. This one find not only restarted my Star Wars collecting, but set me off on the endless garage sale trail for years to come.
This next picture shows a garage sale find that nearly knocked me off my feet. Seriously, my heart skipped a beat when I walked up and saw a Cobra Terror Drome sitting outside the garage. What makes it better? The price. 25 cents. No kidding. Sure, it's not complete, but for only a quarter? I'll take it!
You never know what you'll find and when. One afternoon my family was out doing some shopping at a nearby town, when we noticed some garage sale signs. It was after 1:30 (late by garage sale standards) and the sale was in a very new, modern subdivision. Usually those places have younger kids, and therefore no good toys. This one was the exception. At the back of the garage, in two plastic storage tubs, was this load of Eternian wonderfulness. Sure none of it is complete, but for $4 I got a great back-up MOTU collection for my daughter and I to play with.
This little jewel is another example of not knowing where or when you'll find something. After an unrewarding day at a small city-wide garage sale, I started digging through a trash bag partially full of small toys. It was an interesting mix of mostly 80's happy meal toys and other small "girly" stuff. Then all of the sudden, there he was: an original G1 Transformer Windcharger. I could hardly contain myself. I asked the owner how much, and he said 3 dollars. Not bad, so I went to pay. Then he said, "No, I meant for the whole bag." So for 3 bucks I got not only a nifty vintage Transformer, but some fun stuff for the kid's toybox.
These two came from the same sale. Here's what happened: I rolled up one Saturday morning on one of those sales where the garage is in back of the house. In other words, you can't drive by and get a good idea of what they have. Sometimes I get lazy and pass these up, but I stopped at this one. I'm glad I did! They had four tables of vintage 80's toys! Unfortunately, the sale had started on Friday. They had already sold an entire table full of Star Wars items. I did manage to pick up some Star Wars parts, an old "The force" lightsaber, a couple nice G.I Joes (Stinger driver!)and everything in the pictures above. The Transformers in the first picture are all original, but incomplete. The second picture shows the Boulder Hill playset from MASK...yeah, it's not put together right, but I was too lazy to look up the instructions for just this picture. I'm not sure how complete it is. I just keep it stored away for later restoration. I ended up making all these purchases over two trips. I ran out of cash and had to go back home. In the end I spent less than $30. Not bad for another random stop.
Anyone who reads my blog knows I love comics. I've never really had good luck getting comics at garage sales. The last sale I went to had an ad in the paper advertising comic books, so my family and I went. After getting lost a couple times, we finally found the place...by the way, that Rand McNally guy needs to update his maps. As we pulled up to the place, I said to my wife, "I'll bet all they've got are some overpriced Archie comics." Guess what? That's exactly what they had. A big binder full of clear plastic sleeves containing beat-up, ragged Archie comics. The owners swore they were worth 30-60 dollars each. Unbelievable. No offense to Archie, but he's not high on my list. The examples above are the kind of things I like to find at garage sales...the old oversized digest style books. They're just fun. Like comics in general, they used to be widely available and cheap. Those were the good old days. These examples cost me only a buck each, so that makes things even better.
Readers of this blog may not now of my other collecting passion: records. I love vinyl. I try to buy everything I can on vinyl instead of CD. I like the sound, and it's more fun. Over the years, garage sales have yielded more records than I care to count. They're usually extremely cheap. Just last summer I picked up three sealed, unopened records: Poison's Look What the Cat Dragged In, Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, and the Police's Greatest Hits. All 25 cents. In the picture there are three of my favorite purchases: Jimi Hendrix's Axis Bold As Love, The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, and the late great Buddy Miles' Them Changes.
Sometimes you truly can find treasure among trash. This find came from a really trashy garage sale. It looked like they had just tore through the house taking out all the old furniture and junk just to make a sale. Then, sitting on top of a flimsy table, I saw this: a Pioneer LDV-2000 LaserDisc player. They didn't know if it worked, but they only charged me 25 cents for it! I took it home and tried it out...success! It's not the best LD player in the world, but it works. A cheap universal remote will even control it. I've been watching some Robotech discs I got at a collector store on it lately.
Here's something completely random. Anybody remember the TV show Riptide? I barely do. Like so many classic 80's shows, it featured a unique vehicle. Apparently (like I said...I barely remember it) it was a large helicopter called the "Screaming Mimi." Here in all it's 25 cent glory is a die-cast Ertl replica. Why did I buy it? It's 80's, man! Little pieces of nostalgia like this brighten my day.
Finally, here are some Star Wars posters. This same sale had some great late 70's-early 80's sci-fi magazines and picture books. Cheap wall decorations and some great reading...that was good day.
So there you have it. Part one of what may be a continuing series. I see garage sales like a treasure hunt. Indiana Jones looks for ancient relics, I look for slightly newer items. Both are connections to a past long gone. I encourage any collectors to get out and see what's available in their cities and neighborhoods. Remember, the early bird catches the worm, so set your alarm clocks.
Before I go, let me say this: if you're at a good garage sale, and you see a big hairy guy with a Batman hat coming toward you, get out of the way. I treat garage sales like a competitive sport...and I'm not afraid to tackle.
Anyway, I'm going to show off some of my best finds and tell how I found them. Maybe they will inspire you to go out and find some deals of your own!
These first pictures are what started it all. Back around the time of Attack of the Clones, I re-dedicated myself to collecting. One drizzly Saturday morning, I rolled up to a friend's garage sale only to find a box full of Star Wars goodies for only $20. Of course I thought he was crazy, but I didn't complain. I just gave him the twenty and went on my way. When I sorted it all out, there was a complete Imperial shuttle, B-Wing, Slave-1 and an incomplete Darth Vader TIE fighter. All vintage. There were also several very rough loose figures. This one find not only restarted my Star Wars collecting, but set me off on the endless garage sale trail for years to come.
This next picture shows a garage sale find that nearly knocked me off my feet. Seriously, my heart skipped a beat when I walked up and saw a Cobra Terror Drome sitting outside the garage. What makes it better? The price. 25 cents. No kidding. Sure, it's not complete, but for only a quarter? I'll take it!
You never know what you'll find and when. One afternoon my family was out doing some shopping at a nearby town, when we noticed some garage sale signs. It was after 1:30 (late by garage sale standards) and the sale was in a very new, modern subdivision. Usually those places have younger kids, and therefore no good toys. This one was the exception. At the back of the garage, in two plastic storage tubs, was this load of Eternian wonderfulness. Sure none of it is complete, but for $4 I got a great back-up MOTU collection for my daughter and I to play with.
This little jewel is another example of not knowing where or when you'll find something. After an unrewarding day at a small city-wide garage sale, I started digging through a trash bag partially full of small toys. It was an interesting mix of mostly 80's happy meal toys and other small "girly" stuff. Then all of the sudden, there he was: an original G1 Transformer Windcharger. I could hardly contain myself. I asked the owner how much, and he said 3 dollars. Not bad, so I went to pay. Then he said, "No, I meant for the whole bag." So for 3 bucks I got not only a nifty vintage Transformer, but some fun stuff for the kid's toybox.
These two came from the same sale. Here's what happened: I rolled up one Saturday morning on one of those sales where the garage is in back of the house. In other words, you can't drive by and get a good idea of what they have. Sometimes I get lazy and pass these up, but I stopped at this one. I'm glad I did! They had four tables of vintage 80's toys! Unfortunately, the sale had started on Friday. They had already sold an entire table full of Star Wars items. I did manage to pick up some Star Wars parts, an old "The force" lightsaber, a couple nice G.I Joes (Stinger driver!)and everything in the pictures above. The Transformers in the first picture are all original, but incomplete. The second picture shows the Boulder Hill playset from MASK...yeah, it's not put together right, but I was too lazy to look up the instructions for just this picture. I'm not sure how complete it is. I just keep it stored away for later restoration. I ended up making all these purchases over two trips. I ran out of cash and had to go back home. In the end I spent less than $30. Not bad for another random stop.
Anyone who reads my blog knows I love comics. I've never really had good luck getting comics at garage sales. The last sale I went to had an ad in the paper advertising comic books, so my family and I went. After getting lost a couple times, we finally found the place...by the way, that Rand McNally guy needs to update his maps. As we pulled up to the place, I said to my wife, "I'll bet all they've got are some overpriced Archie comics." Guess what? That's exactly what they had. A big binder full of clear plastic sleeves containing beat-up, ragged Archie comics. The owners swore they were worth 30-60 dollars each. Unbelievable. No offense to Archie, but he's not high on my list. The examples above are the kind of things I like to find at garage sales...the old oversized digest style books. They're just fun. Like comics in general, they used to be widely available and cheap. Those were the good old days. These examples cost me only a buck each, so that makes things even better.
Readers of this blog may not now of my other collecting passion: records. I love vinyl. I try to buy everything I can on vinyl instead of CD. I like the sound, and it's more fun. Over the years, garage sales have yielded more records than I care to count. They're usually extremely cheap. Just last summer I picked up three sealed, unopened records: Poison's Look What the Cat Dragged In, Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense, and the Police's Greatest Hits. All 25 cents. In the picture there are three of my favorite purchases: Jimi Hendrix's Axis Bold As Love, The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour, and the late great Buddy Miles' Them Changes.
Sometimes you truly can find treasure among trash. This find came from a really trashy garage sale. It looked like they had just tore through the house taking out all the old furniture and junk just to make a sale. Then, sitting on top of a flimsy table, I saw this: a Pioneer LDV-2000 LaserDisc player. They didn't know if it worked, but they only charged me 25 cents for it! I took it home and tried it out...success! It's not the best LD player in the world, but it works. A cheap universal remote will even control it. I've been watching some Robotech discs I got at a collector store on it lately.
Here's something completely random. Anybody remember the TV show Riptide? I barely do. Like so many classic 80's shows, it featured a unique vehicle. Apparently (like I said...I barely remember it) it was a large helicopter called the "Screaming Mimi." Here in all it's 25 cent glory is a die-cast Ertl replica. Why did I buy it? It's 80's, man! Little pieces of nostalgia like this brighten my day.
Finally, here are some Star Wars posters. This same sale had some great late 70's-early 80's sci-fi magazines and picture books. Cheap wall decorations and some great reading...that was good day.
So there you have it. Part one of what may be a continuing series. I see garage sales like a treasure hunt. Indiana Jones looks for ancient relics, I look for slightly newer items. Both are connections to a past long gone. I encourage any collectors to get out and see what's available in their cities and neighborhoods. Remember, the early bird catches the worm, so set your alarm clocks.
Before I go, let me say this: if you're at a good garage sale, and you see a big hairy guy with a Batman hat coming toward you, get out of the way. I treat garage sales like a competitive sport...and I'm not afraid to tackle.
Monday, April 7, 2008
PlanetComicon 2008--or, "Sorry Chekov, I really wasn't trying to rip you off....now put down that phaser....no......wait.......aaaaaarrrrrrrghhhhh!"
Yesterday I attended Kansas City's annual PlanetComicon, which is a sci-fi, comic book, and pop culture extravaganza for all of us poor, culturally isolated midwesterners.
As expected, it was well worth the time and money...well, maybe not the money, but more on that later. Here are the highlights, lowlights, pros and cons, details, points of interest, and other noteworthy details:
KENNY BAKER!!!! R2-D2 himself! He's just the second victim in my brush with Star Wars greatness, after having met Dave "the real Darth Vader" Prowse last year. Mr. Baker was very fun and seemed genuinely happy to be there. $20 bought an obligatory autographed photo. Now I just need an Anthony Daniels C3PO autograph to go next to it. Maybe next year!
Walter Koenig--First of all, I realize that the chance of him reading this is slimmer than Karen Carpenter's waistline (too soon?) but I've got to say it. I can't apologize enough for what happened: I NEARLY ROBBED CHEKOV! Actually it's not as dramatic as it sounds. We asked for an autographed picture, personalized for my daughter. We posed for a photo. I was trying to get a 3-year old to smile while standing next to a stranger. We took the pic, shook hands, and walked away. Next thing I now, I'm awakening from a heavy phaser stun in the back of an ambulance and my wallet is missing...no wait, that was another time...don't you hate it when you get phasered and robbed?.....okay, actually, I heard a heavily accented "Excuse me" and turned to see him approaching rapidly behind us. I realized immediately what had happened, and promptly handed over another $20. So now Chekov thinks I'm a crook. Great. I'll put that on a resume some day. I really do feel sorry for it all though, and want to apologize again. He didn't seem like he was enjoying the show. I think there was a lot of Star Wars support and virtually no Star Trek support. Being bi-sci-fi myself, I like them both.
Kurt Busiek!! Great writer. I think he summed up Countdown...or Countdown to Final Crisis...or Countdown to Mediocre Storytelling....or whatever we call it now better than anyone I've heard or read. He pointed out the problems without excess trash-talking. Can't wait for Trinity.
This is getting long, so here's the lightning round: Brinke Stevens: okay, whatever, not for me...Tony Moore: great artist, looked busy....Cheap comics: they were everywhere. good stuff....Star Wars costumes: neat, but I detected a distinct "locker room" odor around some of the stormtroopers...there is a lot more to say, but wandering around the convention center has left me exhausted. Time to kick back with a classic issue of Justice League (only 50 cents!) and relax for a while.
As expected, it was well worth the time and money...well, maybe not the money, but more on that later. Here are the highlights, lowlights, pros and cons, details, points of interest, and other noteworthy details:
KENNY BAKER!!!! R2-D2 himself! He's just the second victim in my brush with Star Wars greatness, after having met Dave "the real Darth Vader" Prowse last year. Mr. Baker was very fun and seemed genuinely happy to be there. $20 bought an obligatory autographed photo. Now I just need an Anthony Daniels C3PO autograph to go next to it. Maybe next year!
Walter Koenig--First of all, I realize that the chance of him reading this is slimmer than Karen Carpenter's waistline (too soon?) but I've got to say it. I can't apologize enough for what happened: I NEARLY ROBBED CHEKOV! Actually it's not as dramatic as it sounds. We asked for an autographed picture, personalized for my daughter. We posed for a photo. I was trying to get a 3-year old to smile while standing next to a stranger. We took the pic, shook hands, and walked away. Next thing I now, I'm awakening from a heavy phaser stun in the back of an ambulance and my wallet is missing...no wait, that was another time...don't you hate it when you get phasered and robbed?.....okay, actually, I heard a heavily accented "Excuse me" and turned to see him approaching rapidly behind us. I realized immediately what had happened, and promptly handed over another $20. So now Chekov thinks I'm a crook. Great. I'll put that on a resume some day. I really do feel sorry for it all though, and want to apologize again. He didn't seem like he was enjoying the show. I think there was a lot of Star Wars support and virtually no Star Trek support. Being bi-sci-fi myself, I like them both.
Kurt Busiek!! Great writer. I think he summed up Countdown...or Countdown to Final Crisis...or Countdown to Mediocre Storytelling....or whatever we call it now better than anyone I've heard or read. He pointed out the problems without excess trash-talking. Can't wait for Trinity.
This is getting long, so here's the lightning round: Brinke Stevens: okay, whatever, not for me...Tony Moore: great artist, looked busy....Cheap comics: they were everywhere. good stuff....Star Wars costumes: neat, but I detected a distinct "locker room" odor around some of the stormtroopers...there is a lot more to say, but wandering around the convention center has left me exhausted. Time to kick back with a classic issue of Justice League (only 50 cents!) and relax for a while.
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