2013 in review(even though this blog isn’t currently active)

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 20,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 7 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

 

Check out my new(er) blog jasonvorhees2.wordpress.com .  I haven’t posted there in a while, but I’m hoping to change that soon.

3 Years!!! (2010-2013)

WordPress has just notified me that today is my 3 year anniversary with this blog.  Holy crap!!

Honestly, it doesn’t feel like I’ve been writing for that long.  It has been fun, I have found other blogs with interests similar to mine, and I’ve made many friends along the way.

As I made mention of in my last post, I have basically run out of space for photos on this blog(jasonvorhees2.wordpress.com), so I have started up a new blog that is a continuation of this one.  This blog will remain up, as it’s something I feel that others have enjoyed(myself included), and it will be nice to revisit.  If you have been following me on this blog, please drop by the new blog and give a look.  There is only one post up at the moment, but I will be working on getting more content up in the near future.

Lastly, I would like to thank the many of you who have commented, followed or traded with me from this blog.  I will continue to do what I have been doing for these 3 years, and hope to do it for many more.  🙂

Update

Hey everyone!  I know it has been quite some time, but I finally have some new content up.  I published my first post on my new blog.  You can find it at jasonvorhees2.wordpress.com.  The format is the same, but I still have some work to do to get it looking more like this one.  I wanted it to be a continuation of this blog, rather than a whole new one.  You only get 3GB of storage space on a free WordPress blog, and I was dangerously close to that limit.  If I wanted to add more storage space, I would have to pony up $20 a year, and I would prefer my content to stay up without having to pay a fee every year.  My wife an I are expecting our first child in September, and I am set to start a new job June 10th.  I have been working a later shift since April 1st, as well as interviewing for a better job(which is what I’m starting on the 10th).  So, as you can imagine, I have had very little time to blog, or even check out other blogs, and websites.

But, it looks like things are changing for the better, and I should have some spare time here and there to throw up some posts.  I have missed posting, and coming back to it now has made me realize that it’s kind of therapeutic.

I will get things like a blogroll(some of the ones on this blog will not be on the new one), and categories up soon.  Go check it out, and let me know what you think.  I have a lot of catching up to do, which I have started, but have a long way to go for many of you.

I’m Still Here

Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m still around.  Life has gotten a little hectic, so I haven’t had any time to post.  Also, I’m just about at my limit for data storage on this blog.  I have started up another blog as a continuation of this one, and I’ll be sure to update everyone as to when I have it up and running.

Recent Toy Show Score

Last Sunday was the annual toy show in Albany.  I went last year, and found some pretty good stuff(you can read about it here, here and here).

It’s a small affair, but there are plenty of deals to be had.  There were a few more vendors then there were last year, and about twice as many people in attendance.

Below are my action figure scores.  I also purchased a handful of packs of older trading cards, but that’s for another time, and another blog.

Everything you see above, cost me a total of $16!  Not a bad deal at all!

Lion-O was originally priced at $8, but I was able to get the seller down to $6.  He came with his claw shield, but it looks like one of his eyes could be burnt out.  The seller and I were unable to confirm this, which is why we agreed $6 would be fair.

Snout Spout, Sgt. Bananas and Robocop were purchased in a lot deal for a total of $5.

Snout Spout’s head is incredibly loose, and his legs are very loose at the hips, but I’ve wanted to add him to the collection for a while, so this one will be fine as a placeholder.

Robocop is from the Robocop and The Ultra Police line.  He is missing his gun, but he does have his helmet, which is missing almost all of the time.  If I can find strip caps(is that the right phrasing?), I’m sure the cap-firing action will still work.

Sgt. Bananas is in almost pristine condition, and he’s not a figure I have come across in the wild.  He’s one of the more wild looking figures, and fits my collecting focus for old-school TMNT(which is secondary characters).  The only variant Turtles I’d like at this point, are the cartoon Turtles and the Movie Star Turtles.

And lastly, we have the Cobra Viper from the 1990 G.I. Joe Sonic Fighters line.  This was a steal at $5(there was no need to haggle here), since he is complete.  Not only is he complete, but the batteries were still in the backpack, and the sounds still work!  The sounds are pretty generic, but it’s still a pretty awesome feature.  Had I known that the backpacks still worked, I would have bought the other Sonic Fighters he had(all were only $5, and they were all complete).  This came from the same seller I got Shockwave from, and this guy has great prices, and all of his figures are complete.

Topps Juice Gum Cartons from 1982-1985

This just goes to show you that you can pretty much find anything for sale on Ebay.

This post from Dinosaur Dracula sparked my memory of these.

I only really wanted the Pink Lemonade carton(Pink Lemonade was my favorite, based on taste, and the look of the carton.  Look at it!), but the auction, as it turns out, was for all four.  They are pictured in the order of the years printed on their sides, starting with Grape from 1982, and ending with Orange from 1985.  All four have gum inside, but I am not tempted to eat any of it.  Well maybe I am just a bit curious to see if, at least the Pink Lemonade tastes the way I remember it.

Transformers Generations : Fall of Cybertron – Grimlock

Couldn’t believe that I was able to find this all ready, and locally!

From what I’ve been reading, this was supposed to hit shelves in March.  I checked out a few different places, and my local Wal-Mart was the only place to have Grimlock.  I also saw Soundwave(at K-Mart and Target), Blaster(at Wal-Mart) and SoundBlaster(at Target).

I have been really anticipating the release of this figure.  Grimlock was a figure that eluded me as a kid.  Even the Masterpiece and Animated versions never crossed paths with me.  Being that Grimlock is one of the more popular characters(with good reason), his secondary market prices are pretty high.

I got this at Wal-Mart, and cost me a little less than $25 after all was said and done.

He comes packaged in robot mode, and looks pretty damn good.

The form of the figure looks very good, but leaves a little to be desired when it comes to articulation.

His T-Rex mode is pretty awesome, though he has basically no articulation in this mode.

He does have a few action features, and they definitely enhance playability.

The first is a “CHOMPING JAW!”.  It doesn’t stay open without assistance, so here’s a shot with a piece of mechanical pencil holding the jaw open.

There are pegs on the weapons, which fit into holes on the figure to be stored in this mode.

The second feature is “GLOWING EYES AND MOUTH!”.

My only gripes would be the limited articulation in both modes, and the open chest in T-Rex mode.  Other than that, the figure looks great in both modes, has great playability, and is an overall great value.

Breakdown of Auction Awesomeness!

Finally!

*This is a little long-winded*

In my last post, I showed the video game scores I was able to add to the collection.  For this post, we will see my share of the toys we were able to win.

Literally, we will start off small.

Here we see a couple of dinosaur erasers, a pterodactyl stamper and a generic pterodactyl.  But the real stars of this group are the 2 TMNT mini “sidekicks”.  Pictured above is Fish Stix(who came with Ray Fillet), and Mutant Fly Friend(who came with Napolean Bonafrog).  These Sidekicks are basically accessories for certain figures, and as such were commonly lost.  But they appeal to me, and I am now sort of collecting them.

Three of these are McDonald’s Changeables.  The French fries on the left, and the Quarter Pounder are from the first Changeables series(the first series were robots), while the fries on the right are from the second series(the second series were dinosaurs).  I’ll never pass up ones that I don’t have, and they’ll typically run you 25-50 cents(I’m partial to the robot variety), but expect to pay way more if you decide to look for them on Ebay.

The second toy(the ones that I haven’t already mentioned), is another carton of French fries, but I have no idea what it is from.  It’s stamped 1989 Hallmark Cards, and I have no idea what, or where it’s from.  I would guess that it’s another fast food toy, but I can’t be sure.  Any help identifying it is appreciated.

And now we’ll move onto some larger, more familiar action figures.

Any Ghostbusters I usually find are broken, or extremely played with.  These 2 are from 2 different lines, but I didn’t have an Egon or Peter until now(and they’re the 2 best ones).  Egon is from the Slimed Heroes line, and Peter is from the Fright Features line.  The Fright Features figures were pretty cool(I also have Winston from this line).  You would activate the features by pushing down(the obvious), outstretched arm.  The feature makes their faced go all crazy-cartoony scared.  It’s actually a pretty cool gimmick.

Here is 3 different lines of awesome!  First up is Witterquick from Visionaries.  I already had him, but my previous figure was missing his helmet, as well as a thumb.  Upon closer inspection, you will also notice that his chest hologram is not correct.  His hologram is supposed to be that of a cheetah, not an eagle(?).  The funny thing is that the figure that was previously in my collection also had the incorrect chest hologram(don’t remember what it was, it’s already been passed on).  These figures aren’t exactly common, making it a nice find.

The we have a DC Comics Super Heroes Robin.  It’s basically the same figure as the Robin from the Super Powers line, with a few differences, of which I don’t know the exact specifics.  I would love to get a Batman to accompany him, as he is displayed next to my only Batman figure(it’s from the Nolan trilogy, but I don’t know the exact figure, it was a gift).  The figures from this line I have a few memories of, specifically the black suit Batman with the grappling hook belt(currently looking for one).  Robin’s kick feature works well, and his cape is intact!

Then there’s Steelwill from Silverhawks!  I haven’t crossed paths with a Silverhawks figure since I got Quicksilver back in 1986.  When I found this guy, he was missing an arm, but it was included, and an easy fix.  The action feature works well, and although worn, it still displays pretty nice.

And the hits just keep on coming!

I never thought that I would ever be able to find and purchase Rock Lords somewhere other than Ebay.  On the right is Boulder, and on the left is Magmar(I know that there is also a Pokémon with this same name).  What’s pretty neat that these two just happen to be the leaders of the respective good and evil Rock Lords.  I was pretty amped to find ’em!

Lock Lips is the star of this group(and maybe of all the figures found).  Madballs are hard enough to come by, so Never in a million years did I ever think that I would come across any of the head-pooping action figures.  It’s feature works very well, and the figure itself is in pretty nice condition.

The Masters of the Universe knock-off only has MACAU printed on the side of one of the legs.  I have nothing else on it.

And rounding out the trio is a Rambo figure.  I had a few of these when I was a kid, and while nice, I’m actually indifferent with this one.  At least he’s wearing his trademark bandana.

The following all came ion the lot with the TMNT Sewer Playset(as well as other figures and accessories), and we got it all for $25!!  Insane!

I thought that it was pretty awesome to fins the Tiger Force “Tiger Shark”.  We have Tiger Force Recondo, and Tiger Force Frostbite.  Destro is the second version of the figure, and is a fine addition to the Joe collection.  The Tiger Sharks stickers all seem to be there and are in great shape.  I wouldn’t mind adding a couple more of the vehicles from this line in the future.

And obviously, there were TMNT figures to be had.  There were a pretty decent number of figures, and I needed these.

Ray Fillet’s accessories(including Fish Stix), are accounted for.  Tokka’s fingers are chewed on the left hand, but now Rahzar has his partner.  He’s basically Slash, and I’d compare, but mySlash fell ofo of his shelf, and his head broke off(can’t be fixed).  Panda Khan had a few accessories in the mix.  There were a lot of accessories in the lots, and a good amount of them actually went to the figures in the lot.  There were also weapons and accessories for figures that weren’t in the lot.  Almost everything that goes with Mutagen Man was present, except Mutagen Man himself.  But considering the amazing luck we had at this auction, I have zero room to complain about a figure not being there.  But I now have the small, easily-lost parts for the Mutagen Man I will eventually add.

The Party Wagon is in pretty good shape, with a few flaws.  The side mirrors have been chewed and mangled, as has the radar on the, windshield shield?  You know what I mean.

It’s missing on of the Foot Bombs, and that’s about all that’s wrong with it.  Maybe I can do a comparison post of this and the 25th Anniversary Party Wagon.

And that’s what stayed with me!  I sure hope future auctions yield similar lots.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Teaser

I decided that I wanted to do a single post to showcase the toys I acquired from the auction last weekend.  The pictures have been taken, but I just haven’t been able to write the post to accompany them.

But I did realize that I didn’t take any pictures of the video game stuff I was able to add to the collection.

There wasn’t much, as I didn’t need most of it(Dean needed everything though).  But there were a few things that I didn’t have.

A lot of decent pretty good games came in this lot, and all but Tetris had their manuals included.  What you see above is my take from the lot.  I put batteries in the Game Boy, but unfortunately, I couldn’t get it to power up.  For the most part, the GB is pretty clean, but there looks to be a little bit of corrosion on part of the battery connections(?).  For $15, it was worth the chance.  But we got more than our money’s worth with the games and manuals(not to mention the carrying case), that came with the Game Boy.

Hopefully, I will be able to get the toys up in the next day or 2.  There is a lot of great stuff, and I’m excited to give them their due.

Amazing Auction Score!

Yesterday my friend Dean and I went to an auction he was alerted to a few days earlier.  He was told that there would be items of interest at said auction(toys).  He told me about it on Saturday, and I immediately agreed to go.

The TMNT Sewer Playset went with Dean, as that was the highlight of the whole auction for him.  It’s missing 3 small pieces, which I do not think will be too much trouble to find second-hand.  And the real kicker??  The playset(which looked great when it was assembled correctly, and we snapped a few things in place), which also included the Party Wagon, the G.I. Joe vehicle, the TMNT Foot skier(not sure of the exact name at the moment), as well as other odds and ends was sold to us at the final price of $25!!!  Most of the other stuff in the photo below(click on it to see everything bigger) came in a huge action figure lot, and a small Game Boy lot.

We divvied up the loot, and both sides are happy.  There were some things that I would have liked to have, but there was so much, that I just don’t have the room for everything I want for the collection, so I had to temporarily pass on them.  My pile is to the left, and it includes the Party Wagon.  Expect to see what’s in the pile in the comings weeks(lots of stuff).  Some great additions, and definitely a few surprises.