Random Quickie #5 – 1984 G1 Megatron Instruction Manual

“Instruction Booklet” would be a more correct term.  But anyway.  We’ll take a look back to how even instruction manuals in the eighties were cool.

If you’ve read any of my Transformers reviews, you know that I feel the instruction manuals are pretty much useless.  But, back in the eighties, the manuals were a lot more pleasing to the eye.  Check this out.

I got this in a trade a couple of months ago, from Brian over at Cool and Collected.  I love Transformers, but I wanted this booklet for a more sentimental reason.  Megatron was my first ever Transformer.  Actually, my younger brother and I both received our own Megatrons on Christmas eve of  ’84 or ’85.  It’ll be a while before I’m able to score the figure on the secondary market(complete versions sell for $80+), but this is pretty cool for now.

Oh!  One other thing.  These old manuals use diagrams from the figures themselves, and look to be somewhat informative to the transformation process.

Random Quickie #4-MAD No.279 June 1988

I will let it be known that I am a long time fan of MAD magazine.  I was first introduced to the magazine by my dad, and have been periodically reading it ever since then.  I remember going grocery shopping every Saturday, mostly at Shop-Rite, with my dad and step-mom.  One day when I was 9 years old, my dad decided to buy the latest issues of Mad magazine and Cracked.  This became a ritual every month when the new issues hit the stands.  Which brings us to today’s Random Quickie.

This is that first issue that I read(not the exact issue, that got traded a long time ago).  I always remembered it because of the scratch and sniff cover, and any time I would think about my dad, I thought of this issue.  I found this copy on Ebay a couple of years ago, and it’s the cornerstone of my MAD collection.  My dad passed away 14 years ago, so this is nice reminder of the influence he had on me, and the good times we had together.  This one’s for you pop.

Random Quickie #3- 1990 TMNT Postcard from Branded in the 80s

Wow!  Really?!  This is the third straight day I’m posting something, and it’s my fourth post in those three days!  It’s actually quite refreshing.  I hope I can keep up this momentum.

So last week, Shawn over at Branded in the 80s, posted about a book of TMNT postcards(from 1990), that he had come into his possession.  He stated that he wanted to use these postcards for their intended purpose, and mail them to the first 24 people that responded.  I’m a huge TMNT fan, and this was an item that was right up my alley.  Before we go any further…if you haven’t checked out Branded in the 80s, please do so now(or after you finish reading this).

I love getting mail(and this is the first piece of mail that I’ve received from Georgia).  As Shawn said on the back of the postcard, “this postcard has finally fullfilled it’s postcard destiny!”.  While these are officially licensed, the artwork is different from the usual licensed stuff.  No matter, I think Mikey looks decent.

I love the way his tongue is sticking out, looking over his shoulder.  Like there’s a delicious pizza pie behind him.  Mikey’s my second favorite Turtle.  When the cartoon first aired, Michaelangelo was initially my favorite,but Donatello has held my number one spot for more than 20 years since then.

I just had to show the back, so you know that this is legitimate(and plus, who doesn’t like more pictures).  Thanks again Shawn, this is one of the coolest pieces of mail that I have ever received!

Random Quickie #2 – The Official Nintendo Video Game Stick-Ons

As you may or may not know, I am a huge Nintendo fan.  Let me rephrase that.  I am a huge fan of Nintendo during the days of the NES.  Which is to say that I will buy pretty much anything from the 80’s that is related to Nintendo.  Back when the Nintendo Entertainment System was king of the mountain, there was very little that you could find without Nintendo branding.  Which is where today’s piece comes into the picture.  These stickers were one of the first things I purchased off of Ebay(2007).  If memory serves me correctly, these came from Hawaii and ran me less than $5.00, shipping included.  The one pictured below is one of a few different assortments that were released.

The games depicted on the stickers are classics.  The only one I believe that is missing from this assortment, that I’ve seen in others, is Rad Racer.  I’ll end this here, but I will give you another scan of the reverse side of the package.  Look at all of their suggestions for “Fun things to do with stickers”.  Only in the 80’s.

Random Quickie #1 – Bowen Designs Mini-Bust : Apocalypse

I wanted to have this post up on Friday, but I have been fighting a bad cold for the past couple of days.  For the first post in this ongoing series, I decided to go with something that is not a toy, but a work of art.

I bought this mini-bust at Midtown Comics sometime in 2000 or 2001.  I used to visit Midtown Comics every week to get my comic fix.  Well, one day I went in and checked out all the mini-busts and statues that they had in a glass case.  Apocalypse, being my all time favorite villain, caught my eye quite quickly.  Not being one to spend a large amount of money on a single item, I perused the rest of the store, to give me some time to think it over.  A short time later, I approached the counter with a few comics, and was asked, “Can I help you with anything else?”.  I replied with something like, “Yes.  I would like one of those mini-busts in the case over here.”.  Ten or so years later, I still think the $55.00 I spent on it was well worth it.

And for those wondering, this is numbered 1993 of 5000.