Yard Sale Finds #11, and…

It seems like that time of the year is upon us.  The time when the weather’s warm, and you need any excuse not to be in the house.  It’s late spring, and it is now, yard sale season.

There were quite a few sales in my surrounding area.  But I didn’t find a whole lot that caught my interest.  I did find some neat stuff though.

First is this freebie.

This was unmarked at one seller’s table.  And when I inquired about the price, she told me I could have it for nothing!

Another angle.

I’m not sure when this promotion ran at McDonald’s, but the last copyright date on the glass is 1965.  Anybody know?

There were tons of vhs and dvd’s available, but they were either horribly overpriced(and some in pretty rough shape), or they just weren’t very desirable.  That being said, I did manage to find a few that peaked my interest.

I am a New York Rangers fan, and these dvds peaked my curiosity, as I’ve never seen anything like these.   One is a random Rangers game from 2009 against the Washington Capitals.  And the second is a National Hockey League “Rule Enforcement” dvd for the 2008-2009 season.  I’ll try to find out some further info on these.

The vhs tape is The Trolls and the Christmas Express.  From what is depicted on the case, this movie seems very familiar.  The animation is unique, and I’d love this to be another holiday movie I can watch during the season.  For 25 cents, there wasn’t much risk.

And video games.

(not pictured : The Genesis controller that I got for free.)

Typically, I wouldn’t buy a carrying case for a handheld system, unless it’s one for the old-school Game Boys.  But, the case that I keep all of my Game Boy games in, it getting crowded and I could use the room.  I can use the case to primarily house my original Game Boy games, while the carrying case can hold the “SP” itself, as well as many games as I can fit.  50 cents well spent!

I went to the sales with my buddy Mike, and like me, he collects NES games(although not on the same scale as I do).  At the first sale we hit, I found the 2 games pictured, in a spot he had just looked at.  He couldn’t believe that he passed right by them.  They’re nothing special, but a great find at $1 a piece.  I have never learned how to play Othello, but it’s a great addition, nonetheless.  The other cart is Flying Dragon : The Secret Scroll(it says this on the top part of the label, while the face says it’s The Secret Scroll : Flying Dragon.).  I have never played this one either, but I have never come across it before, so I hope it’s decent.

Also, Lilo & Stitch for PS1.  I don’t know if the game itself is any good, but a PS1 game for 50 cents is hard to leave behind.  🙂

Now, as you can see, I didn’t find any toys!  That’s the bad news.  The good news, is that I did get all of my Ebay purchases in the mail.  So we’ll take a look at one of those.

G1 Cosmos!!  Cosmos has long been my favorite of the little Transformers.  How could you not love a transforming U.F.O.?  His alt mode is a very classic looking flying saucer.  He cost me a total of $7, but $4.50 of that was for shipping.  But he also came with his Tech Specs, so that’s not too bad.  It’s always nice when I get the opportunity to add another G1 figure to my collection.

I did get a few other things.  The other items are all MISB.  My question is…should I do individual posts?  Or, do I showcase them in a single post?  There a re a total of 3 items.  But 2 of them are related, and have to be written about together.  So, I’ll let you guys choose.  If I don’t get any votes, I’ll see how I want to go about this.

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers – Holy Grails and White Whales

The League of Extraordinary Bloggers is a project that Brian from Cool and Collected started about 2 months ago(for those of you who are not familiar with this, click here for the scoop).  The topic this week is, as stated in this post’s title, Holy Grails and White Whales.

While I could go on and on with stuff I would love to get, the idea is what would we most like to find, and be able to take home with us.  There’s got to be  something that has eluded you, that you think you may never get, or get the opportunity for a chance at.  There are a few things that instantly came to mind.

I collect video games, among other things, so that’s where we’ll start.

What you see above is the very definition of Holy Grail, when it comes to the Nintendo Entertainment System.

I have many fond memories attached to the NES, which is probably why I have so much interest in the system itself.  I collect games for quite a few consoles,  but I have more NES games than all of my other consoles combined(200+).  If you are not familiar with the story behind these cartridges, I’ll give you a little history.

In 1990, Nintendo held a video game championship across the country(not unlike the one in the movie The Wizard).  There were competitions in cities across the nation, looking for the best Nintendo player in that city.  Then the “best” players from each age group would play against each other in the finals of the tournament to determine the winner.  I’m not sure just how these were distributed, but I do know that some went to the champions and finalists, and some were given away in a Nintendo Power contest.  There are only 90 of the gray cartridges, and just 26 copies of the gold one.

The games contained within are Super Mario Brothers(get 50 coins), Rad Racer(complete the first course), and Tetris(get the highest score you can).  There is a dipswitch on the outside of the cart, that you can use to adjust the amount of time to play.  Even though all the games are pretty common, the cartridges are not.  This is something I’m pretty sure I will never own, but it’s nice to dream of finding it a at a garage sale or flea market.

And there are a few toys that came to mind as well.  Now, there are a lot(tons), of toys that I would love to add to my collection.  There are plenty of lines that I collect, and others that I would like to collect.  But there is one line that stands above the rest, and that’s Transformers.  Or more specifically, Generation 1 Transformers.

The first of the two?

Transformers and I go way back.  My brother and I received our first Transformers on the Christmas of 1984 or 1985.  We got one each, and they were both Megatron.  Megatron is high on my want list, but Ultra Magnus is just a little more important to me.  You see, when I saw Transformers the Movie back in 1987, Ultra Magnus quickly became my new Favorite Transformer.  My older brother ended up getting it for me, I believe, for my 9th birthday in 1988.  For some reason I didn’t have it very long.  My stepmother, took him away for some reason(probably jealous that my younger brother didn’t have one), and I never saw him again.  I’m sure I probably cried my eyes out, because I really wanted that toy, and really loved it for the short time that I had it.  So, maybe, finally getting him again may give me some closure.

And the one I wanted, but never got.

Soundwave, is perhaps the coolest looking Transformer in robot mode(and a little dated in alt mode).  I knew a few kids who had this guy, and boy, did I want it!  There were quite a few times I would pick out cassette 2-packs(for Soundwave or Blaster), when we would ask if we could get a toy(you know what I’m talking about).  I have had a few chances to pick this guy up, but at the time(s), I just didn’t have the $40-$50 to spare.  But that may all change when the toy show comes to town on April 22!

Check out what has eluded Reis over at Lair of the Dork Horde.

Brian talks about the item he would love to add to his ever-growing King Kong collection over at Cool and Collected.

And Tim searches for “The Non-Existent” over at Flashlights are Something to Eat.

Transformers Generations : Sergeant Kup

I got this figure last August at my local Wal-Mart.  At the time of it’s purchase, it was the first one I had seen locally.  But if you find any of the Generations figures in stores now, Sgt. Kup here is usually in the mix.

Now, while I’m a huge fan of G1 Transformers, I find Kup’s vehicle mode to be a nice upgrade compared to his original look.

While it looks nice, for some reason it seemed small to me(hence the quarters for comparison).  Maybe it because it’s a pickup truck, and not a car?  I especially like the clear plastic that makes up the tail lights(not shown).  Hasbro also did a great job in concealing his blaster when in vehicle mode(when he’s on his wheels that is).

And of course I think he looks awesome in robot mode.  If you’re around my age, I’m sure you remember Kup as a grizzled veteran with a fondness for telling old war stories.  And I’m happy to report that his face still conveys that G1 feel.  Plus, with the upgraded body, he looks even better.

As with all of the other Generations figures I’ve purchased, I find this to be a nice figure.  I would like to display all of my Generations figures in the same area, so it looks like some of my other Transformers are going to have to be swapped out, as room is at a premium right now.  I’ll try to get a group shot of my Generations figures up in a day of so(after I get them all together).

Cybertronian Soundwave

I’ve been sitting on this for a little while.  Obviously.

I have a backlog of toys that need to be opened and reviewed.  Out of the six or so Transformers I have on deck, this is the one I was most anxious to get to.  Soundwave here, like a few others, is in his Cybertronian mode(like the others, I believe this is based on the version in “The War for Cybertron” video game).

And he looks freakin’ sweet!

While in robot mode, he is reminiscent to his G1 look.  But in his alternate mode, that’s not the case.  Just look.

It does look pretty intimidating.  If I didn’t know that this was a Transformer, I would think that it was a retooled Thundertank(which is awesome).  This isn’t as iconic as his G1 walkman mode, but it’s still very cool.  As is this…

His gun and shoulder cannon can be stored behind his chest/windshield.   Very cool indeed.

I rounded up the rest of my Soundwaves for a group shot, just because I thought it would be fun.  But I’ll let you be the judge.

 

 

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.

Yard Sale Finds #8 and Some Other Stuff

While this weekend wasn’t all that great for yard/garage-saling, it was a nice end to an awesome week.

Earlier this week, a co-worker brought me this.

On a break at work, we had gotten on the topic of video games.  Long story short, I was given what you see above.  It’s an Atari 2600, 2 joysticks(I know they’re not the original ones), and 11 games.  The games are, Grand Prix, Centipede, Q-Bert, Donkey Kong Jr., Ms. Pac-Man, Missile Command, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Battlezone, Mouse Trap and Defender.  90% of the games are classics!  We’ve been doing some cleaning out and rearranging stuff at my place, so I haven’t been able to play any of them yet.  I’m looking forward to playing the god-awful Pac-Man port for this system.  The Atari 2600 was the first home console I had ever played.  It’s reign came to an end when the NES came into my life somewhere around 1985-86.

Yesterday we decided to hit the road and look for garage sales.  There were a few quick showers in the early afternoon, and that may have been why we didn’t see many sales.  At the sales we were able to find, the wares were plentiful, but of no interest to me.  The upside was, I didn’t spend much.

Everything pictured came to a grand total of $2.25.  I bought Sorry! for a few reasons.  I don’t know how old the one I had growing up was, but this one (1972) looks just like it.  And secondly because it’s a fun game to play.  The Snoopy book was 50 cents, but it’s classic Snoopy.  I found the awesome little Batman at a church sale for 25 cents!  The colors look great, the sculpt is fun, and best of all, he has a cloth cape!  The Santa Clause is a Hallmark Holiday Magic ornament that plugs into a light strand an lights up.  It looks pretty neat, and if it works, the 50 cents I paid was a hell of a deal!  There’s one other thing I want to mention about Sorry!, and that is that this particular ones game tokens look like they’ve barely been used.

What really sealed the deal of this being an awesome week, is what we’ll be looking at next.

It’s been said that good things come to those who wait.  I’ve been really patient.  And that patience finally paid off!

🙂  🙂  🙂  🙂  🙂  🙂  🙂

Our plan for yesterday was to look for garage sales in areas that are a little further from where we live.  Going outside of our local area adds a newness to the hunt.  Different people with different stuff.  While the area was new to us for yard sales, we were familiar with the area.  I found Wheeljack in this area’s Wal-Mart.  I wish my local Wal-Mart had the toy selection I saw yesterday.  I will be making subsequent trips to this store.

There was an incredible selection of Transformers, and there were 2 of these left.  I have been looking for this figure for months!  I checked many stores with no luck.  On Amazon and Ebay, this guy is selling for over $25.00!  That’s ridiculous for a new toy, and I refuse to pay an inflated price for an imaginary premium.

The head sculpt looks better than the G1 Wheeljack, and the body of the alt-mode had to be modified for legal reasons.  Still, it looks great, and is my favorite in the Generations line thus far.  The funny thing is that the instructions were actually helpful with the transformation(this is a first).  Wheeljack looks great in either mode.  His car design is sporty and sleek.

It looks just as nice as the original.  In robot mode, the head sculpt looks exactly like he did in the G1 cartoon.  His G1 counterpart is a great toy, but the head just isn’t right.  This one improves on the original, without taking away anything.

Even though I got him after almost everyone else did, I’m still happy to own this.  This gets a 10 out of 10 in my book.  Congrats to Hasbro, for getting this one right!

I have some great stuff in the pipeline, and if I can learn how update a little less erratically, we’ll see see it in the coming days.  Wish me luck!

Jboypacman is the Epitome of Awesome!!

Today, I was expecting a package from Ebay, and was pleasantly surprised to also find a package from Jboypacman(see his blogs here and here).  I originally planned on doing a quick post of the little item from Ebay, but the contents of the box Jboy sent, totally eclipses it!  I was expecting the package…I just wasn’t expecting a toy lot of this size.  I’ll let the following photo do the talking.

So much awesome was packed into that box!  I broke it up into a few pictures, so we can get a better look at my Christmas in March.  We’ll start with Lt. Ripley(with face hugger) from Kenner’s 1992 Aliens line, Iron Man from Hasbro’s Marvel Universe line, a T-700 from the Terminator:Salvation line and Dr. Claw and MAD Cat from Tiger’s 1992 Inspector Gadget line.

And that’s just the beginning!  As you know, I’m a huge TMNT fan, and Jboy sent me not only a Raph PEZ dispenser, but he also sent 4 Turtle figures.  Three of which I didn’t have!!  We have Wacky Action Michaelangelo, 1988 Raphael(hard head), one that I believe is a Wacky Action Leonardo(I thought he was the only one without a Wacky Action figure, but I could be wrong), and a Leonardo figure(with arm action at the press of a button) from 2004.  Looks like I’ll be ordering more pizza.  🙂

But, wait there’s more!  He sent 4 sweet Transformers!  First, There’s Electrostatic Soundwave, with Ratbat.  Then there’s Decepticon Bludgeon(I just bought one this past weekend!  Now I’ll have one MIB).  Standing next to Decepticon Bludgoen(damn copyrights), is Tracks(1984 Takara).  And lastly we have Snapdragon, who is a 1987 Headmaster(missing his nebulan component, Krunk).  He also sent a Thor comic book that I forgot to photograph.

As I said when I opened the package, WOW!  Thanks again Jboy!  You put a big smile on this big kid’s face!  🙂

On a closing note, here’s what I got from Ebay.

It’s Cool Cat from the Puppetland Band, you may remember from Pee Wee’s Playhouse!  I would like to get Chicky Baby and Dirty Dog as well.  These guys don’t come up loose, often.  Pee Wee’s Playhouse is one of my absolute favorite toy lines, which explains why I paid $4.69 + shipping for this little guy(I wasn’t losing this time!).

I still have a bunch more stuff to talk about this week(as well as some packages on the way).  I’ll get another post up in a few days.  With the exception Cool Cat, Tracks is my favorite addition to the collection.  Which figure is your favorite?