Logged on for one reason.

WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING?

All it says is "Lego Group"

That's right, it's a halloween mask that says "Lego Group" on it.  I have it for sale up on ebay right now, but wanted to throw it on here for archiving.

Seriously?  A Lego Halloween mask?  BY LEGO?

 

10 Ideas for Finding Toys at Garage Sales

How I do what I do - finding old toys at flea markets and garage sales. 

For about 10 years I have been hitting up garage sales and flea markets.  About 90% of my collection was probably found this way, which means it has been a substantially lower cost (though more time) than just trolling ebay for what I want.  There are probably a few items (like the more rare Super Powers figures) that I likely will never find at a garage sale, but I can live with that. 

1. Know your town.  Primarily where I make the best finds is at the areas of town where people my parents' age live.  If you are looking for your childhood-era finds, you are probably not heading to the new parts of town.
2. Friday mornings.  I go as many Saturdays as I can, but my best finds have always been going to a garage sale on my way to work on a Friday morning.  I leave a little early and see what pops up.
3. Ask.  Again, asking if anyone has old toys to sell is excellent.  My BEST finds at garage sales happened this way.  Occasionally someone will have something they have not brought out yet or have not thought about selling.
4. Random toy bins/boxes.  Root through these as much as possible, all the way to the bottom.  Best bang for your buck.
5. Bring $1 dollar bills and small change.  This is more of a courtesy tip than anything else.  When you are the first to show at a garage sale or an early bird at a flea market, nothing says "jerkface" more than dropping a $20 on a $1 item.
6. Alternate routes.  Don't take the same way home that you came - unless you have to go miles out of your way, take a slightly different route back home if you have time.  You may see another sale.
7. Show up early.  If you don't, the other toy guys are likely to have gotten there first.
8. Know your values.  Don't be afraid to walk away.  Know what something sells for on ebay (the "advanced search" option lets you see what things actually sell for).
9. Haggle.  At garage sales in particular, people are often looking to get rid of stuff.  Unless something is obviously low enough, don't be afraid to ask.
10. Know your capacity.  Budget for garage sales and know how much space you have.  There have been a couple of times where I scored some major finds, but did not have the room to keep them around.  My money for garage sales tends to be the cash I got from selling at the flea market, so I rarely have to go to the ATM - which means it can stay out of my household budget.

If you have any other ideas, complaints, or snide remarks, feel free to post.  I'm all ears for new ideas and such.

'Twas a cold day at the flea market today.  A few random bits, some of which need to be cleaned up.

I am going to be posting my most recent garage sale finds as well.

Gundam stuff.  Not a collector, but NEAT.

Zoids, I think.  Again, just neat animal robots.

Yay Joes and Star Wars!

So, well, yeah, life.  Here's some interesting bits that I have found in the past few months.

Odious Ogre - a PVC Dungeons and Dragons figure.  UGLY sucker.  But, if you're playing, probably serves as a good addition when your adventurers need to be in over their head.

This thing was WEIRD.  Mid-90s Transformers knockoff.  Well-made, couldn't quite figure out what it was.  Almost hated parting with it, but some of these kids at the flea market...and I had made my fortune on the other Transformers I sold...

Yeah, yeah, been a while, blah, blah.

Came across this little gem lately.  Not sure what it is.

It's some sort of Wonder Woman figure, mad similar to your standard army guys, just a little bigger.  No markings or anything.  I've run across a popular line from the 70s of Marx Marvel figures in a bigger scale with a base, but that's the closest thing I can think of.  I don't think that it's a gaming piece, as those usually have bases as well.

I dunno.  Nifty, though.

Yes, I know that it's been a while, but life has been busy.  I HAVE picked up a few occasional bits and pieces here and there, though.

First is this beauty.

It's tagged as "1995 Toy State Industrial, Inc."  The best I can tell, it's sort of Chinese company which has a few licenses (like Caterpillar).  This was a generic attempt in the 1990s during that figure boom.  I have yet to see any packaging.

And this car is SPECTACULAR in the oddest sense of the term.

It's the LOUDEST toy of just about any that I have ever seen, blaring alerts like "DEFCON FOUR" and flashing a tremendous amount of lights and such.  The gatling gun on the front rotates as well.

The large gun on the side raises and lowers by hand, and it probably had a missile that shot out at one point.

It's solid in construction, but has one glaring fault.

 GI Joe-size figures, like the 1980s CORPS figure above, do not fit.  By MILLIMETERS.  A MINOR design change and it's perfect.

Over at www.Joecustoms.com, we christened it the Sky Force Chromey Futurecar, and the name is a good fit.

Anyway, there you go.  Generic oddities abound.

My Top Ten favorite diecast cars my in my son's toy box

Okay, I admit it.  I REALLY like to play with my son when he plays with his toys.  It's part of the reason I wanted a son in the first place, I think.  He has a small box full of Matchbox, Hot Wheels, and a few other brands that I picked up in good condition at yard sales and flea markets   He has his favorites (mostly trucks with larger wheels and his Lightning McQueen stuff), but seems to enjoy the quantity.

Here are my ten favorites in his box, in no particular order.

1. Matchbox Superfast Dump Truck #58 FAUN.  1976.

He's got two of these.  Nice large bed, solid construction, just an overall good design for a dump truck.  The bed practically stands vertical when dumping.

2. Matchbox Superfast Green Planet Scout #59

Another fun design from Matchbox.  Good solid car, and I have always enjoyed space and sci-fi themes.

3. Maisto GI Joe Jeep.

 I've never been big on Maisto cars - their larger stuff is better, but the Hot Wheels-sized vehicles tend to look good but have poor quality.  Their GI Joe collection is a little bit better made.  The wheels have a little "give" to them, and though it does not roll all that well, it's a fun, authentic design.

4. Hot Wheels Baja Breaker van - 1978.

 I had a green one as a kid, and found this to be my favorite diecast van design.  High wheels, a hood that opens, and an overall fun design.  I just picked up a later orange one at a flea market.

5. Ertl Ford F-350 Service Truck.

 Just a fun truck with solid construction by ERTL.  There are not too many like this one out there, particularly in details. 

6. Matchbox Ruff Trek - 1983

A modified Subaru pickup.  A tan truck which was actually one of my favorites as a kid as well.  Lots of nifty details.

7. Hot Wheels Torino Stocker - 1982 "The Hot Ones."

Another one I found in mint condition at a flea market.  Good, clean lines and fun paint.

8. Majorette Explorateur

It's missing a cover, but Majorette made some quality, well-built cars in the past.  This is a neat safari off-roader with some guys in the back and some nice detail.

9. Matchbox Rolomatics Badger - 1976.

A hefty little truck with a rotating satellite dish.  Matchbox tended to make broader vehicles than Hot Wheels, and this one came out nice.

10. Majorette Jeep Grand Cherokee

Another solid nice off-roader from Majorette.  The tailgate also opens up with some sort of critter in the back.

BONUS 11: Matchbox Convoy NASA Peterbilt Tracking Vehicle

I'd get in trouble if I started hanging on to some of the NASA diecast stuff I come across, but I hung onto this one.  A fun tracking trailer and truck.  Matchbox made several nifty vehicles with NASA themes in the 1980s, when Space Shuttles were still cool.

Anyway, there it is - my son loves cars, and it has created a little more of an enjoyment that I had as well.

Latest Haul

Good stuff this past weekend.

The wrestler-looking guy on the left is a "Weird Ball G.R.U.N.T. Team Spitball Louie" figure.  MIP the things go for $100+.  I'll just say that that one figure will pay for everything else in the picture.  The line is birthed out of the madballs craze back in the 1980s.

Some of the other figures look like He-man knockoffs.  That's because they are.  REMCO made some pretty good ones, and then some other companies got similar molds and started making similar figures for dollar stores back in the 1980s.  Many are wrestling-themed.  The Action Figure Archive has probably the best current archive, with a bunch more discussed on the forums.

The purple guy is an incomplete "Auger" figure from Inhumanoids, a wholly underrated line with some neat monster figures.

The white guy with horns and yellow bee are The White Knight and Meuton from the Blackstar figure line.  They're okay - the line does have some devotees, as it's more or less a He-man knockoff line in its own right with decent figures.

The red dune buggy in the middle I grabbed because it is specifically tagged as being "Made in West Germany."  Well-made little buggy, too.

Those hot wheels from the 1980s are in VERY good shape.  I target the Stingray Corvettes specifically for my personal collection.

That's all for now.  Good hunting!

New Article up on Toybiz Marvel Super Heroes of the 90s...

New Article up.  I'll be trying for more...

Toybiz Marvel Super Heroes