Something Old, Something New...

Way before the holidays, okay about two weeks before Christmas 2008, I found a rather reasonable auction on ebay for a long lost friend of mine. I won the auction without a minute to spare, and got away with a rather nice example of a classic GI Joe, Bazooka. My original Bazooka was the victim of a senseless war back in the mid eighties. My son and nephew were given some Joes to play with on a rainy day and an hour later only two survived out of about twenty. That's all water under the bridge, I need to let it go I'm told (though I will never let the Bossk Encounter go, I will be reminding you both of that every chance I get, family get togethers, birthdays, weddings...)



Best part about this figure is that seventies, adult industry mustache. That is one nice stache. That and where else besides a Top Secret Military Covert Operations Team can you get away with wearing a Football Jersey with your fatigues. Come to think of it, this is probably the reason I found my original split in two, he wasn't wearing effective camouflage.



Now for the new! At first glance the guy sneaking up behind Bazooka looks just like any other vintage GI Joe, Beachhead to be exact. You know Beachhead is my all time favorite Joe, I'm surprised that he has not made it into the blog before this. This Beachhead was a "dollar store" exclusive, if they can have exclusives. He came as is, sans weapons, on a much smaller card, and he was more than a dollar, actually three total. By today's standards I guess that's cheap considering that a 3-3/4" Spider-man goes for almost nine to ten bucks. Ole' Beachhead was released in 2008 with several other re cast and re painted Joes and Cobras, but he was one of the only ones to use the vintage mold. The others used the more updated versions of the characters from early 2000.



I wonder why they decided to use this mold, not that I am not happy they did, just curious. I still have a complete Beachhead, he survived the Nursery Room Massacre, and as soon as I find what tote I put him in he will be making an appearance on Eclectorama, till then Vintage Bazooka will just have to hang with this version.



I wonder if I should start a vintage GI Joe Tally? What about the newer vintage looking figures that are obviously new, but look vintage???

How about Classic Style:
GI Joe: 2
Cobra: 0

It's been a long time coming...

Okay so I've been out a while, this is what I like to call "Catalog Season". The company only does one catalog a year (though this year we actually did two) and most designers know that a catalog is a lot of work, not a big deal, just a lot of work. Now not to sound like I'm whining or anything, but I have to shoot the entire thing, process the images, do any illustrations, lay it out and then get it ready to print. This year I was behind due to some other projects so the time I usually take to lay it out was cut in half... anyway now it's done and I'm going to try to get back up to speed on the ole' blog. So I thought I would start with a heavy hitter, at least in my book. A new member of the Eclectorama Collection none other than...



Wait for it...



Wait for it...







MEGO IRON MAN!!!!

I have been wanting a Mego Iron Man since I was little. I remember seeing his picture on a box or on a store display when I was just a lad. I knew Mego Spidey and Mego Captain America needed this guy too. I was so confident that I would get him one day that I would tell my friends that their Megos were in trouble when he finally arrives. Which goes to show you don't count your Megos before they are bought.

So fast forward to 2008, some thirty plus years later and I finished a large freelance project and was eyeing that Hot Toys Bank Robber Joker, when this guy flew across my radar. So the Joker had to wait for another day as I set to watching Iron Britches on Ebay. I waited and waited for what seemed like forever and when the time was right I struck and low and behold I was the new owner of a Mego Iron Man!



Now my Mego readers will have to tell me if he looks original or not, I always have my suspicions, but he looks pretty damn close to original to me and I don't think I would like him any less if there were some reproduction parts on him. I tell you Mego Iron Man is one of the end all be all Iron Man figures and he has a permanent place on my desk and my collection, always in sight. I'll probably be buried with him!



So look out Bobo, Randy, and Snuffy. I finally have my Iron Man and I will be looking you guys up for some battles, Muhahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Man I hope they still have their Megos, that would be awkward...

Coffee Shop Spock (or a Tale of Two Spocks)

Well Ebay strikes again! I was after the 1998 Playmates 9" Mirror Mirror Spock and ended up with the 1997 Playmates 9" City on the Edge of Forever Mr. Spock as well. Both of these were KB Toys Exclusives at their time, but now they are a good example of how modern toys do not hold their value that well. Once, these would be about 35 to 45 bucks each (and some sellers are still trying to get that for them) but now both can be had for less than what they retailed for.



The Mirror Mirror Spock, or Evil Spock, is one of my favorites. You may remember an earlier post where I won the regular action figure of this character. Well I knew once I saw that this guy was going for such a decent price I needed to throw my hat into the ring. I thought I would try a little diversion in that the seller had the second Spock up for bid as well and the same bidder was bidding on both, plus the second was ending two minutes before the Evil Spock and it had a little more interest as there were several bidders. I immediately dropped a bid on the second Spock, or as I like to call him Coffee Shop Spock, cause he looks like he's dressed for a little action at the local Star Fleet Bucks. My thinking was that the two bidders already there would be distracted enough that I could bid on the Evil Spock and not be hassled by a bid war. Well my plan sort of back fired because not only did I get Evil Spock, but his buddy Coffee Shop Spock came along for the ride.



Still I made out paying less for both of these with shipping than if I would have picked them both up at the store back in the 90's, so not really a bad deal. A bonus is that Coffee Shop Spock is sort of growing on me. I'm thinking of crafting him a easy chair and side table in some mod colors, trade in his phaser, tricoder, and communicator for an iPod, Laptop, and Mobile Phone, then serve him up a danish and a nice espresso.

Coffee Shop Spock will be kicking it in style on the ole' desk, until that ass, Evil Spock, comes along and knocks over his espresso and eats his danish.

Seductress, thy name is Ebay!

Why do I find myself searching for treasures online? I tried selling stuff on Ebay, but ended up using most the money to buy something else that I wanted more. Hello my name is Charles and I'm an Auctionholic.

Anyway here's a pic of the latest "find" on Ebay. Now most people go on the bay and buy that item they longed for no matter what the price. I do a have a rule that I tend to follow. Get it at a deal! If the market demands 40 bucks for an item, I want it at 10. With a little patience you can eventually find a bargain (or what I as a collector would call a bargain, the normal person would call it junk).

So with that said here's my latest conquest, the AVON Art Asylum Star Trek figure set. What better way to get a cool Mr. Spock and the rest of the Holy Trek Trinity all in one shot? Live Long and Prosper...