"Macarthur's pricing in the dark..."

Hello Moonbasers,

here is my latest trek through Antique Shops in the Blue Mountains NSW Australia...

Macarthur's Arcade used to be a Men's outfitter in the 60's (I think) I've tried looking for a history but only came up with a website review from 2014.

 Anyway, it has a nice '60's style facade and sign facing onto Katoomba's main Street.

"Show us the toys!"

The prices are in the "Tell 'em they're dreamin' range" but with all the tourists traipsing past, they can obviously afford to keep the doors open.

Just remember that A$1 is worth about 50p. So you can get an idea of the pricing.

Whaddya think?

Looey

Oz

Twilight of the BEST...

Hello Moonbasers,

I've been coming down to Melbourne town for over 40 years now. In that time, the Chapel Street Bazaar has always been my favourite place to visit.

Nothing lasts forever and the surrounding area is Yuppifying, with a change in the type of shops. Even the Bazaar is changing, some of it's vintage goods (old movie posters especially) are still here, but the toys have time shifted and most are 1980s onwards now.

Here's a sampling of the most relevant..

That Tiger Annual was worth a punt for £6!

I also picked up a Giles collection that tickled my nostalgia senses!

Oooh! Uranium glass!

'Pon my word! I had that paint set as a kid!

I'm sure my parents didn't pay $195 for it!

Luchboxes anyone?

"The Esso sign means Happy Motoring..."

A happy shopping experience, but even I can sense the sands of time drifting onwards...

Looey

Oz

Looey's Visit to Tin Monkey

Hello there, Moonbasers!

Our slow ramble through blog worthy Antique shops continues...

This time we're visiting the recently opened Tin Monkey in Blaxland.

They have a range of reasonably priced industrial and Academic furniture pieces. I picked up a large Japanese enamelled sign, which is something I've long lusted after.

Of more interest is the small collection of vintage die cast toys, including these post war cars.

I still have my example of this Matchbox Rolls Royce from back in the day! The Matchbox toys are about £7.50, is that OK from where you come from? A lot of Australian prices are quite a bit higher. The Dinkys are a bit pricier...

The movie poster was probably about £12.50.

It's in pretty good condition, but is being featured here for one reason only.

That pink car in the dead center of the composition. Does it remind you of anything? How about if it was painted black?

Hopefully a better range with my future shop visits...

Keep window shopping, friends...

Looey

OZ

Corgi Stickers Sheet

Hi Woodsy,

Paul Adams recently commented on the Corgi extra stickers ( re. Lewis's DB5 post).

Here's set a with the license plates.

Will O.

UK

Re-licensed to Thrill..

As a kid, I was lucky enough to own a Corgi 007 DB5. Sadly it didn't last the years and is not one of my still existing toys.

Almost ten years ago, I was visiting a small toy shop in Torquay and saw an original example for a reasonable price.

Now I have one again, and I hear Corgi is reissuing a newly manufactured "original" version.

It seems very close to the original, but I'm somewhat mystified by the lack of a Road Tax disc in this new issue.

However, a bit of internet research suggests this detail on my car, may be an after- market addition.

What do you Moonbasers think?

Looey

Oz Base

Spectrum is Back!

Hello Moonbasers, I'm back in Australia and putting my shattered life back together!

I've begun carefully sorting the lovely items I managed to find and am becoming ever more amazed I was able to pick them up at all!

Japan is known for always going for the latest, so anything vintage

(in Moonbase Central's interest range)

is pretty difficult to find. As I know from personal experience, if you see something you like

( say some Konami Anderson vehicles) and don't buy it at that instant, it may not be there for a second look!

Taking a closer look at my carded Hot Wheels SPV, I was surprised to see it's dated 2001, so it's already almost 25 years old!

Researching the page at

https://hotwheels.fandom.com/wiki/Charawheels

I discovered a lot of products I'd never known before.

There were a number of Anderson related vehicles, released in a joint Mattel/Bandai project, over just two years.

I'll let the HW website categorise them, but the first year saw a number of individual vehicles and the second year, three amazing boxed sets of multiple TB2 Pod vehicles.

Just look at these photos! All new to me and copied from the HW website.

See anything that tickles your fancy here?

Cheers, 

Looey

Back in Oz Base

Looey's Last Postcard from Japan

"Are you still here?"

After my last post, I thought I'd exhausted all my Moonbase worthy experiences. But with two last days in Tokyo, I was proved wrong.

I met up with an American friend who works in the Japanese film industry. He took me to the the Hotel Gracery, atop the Toho Cinema complex in Shinjuku.

You can understand why it's informally called The Godzilla Hotel!

Up close, the life size head is pretty impressive.

And in the foyer is an actual filming suit on display with a puppet Mothra!

The my friend took me on a train trip to see Toho Studios. Still standing in a leafy suburb bisected by the Senkawa River, which is filled with grey carp where Akira Kurosawa used to fish.

The studio has been modernised but it still pays tribute to the heritage of it's two most famous productions.

Another train ride brought us to a leafy suburb with a delightfully overgrown group of small business buildings.

The small understated sign reveals the identity of this most famous of all Japanese animation studios.

Having worked here, my friend knew some of it's secrets. Nearby was an even more understated private studio, with glass windows facing the street where we might just see "Japan's Disney" still at work...

We strolled down the leafy suburban street, as inconspicuous as a pair of towering Gaijin could be. Outside, an aged gentleman wearing a flat blue bucket hat, was just stepping off the porch. Our eyes briefly locked, but we continued walking past, feigning nonchalance.

I know what you're saying Moonbasers, "Pictures, or it didn't happen"

- but to have whipped out my camera and fired off a pic straight in his face, would have been the height of disrespect...

This is a trip I will never forget!

Looey

*

And ....

A Tale of Two Mandarakes Part 2

Hello Moonbasers,

 I'm not sure if this exactly fits the MC mission statement, but it sure is purty to look at!

Manderake is a Fan Goods shop with an extensive range of vintage toys, manga, mooks (magazine/books) DVDS and other popular culture ephemera.

I found another of my Holy Grails there, a DVD of the original Toho movie, Gorath with the giant walrus scene intact!

Manderake Coo Coo is a different kettle of fish entirely. Although the layout is similar, the stock is almost exclusively soft vinyl (or Sofubi) figures for the serious collector. Some are genuine vintage pieces at extraordinary prices, but most are modern designs, again at top Yen!

The original pieces have a vibrant charm all of their own.

A nifty 1960s dinosaur at £100!

My first ever Japanese Robot, which my Dad bought for me as a souvenir from Japantown in San Francisco in 1976! I bet he didn't pay 50 quid for it!

Either an original 60's clothed Astroboy, or more likely a later reissue.

A Popy Godzilla, like my wife's Shogun Warriors version.

Modern X-ray Astros.

...and does anyone remember "Raidy and the Jipps"? One of the cheapest, nastiest knock off toys from the 80's? Now you can own one all over again for just £175!

" Tell 'em they're dreaming!"

So, as I board my personally reserved seat on the "Bullet Train Explosion" it's time to bid you farewell and, in the words of Woody Allen's Jimmy Bond, " Sayonara, suckers!"

Looey

Japan