ROB'S HOBBY SHOP MEMORIES

Woodsy,

Your recent post about old toy stores, and vintage toy stores like Uncle Tim’s, reminded me of one of the most enjoyable aspects of visiting your local toy or hobby shop back in the day - seeing row upon row of mouth-watering boxes for stuff you certainly wanted, but most of which you never got. 

That’s the main reason I save most of my boxes after a model is built, so I can put it on the shelf and recreate the look of a dream hobby shop from the 60s-70s. Here are a few snaps of my model boxes on the shelf, a combination of built and unbuilt kits.

Rob C

USA

YOU MIGHT EVEN FIND A SENSE OF HUMOUR!

Car boot sellers are in the main a friendly bunch and I have met thousands over the years.

However I was once at a city market boot sale, where I met the exception. My friend Wotan was with me and as we ambled happily around the stalls we came across a large black bin bag of tat, knelt down and started to rummage.

The first salvo of utter rudeness from the seller, who was smiling at us with her grinning chum, was when I pulled out a small modern Zero-X bagatelle, like a plastic party favour. Showing it the seller I as per normal asked the price. Unbelievably she took it out of my hand and said - it wasn't for sale!

Stunned by these bad manners  I buried myself in the bag again along with Wotan - it was a big sack - where we continued to move tat around.

It was this point that the seller delivered her coup de grace and said to us " Keep looking you two, you might even find a sense of humour in there!" to which she and her associate burst into laughter.

I wasn't laughing. This was a local sale and Wotan was my guest. I was appalled at this yobbish behaviour and we swiftly left seething at this unusual car boot sarcasm.

Have you had a similar experience readers?

UFO BOAT TOY

 I sort of like this toy.

I saw it online and saved the pics.

I think its by Orion. Its says UFO among the characters on the box. Is it Japanese?

Its an odd looking thing but seems to hang together somehow. 

Judging by the propeller I assume its a boat.

Anyone know?

Hot Wheels Raving Bonkers Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Cars!

Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots was an American boxing game for two players. Two plastic robots, the Red Rocker and the Blue Bomber, in red and blue plastic, do battle in a yellow plastic boxing ring. They were able to slide about the ring, and their arms were controlled by plungers at the side of the arena. The aim of the game is to knock your opponent's block off, or at least make his head pop up. I have never played the game myself.

It was first sold by Louis Marx & Co. in 1964. According to Wikipedia the game was called Raving Bonkers in Britain - what a totally daft name. I did find a photo on Pinterest which shows a game carrying this name. A smaller version of the game is still made today by Mattel.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots - Wikipedia

Mattel released a robot/car hybrid called Zombot as part of the 1987 Hot Wheels line. Oddly, the robot was lying down on the car chassis, but could also stand upright. It carried a blaster rifle across its chest, which seems to have been a separate part. In 2018 (copyright date 2017) a new version was released that was very similar to the old model, but with a more solid, less open chassis, and the rifle now forming part of the separate chest moulding.

The 2021 Hot Wheels line includes a sub-series of five models devoted to Mattel Games. Model number three in this series depicts RESER, and uses a modified version of Zombot. It has a different chest piece, without the rifle, and much shorter forearms. The centre of the chest carries the RESER and Hot Wheels logos. The copyright date on the base has been revised, and now reads © 2017,'20, along with the Zombot name, and Made in Malaysia.

The RESER Zombot has been released in two versions. Both have a yellow metal chassis, matching the colour of the original boxing ring. The plastic robot is either red or blue, with extensive cream detail printing, and black eye slits in the helmet. The red version came out first, followed by his opponent in blue.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

SNAIL'S PACE

 

This was an odd one!

As we drove down the motorway last month around 6.30am this brave gastropod appeared from beneath our bonnet hinge!

It crawled onto the bonnet fully and had a good look round, including a distinct look at us two in the front seats!

After a few miles at 65 to 70 miles per hour our "EsCARgo" wandered back into the hinge groove, only re-appearing when we stopped at Greggs for a coffee and a bacon butty, at which point I grabbed him and placed him in the thick car park hedge.

Who said a snail couldn't move fast!

JUNIOR'S DIE-CASTS

 More recent adventures in die-cast land at Moonbase Junior's house.

Here's his new Hot Wheels mega garage set, where you crank a carousel of cars which then fly out over a ramp. Great fun. Just handling the track again brought back a flood of Hot Wheels memories for me!

A closer looks at some of Junior's fleet. the golden Batmobile is rather nice as is the iron Man motorbike as well. Next to the egg is a Hot Wheels with dice markings on its main tubular tyre!

Junior also has a few of these Dinosaur-based die-casts, which I assume are Hot Wheels but could be wrong.

THE COMIC AND THE FETT

I was reading my old film guide on the loo like every morning and I came across a movie that has some significance for me.

Not as a film - it sounds like dross - but as an object. The Comic, from 1985, was the last big box VHS horror video I saw at a car boot sale. I didn't know it at the time but the writing was on the wall as the sub-genre's presence at boot sales was clearly on the wane. This will have been about 10 years ago. After that, apart from the odd fishing tape, they were gone.

I did try to buy the video but the seller, a rather obstinate weekly trader, wanted a fiver and I wasn't willing to pay that. Haggling didn't get me anywhere either so the Comic stayed out of Moonbase. 

Irritatingly the seller's reluctance to deal put me off something else he had, a loose Kenner Boba Fett figure, which was in a flat glass case face-up, along with old school Prefect badges, Esso keyrings and assorted dusty tat. I wanted to look at Boba and maybe get it with the Comic video. Whether it was the fabled mail-away rocket launching Fett I will never know but its very very unlikely, so I don't know why I keep thinking about it after 10 years. I suppose it's the Fett that got away and all that. 

I've been back to the same car boot countless countless times over the last decade - its our local sale and I love going in summer and autumn - but like a released wasp I occasionally retraced my steps looking for that obstinate trader again just to stare at those lost items, but to no avail. 

I've never seen either the Comic VHS or an original Kenner Boba Fett at any sale since then. No doubt they are available on Ebay but it's just not the same as finding them on a stall in the summer sunshine.

The cover of the Comic, a typical Eighties video nasty, is too gruesome really for me to show on the blog but should you wish to look Flashbak have an online example https://flashbak.com/terror-tape-horror-vhs-boxes-yesteryear-388223/the-comic/

Do you have any items that got away from you reader that you still think about?

ZODIAC CAIDOZ: GO FIGURE!

This is a new one on me, the Zodiac Caidoz space action man type figure. Is it one you are familiar with readers?

http://alienactionfigure.space/vintage-zodiac-toys-rare-tommy-gunn-caidoz-the-space-alien-doll-figure-boxed.htm