Used Millennium Falcon, low mileage, 1 owner

I was walking through the City Market Antique Mall with the wife when we both spied this hidden treasure at the same time. I nearly sh*t my pants when I saw the asking price was only 18 bucks. 

The second I picked it up a guy made a B-line straight for it. "Are you taking that?" he asked with puppy dog eyes. "Yes, I sure am" was my cheeky reply. He wanted it sooooo Bad...but too bad.

I didn't care that it was a 1995 reproduction of the Falcon and not an original, for the price it could have been made from egg cartons, I was ecstatic. It has to be by far the most desirable Star Wars toy and I finally had one. 

Just say the name: "Millennium Falcon." That name holds a certain amount of magic and conjures up so many images in the mind. The old junker of a ship that held the Empire at bay, the ship that saved Luke, Leia and Han's collective butts a million times, the ship that made the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs!

And now I have one...god I'm drunk on power...this must have been how the Emperor felt.

Transformers - 3 from a box at Comicon

I found these three orphans in a box at last week's KC Comicon. The Dinobot did not have a sticker on it, so the guy selling them gave me a lump sum price for all three. The box was filled with Transformers in various conditon, but my selections appeared to be some of the best.

There were a few other box-condition Transformers for sale, but they were way out of my budget.

When I got these home and tried to "transform" them I felt like what my dad must have in 1985. I struggled to change them from one form to the other and thought I was going to break a limb with every bumbling twist.

I knew one was a Dinobot, Grimlock was the only name I could remember; another was the NEW version of Optimus Prime from the movie; the third I hadn't a clue, but it looked cool and that was enough for me.

My apparent lack of knowledge on one of my favorite childhood toys forced me to scan the internet.

My search showed that my Dinobot was Slag/Snarl depending where in the world you lived, as Slag is basically the same as saying "Slut" in the UK and Ireland.  This particular version of him comes from the Transformers Animated series.

The jet fighter is called Storm Jet and is a 2002 homage to the original Jet Fire and I still haven't managed to change him into his robot form. Felt like I was going to snap his head right off.

Kansas City Comicon 2010

Similar to when Tarzan does his animal call and all the beasts of the jungle come crashing through trees, vines and brush to be at his side, Comicon calls and this time the elephants and giraffes are wearing Stromtrooper costumes and Vampirella shirts.

When I go to a convention like this I often catch myself telling people about all the nerds that were there and then my wife checks me and adds "Ah, you're one of those nerds." True, but I feel like an undercover nerd, 'cause I wore my Autobot shirt under my fleece.

The Hulk, Lou Ferrigno, and Ashley Ekstein (Ahsoka from the Clone Wars) were in attendance among many local and national stars of the Comic and Toy/science fiction world. They had a giant replica of the current CGI hulk on display and it made me think: 30 years from now who the f*#k is going to idolize this computer generated brute? There was Lou Ferrigno in the flesh and blood, a real man, and he looked amazing done up as the Hulk. To finish off this train of thought all I'm going to say is : Original 3 Star Wars movies Vs last 3 Star Wars movies.

Some exhibitors sat behind their desks with long faces, looking unapproachable, then others were all smiles and engaged people as they walked past to tell them about their work. Notable among the locals was Monte May with his P.I.G. Tales online comic, he's actually an officer with the KC Northland Patrol. Gonna have to check out his work.

I picked up a few treasures for my little collection: some Star Wars and Transformers on the cheap. But forgive my ignorance, but why the hell were there not any He-Man stuff? Do we not send mail to Eternia or something 'cause I know they got it in Seibertron and The Hoth System?

I love this picture of a Jawa family walking past The Mandalorians on a smoke break

After a quick smoke, The Mandalorians are back in the house, locked and loaded

Who didn't love Lou's Hulk when they were a kid?

Nerds

To have turned to the darkside so young, what a shame

Clone Wars stars were a big hit with fans, especially hottie Ahsoka

I love this Superman, but his friend with the green wellies was just as funny, I imagined he had a 

full secret costume under his regular clothes, ready to assist Supes in times of danger.

Skeletor - Lord of Destruction

The original 80s bad ass, only Darth Vader could put this baby in the corner. 

Skeletor, resident of Snake Mountain, was a giant pain in the butt for our hero He-Man, but you had to love him. Looking all mad and evil in his purple and blue livery, he was one of the few cool looking bad guys of any toy series. He made being deviant look cool, until you put him on this purple crushed  velvet ride, aka Panthor. Compared to Cringer/Battlecat, Panthor was a pussy.

I picked up this Limited Edition, 1 of 15,000, for just under twenty bucks and after checking prices online, it looks like I got a bit of a bargain. There is a Comicon here in KC this weekend, I'm gonna go there and see what they are selling for there. I'll report back on the prices.

Spay-C: Gobot

To kick the blog off here's a Gobot called Spay-C I found at the River Market Antique Mall in KC this past weekend. I picked it up for $3.95 and actually didn't know it was a Gobot until I did a little internet research.

As you may have noticed I don't have any shots of Spay-C as his transformed vehicle, that's 'cause he looks stupid in this mode, well not stupid, just a little plain.

If you had this guy or another Gobot let me know. I actually had Baron Von Joy when I was about seven-years-old and I lent it to a friend in school and that was pretty much the last I ever got to play with that toy.

Here's a good Gobot link.

And finally here's a video to prove that our imagination was just as big a factor as the toy themselves, 'cause they sure don't look like much from this commercial.