Pop Culture League - Listicular Fortitude

Listicular Fortitude

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LOEB - Regrets

As the banner indicates, this week we're answering a question each collector will inevitable ask themselves....

"Why did I buy that?"

Now when I first started my collection I was a bit all over the place. I was picking up new stuff, old stuff, LEGOS, random blind bags, posters, you name it. I have since purged my collection of all the stuff that didn't fit my collecting focus. I ended up selling most of it for a loss, that question ever present in my mind "why did you buy all this junk!". Since the great purge I have managed to maintain my discipline and have been pretty happy with my collecting progress ever since.I've even resisted the Black Series!

With all that said, when I first saw this assignment I wondered what I'd write about. I thought to myself this would have been perfect about a year ago when I cleared out all the excess clutter. I did some brainstorming and realized there is one collection I'm in the process of building, that I absolutely love, but still find myself saying "why did I ever buy that!?"....and that collection is....

My 1978 Vintage Star Wars 12 back action figures. Yeah, these are arguably the most iconic collection of toys to ever grace the pegs of toy stores. Now astute eyes will immediately see that I've only got 8 of the first 12. I am still missing Princess Leia, Darth Vader, the Stormtrooper, and Obi Wan. It has been quite an adventure piecing together this collection so far. It's been a work in progress for what feels like forever. Every now and again when I consider how close and yet so far away I am from completing this monster of a collection I do sometimes ask myself "why did I ever start this crazy undertaking!"

I'm sure when it's all said and done I'll be thrilled to have this set collecting dust on my shelves. Honestly, if I never get another single one I'd love these 8 just the same! 

Be sure to scope out Cool and Collected for the rest of the League's posts!

Thanks for this neat topic idea Cody, looking forward to hearing everyone's take on this one!

"Judge me by my size do you!?!?"

Toy Spotlight

It looks like Hasbro will be releasing some highly detailed action figures under a new label.....Black Series. They are said to be sticking predominately to original trilogy characters with a few major players from the prequels. Wave one is set to be released in August and will include the X Wing pilot Luke (pictured below), Darth Maul, R2 D2, and a Sandtrooper. A bit of a random assortment for wave one.

I'm looking forward to seeing what some of the other characters will look like. I'm also glad these don't come out until August. This gives me a few months to decide if I want to collect them! =)

Winter Fever Toy Show

So today I attended the Winter Fever Toy Show in New Jersey. I was really looking forward to this as I have been itching to attend a show since the last one I went to way back in early October. I was even more excited given the fact that it was a Toy Show! 

I saw some recognizable people, some from Hollywood Heroes and others from AMC's Comic Book Men. I didn't buy a whole lot but really enjoyed looking at all the awesome vintage toys each vendor had.

Old Board Games and carded vintage Star Wars figures

 

Old school cars and trucks

 

I had fun digging through loads of stashes just like this one!

 

There was loads of vintage Star Wars goodies.

 

Great assortment in this case!

 

I liked scoping these random displays with all kinds of stuff.

 

Lego of course! The top section were all super cool customs! Check out Cheetara in the upper front row!

 

This guy had an awesome selection of carded vintage Star Wars.

 

Another shelf chock full or random goodness.

 

Some old school Megos.

 

This guy some really cool stuff including a Mego Batmobile mint in box, that I really wanted but ultimately passed on due to the price tag =(

 

A cool assortment of monster items.

 

There were tons of vendors at this show. I'll definitely be going back.

 

Lol, a Pee Wee's playset! I'm not ashamed to admit I loved this show as a kid. "If you hear the secret word, scream real loud!"

Phew, that was quite a bit of picture taking! Now onto my haul. I have recently made it my goal to streamline my collection. I resisted the temptation to buy all the stuff that I thought was cool just because it was cool and nostalgic (like vintage TMNT, Masters of the Universe, Thundercats and more!). I focused on buying items that fit into the collections I am currently working on.

 

Legos of course. Most of these are from series 2 which was a few series back. These guys go for a good few bucks on ebay and I snagged all of these for a pretty sweet deal.

I'm currently working on a loose set of vintage Star Wars, and I snagged these guys on the cheap! Ghost of Anikin, 1977 Obi Wan, 1977 Tusken Raider, and 1977 R2-D2. All original and complete!

So that does it for my recap of the Winter Fever Toy Show. It was well worth the 6 bucks for admission. I had a great time with my buddy looking back on some truly awesome toys. Now I'm off to my in-laws for some home made beef stew. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday!

Toy Spotlight - Legos!

Lately I've been loving Lego (not that I didn't when I was a kid). But I have recently started collecting Lego stuff again. I'm especially into the mini figures. I love the spin Lego puts on some of my favorite characters. Lego has so many great licenses including Marvel, DC, TMNT, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and the Hobbit. They have been releasing some awesome stuff and I haven't been able to resist.

So today I was picking up some envelopes and other odds and ends at Target and I saw the little box set in the image above. The set recreates an Endor battle and includes some great little goodies!

I'm loving this Biker Scout Trooper and this sweet speeder bike!

Check out the awesome detail in that Stormtrooper's helmet!

This dude is manning the mounted turret! I like the tree and plants included...adds to the Endor feel.

For 12 buck, this is an awesome set!

I also picked up these Hobbit minifigures:

I dig how much stuff you get in these baggies! The fish and bone accessories are a nice touch! Gollum looks awesome!

Bilbo came with two "Sting" daggers! Love how they capture his likeness with the hair piece!

Finally, I have been absolutely addicted to these blind bags! Lego has done a great job including some awesome characters in these! Series 9 has just started hitting stores and these are the first 3 I've scored.....

A cop, a Roman Senator (sweet!), and this space dude....he has a rocket pack on his back.

And from Series 8....I finally scored Santa! Better late then never I always say!

Ok so that'll do it for another toy spotlight! Expect to be seeing more Lego stuff in the future!

Iconic Photo of the Week

Another weekly feature here and Fortune and Glory(Days) will be a weekly post showing off an iconic scene/photo from an assortment of my favorite pop culture shows, cartoons, movies, etc. I couldn't think of a better start then this:

"Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father!"

"He told me enough....he told me you killed him!"

"NO....I....am your father!" - commence chills due to pure awesomeness!

Nerd Nook Newbies - A bit of everything!

Hey all welcome to an exciting installment of Nerd Nook Newbies! Now just to give you guys a quick heads up, I had quite a few gift cards from the holidays burning a hole in my pocket so I did splurge here quite a bit. You could say I kicked off my 2013 collecting year with a bang!

Newbie 1 - The elusive Shell Gas Station Canadian Slim Carded Green Lantern

As far as slim cards go, this is by far the hardest to find. I have been after one of these for months. I sort of gave up on my slim carded collection needing only Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. As soon as I had the chance to get this guy I grabbed em.  Expect to see a slim carded Wonder Woman in a future Newbies to round out my collection!

Newbie 2 - Replica L-Slot Rocket Firing Boba Fett Prototype

Yes you read it right "replica". Unfortunately its not the real thing and its not worth a small fortune. I picked this guy for 25 bucks because I thought it would look cool in my growing loose Star Wars Collection. I was right. The rocket really does fire. Far and fast.

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

Newbie 3 - Vintage Lion-O and Snarf

 Eyes still light!

Absolutely loved this toy when I was a kid....almost as much as Cheetara and her "baretts" as my 5 year old self liked to call them =)

Newbie 4 - Toy Biz Wolverine (early 90s)

Now this guy isn't really a newbie at all. He's actually an oldie. 20+ plus years to be honest. Now I have to send out a thanks to Brian over at Cool and Collected. Had it not been for his League assignment I may have never found this guy.  This was MY figure, and as a kid who moved ALOT, most of my childhood toys were lost. Well instead of 4 surviving toys I now have 5!

So your wondering "what did the league assignment have to do with finding an old toy?". Well if you read my league post I pulled out my "spy bag" to photograph it for the "Spies" assignment. I figured I hadn't opened it in probably 15 years.Well needless to say I was thrilled to find this guy inside! He of course has his own sentimental story of how he came to be mine. So once again thanks Brian for the league assignment that has reunited me with another beloved childhood toy! 

Fifth and Final Newbies - 1979 Knickerbocker Lord of the Rings Gandalf the Gray and Ring Wraith

These were the guys that I splurged for! I figured I got the gift cards and worked out a good deal....why not! I am hoping to finish the set with the exception of the two horses. These toys are just excellent figures. I am simply amazed at the level of detail in that Ring Wraiths sculpt and accessories. Incredible!

Phew! That does it for a busy week in the Nerd Nook. As always I'd really enjoy hearing what you think so drop me a comment!

"You only live twice, one life for yourself and one for your dreams....."

Nerd Nook Newbies Star Wars style!

Welcome back to another addition of Nerd Nook Newbies!

This week has been a bit of a slow week what with the holidays winding down and heading back to work.  I did get one additional surprise gift as well a figure lot that I'm pretty excited about.

Newbie #1 - Gentle Giant Emperor's Royal Guard Bust

 So last Saturday I was out to dinner with my wife at little BYOB Italian restaurant.  Unbeknownst to me there was an opened comic store right across the street when we finished up dinner. With some minor convincing I managed to make a quick stop in.  As I was browsing my wife secretly bought me this guy....

He looks awesome displayed with my growing vintage collection!

Newbie #2 - A lot of about 25 Vintage Star Wars figures

As I mentioned a few times in previous blogs as well and my goals for the new year, I am working on a loose, complete collection of vintage Star Wars. The figures are incredible in my opinion and I want to have them in my collection. Since there are so many I have been working on buying them in larger lots to save money...... especially on shipping. Here's my progress so far (a few of them I had already like the ewoks, Luke and Han....the rest are Newbies)......

I'm pretty excited to have such a great jump to my Star Wars collection!

So that's it for this week's Newbies. Happy New Year everyone.

Remember I'd love to hear what you think of these newbies as well as hear about your own collections. Been crickets for while here in the comments section!

"The force will be with you....always"

The Lego Store!

So this last weekend my wife and I braved the post Christmas crowds and headed out to the King of Prussia mall(anyone who knows this mall knows its massive). We had gift cards to spend and a few returns to make. We wandered together for a while but after having spotted a comic store and a Lego Store (didn't even know this existed) on the directory I knew at some point I'd need to sneak off on my own for a bit. Finally my wife wanted to browse in some gigantic clothing store for women....this was my chance! I said "sure! Take all the time you need". She gave me a "what are you up to look" and went on her way. I headed straight for section "G" to check out this Lego Store. It was awesome! I couldn't believe how cool some of the sets and minifigs were! They had a massive B Wing and R2-D2 in the store window display as well as other awesome sets inside. I didn't know Lego had the TMNT license. I was sooooo close to buying the R2. I had it down off the shelf in my hands but ultimately decided the 180$ price tag was just too much :(

I am however considering beginning a small mini figure collection as they are super cool and are making some of my favorite characters from Star Wars to Super Heroes and more! Here's a few pics I snuck in ..... All the little kids watching the biggest kid of all!

Photos include the R2 I mentioned and a Helm's Deep playset from "Lord of the Rings"

This Week's Top 5 - Games of 2012

Yup I know, normally I do a top ten. Well 2012 saw a pretty drastic decrease in my gaming all together.  I used to play almost everything big that was released, but lately I've become far more selective. More of my time has been spent on my collection, working on this blog, and getting my you tube channel going.  I actually enjoy this stuff much more and have devoted more time and effort to my recent endeavors.  That being said there were still 5 games I played this year that I really enjoyed. Here they are.....

Number 5 - Borderlands 2

I really enjoyed Borderlands. I love a good co op experience when I'm gaming.... Borderlands delivered that. The sequel added to an already excellent formula and didn't disappoint.  For the coop lol factor coupled with the lols provided by the trusty claptrap this one was worth the dough.

(My Neca Claptrop)

 

Number 4 - Angry Birds Star Wars

I mean this was a no-brainer.  Take Star Wars (one of the first loves in my life) add Angry Birds (first and only touch screen game I've been "addicted to") and you get pure awesomeness! Not to mention the appearance of some cool new collectible goodies likes these.....

Go here for more info on these guys!

 

Number 3 - Call of Duty Black Ops II

I used a COD zombies pic because that is one of the main reasons I get COD games.  I also really enjoy the over top campaigns.  I have had hours of lolzy times in Xbox parties playing zombie mode.

Number 2 - Assassin's Creed 3

I am a big fan of this franchise.  I have played all the games and was beginning to feel that things were getting a bit stale with Ezio.  The new setting and Assassin were a welcomed change. The Revolutionary War period is one that I find extremely interesting so this was easy to add to my top 5 list!

My Special Edition Connor Statue

Number 1 - Halo 4

This was easy to place atop my top 5 of 2012. Honestly this would be easy to place on my top 5 of all time (and for a guy who has played TONS of games....that is saying something).  The campaign is, in one word, EPIC.  I love the multiplayer.  Nicely balanced and I actually have a positive K/D for once!  If you like shooters and havn't played this DO IT!

My Blind bag Master Chief

For more on what I think of this awesome game go here.

 

So that'll do it for this week's top 5.  I'll be back to a full 10 next week. Happy New Year everyone!

 



"She said that to me once...about being a machine"- Master Chief