Two-Face

I love Mattel's Movie Masters stuff, and have waited quite a while to find the Two-Face figure from The Dark Knight, but I'm shocked that it took as long as it did for the figure to finally turn up.

Just the same, it's a good figure with only one significant flaw: there's no coin in his hand.




It's a weird omission, and hurts the figure just a little, but I'm happy with it none the less, and am still hoping that we'll get a Commissioner Gordon figure, so I can add to my (admittedly strange) Gary Oldman collection.

Fire Away

Oh, Tandy... is there no end to the quality entertainment that you've provided over the years?

Radio Shack was once a kind of technology wonderland, and in retrospect, it's sad to see that they've strayed so far from what made them great in the past. A pretty good example of this is the selection of electronic handheld games that Tandy put out during the '80s.

Radio Shack was very big on licensing games from outside manufacturers, and Fire Away, licensed from Gakken, is a perfect example.




Fire Away is a pretty simple "left-right-fire" kind of game, and while it may not be the most exciting handheld of all time, I do give it credit for having one of the most massive and obvious fire buttons ever.

Hooverville Dunny... Chase Version

Every so often I do get lucky when it comes to blind boxed toys. This time I managed to pull the chase version of Frank Kozik's Dunny from the 2010 series. I like the design, and would have been happy with just the regular version, but I'm more than a little thrilled to have pulled this one.

The 1973 Corgi Ferrari 312 B2, and Why Condition Is (or Isn't) Everything

This little red sports car is a 1:36 scale Corgi Formula One from 1973. It's not because I'm a huge Formula One fan that I picked up this little racer, though I do enjoy watching fast cars buzzing around a track. It's not even because I'm a huge Ferrari fan, though I do think just about everything with wheels and a Ferrari logo on it is beautiful. No, the main reason why I decided to buy this little red Ferrari 312 B2, is because it has exactly the right amount of play wear that I like to see on a nearly forty year old toy.



I appreciate the desire that many collectors might have to find a pristine example of their favorite toy. I understand that the value of just about every collectible is determined largely by condition, and on many occasions I've sorted and searched obsessively to find that perfect whatever-it-was, to add to my collection.

But perfection isn't always about being in "mint" condition. Sometimes it's about being in the most appropriate condition. There are times when a little play wear tells a story about the toy's history, and that helps to make your own attachment to the object more personal.



I look at this tiny road rocket, and I see something that was played with, but played with carefully. I see minor dings to the paint and scuffs on the decals that show me how this Ferrari has seen some track time. But I also see a toy that is largely in great shape, so I know that its first owner probably protected it out of respect for the subject matter--which I'm thinking might have been Mario Andretti's F1 car from around '71.

So to sum this up: Ferrari, plus Formula One, plus Mario Andretti, plus loved and gently play worn by someone... equals awesome.