News/Updates 

       

The Truth is...The Cars Speak for Themselves

If, one day, I were to come into a stupid amount of money, a Stratos would be on my short list of ridiculous purchases. In the meantime, I can entertain myself with tiny versions of it.

Cundalini Wants His Hand Back

I've been acquiring kits for the various Mad Max cars for some time, but the one that was always out of reach was a Holden Sandman to represent the Rockatansky family car. I had almost committed to a whole lot of scratch building when DDA Collectibles decided to expand their product line into plastic kits based on their diecasts - including the Sandman.

Partly Metal, Partly Real

I had originally planned for Steelheart to be part of last year's slate of "Toy & Game"-related models. But as the year wound down and time started getting close, I figured that since the show was supposed to have been set in the 29th century, it would be a good one to shelve until this year.

The Giant Leap for Mankind...More Like a Stumble in the Dark.

My dealings with 1/24 Amphicats goes back over a decade, to when I had picked up one of Jim Small's kits. It was a nice piece, but I was torn on whether I wanted to build it up as a Space: 1999 Moon Buggy or a Banana Splits Banana Buggy, and as a garage kit it was a little dear to buy enough to do both. Round 2 to the rescue, with a repop of their original kit!

It Looks Bad - We're Being Surrounded!

I had picked up the Diskhound some time ago, having never seen Crusher Joe but liking the look of the mech and happy to see that it was 1/25 scale. It sounded like an impressive machine, too - the box art (loosely translated) spoke of how it chased down infiltrators and escape was nearly impossible once it was on the hunt. Imagine my surprise when I finally watched the movie, only to find it was one of a few mechs that each had a split second of screen time before being blasted to pieces by a sidearm. Still a cool design, at least!

2023 Year in Review

Go, Gadget, Go!

Wrapping up 2023 with one that's particularly near and dear to my heart, the Gadgetmobile! Inspector Gadget was one of my favorites as a kid, and I've long wanted a 1/24 representation in my collection.

I'm Commencin' Broadcastin' t'you Today from My New Bucket

I recently had someone point out how many trucks I've posted recently, and it's true - I've built about half as many trucks this year as I have the previous 25 years combined. Well, add another one to the list. The Blue Mule from White Line Fever may not exactly fit the "toy" theme by itself, but I consider it a cumulation of all the blue cabovers I had had when I was younger:
Blue Mules?

Awesome Edition

I think one of the things I like about the LEGO 2K Drive sets is how, despite being wholly new and original, there's something "Classic LEGO" about them. They don't have the polished look of their Speed Champions line, or the obvious tie-in appeal of their various licensed properties...they're just good, relatively small sets that you can bang together in an evening and have a cool little vehicle when you're done.

...and Mean!

Dan Patrick started out in tractor pulls in the early 1970s, becoming a professional pulling competitor by 1983 and soon moving on to funny car pulling with his custom-built War Lord. His work was good enough to allow him to start building and selling chassis to competitors, which followed him to monster trucks as he moved on to become the head fabricator for Bigfoot 4x4. In 1992 he left Bigfoot 4x4 to form Patrick Enterprises Incorporated, where he developed the first standardized monster truck chassis. Over 100 PEI chassis would be built and sold over the years, with Patrick providing hte chassis for nearly every MonsterJam fleet trucks from 1999-2010.

...Dirty...

Near as I can tell, the toy that was Black Gold was a mash-up of Kenneth and Paula Geuin's trucks - the name and (loosely interpreted) graphics from Paula's rig on the body of Kenneth's Oklahoman. I don't know if this female driver/two-person team was the inspiration for the cartoon's duo of Red and Redder, but if not it's at least a fun parallel.

...Bad...

Back in the days before tractors, farmers would boast about the strength of their teams and - like with the later moonshine runners having to prove their mettle - would hold competitions to see who was, in fact, the best. This naturally translated to tractor pulls, with the National Tractor Pullers Association being formed in 1969, and in 1983 trucks were officially added to the pulling lineup. One of the most famous names in the sport was Allen Gaines, a farmer and mechanic who became a four-time national champion and Kentucky Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee. Arguably his most famous creation was the exhibition pulling truck Orange Blossom Special II.

They're Big...

The 80s is often referred to as the "decade of excess." It was the era of big hair, power metal, and "greed is good." The amps could go up to eleven, and so could our trucks. And so what started as an ad for Bob Chandler's off-road supplier became the face of an entire motorsport.

Monkey See Monkey D'oh

As with most of the vehicles from the Simpsons universe, Mr. Plow features a similar-to-but-legally-distinct-from design coupled with details changing at the whim of the animator. But I think I got pretty close, and this may be my favorite Springfield-ian vehicle that I've completed so far.

For A Few Donuts More

Arguably the most famous car in the Simpsons garage, the Canyonero joins the collection and gives us the first four main vehicles from Hit and Run. It doesn't quite finish off my work in Springfield, though, as there is still one more famous ride that will be posted tomorrow...