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Thursday, 31 January 2013

Retro 80s

Hello folks well i got a new addition to my collection , and well as i shall detail it was a weird circumstance
Growing up i had a few things of interest,funnily enough still the same ones now, Childhood memories powerful stuff

I had obligatory Star Wars stuff,my He Man stuff and Doctor Who figures from Denys Fisher of the Doctor, a old Palitoy talking Dalek (broken) ,this is of course im talking about early on in my Childhood 6 or 7
Later on it was Thundercats Trans Formers ,then Dapol Mainly before Dapol painting Star Wars figures to be Doctor Who monsters Luke Bespin was Dr5 for me 

 
But as i have mentioned several times here ,Superheros were BIG in our house i had the annuals every xmas,the summer special comics (what happened to them?) and i had the USA comics occasionally and British Reprints in over sized format
,add to that sometimes Spiderman on TV ( old 70s movies) the Hulk TV show ,Batman 66 TV Show and Chris Reeve Superman films ,and i saw some of the George Reeves Superman stuff to
I had the old mego dolls of these Superheros again a 70s toy must of been bought cheap by my Dad  somewhere and i had the new  SUPERPOWERS figures 



 These are "IT" for me and the Jose Garcia Lopez Art is definitive, today i have some canvas art of his (repros im not that lucky) and one i made of his Superman 
His look just is the persona of these fantasy gods and there raging world of  adventure excitement and fun
So whats the excitement about?,well i got lucky last week 

First off no not mego but the" superhero collection" from Mattel ,Who do not want to sell there products outside of USA  ,did some Mego like figures (Mego 8 " now command in excess of £60 and 12" £100 plus )  and i thanks to a Dr Who board of all places managed to obtain the 8" DC classics mattel Superman and it just screams old school 

It is bit better in detail and other stuff (the S on chest was never that good ) than Mego BUT is still nostalgic enough  and old school looking this is a figure in real cloth clothing it was different not just plastic ,i loved them
The Green Lantern is from years ago and DC silver age line
So i got this very nice loose example added to my collection and been told if i want it there is a old style Lex Luthor to boot  

And ..............Pierce de resistance 

OH HELL YEAH !

Superpowers 1984 Original Superman Figure,ill let you take a moment to soak in the awesomeness of this here figure
 I NEVER thought id get one, You see Kenner gave this line up but in 89 Toybiz took it on must of got the moulds ,well some of them as Green  Lantern and Aquaman are dire versions of originals  and plane awful,but lacked the Superpowers feature of movement the Action element  and also contained there Batman line from the then Mega Blockbuster film of the summer Batman by Tim Burton

Only original Superpowers on that shelf are Green Lantern and Superman at front rest ToyBiz
This is the original 1984 one Superman behind not so much (ToyBiz 89) and modded by me as missing a lot of bits.
So here we are little discolored through age ,it is 28 years old, and sadly the S on the cape rubbed off, little paint rub on toes but otherwise ok  and action feature works ,squeeze legs he super punches ,im grinning typing that ,oh how cool the rocks i knocked over in my Nans Garden the other figures i beat up

It is less than perfect so  of course i grumbled and then looked on the net for these figures obtaining mine from e bay blind i just saw, remembered ,bought,and  thought nothing else of it 
 ,they  are impossible to buy outside of USA there was foreign editions but im not finding them, and a nice mail away Clark Kent figure

elusive expensive and mint on card
Superman's cardback looks awesome. his pose sums up for me,( leaping in the air taking flight)  ,all that is awesome about Superman and brings me back to why I loved him so much as a little kid
 For me this first series Superman is THE Super Powers figure.it is widely regarded as the best figures of Superhero's ever and you can see why ,there timeless classics the colour the pose the whole look 

And when i say impossible to find i do mean impossible ,i have seen no cape barely any paint left to S on chest go for over £20  i got mine for £10
Thrilled and unaware of prices you bet, so it is proud of place i hope one day to find Batman and Clark and who knows maybe one day a mint Superman
I have to admire peoples collections of these,  everything loose and carded ,sheer cost involved now i looked 
I saw the flash for example for  £100 and that's a card that's damaged

So for now im on a childhood high i cant stop popping in to just gaze at them ,and thats what it is about being happy in your chosen hobby

I really miss the old Bizaar shops ,go in and it would be filled old toys you dig through find gold GL there cost me a  fiver many years ago and i got everything with him ,mini comic and lantern and mint figure
Alas e bay is whats left for now ,and generous souls willing to sell between fellow fans

Now found a cartoon series to follow on this line with didnt know before all based on this line and Lopez art,a extension of existing "SUPER FRIENDS"cartoon,so thats me sorted for Sunday morning with my coffee and Bacon Buttie



Friday, 4 January 2013

Top Xmas films

Last Christmas one
Every year without fail at xmas i watch same movies ,nostalgia is a powerful force of human nature. It can transform those distant, often forgotten sections of life into warm and fuzzy periods of happiness that you can’t help but yearn for as you make the inevitable trip towards the grave,or race to the grave to quote dickens a Christmas carol
all those movies you watched endlessly as a kid. over and over again these entertainment “classics” would make their way out of their dog-eared cases and into your VHS player. There, youd sit, wide-eyed, mesmerised by the experience. You wouldn’t judge the cinematography or the blunt exposition or the bad acting because you were 10-years-old and that would be insane. You liked the colours and the sense of adventure and the witty talking animals.

Jingle All The Way (1995)
Scrooged (1988)
Scrooge (1970)
Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
Home Alone (1990)
Trains Planes and Automobiles  (1987)
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation  (1989)
Batman Returns (1992)

Nothing says Holidays for me like these films i watch them at various times over the week before and after ,Timeless classics 
And i do like a good laugh ,EG Scrooge was on late on TV this year no need for DVD, I was up late drinking after the GF called it a night and I caught this on TV. I was dancing around the living room filled with holiday cheer and some good bourbon,"Thankyou Very Much its the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me"

Xmas Vacation if you don't  laugh at this frankly you are dead,this is what made Chevy Chase ,the others there good ,this is the best a icon and hysterical ,the squirrel on Clark's back his answer to the tree problem as  i got older this got funnier
 Trains Planes and Automobiles ,none stop laughter Thanksgiving not xmas  BUT  where it starts for Americans a technicality and im sticking to it ,John Hughes is a genius Simple look at what he has done his CV is impressive,
 For those who don't already know Planes, Trains and Automobiles is simple in its approach. Everything that can go wrong does. It's a comic routine that can be funny, but here it is a trip to hysterical. The plot is simple enough as well. Neal Page (Steve Martin) is on his way home for Thanksgiving Del Griffith (John Candy), is along for the ride. An annoying shower curtain ring salesman, Neal can't get rid of him no matter how hard he tries.
John and Steve give the performances of there careers and it is defiantly a must watch

 Santa Claus is something on in background over holidays usually when cooking and do like to cook over holidays,
Jingle all the way, guilty pleasure that one but one of Arnie's finer films beyond just the hard man,
Home Alone who doesn't like this classic and memories me my brother watching this (he actually looked like Mcaulkin at one stage honest),still makes me chuckle
Batman returns a late nighter and a good movie better after nightmare before xmas etc but a good movie, and a Gothic Xmas to you to Tim more macabre than any other offerings ,less comic book than first but hey its a Holiday film
Scrooged is a Bill Murry vehicle but it was on as a kid and kinda stuck its cooky and odd but a fun  re make of a Christmas carol

Another i saw this year was the CGI version of a Christmas Carol with a unreconisieable Jim Carrey, was impressed ,and another childhood favourite ,One of our Dinosaurs is missing and He Man Xmas special one lazy Sunday afternoon ,
Along with the Xmas albums  ,(now including "A twisted Xmas ,very recommended)   and the bourbon ,scotch and beer and good food this is holiday season and what its about nothing but relax
And yes fire is on