Apple-core batteries to power - Trash bins to speed!

This Corgi casting is from 1980. It's amazing how off-model these Corgi character cars were - Tom (of Tom and Jerry fame) looks more like a skinny guy in tights with a cat head than the beloved housecat he is supposed to represent.

The car design is actually quite clever - as if Tom made a car out of old junk (like crutches and a trash can.) Although such a concept is more apropos of Fat Albert than Tom and Jerry, it's still a very cool little toy.

Optimus and Nemesis Prime - in miniature!

These came out a few years back. They are the size of Hotwheels, and represent Optimus Prime and his evil doppleganger Nemesis Prime (aka Scourge.) I think Scourge came out first, followed by Optimus himself, who was a KB Toy Store exclusive.



Based on the larger scale G2 Tanker Truck Optimus Prime who was later revamped and re-released as a new character called Scourge (more on him later) these mini-transformers are unbelievably cool. I think the size and vehicle representations are where Go Bots had Transformers beat back in the eighties. Big Transformers are cool, don't get me wrong, but I wish there was a line out today that provided the variety and scale of the 80s Go-Bots. These come close.

Small, cute, a simple transformation, a close-to-true vehicle representation, and a kick-butt design homage to the original Optimus Prime. What could be cooler?

Yipes! Dead Smurf!

Smurfs are cool. Ghosts are cool. If I remember my higher mathematics, then it is indisputable that Ghost Smurfs are VERY cool!

He has a ball and chain molded to his side. Which means he must have been some sort of prisoner Smurf first, and now he's dead. Makes you wonder about what really goes on behind the scenes in Smurf village.

1978 Schwinn Scrambler

It is too a toy! My first bike - a 1978 Schwinn Competition Scrambler - I've had it since 1980. There aren't a lot of these around still, and mine is in pretty good shape.

I still have the original seat, but replaced it with a cool flame seat when I gave it a good "once-over" a couple years ago. And it still rides like a dream!

Playart Batmobile

I acquired this obscure Batmobile via a trade with a fellow Hotwheel collector. I believe it was made in the early eighties, but I haven't pinned down an exact production date as Playart information is quite limited. It is in great shape for it's age and considering the *ahem* cheapness of quality that Playarts provided.