Barricade

Ok, I know, I know, I am such a post tease. I post and claim that I will post again and then I leave you high and dry. Guess that is better than low and wet, eww! I digress, finally, I am going to share one of the last M&M wrappers from this summer's blockbuster, Transformers, Revenge of the Fallen.

I bring you the last in the series of regular M&M's with Peanut M&M wrapper number 6 in the series. The sixth different bag along with Red, in his Delect-o-Con attire bring us Barricade.



While I remember Barricade being one of the first transformers in the first movie and played a huge roll in recovery of the glasses from Ladiesman24/7, I do not remember him in the second movie. Maybe I missed him, maybe not but for some reason he is predominately featured here on wrapper number 6.

Of all of the decepticons in the first movie, this was one of my favorites, mostly because he was a car. But Barricade was not just any car, he was a Salen edition Mustang cop car. I really like his side pannel that read "To Punish and Enslave", so try of their mindset. Anyway, enough rambling.

I have one more bag to present as well as an interesting flavor. Details soon...I hope.

Starscream

Starscream...you disappoint me! Classic line from the transformers series.

Megatron utters this often to Starscream both in the original cartoons and the most recent movies. This being said, have no fear, this bag does not disappoint. How could peanut M&M's disappoint anyone? Bag #5 in the Revenge of the Fallen/M&M team up features the power hungry Starscream teamed up with Yellow from the Delectocon team. Really if you think about it, this is an odd pairing. Starscream is all diabolical and Yellow is so laid back and unassuming, maybe that is why they were put together. Starscream wanted to be in charge. Hmm...regardless this was a tasty bag and the revamping of Starscream in the movies was awesome!

More Transformers

Well first of all, this is my last post of 29, first post of 30 as it is midnight.

Second, I promised and I am now delivering, more Transformers. I dug into storage tonight for this one. I have a huge Rubbermaid box full and I mean FULL of Transformers. I know you do not care, but I will share anyway. Sharing this makes me happy and gives you a window into my madness. You will learn through time and blogs my madness. (insert evil laugh here)

To give you a view of the sickness, here is an over all shot of my current collection, new, old, and anywhere in between.


Yes, I have some in boxes and some loose. Wish I still had the boxes for some! Ok so for all!

This is the my current favorite! This was my major award for 2008. This is the special Pepsi remake of the original G1 Optimus Prime. I drank way too much mountain dew and Pepsi for this one.

Here are my Toys R Us re-issued G1 versions of Smokescreen, Grapple, Hoist and Sideswipe. I love Toys R Us and they used to be the go to site for my Transformer fix. Now TRU is just a sad shell of what they used to be. The glory is gone! And for that matter KayBee toys is bankrupt too. Many a day were spent standing in the aisles of these stores as the cash burned a hole in my pocket and I had to pick which one to bring home this time.

Here are the old originals, yes that is an original G1 optimus prime, thanks Ebay! I had to snipe that one. Hate it when others do it to me, but it is sweet when it works in my favor. The others cars and trucks were actually mine from back in the day so these are the oldest of the collection. The blue firetruck has to be in the worst shape.


Here are some of the good guys (Autobots) from the 2007 movie. Optimus Prime, and crew. Love the new version of Bumblebee, boy did GM do an awesome job with the new concept camero.

Here are some of the bad guys, aka Decepticons. Love the Saleen Mustang. The side of the police car reads "To Punish and Enslave"!

Finally, here are my latest purchases, the 25th anniversary editions of Starscream and Hound. These are very close to their original counterparts as they maintain the original color schemes. For some reason Hound came with Ravage. Puzzles me as to why, but hey, he was a bonus, now if they will just release Soundwave!

Well you have now seen how big a nerd I am with the toy collection! And yes I admit it, I collect toys like a kid, but hey I can grow older but I do not have to grow up!

Oh and by the way, it is St. Patrick's Day now as I finish this, so be sure to wear your green, because if you do not, I will pinch you for sure!

Old Things are New Again

Well being the nerd that I am, I get enthusiastic about things, 99% of people our age do not even think about or care about for that matter. Take for instance the latest trend of bringing back the toys of our youth. Barbie, who does not look a day over 35, is 50 this year! GI Joe, is 35 and my all time favorite Transformers turn 25. These were toys of our choosing as children and toy executives have brought out the special editions to draw us into buying them for our "kids" and by "kids" I mean ourselves. They continue to find ways to separate our hard earned cash from our pockets by sending us retro versions of our old favorites. And I am biting, hard in fact.

Where am I going with this you ask? Well I said I am a nerd and that goes right along with my obsession (there is that word again) with Transformers. As a child I had a lot of them. I had the little ones, I had the big ones, I had the good ones (Autobots) and the bad ones (Decepticons). I even had a few knock off versions called GoBots. All in all I had way too many of those little robot/car/airplane toys. I can remember my first (Blaster, a boombox) and my favorite (Tracks, a blue corvette). I can also remember every garage sale where I parted ways with my toys for a quick buck to waste on stupid things or other, newer toys. And thanks to Ebay, I will never be able to afford the ones that got away.

With the most recent release of the live action version of Transformers, which I loved, they have released a ton of new toys. Many of which are renamed versions of old classics, and yes, I have picked up a few in a moment of weak nostalgia. Even more recently they have released the 25th anniversary editions which are trickling out and yes, I have one of those too. While they are not quite the same old, same old, they are closer than some of the more recent editions.

While the target audience for the new toys is definitely the kids, they do not appreciate nor care about them as much as we ever will. For example, I have a nephew that has a few transformers but his primary focus is Nintendo everything, Wii and DS. He has no concept of how great those toys are and what he is missing out by not taking full advantage of playing with them and collecting them. But as for me on the other hand, I am really enjoying the re-release as it makes it more affordable to pick up a few pieces of my childhood and have something to pass on to a younger generation. Something to show to my kid or kids when they grow up. A bit of a time vault for them but sweet memories for me.

So do I as I did and reclaim a piece of your childhood, no matter what it is. If it is transformers, barbies or GI Joe, they are still out there, and you can grab a few retro versions. If it is something else, well I hate to say it but Ebay is there.

Maybe I will go a little deeper this week and show you my "collection". We will see. And if you have any old transformers you want to part with, give me a shout. I am sure we could make an arrangement.

Until next time...