November does … what?!?

Well, you’ll figure it out once you get to the official from-the-meeting photos. However, I wanna do something a little different first. I rarely put photos above the blue horizontal break. However, since the final K-mart Collector Day of 2014 fell on the same date as Suncoast Diecasters‘ November meeting, I’m setting it off separately.

Towards the end of K-Day, I had about a half-dozen or so new cars in my hands. At the checkout line, all I had was this:

Good Grief! (Yes, yes, I went with the obvious ”Good Grief!” caption here.)

Yep, I put all the other models back on the pile because, as I looked them over again, the only one that really made me happy was ol’ Snoopy.  …I wonder he still thinks he’s piloting a Sopwith Camel?

Hey, maybe we’ll finally see that ”Flyin’ Aces III” series we’ve been longing for!

Here, before going to the November photos, this will make you feel better.

November 2014

Big Tractor Mike surprised Krista with this commemorative trinket purchased from the gift shop of the Arkham Asylum. Hashtag Gotham, y’all!

This episode of ”Suncoast Diecasters” is sponsored by Batman(R) brand batdages.

Okay, now you see why I made the somewhat oblique reference to Transformers. I brought several Generation 1 toys to our November meeting; and Big Tractor Mike, why, he done bought ’em all! First is good ol’ Sludge here, without weapons or accessories but still in very good condition and functionally transformationable.

Me Sludge not a car!

Next up is Hot Rod. Again, no weapons or accessories, but still quite fashionable. And by that I mean — and those who know will understand this — he has metal shoes. And I don’t mean brake shoes.

The sensible family sedan of the future.

Next are several complete Action Master figures. Here we have Inferno and Krok. Inferno is a classic character from the early days of Transformers. Krok, like Howitzer Explosion Guy, was made up for the war.

You’re a Mitsubishi firetruck that permanently turned into a giant Japanese robot? What a Krok!

Here we have Autobot Dinobot Grimlockbot III, Esq. Or, just Grimlock, to his friends. Next to him (but in his own personal baggie) is Kick-Off.

Me Grimlock think someone no manage his trademark very well!

And finally we have Devastator and Blaster. Devastator is famous for 1) being the first combing robot toy and 2) being impressively large when all six Constructicons are combined. Blaster is famous for being the Autobots’ attempt at stealing some of the cool from Soundwave.

Because six heavy-duty construction vehicles have *exactly* the same cubic volume as one boombox.

BTM and I did a “plus cash” trade. He got, plus some cash, this sweet Willys jeep, by New-Ray. Wonderfully detailed, and securely bolted into a very convenient ready-for-display case. No scale is stated; it’s larger than my 1/43s, but smaller than the 1/24 NASCAR models which show up occasionally, so I’m guessing it’s in the 1/32 range.

…And his name is Eugene.

And what did I get? Oh, just this delicious Matchbox Superfast Volkswagen Camper. It’s in beautiful shape, with just the teensiest of little dings here and there. A very thoughtfully-sculpted casting, it even includes the “louvers” on the D-pillars.

Of *course* it’s from the ’70s!

Ken hired the No-Name Army — represented here by a rather squattish truck and what appears to be an amphibious tank — to protect his No-Name Dumptruck.

I’ve never seen a chopped-n-channeled deuce-n-a-half before…

Ken purchased from me this Target Exclusive boxed gift set of … I dunno, dishes? Outerwear? Whatever.

No, there never was a ”Series II”.

Yes, yes, yes, I was finally able to personally contribute to Ken’s mad scheme to own every garbage truck toy ever. In this case, it’s a kind of a two-fer. Not only does he get this lovely, large-scale toy…

In authentic ”garbage truck” colors, too!

…But he also gets this snazzy Toy Story 3 Tri-County Landfill playset which hides inside the truck in which it resides. It also incidentally ties Ken back to BTM’s Transformers-fest above. And how does the garbage truck become the playset, you ask?

Here in Pinellas County, we have the Toytown Landfill, but it’s nowheres near as much fun.

Why, in this engineerfully delightful manner, that’s how!

Much, *much* cooler than One-Step Bumblebee.

Now for Ken’s piece of resistance – the Matchbox Wildcat Dragster. This is one sweet, wild ride. It seems to represent a curious time in 1/64-scale car design: on one hand, it features an appreciably well-sculpted body casting with full interior and powerful engine. On the other hand, it sports a cartoonish, almost garish color scheme which makes it look less like a well-crafted miniature and more like, well, a toy. It’s as if Matchbox couldn’t decide whether the item was meant for kids or adults, and attempted to split the difference.

Or, maybe Matchbox perfectly targeted adults who are kids at heart.

Nonetheless, the Wildcat is in beautiful, almost pristine condition. I normally don’t post chassis photos; they mainly serve to ID the make, model and year (just like a real car!) for post text. And of course, the chassis, or base, is usually unpainted or chromed ZAMAC. You know I’m impressed when I include a base photo specifically because its paint is also in such good shape — whatever color that paint may be.

”Seafoam Green”. That’s my best guess.

Now this … this is a beauty shot. I should order a poster of this shot for myself. I hereby proudly declare Ken’s Wildcat Dragster to be our Find of the Month for November 2014.(*)

Suncoast Diecasters accepts no responsibility for you ruining your keyboard by drooling on it.

See you at the December meeting!

~WM