Kit of the Day

Planes, ships, cars, armor, figures, monsters, animals, trains and artillery have all been subjects of plastic model kits, but not musical instruments. But for all the budding Gene Krupas out there who can't afford the real thing, there's this scale model of a drum set. I suppose a drummer who wanted it on the shelf in his office might be tempted to own this kit, but I don't think it had a large consumer pool. I don't know anything about the maker, obviously a Japanese company, but I hope they weren't banking on this item for their success.

Roof Speared

This is the branch that speared through the roof of my garage during last week's storms. Worse, water came in and ruined some of my Marx playset boxes, and perhaps some of my collectible paperbacks. I'll be climbing up into the loft this weekend to assess the damage. The roof is being repaired as we speak.

Kit of the Day

The Swamp from M*A*S*H. I bought this a few decades ago and may still have it around. There is also a kit with a truck, Radar, and Hotlips.

I've been staying home during our recent blizzard. It's not really a blizzard, but the Merchants of Doom--i.e., newscasters--would have you think so. Since I don't have to be anywhere I've just relaxed in the warm confides of Chez Cap'n. Oh, I went out to the mail box every day, and shoveled a little snow once, but mostly I've been content to work on my models and prepare OWLHOOT, the Western apa I ramrod. I love retirement.

Kit of the Day

Part of my cultural deprivation is that I've never heard of the New Monkees. Those who have, and want a model car to commemorate that memory, can bid on this item on eBay. Cost is in line with the average model car.

Wikipedia had this to say about them:

The 20th anniversary of The Monkees in 1986 generated enough interest that New Monkees was conceived later that year, and launched the following year. The show was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and distributed by Coca-Cola Telecommunications (both are now Sony Pictures Television). Straybert Productions, headed by Steve Blauner (a former partner of original Monkees producers Robert Rafelson and Bert Schneider), served as the project's producers.

The group's members were Jared Chandler (guitar and vocals), Dino Kovas (drums and vocals), Marty Ross (bass guitar and vocals), and Larry Saltis (lead guitar and vocals). As it had been with the original Monkees, each had to pass a grueling set of auditions. Unlike the previous series, however, musical ability was a key factor in the selection process. Ross, a multi-instrumentalist, had earlier been signed to CBS Records, with his former band The Wigs.

The band released one self-titled album, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The synth-pop sound of the New Monkees was largely the work of producers Carol Carmichael Parks and Dean Parks, and was similar to that of contemporaries Mr. Mister and Glass Tiger. Other New Monkees producers were Steve Barri and Tony Peluso, Matt Wallace, Joe Curiale, and Mike Slamer, who co-wrote a song for the album with Larry Saltis.

On the show, the band lived in a large mansion with a butler named Manford (Gordon Oas-Heim), and numerous unexplored rooms (much like recent hit series The Young Ones), and this was the main source of their adventures. Instead of a normal kitchen and dining room, the house featured a diner with a waitress named Rita, played by former exercise instructor Bess Motta, of 20 Minute Workout fame. Also present in the mansion was a talking computer called Helen (voiced by Lynnie Godfrey), who used to work for the Defense Department but has found that she preferred rock music over world destruction.

Originally slated for a 22-episode season, the show earned ratings lower than expected, and New Monkees left the air after thirteen episodes. The album also did not catch on, and yielded no hit records. The producers hoped that the TV show would serve as promotion for their record, and vice versa, but this did not occur. A lawsuit was filed by the original Monkees for use of the name. However, the case was settled out of court.

Though a release of the series on DVD had been mentioned as a possibility by Larry Saltis in an interview several years ago, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has made no such release to date. The New Monkees album also remains out of print.

Interest in the band has continued on Internet news groups. In 2007, all four New Monkees reunited for a meet-and greet-with fans in Los Angeles, commemorating the 20th anniversary of the band's formation. The gathering featured an acoustic performance; their first since the dissolution of the show, and their first-ever live appearance. This performance was filmed and portions of the show have been released in late 2009 on YouTube. Among those in attendance that night were producers Steve Blauner, Victor Fresco and Matt Fassberg and comedian Tim Powers

Kit of the Day

Polar Lights has been reissuing a lot of older kits, especially Aurora models. Aurora caught a bit of flack from watchdog groups who worried that some of their offerings were harmful to kids, like the Torture Chamber set. I imagine the guillotine also failed the sniff test, though most kids who bought it probably thought it was a hoot. I don't know if the condemned man's head pops off if you drop the blade on him, but it would be a neat touch.

What the Heck?

This is an experiment. My text has gone astray from my old posts, and so has my formatting.

Later...looks like my background was the villain. Now you can read the posts but I've lost all the material in the margins. Ain't computers grand?

The Wile. E Coyote hotrod came from MPC. The kit consisted of a car model and the figure of Wile E. you can see behind the cellophane on the box. You'd think the vehicle would say Acme on it but it's labeled a Willys. I doubt it helped him catch the speedy and elusive Road Runner, especially since the Roadrunner had some pretty spiffy wheels of his own.

Friday, January 06, 2012

Kit of the Day

You say you don't want to look like an old swabby by having a ship in a bottle? Here's the solution, Monogram's Car in a Bottle. It looks like the lad on the box is holding a funny car/dragster but I don't know the scale. Obviously it will fit into a 16-ounce Pepsi bottle so it's smaller than the usual model car. I vaguely remember these from way back when. The bottle was a plastic replica of a normal Pepsi bottle with a separate bottom that was snapped in place once the model car was installed. I doubt that they were a successful product, but the one on eBay right now is going for $99.99 plus a tad over $5.00 for shipping. Not that anyone's bidding, but that's the chance you take when you overcharge for something.

By the way, ignoring these Kit of the Day posts will not stop me from presenting more. I WILL BE HEARD!

Happy Birthday Toby, Tiny, Art, and Frank

Toby and Tiny, my daughters' Chihuahuas, and Art Scott, a man as noble as he is eccentric, share a birthday today. I may be wrong, but I think it's also Frank Denton's. Best wishes to all.

The pinup is to help keep all those aging male hearts pumping away.

First Car

This is not the actual car, but a prototype model. A 1961 Thunderbird was the first car I bought. Not a new car, I picked it up in 1969 for $600 when I lived in San Jose, California. It had power everywhere and with the flick of a switch the trunk would open and the convertible top would fold into it. It was large, roomy, powerful, and sucked up gas like a wino with his first swig of the day. I really loved that car, and to this date it remains my all-time favorite. I traded it in for the 1972 Capri I discussed a week or so back, and at the time I thought it was on its last legs. Four years later I was cruising down the freeway and it blew past me going 80. I kick myself to this day for letting it go. My T-Bird was white with an aqua interior. I currently have a bid in for a model of one on eBay and I'm determind to win it, no doubt at a price far beyond its value.

Kit of the Day

Tired of building airplane, armor, or car kits? What better change of pace than Ben Cartwright and his two remaining sons (Adam was a lawyer in San Francisco by then)? Produced by Revell in 1966, this simple kit was a greater challenge for the painter than the kit builder. Each figure came with front and back body halves, hats, boots, and a common base held the trio. I don't know the scale but I'd guess around 1/12 or 1/16. You can get one on eBay now for about $100. Hake's auctions recently realized $186 for the same kit. Frankly, I'd love to have it, but I don't want to spend that much. Maybe someone will rerelease it. Yeah, sure they will.

Holiday Greetings To All

Merry Christmas.



And Festivus for the rest of us.

Kit of the Day

The oddest thing about this Bigfoot model kit from AMT is the Glow in the Dark feature. If Bigfoot really glowed in the dark those goobers on TV wouldn't have to use infrared film; they'd find him wandering around the woods at night easily. Or maybe just that little puddle glows and he doesn't.

The next oddest thing is the scale, 1/12. To know the scale of something you have to know the size of the original. Since no one has ever measured the elusive Bigfoot, we can't know if the size of the model is 1/12 the size of the original. If there is an original.

Also, note the human skull on the ground and leg bone in his fist. Maybe some of those Sasquatch hunters discovered a more formidable foe than they expected.

Unchained Melody

Listen to THIS. You won't regret it. Bobby Hatfield doing his signature song.

First New Car

I had a few cars before this, but this is the first one I bought new. A 1972 Mercury Capri. It looked like the one pictured only mine was yellow. I think I bought it at the end of 1971. A few months later I lost my job and sold it. Well, not so much sold it as signed it over to someone willing to take over the payments. I think I made about $76 on the deal.

Kit of the Day

Here's a head scratcher. The Hogan's Heroes jeep was issued in 2003, in 1/25 scale from AMT/Ertl. This of course was long after the show was canceled and Bob Crane was murdered in a motel. The fact that there was no jeep in the TV show apparently didn't bother the makers of the kit, or that if there was Col. Klink wouldn't have allowed it to carry US national insignia. If you can't read the text on the vehicle it says, on the hood, "PRIVATE PROPERTY STALAG-13" On the side it says, "IF FOUND, RETURN TO COL. HOGAN."

Just as odd is the scale. Most WWII figures, vehicles, and accessories are made in 1/35 scale. Many car kits, however, are 1/24 or 1/25. So this kit is compatible with automobiles but not military materiel. I'm assuming someone had the mold for the jeep on hand and decided to merchandise it as a Hogan's Heroes tie in. The show was popular in reruns at the time. I believe there's also a M*A*S*H jeep kit and I know there's a M*A*S*H Swamp kit, so anything's possible.

You can purchase this kit right now on eBay for $22.50 + $8.67 S&H.

Sea of Love

Look HERE

Remember Pearl Harbor

It was 70 years ago today, a day that will live in infamy, that the forces of Imperial Japan sneak attacked our bases in Pearl Harbor and vicinity.

Happy Birthday Uncle Georgie, Somewhat Belatedly

I wanted to post this before midnight but got sidetracked. Anyway, in addition to Dec 5 being my baby's birthday it's also that of Lt. Gen. (brevet) George Armstrong Custer. Born on 12-5-1839 in New Rumley, Ohio, died 6-25-1876 on the banks of the Little Big Horn River. Flamboyant, controversial, fearless, and a man who inspired strong reactions during his lifetime and right up to the present.

Happy Birthday Kristine

The landmark 21st birthday has arrived for my baby girl, Kristine. What a talented, poised, lovely young woman she has become. We're very proud of her and love her dearly.

The lower photo was taken when she was 22 months old. The upper when she was 18. The guy is her fiance, Jacob.