League Assignment:Regrets

No wonder Homer Simpson is my favorite Simpsons character. I always have D'oh moments in life. Actually, sometimes, I think my whole life has been one big D'oh! Even with adding to my collection I can be heard to scream D'oh! Like the time I bought a "vintage" New York Jets bank off eBay only to find out after doing some research that the bank in question was actually not a Jets bank. The seller took a football player bank wearing green and slapped Jets stickers on it's helmet. Luckily, I was able to get my money back without an issue.

Ever since I started collecting Batman there has been one piece that I have wanted for a long time. I wouldn't say it's a White Whale, but it's on my top 5 list of wanted Batman items.

That's it. The 1974 Janex Talking Batman Alarm Clock. As a kid, I wanted this pretty bad. I begged and begged and of course I never got it. Once I restarted collecting Batman, it's been something I have wanted to add to the Batman collection. I really think this would look awesome on a shelf with the rest of my Batman goodies.

Last year, at the Super Mega Show, I found a seller with a working one that still spoke. A lot of the clocks you see don't speak anymore, but this one did and he had the box. The seller was selling his for $50.00. I thought it was a little high, so I decided to walk around the dealer room, come back and hit him with a lower number later in the day. When I arrived back to the dealer table he had already sold it. Now, I cannot find a working clock for anything under 75.00 and that is without the box. D'Oh!

Next up on my colossal mistake list are the McFarlane Beatles figures based on the 1965-67 cartoon series that ran on ABC. When these figures were first released, I had the "I will wait a bit, then pick them up" attitude. Of course, my lazy butt never did get those figures and now they don't sell on eBay for under $50.00 individually. The box set goes anywhere from $150.00 to $250.00. Good luck finding them at a toy show. I have never even seen them at a Beatles con. No wonder I am a Nowhere Man. D'oh!

Finally on my Magical Mystery D'oh Tour is the time I left behind a vintage Darth Vader Collector's Case. I was at a flea market with my buddy, George. We came across a table that had a carrying case. I remember having this as a kid and I wanted to buy back a part of my youth. The dealer was selling this for $10.00. Now, I must inform you all that I had just started collecting again at this point and had no idea what vintage toys were going for. I balked at the price and walked away. Now, I know this collector's case is not all that expensive, unless you are going to buy one still with it's packaging. But I know I won't find one again for $10.00 again. The force was NOT strong with me on that day. D'oh!

Knowing what I have learned over the past few years, I know what good deal is and when to pick up an item. This has helped me score some really awesome pieces for my collections and who knows, maybe I will have the opportunity to pick up the items I passed up on at some point. And if I don't then those mistakes will always serve as a reminder that no matter how smart I think I may be, I will always have a bit of Homer Simpson in me. Now, pass me that can of Duff Beer and box of donuts.

Mmmmmmm, donuts.

Take a gander at these fellow Leaguer's blunders and regrets:

http://www.batcavetoyroom.com/2013/10/regretsi-have-few.html

http://monstercafesaltillo.blogspot.mx/2013/10/league-assignment-my-biggest-regret.html

http://goodwillhunting4geeks.blogspot.com/2013/10/league-of-extraordinary-bloggers-my.html

http://www.nerdcantina.com/1/post/2013/10/my-biggest-collecting-regret.html

http://coolandcollected.com/this-is-probably-why-i-dont-collect-star-wars-toys/

Showing Off The Beatles Swag-McFarlane Yellow Submarine Series 2

Back in 2000, McFarlane Toys released Series 2 of The Beatles Yellow Submarine figures. Series 1 was one of McFarlane's best selling series so it made sense to release a second series from this beloved Beatles movie. This set features the Beatles in their Sgt. Pepper outfits from the movie. The series again had other characters from the movie released with the Beatles.

Enough chit chat. On with the pics.

Here's Ringo with an Apple Bonker. What I thought was funny in the film was when The Beatles played Sgt. Pepper's Lonley Hearts Band, when the part where they introduced Billy Sheers, they introduced Paul as Billy Sheer. Everyone knows that Billy Sheers was Ringo on the Album. I wonder if that was intentional or a mistake.

Ok, the flash on this pic is pretty bad. My apologies. Under the glare, is George released with a Snapping Turk. One of my major complaint about this set was with George and John, I couldn't fit the instraments on them, which is why George's is hanging on his arm. I might have to lie the instraments at the figure's feet or figure out how to get it on them.

Here's Paul with the Sucking Monster. I think I dated a few of these.

Finally, here's John with The Bulldog. One of my favorite songs in the movie is "Hey Bulldog". The original version didn't have the song in the movie. It's a great song and I cannot understand to this day why it wasn't included in the original version. It has been since been put into the movie in the restored versions. If you don't know the song or haven't seen the bit in the movie, your in luck:

Instrament issues aside, McFarlane did a terrific job with these figures. Like the first set, Series 2 has some amazing sculpts. The figures look like they lept from the screen and onto your shelf. The articulation on these figures are slim and none, but who cares? These babies look great on a shelf and would make great additions to any Beatles collection.

Showing Off The Beatles Swag-Yellow Submarine Figures Series 1

Today, I wanted to show off my collection of Beatles McFarlanes. What better place to start then the very first set that McFarlane released-The Yellow Submarine figures.

Back in 1999, McFarlane Toys comemerated the 30th anniversery of the release of Yellow Submarine with a set of figures. These figures are georgous and look great in any Beatles collection. If you can find them, I highly recomend that you do.

First up is George with the Yellow Submarine. It's all in the mind, you know.

Next is Paul with The Glove and a Love base. There is also a Paul that was paired with Old Fred, which is the chase of the set.

Ok, maybe I should have kept the flash on the camera off. Oh well, here's John with Jeremy. At both John and Jeremy's feet are holes.

Finally, here's Ringo with a Blue Meanie. Yes, he was in this cartoon before he became a wrestler.

A couple of things. One, some of these figures are really hard to stand. I'm going to have to figure out how to display them once I finally get to put up a Beatles display. Two, I would have paired the figures differently. I would have put Ringo with Jeremy, John with the Blue Meanie, George with the Glove and Paul with the Yellow Submarine. I just may do this once I display them. I mean, it was Ringo who said "I have a hole in me pocket" in the movie, not John.

Again, I love these figures. McFarlane did a fantastic job with the sculpts. They look like they jumped out of the movie. I'm really pleased I own these, as well as Series 2, which I will show off in my next post.

Upcoming Yankee McFarlanes

I love these figures. I have a good sized collection of them. I taught I had most until I saw the check list on spawn.com and saw I still needed quite a bit of them. I'm missing the more recent figures and some of the older ones. I hope I can catch up on those during the year.

McFarlane released pics of the upcoming MLB Series 27 and Cooperstown Series 8 and I gotta say, I'm drooling over my keyboard seeing these pics.

Here is a pic of the Derek Jeter from series 27. To me, it's the best Jeter McFarlane has put out

What a great looking figure. Captures him in his classic Jeter jump and throw in the hole pose.

From Cooperstown Series 8

Lou Gehrig

Not as nice as his first figure, but pretty cool nonetheless

Catfish Hunter

He had a figure of him in a Yankee uni as a variant to the first Catfish fig McFarlane put out. Now, it's an official figure.

Rickey Henderson

Not too crazy about this one only because they used the wrong pose, in my opinion. I feel they should have gone with him leading off first base or sliding into second. This figure is also being released in an Oakland A's uni. I'm hoping this one is not hard to find.

I cannot wait till they are released. I will be spending some greenbacks on them.

Martin Brodeur =$$$$$$$$$$

Anyone who knows me, knows my favorite sports star is Martin Brodeur. I have been a huge fan since his rookie year and the man crush only grew after the '95 season, which saw the Devils capture the first of their 3 Stanley Cup championships. Baseball is my favorite sport, but my favorite athlete is a hockey player. When I returned to card collecting, I decided I was going to start a player collection of Brodeur. As of today,I have 273 diffrent and unique Brodeur cards. I have magazines, pucks, posters (one of which was given to me as an xmas presentof the 2003 Championship team...signed by Brodeur), figures, bobbleheads,Tshirts, a jersey, his book and even had the chance to meet Broduer at the NHL Store here in NYC where he signed a 5x7 for me. Heck, I was even at the game he broke Roy's record for wins all time by a goalie. I called out sick from work, stood in line for hours and was able to get a pair of tickets to the game. Watching Brodeur take the record that St.Patty's Day ranks as my favorite game I've attended. I will be matting the ticket, the autographed 5x7 and the poster given out by the Devils later that season commerating the win in a frame first chance I get.

Collecting Broduer is a tough task. As I mentioned before, I have 273 of Broduer's thousands of cards. Most of them came from participating in box breaks,trades, card show pick ups or gifts from friends and other collectors. About 90% of my collection are base and inserts. I have maybe 10 game used cards and just 3 autographed cards. Maybe it's the fact that he holds every record a goaltender can own or his 3 cups or the fact that he may go down as the best goalie ever (Roy fans will beg to differ, I'm sure). Whatever it is, Brodeur is an expensive player to collect. A search on ebay showed me that while his base cards are still pretty reasonable, his game used cards are creeping up in price. I have seen a lot start at $9.99, 29.99 and even 49.99 for sticks from Between The Pipe. If there is a patch, that's extra. Autographed cards are even more. Most signed Brodeur cards start at 50.00, going up past 100.00. For someone who's on a budget, that's a bit much to spend on cardboard.

I made a decison a while ago that if I was going to have a nice collection, I would forgo the autos and game used stuff unless I was either getting it through a trade or find a steal on one. I have been able to get some gu cards for under 10 bucks dlvd. I also supplement the lack of premium cards by going after the non-card Brodeur collectables, which I plan to display once I have the room. My collection may not be the largest, but I'm pretty proud of it. Here are some of my favorite pieces:

06-07 Hot Prospects Hotagraphs. This is one the few autographs I have of his.

Brodeur's first McFarlane. I had this figure when it was first released, but I managed to lose it. Had to pay 40.00 at a comic con for it. I just need the Team Canada figures, The box sets and the variant to complete the collection.

This is a SGA from 2003. I love the classic pose bobbles and AGP did a great job on this one. Plus, the cage on the mask lifts up.

I love that my collection is a hodgepodge of diffrent things. As much as I drool over the 500.00 patch auto, picking up really cool pieces makes me feel better about thelack of autos in my collection. Who knows? Maybe one day I will be able to afford the stick or jersey he wore in a game. Until then, I'll just admire the awesome collection I have now.

I'm Baaaaaaaacccccckkkk!

Good news everyone. My laptop issue has been resolved and I can post pics on here again. There has been a few things I've gotten since I last posted and I will get pics up as soon as I can, quite possibly tonight.

I have also moved away a bit from collecting McFarlanes and to collecting bobbleheads. I have always had a facination for bobbles. I had a few and saw a few at a card show recently for dirt cheap and the rest is history. My collection has grown to close to 20 bobbles in the last month with more on their way in. I'll probably do a blog about them tonight complete with pics. I'm meeting up with a bobblehead collector on Friday to pick up some more and to pick his brain about how to collect them, what to look for, what's the best way to store and protect them, etc. I may make that visit into a blog as well. I'm looking forward to it.

Talk to you all later.

First Post

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here on blogger. Allow me to tell you all a little about myself.

My name is Mike. I was born, raised and still residing in The Bronx. I am a die hard Yankees, Jets, Knicks and Devils fan. I collect sports cards, autographs, McFarlanes, memorbilia and anything else that has to do with my favorite teams. I am part of a group of people that collect cards of our favorite baseball teams. We started out when the Beckett message boards used to be fun. We break packs and boxes and send cards of teams to the collectors and vice versa. It's a fun, tight knit group. Because of their generosity, my Yankees cards number somewhere over 10,000.

I wanted to have a place to blog about what I get from the group, through trades, autos through the mail or in person or random purchases I may make. So here I will post what I get and post pictures as well. I hope to make friends through this community that last a long time and possibly add to my collection. Please always feel free to comment on what you read here. I look forward to posting and reading what you all have to add.

TTFN, Ta ta for now.

Mike