God, I Miss These...

I have to admit, as of late I have been on a serious Batman kick. I read nothing but Batman comics, watch Batman movies, peep out Batman cartoons (The day I finally bought Filmation's The New Adventures Of Batman on DVD, I danced a jig right in Barnes N Noble) buy Batman goodies,and rock my Batman t-shirts. I have been bitten by the Bat-Bug, if you will (Dusty Rhodes in da hiz-ouse).

Lately, I have been wanting to change out my shelf and display some of my Batman toys and memorabilia. As I started to think about what I wanted to display, I started thinking about some of the stuff I had as a child of the late 70's, early 80's. My first thought was "God, I'm old". Then I thought of all the cool things I owned and lost or had tossed out by my mom. 

Here are some of the awesome things I had and will someday re-own. These are not my photos, so to the people who posted these on the internet, I thank you for the loan.

1-Remco Batman Helicopter

This thing was pretty tricky to use. You had to use a set of 2 levers to lift and lower the Bat-copter and pick up cardboard figures of The Joker, Riddler and Penguin. If memory serves me correctly, that was pretty much it. Not even sure I ever mastered the maneuvering of the Bat-copter. 

Avon Batman Hairbrush

I remember getting this brush from my aunt one Christmas and using it to brush my mane everyday. I had long, hippy hair as a child and this brush came in handy, except for brushing out tangles. The bristles in this brush were soft, but still hurt when you had a determined mother trying to get that last and most difficult knot out. I believe this brush met an untimely end when it dropped off the dresser. I remember dropping to my knees like Wilhem Dafoe did in Platoon.

Duncan Yo-Yo

One side Caped Crusader, other side Dynamic Duo. I won this Yo-Yo at a Yo-Yo demonstration at the Riverdale Public Library. I don't remember what the contest was, but I do remember that I was handed a Yo-Yo of the Incredible Hulk and the other kid I was paired up with was given the Batman Yo-Yo. Now, I was (and still am) a huge fan of the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno Incredible Hulk T.V. Series, but The Hulk was no Batman, dammit! Plus, the kid who got the Batman Yo-Yo was wearing a Hulk t-shirt, so you would have thought that the lady would have given the kid the Hulk and me Batman. The kid came up to me and asked if I wanted to trade. Um, did Burt Ward have a Holy something for everything? I accepted the trade and played with that thing until some dimwitt stole it off my desk at school. Sigh, I miss Walking The Dog with that thing.

Duncan Batmobile

I remember laying with this car on the floor of my room for hours, running over my other toys with it. All while singing The Batman Theme from the 1966 TV Series in a loud, obnoxious kiddie voice. I'm sure it annoyed my mom and sister to no end. Is it any wonder this turned up among the missing not too long after I got it? It turned me into Encyclopedia Brown, trying to learn it's location. I interrogated my mom and sister. They weren't talking. My mom claimed I left it at the park, but I know better. when Jimmy Hoffa is finally found and there is a Duncan Batmobile next to him, please return it to me.

Ben Cooper Batman Jiggly Figure

As weird as this thing is, I had an absolute blast with it. He fought crime, he bounced, he did the Bat-Tutsi. I think Ben Cooper came out with a few others. I have the Spider-Man one, but I would love to get this one back in my collection someday.

Mego Bat computer

Yeah, I know. I've talked about this thing ad nausea already. But I absolutely loved this thing, not I could actually make any communication with anyone on it. When my granddad gave it to me as a Christmas gift, little did he know that I would, again, drive my family crazy with it. It made a lot of sounds, picked up police and truck driver radio signals and oh those pretty, blinking lights. It was beautiful. I was the moth being led into the light. Plus, it's a Mego toy. This is one of my holy grails and I will have this again.

Sooner or later, I will come up on all these awesome toys from my childhood and I won't be able to resist adding them to my Batman collection. Once I re-added my vintage Spider-Man bank, it was on. I started a quest for my holy grails and I will not be stopped until my vintage Batman collection has all these goodies and more. Que the Indian Jones theme and hand me that Fedora and whip.

Wish List Part 2-The Batman

After Spidey, the character I collect the most of is The Batman. As much as I love the Adam West Batman or the Batman of today, the one I grew up with is the Neil Adams/Superfriends Batman. 4 of the 5 items I will prestent from my wish list are from the 70's and 3 were made by Mego. Again, these are in no particular order.

1-Remco Bat CSF Copter

As a kid, I spent hours playing with this awesome toy. It was a helicopter with Batman stickers on it, attached to a pole, which was attached to a base. It came with cardboard cut outs of villians like Joker and Riddler as well as a small building. All of which got destroyed in no time. I then used it with my Megos and other toys. I do remember trying to lift my plastic General Lee car with it, which resulted in an epic failure.

2-Mego Bat Lab

Honestly, to me, nothing screams Mego than Batman. Mego made so many things for the Caped Crusader to use in his adventures against crime. One of my favorite pieces was this Bat Lab. I remember seeing the commercials for it and begged my mom for one. Of course, I got something else instead. Not sure what it was, but I'm sure I had just as much fun with it. The van also came with a basket attached to a pole for catching crooks and bringing veggies or laundry back to Wayne Manor.

3-Mego Batman Command Console Probably the single coolest looking toy I ever owned as a kid. Look at this thing. A mini bat computer that flashed lights and picked up CB Radio signals. Of course, you couldnt talk back to anyone, but still, this thing was awesome looking and would look great in any Batman collection.

4-Batman Hand Puppet

So nice, I showed it twice. Well, it was an accident and I didnt know how to remove the 2nd pic. But it's still cool nonetheless. Other than the Soaky bottle, this is the one piece I will go out of my way to acquire for my Batman collection. Ideal came out with it in 1966, after the success of the Adam West show. Real nice piece.

5-Mego Wayne Foundation

Theres Something about this cardboard/plastic monstrosity that makes me drool. Aside from one other toy that I will mention in another blog, this would be my holy grail. Another piece of Mego goodness that I never owned, but am dying to have in my collection. Not quite sure how I would display it, but rest assured, I would figure something out. One of the more expensive Batman pieces, I rarely see this on ebay for anything less than 300.00.

I really believe Batman had some of the more cooler looking toys. Batmobiles, walkie talkies, costumes, etc. Whatever your budget is, there is something Bat-related you can find. Happy hunting.