My Latest Obsession: Vintage Fisher-Price Little People!

It's so weird when some random little slice of nostalgia just sneaks up an bites you out of nowhere, isn't it?

In all my years of collecting things like a pin-point-pupiled, slobbering maniac, I've never really understood why this madness takes me over, when that madness is going to hit and what will be the subject of my frantic eBay searches and dreams of epic scores.

But it's happened again, kids. The seed was first planted back in October, during my last toy show adventure, where I spotted a few of those adorable little peg-bodied folks known as the Fisher-Price Little People. Like any kid that spent a good chunk of their childhood in the 1970s, Fisher-Price Little People were a major part of my early play, specifically for me the Sesame Street playset and the Medieval Castle set. Of course, I had a handful of other random characters from this world and remember even more from friends' and cousins' personal collections, and considering how many fond memories I had of these toys, It's actually pretty surprising I have just now gotten around to collecting them.

Well, I didn't buy any during the toy show and I'm suspecting that this is a major ingredient to my toy obsessions; kicking myself for not buying them when I saw them. Soon I was looking them up online and trolling eBay. Well, after himmimg and hawing over it, i finally took the plunge and left my Paypal account smoking in the aftermath.

And here they are, my first (as an adult collector) Fisher-Price Little People...

It all started with this little smiling pooch right here...

Out of all of the fisher-Price Little People I had as a kid, he was always my favorite and was hung onto long after my interest in such "baby toys" faded in place of Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Masters of the Universe. Incidentally, a little fun toy trivia for you, his name is Lucky and he comes with red, blue, yellow or (the rather rare) white collars. There was also a super cute Dalmatian version of him (all versions of which I plan on hunting down).

I have so far grabbed only two lots (a third one of clowns is on its way as I write this), and in these lots I've managed to score such characters as the blond policewoman, the white-hatted fireman (I always found it weird that they had arms), a blond lady in a blue dress and the classic smiling kid with wispy orange hairs.

Also, I scored this brilliant African-American family (I love her hair!), which is a testament to how forward thinking Fisher-Price was back in the late '60s onward.

Less racially sensitive is the "Indian Chief" below (oh man, that nose), but times were different.

Heading up the mustache brigade in my newborn collection is the Circus ringmaster, Zoo Keeper and Train Conductor. These could easily double for hipsters in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. Just add a fixed-gear bicycle and a backpack full of old vinyl records.

Anyway, this is the beginning of what I can only hope will be a beautiful collection (as if I needed another one, but whatever).

Incidentally, if any of you out there are also Little People collectors, I have a spare Circus Ringmaster, blond lady in a blue dress and Lucky the Dog. Hit me with an email if you're interested.

That's all for now, gang!

Spotted in the Wild: Hanna Barbera Toys Making a Comeback?!

Welcome to a new article series that I'm officially launching here in Lair of the Dork Horde; Spotted in the Wild! This is where I go toy shopping and take pics of stuff that catches my eye, but doesn't interest me enough to actually drop some cash on it, unless one of you can talk me into it. But really I thought this could be a fun way to just chat about what's in stores. I used to do this same thing back when I was chained to my keyboard for About.com as their Action Figure Collecting Guide, and now I'm continuing it here, not because I thought it was a powerful form of journalism or anything. But just because I like taking pictures of toys.

Anyhoodle, without further adoodle, has anyone seen these Hanna Barbera action figures and PVC sets in stores? I ain't gonna lie, I almost dropped the cabbage on that Captain Caveman, but I wasn't sure if I liked the design. Also, if that Tom had come with a tiny little Jerry, that baby would be on my desk right now.

But instead, I just took some pics and kept on a-walkin'. Dig 'em...

I'm not sure if there are more figures and PVC sets in the series, but I'm just happy that my beloved Hanna Barbera characters are getting some love again. Sadly, I can't see these exactly selling like hotcakes, but I hope they do well, as I've love to see more. Maybe if I can get a Hong Kong Phooey and a Jabber-Jaw, I'd have to have that Captain Caveman and Fred Flintstone as well.

Oh my god. I just imagined a Jabber-Jaw action figure and got chills! I'm such a cartoon nerd.

The Zombie Infestation Spreads to My Work Desk...

I'm back, fellow Hordytes! And my first order of business is to warn all of you to STAY AWAY FROM MY DESK AT WORK! DEAD INSIDE!

Some of you may remember about a month back or so I picked up one of those McFarlane Walking Dead Rick Grimes action figures while on a trip to Universal Studios. Since then, Rick has guarded my work desk against the ever-present threat of undead walkers, but no matter how vigilant he is, it was only a matter of time before one got through.

And that's exactly what happened when I picked up this "Zombie Biter" figure at a local Barnes & Noble...

I tried in vain to find a Daryl Dixon figure, but considering how popular he is, I'm not surprised that he was the only one sold out.

It's odd that for someone who has never really been the biggest proponent of McFarlane toys, I sure have been buying a lot of them lately. But I can't help it! Just look how beautiful this figure is...

Sure, there are a few odd articulation choices, but I've come to expect that from McFarlane. Actually, I pretty much just expect these to be statues when I buy them, so any added, useful articulation is just a pleasant surprise in my book.

Most of the Walking Dead figures from McFarlane come with some sort of "action feature" (or at least a buttload of accessories). This nasty little devil's action feature is his ultra-disgusting biting action, facilitated by a button on his back. Nom, nom, nom...

And what's he nomming on? Why, a rotten hunk of bloody deer meat, of course (included)!

I don't really know how many more of these I'll buy. I definitely want to get Daryl, and Merle and Michone are coming soon, and all of these are from McFarlane's series based on the TV show, as I've yet to pick up any from the comic series.

But before I get any more zombies to wander my desk at work, Rick needs to survive this creeper. And to do that, he better grow some eyes in the back of his head...

See you all next time!

Happy New Year! State of the Horde Address & a Big Announcement!

First off, HAPPY NEW YEAR, everybody!

I just wanted to thank all of you who helped make my 2012 such an awesome year. And I'm not joking, this was one hell of a year for me. All of the comments, emails, new Horde members, care packages and group blogging projects (like the League of Extraordinary Bloggers) has made the past 365 days something to remember. Here's to 2013 being an even better year for all of us!

I would also like to take a quick moment to thank everyone who participated in the first annual Dork Horde Secret Santa! Hopefully, everyone got their gifts from their Secret Santas and there was much holiday rejoicing. I saw that a few of you blogged about your gifts, and now that I think about it, we probably should have all done a collective "thank you" post to our Secret Santas or whatever, but I totally spaced on that idea. December was a busy month for me, so a couple of things were rushed. Sorry.

I'd also like to sincerely thank Larry Franks from Dukes of Hazzard Collector for sending me this amazing General Lee wooden puzzle. There were only 12 of these babies made, and I'm honored beyond belief that I'm one of the lucky 12 to get one. Thank you, sir! And I hope you you had a good old fashioned, down home Hazzard County Christmas!


Thanks also goes out to the mighty Goodwill Geek from Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks for sending me two brilliant Christmas poems along with two geeky tree ornaments, both craftily re-purposed from what I am sure were killer Goodwill finds, and a shiny new Pez Christmas delivery truck! You really put a bright holiday smile on my face, G.G.! Thanks!

Also, a quick shout out to Dex1138 from AEIOU... And Sometimes Why? for the awesome Goosebumps postcard! "Happy Horror-days", indeed!

Now I guess it's time for the big announcement.

It looks like The Dork Horde is going to get pretty quiet for a while. Don't worry, I'm not pulling another Geek Orthodox or anything but I have decided to ease up on the blogging a bit. And by "a bit" I mean "a lot". And here's why; my New Years resolution ties into something I have been wanting to do for many, many years and something that I always said I would do by the time I was 40. Well, now I'm 40 and I haven't done this particular thing and I basically decided that I need to either put up or shut up.

I'm keeping this endeavor secret for now, but I can tell you that it is a time-consuming project to which I have decided to devote an entire year of my life. This project will pretty much suck up all the free time I have, but it needs to be done. A year from now, no matter how this project turns out, I will let everyone in on it one way or another.

In the meantime, I still plan on blogging occasionally, just not so regularly. I mean, in the coming year, I'm sure there will be killer toy scores, or hauls from the 25¢ bin, or comic book convention pics, or more Star Wars themed tattoos that I'll have to talk about, and League of Extraordinary Bloggers posts that I just can't miss out on, so you will be hearing from me. I promise. Heck, I know I'll want to get all braggy about some of the killer upcoming Funko toys I've been working on. We've got some all-new toy lines coming out that I've designed that I think you all are going to love. I can't really say what licenses they involve but a couple of them rhyme with "Blame of Scones" and "The Balking Fred".

Basically, the almost daily posting that I've tried to keep up over the past few years will be a thing of the past. But just because I'm not posting, I'll still be reading all of your blogs on a daily basis and I'll try to comment and say howdy as often as I can.

So, I guess that's it. 

Again, I sincerely wish nothing but awesomeness-times-a-gazillion for your and yours in 2013. And as always...

FOR THE HORDE!!!

My 2012 Christmas Haul!

I know that Christmas means a whole lot more than just getting presents (thanks for that lesson, Grinch!), but let's be honest, no one wants to read a post on my blog about that quiet moment I had while walking my dog the other night, looking at the lights on everyone's houses in the brisk air and stopping outside a local church to listen to their choir sing a beautiful rendition of O Holy Night, all of which added up to single serene moment where I found myself believing just a little bit more in the inherent goodness of mankind.

No, we want to hear about LOOT!

So here's a few of the geekier highlights from my personal Christmas haul this year...

1. The Lego Batman Visual Dictionary - I love books like this because it sort of helps keep me from collecting all of the actual toys. Sometimes, just having a comprehensive guide, with oodles of pics, is enough for me.

2. How to Speak Wookiee -  Besides teaching me how to speak the native language of the planet Kashyyyk, it had the added bonus of making sounds that thoroughly confused my dog.

3. Star Wars Fighter Pods - Well, crap. There's goes my effort to not collect these. Looks like I'll be hitting the toy store later for even more of these adorable little guys.

4. Hot Wheels Batmobile - I came soooooooo close to buying this one for myself a while back, but passed. I must have known that in the future my Mom would send it to me. :)

5. Hot Wheels 1970 Monte Carlo - My wife and I share a love for muscle cars. She tapped into this by dropping this beauty in my stocking.

6. This. Epic. Hat.

7. This. Also. Epic. Hat.

8. Mini Star Wars Plushies - I ain't gonna lie, that Yoda is freaking me out. But DAT CHEWIE! And DAT VADER!

9. Series 8 Lego Minifigures - I've managed to avoid buying any of these too, but Ron R. sending me the Santa from this series got my case of Legocollectivitis flaring up again, so my wife grabbed a few more for my stocking.  Seriously, people. That robot is one of the greatest toys I have ever seen in my life.

That's it for now! There were several other gifts, but these were the most geeky. Now that I think about it, I never did show off all the epic geeky stuff I got for my birthday. Looks like I've got another haul post to write.

Anyway, it was a Merry Christmas indeed! Hope yours was, too!

My Newest Ink...

As some of you may know, I hit 40 years old  a little while back and I've heard a lot of people talking about 40-year-olds having a "mid-life crisis" or whatever, where guys find themselves suddenly middle-aged and they sort of freak out and try to re-capture something from their youth, but a lot of my friends have pointed out that since my everyday life is pretty much obsessed with re-capturing my youth, how different could I really seem if I were to go through a mid-life crisis? I have to admit, they have a point.

But I did want to do something to mark the occasion. And mark it in a big way. Permanently.

So, I got some ink.

I've been wanting to get more work done for a while, and for my 40th, I wanted to get something big in a spot no one can ignore. So I tattooed my hands. And when you get your hands done, which is a pretty huge commitment in itself, the theme better be about something that you love so much that you'll spend everyday for the rest of your life showing people that.

And I went with something that has literally made me a different person and guided me and entertained me for 36 of the 40 years I've been on this planet; Star Wars.

Let's say goodbye to these babies...

I decided that I wanted it all done in American Traditional style, and I had seen several examples of R2-D2 and Darth Vader done in that style that I loved, and so my tattoo artist got to work sketching up the templates for these. I wanted roses (a common American Traditional theme) around R2 and dead roses around Vader. 

I wanted R2 on my right hand, which is my drawing hand, the one I create with, so I thought the positive energy should be represented there.

First he put the stencil on...

Then we went to outline...

Make no mistake; This. Tattoo. Friggin. HURT.

There's zero meat on the back of your hand so all of my hand bones and tendons were taking a beating.

We went ahead and did the color on R2 before moving on to Vader, but I want to save that for the end.

Vader, obviously, went on my left hand and he and the dead roses represented decay or destruction to me, and since I'm a southpaw (which came in handy in my boxing training) I thought it only fitting to make my punching hand represent the darker side.

After it was all said and done, we were almost hitting the 6 hour mark and my hands were dying. The swelling over the following couple of days was practically comical. I could barely do anything for myself and even drawing or working a mouse at work was tricky, but I grunted through.

In all seriousness, I couldn't love these tattoos more. Josh down at Underworld Ink in Puyallup, WA did a fantastic job. I'm not gonna lie, part of me was pretty nervous about making such a huge leap by getting my hands done, but every day I look at these babies and love them even more.

The punchline to all of this, though, is that they're not even done! I fully intend on taking them further with a Rebel Alliance symbol going up the tops of my wrist over R2 (with yellow rays coming off of it) and an Empire symbol over Vader (with red rays), and then we're gonna top off the whole thing with the letters S-T-A-R on my right knuckles and W-A-R-S on my left knuckle. Go big or go home, I say.

Then the Force will truly flow through me.

I'll be sure to post the next phase once it's done in a couple of weeks! In the meantime, I've still got some healing to do.

And the Winners of the 2012 Action Figure Nativity Contest Are...

1st Place: Michael L.

And in 2nd & 3rd Place with 7 votes each, Derek A. & Dan P.!

Well done to all three of you! And my sincerest thanks to everyone who joined in!

I'll be getting some prizes mailed out to all three of you very soon (well, "very soon" in my terms, which can sometimes take forever, but I'll try to be quick about it).

I hope each and every one of you had a Marry Christmas!

Stay tuned for my annual Christmas Haul Report and a new State of the Horde Address coming up on the first with a sort of important announcement.

Congrats again, winners! Be sure to visit their blogs...

Dan P. at The Toy Museum
Derek A. at Goodwill Hunting 4 Geeks
Michael L. at Memories of Toymorrow

Merry Christmas from The Dork Horde!

It's Christmas morning, kids! I've gotten a couple of cups of java in me, we've opened up all of our presents, watched almost and entire showing of A Christmas Story and are now getting ready to head out to Denny's for our annual Christmas breakfast (we're not real big on cooking here in my household).

But I just wanted to take a minute to wish each and every one of my blog's readers and especially all of the members of The Dork Horde a very Merry Christmas, and I sincerely hope that Santa brought you everything that you wished for.

Happy Holidays, gang!

The 2012 Action Figure Nativity Contest is HERE!

Welcome, kids, to the 2nd Annual Action Figure Nativity Contest hosted right here in the Lair of the Dork Horde!

First, I want to give my sincerest thanks and a hearty "good luck" to all of this year's contestants! We've got some really great Nativity Scenes this year (although considerably fewer, but I totally understand how busy this time of year can get), so be sure to vote for your favorite in the poll on the right hand side of the blog.

But first, I wanna show of mine...

Ahhhh... 'tis the season to celebrate the birth of our savior, E.T.! This year, the parts of Mary and Joseph are played by none other than Batman and Wonder Woman. In an effort to cause Eric Stettmeier to suffer an aneurism, I decided to go almost 100% "dolly" this year. Happy Holidays, Eric!

Rounding out the cast we have the shepherds played by Luke Duke, The Phantom and Conan the Barbarian. Standing in for the three wise men are Dracula, the Wolfman and Frankenstein's monster, each bringing gifts of a tiny toy Pac Man ghost, a totally rad Santa Cruz longboard and the Sword of Omens. The various animals were represented by astromech droids and all was overseen by the glorious angel Mickey. A wild Wampa kept trying to get in the shot, but I think I finally got a pic without him in it.

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

Now, on to the contestants!

Please note the name of each contestant above their respective pieces and vote for them accordingly in the poll to the right. Let the voting begin!

Bryant G.

Dan P.

Derek A.

Jaime H.

Jeremy M.

Jodi

Kevin H.

Matt F.

Michael L.

Nathan N.

Ron R.

Howard D.

The winners will be announced on Dec. 26th and first, second and thrid place winners will get some sort of cool prize, which I haven't actually gone out and bought yet. But I will. I swear.

Good luck to you all and Merry Christmas!

(EDIT: Sadly, Howard D. can't be added to the poll, being a late entry and all, because the poll widget won't let you add to it once people have voted, which is kind of stupid. But it wouldn't be fair to those who already received votes for me to start the widget all over again and put everyone back to zero. So if you want to vote for Howard D., just post his name in the comments and we'll count 'em up and the end of the week. Sorry for this small glitch.)