Christmas Memories - Corgi C270 - James Bond Aston Martin DB5

When I was a kid I loved die cast cars. I enjoyed cars of all brands but both Dinky and Corgi were my favorites by far. The Christmas holiday is here and to continue the tradition of previous years I am sharing with you another favorite one that has survived to this day. Corgi's C270, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5. Mine is not in the best condition. The front bumpers are missing, the tire slashers and grill are not the original color and the front tires are from a different toy but the memories are priceless. Surprisingly, all the gadgets still work... more or less. Not too bad for a 40 year old car. ;-)

Hope you enjoy my crude attempt at a short stop motion action sequence.

Happy Holidays!

2012 Model Train Festival - Tacoma

There is something about model railroads that fascinates people of all ages. For me is the dioramas, those intricate sets depicting scenes of all walks of life. It is like life frozen in time. With Christmas quickly approaching what better way to spend an afternoon than checking out the displays of the 2012 Model Railroad Festival happening at the Washington Historical Society museum. Here are a few of my favorite images.

Christmas Memories - GI Joe Mobile Support Vehicle

Christmas 1972. You opened the Sears Wish Book catalog and there it was. Possibly THE coolest vehicle ever made available to the G.I. Joe Adventure Team! A two foot long mobile headquarters complete with a rotating search light and radar antenna. A flying reconnaissance camera helped the team to search for the dangerous "radioactive satellite".

I have to say it is just an absoute miracle that mine is still around after almost four decades! I have to thank my mother for the foresight of keeping it around all these years! It is a bit worn as it is the fate of any "favorite" toy. The result of all those memorable times all those years ago. But after a thorough cleaning it was ready for one last reunion with some of the surviving members of the Adventure Team.

Happy holidays!!

Members of the Adventure Team got together for one last reunion in the back yard.

From My Attic - A Lego Drilling Rig Based on the Technic 8854

The Mobile Crane (8854) is well known in the Lego world as one of the coolest Technic sets of the late 1980's. I think the main reason is so well regarded is that it includes so many interesting working features in such a small package. Mine arrived as a gift more that fifteen years ago. I assembled it right away and it sat in my desk for a long while gathering dust. I always thought it would make a good starting point for a drilling rig. I can't remember when but one day many years ago I got bored and decided to give it a try. I built a tower and added a stepping motor from the Mindstorms set to rotate the drill bit. The pneumatic cylinders, valve and pump were re-purposed to control the angle of the tower. I then added a few gears to be able to move the tower for and aft on the chassis. The result is quite a bit smaller than the original crane but it includes all the components to make it work. Check out the videos at the bottom of the post and you will see what I mean. I am sure my friends in the environmental remediation business would agree. It has been catching dust for many years. It was definitively time to bring it out. ;-p