Great Gifts

Transformers figures are incredibly popular toys due to their excellent story lines, wild history, and simple coolness factor. While newer additions to the toy line are impressive with their gadgetry and intricate transformations, the clunkier and larger toys of the eighties are extremely desirable, partially due to their controversial history.

In the 1970’s, Japanese toy company Takara created the popular Diaclone and Microman toy lines, which featured figures that transformed into vehicles, robots, and electronics devices. Hasbro was already partnering with Takara for the G.I. Joe toy line and continued the partnership to introduce the Transformers figures toy line, while simultaneously buying the Diaclone toy line outright.

A backstory was commissioned for the toy line and many new figures were added, while many of the original Diaclone toys were reworked to fit in with this new story line. That’s the easy piece of their history. Then things begin to get confusing.

Shortly thereafter, the Marvel comic was launched in the United States. It would later be released in the UK and Japan, inspiring new figure variations and dual names for figures in the process. In 1984 the TV series was launched, but the writers didn’t precisely follow the original backstory.

In 1986, the full length animated movie was launched, two more seasons of the animated series were developed, and the UK and Japanese story lines were still being launched. In the early 90’s, the second generation series was produced (G2), followed by Beast Wars, followed by a new series of toys and comics created by Dreamwave in the early 2000’s. This all led to wild discrepancies in backgrounds, plots, characters, and many other aspects associated with the backstory and toy line.

At the same time, Hasbro was launching more and more Transformers figures and sets, including Headmasters, Powermasters, Dinobots, Triggerbots, Trainbots, Throttlebots, Constructicons, Sparkobots, Protectobots, and many more. Many of these toys were truly engineering wonders. Wait a minute, don’t tell me that you thought there was only one toy line?!

Adding to the confusion are the new Transformers releases, inspired by the feature film. Some of these new toys even feature cross-over promotions with the popular Star Wars franchise. While these transforming figures don’t carry the same geek appeal as Star Wars vintage action figures or the original Transformers figures, they are very popular with newer fans of both the Transformers and Star Wars series.

The bottom line is that Transformer action figures are more than just a fun memory for many collectors; they are also a perfect example of cooperation, design ingenuity, and creativity not often seen in the current mass market toy releases. Thanks to their past, vintage Transformers figures should remain popular and collectible for many years to come.

Popularity: 32% [?]

Technorati Tags: Collectibles, games, hobbies, home, toys

Historians today recount the American Civil War in a number of different lights. Some historians are more sympathetic to the Confederate point of view regarding secession from the Union, while others clearly tell the story of the war from a Northern perspective. The best historians will base their work on fact and solid historical evidence. For the Civil War buff that does not want to rely only on historians to recount the events of the Civil War, it is a worthwhile task to become something of a historian himself or herself. This is done by taking up the collection of Civil War documents.

There are a plethora of war documents left from the Civil War, including bonds, public announcements and diaries and journals. Numerous newspaper articles also exist that tell the story of the Civil War from the perspective of journalists who were living through it (and sometimes actually fighting in the battles themselves). For anyone who is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the Civil War and expanding beyond the traditional knowledge of the war that is taught in history books, it is essential to begin collecting Civil War documents. Owning and studying these documents will allow the collector to become intimately familiar with the everyday realities of the war and will bring to life the historical stories that have been passed down through generations.

One of the most popular types of Civil War collectibles is the warship replica. The Civil War was played out on both land and water, and boats and warships played a huge role in the course of the war. As such, Civil War warship collectibles are a great way to learn about the maritime battles and to get a feel for what the wartime ships really looked like. Ironclad ships were particularly critical during Civil War battles, and replicas of a number of these ships are available for purchase today. Ships such as the C.S.S. Virginia and the U.S.S. Monitor are available for purchase in a number of stores specializing in Civil War collectibles. These ships will allow collectors to view such intricate details as the canons, rams, and bombs that were part of the boat’s structure.

Yet another fascinating collectible are guns that were used during the Civil War. The weapons of the Civil War played a huge part in determining the course of the war. Weapons in the 19th century were very different from modern weapons, being much more heavy and firing fewer shots per round than modern guns. By collecting Civil War era guns, collectors will have the chance to truly discover what it feels like to hold these old, hardened guns and to imagine what it must have been like in a Civil War battlefield. The pirate flintlock pistol is one weapon that was extremely popular during the war, and the woodent stock and brass finish that distinguishes many of these pistols today gives an idea of the care that was taken with manufacturing these weapons in the mid-18th century.

Another popular collectible that was used in conjunction with weaponry is the well-known Civil War cavalry bugles. These bugles were critical to the logistical success of battles and were utilized in order to tell the troops when to advance, charge, and withdraw. Cavalry bugles can be found in many stores specializing in Civil War collectibles, and they often have a rusty antique finish.

Bullets are a Civil War collectible that are to be found in large abundance. After the bloody battles of the Civil War were finished and the wounded and dead soldiers carried away, the battlefields were left deserted except for the bullets that were left cluttered in the fields. Civil War bullets were often collected by the townspeople who lived near the battlefield and kept as a reminder of the dangerous battles. These bullets were then often passed down through generations and many have ended up in Civil War collections and can be purchased. These bullets are interesting, and may give the collector an eerie feeling to know that what he/she is holding was once shot out of a gun on a chaotic battlefield. However, it is just because of that feeling that these bullets are such an important collectors item they truly convey the sense and emotion of the war. The types of guns in which they were shot are used to identify bullets. Some of the more well known are the .69 caliber belonging to a Smoothbore musket and the .55 caliber from the Austrian rifle musket.

For those who wish to gain a better and more experiential understanding of the horrors and critical events and battles which took place during the Civil War, becoming a collector of Civil War memorabilia is an invaluable hobby to take up. Not only is it possible to become familiar with some of the most critical items of the war, such as weapons and bullets, one may also learn more about warships that were used during the war. There are many Civil War collectibles besides the three discussed above these include manuscripts, buttons, and confederate bonds. As one begins a Civil War collection, all of these items will become a part of the individual collection that is created, and each individual item will in turn contribute to increasing the collectors knowledge of the American Civil War.

Popularity: 31% [?]

Technorati Tags: Collectibles

One of the very best things about eBay is that it is a fabulous place to find collectible items, that just a few short years ago, would have been very hard to find. There are so many different categories within the collectible category on eBay. It actually looks to be the largest category that they have. It can be fun to ‘challenge’ eBay collectibles. “Oh, I bet they don’t have scratch ‘n sniff stickers…” Yep! They sure do!

The range of items in that category is so varied, the only limit, really, is your imagination. From military collectibles to thousands of different Pez candy dispensers, you can find just about anything.

A really cool thing about this is that you have a one-stop-shop for filling out and completing your collections. You might be a McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy collector. Ten years ago, acquiring all of the pieces for each collection was a lot harder to do. You had to call around to all of the different McDonald’s and drive around, trying to chase down the whole collection. And if you missed any pieces, you were pretty much out of luck. Now, you can just head straight to eBay and you will have the complete collection in no time at all!

Another great thing about shopping on eBay is that you can use it as a price comparison tool. If you’re not sure how much to sell something for, or if you think someone might be asking too much for something, you can just browse around the listings of eBay to find the best and most current prices. This makes it a useful tool for collectible buyers and sellers both online and offline. As they say, you can shop victoriously.

Popularity: 33% [?]

Technorati Tags: Collectibles