Nothing haunts us, like the things
we didn’t buy.
I saw these words of wisdom on the
front wall over at a book store the other day and I immediately said to myself
that this would be a good discussion topic for my blog. As a toy collector, I
can totally relate to this (in fact, my wife still hasn’t forgiven me for not
picking something up on the cheap many years ago despite having the chance to
do so) and I’m sure MANY more of you can too.
So what I’m gonna do is list down some
stuff, as far as my memory permits me, that eluded my collection due to my
reluctance/spur of the moment inability to spot a gem/plain stupidity/sheer
ignorance. These may not mean much to some but as of date these are still part
of that hole in my collection.
1) Kenner’s Jedi Spirit 3-pack
(Obi Wan, Yoda & Anakin) – this deserves top spot simply because this was
THE item that sparked my interest to start this article in the first place! And
yes, my wife still haunts me about them every time I talk about hard-to-find
collectibles. To further add salt to my injury, it was then only RM20 or a mere
USD5 by today’s forex rate. It was the ONLY Jedi Spirit set amongst a sea of
Jabba’s Skiff Guards set but I somehow chose to pick up something which was not
only in abundance but obviously a per warmer. Years later, the Jedi Spirit set
remains a favourite among collectors despite the Power of the Force action
figures being totally outdated and laughed at due to its funny body proportions
and cartoony face sculpts. I often get reminded of that moment in time every
single time I reach the end of Return of the Jedi i.e. that Ewok celebration
scene on Endor. Hasbro has yet to re-visit the Jedi Spirit set and thus the
PoTF version still holds its relevancy till today. Yup, I'll never hear the end of it.
2) Coleco’s Starmax Bomber – This
is probably my biggest toy regret back in the 80s. I was a huge Starcom fan
back in the day and this was naturally a must-get for any fanatic of the
cartoon show. Many of my friends at the time had already gotten their mitts in
the uber cool Space Marine vehicle piloted by that even cooler Capt Rip Malone
but I was struggling to find one at my local TRU. After a couple of failed
search attempts due to unavailability of stock, my late dad (God bless his
soul) asked me if I’d want to give the TRU store another chance during the
weekend. Being the impatient little man that I was, I declined the offer and
bought myself a Starwolf instead (That’s the little foldable aircraft that fits
into the Starmax’s cargo hold) and a bunch of other random stuff which
incidently amounted to what the Starmax would’ve cost anyway. Not one half an hour
later we made our way to another retail store in the same shopping complex (OMG
I totally forgot it exists!!!!!!) and there in their crowning glory were
endless stacks of crisp Starmax Bombers boxes. I knew I couldn’t get another
toy until the next weekend but guess what? All of those stocks of the ‘Bomber
was gone too by the time we made the visit the following weekend. I never got
to own a Starmax Bomber despite it being so high up on my want list until
today.
3) The Real Ghostbusters:
Firehouse Headquarters – The year was 1987 and Kenner had just released the huge
Ghostbusters HQ for your cartoon versions of Peter/Egon/Ray/Winston. My late
dad (again) played a monumental role in almost getting me possibly one of the
coolest toy playset ever that came out from the 80s. When I said ‘almost’ I
meant to say that I had the chance to own this but seeing that I was very much
into M.A.S.K. and G.I. Joe at the time, I chose to get some other things
instead (totally forgotten what they were) because everybody else in school has
had most of the latest M.A.S.K./Joe toys already. I can vividly remember the
Firehouse sitting pretty at retail and I think they stayed there for a
considerable amount of time since most boys were venturing into other
adventure-type of cartoon series by then and the toys from the likes of
Thunderhawks/GI Joe/Cobra/Centurions etc. My dad offered to get the Firehouse
for me (I’m assuming now that it was on some sort of sale) but I simply fell
into buying what was popular and widely available at the time. Stupidest
decision ev-er!
So, what about yours? Would be
great if you could list down your ‘regrets’ and link them up in the comment
section below.
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