Friday, October 19, 2012

Die Cast Dreaming


It's been a hobby of mine to go to malls, cornershop stores or some deserted kiosk looking for good stuff to buy (I specifically lookout for die cast cars or action figures). And like the MARS Curiosity rover, I find it fulfilling if after landing on an unknown world, I find something special to add to my collection.

Yesterday, I went to Makati Cinema Square and passed by a hobby store (forgot the name) in one of the stalls inside. And speaking of the Mars rover, guess what I found?

A Hotwheels 2012 Mars Curiosity rover die cast replica!






The Mars Curiosity rover (the real one) created such a large buzz in the media when it touched down on Mars surface last August. It sort of became this generation's Moon landing, with Mohawk guy becoming this generation's Neil Armstrong. (When you think about it, Neil Armstrong's death seem to signal a passing of the space torch- a farewell to the golden age of space travel and a welcome to the modern age.)


Okay enough of the space pondering. Along with the die cast Curiosity rover, I also found a Hotwheels 1:65 scale 2007 edition of the 1960's Batmobile (designed by George Barris) to add to my collection of batmobiles and other famous die cast cars. This would be my second 1966 batmobile. My first one, a 1:50 model went missing last Christmas after some children got access to my display cabinet and played with the cars. I've been looking for a 1966 batmobile since then (it has a sentimental value to me because of being one of the firsts in my collection).

So finding this one made me feel like a wound has been healed finally.




I recently got another batmobile in the toys section in  Landmark Makati. I tried to search in the net where it was based from to no avail. (If there's any one out there who knows, please share the knowledge.) The package has an image of Batman which looks similar to Neal Adams' Batman but that's the only  information I got from it. It seems like part of a 2011 series of Hotwheels devoted to DC Universe characters. There's also one for Catwoman, Bane and Joker and also for Wonderwoman and Green Lantern.





Some months ago, I've been wanting to buy a Batpod Hotwheels model but my wallet seem to stop me from doing so. But by June, during the hype of the Nolan's finale to this Batman trilogy I decided to buy--sort of to serve as a commemoration token for the movie. When I went to the toy store (Toy Kingdom), I saw there were a lot of new supplies on the rack for the Batpod (and other batmobiles). When I checked the price, I was shocked that they more than doubled their previous price. Good thing, when I went to the hobby store in MCS, there were old supplies (there's just 2 when I went there) and the prices are still the original, so I got to buy it in time for the movies release a few weeks later.






There is this small collectibles shop in the ground floor of SM Megamall. It's on the Shaw end of the mall right before the SM supermarket. The last time I went there, I got an official DC movie merchandise die cast batmobile from Burton's Batman movie. I've been meaning to go back there, they also sell action figures from comics, anime etc. The toys are arrange in a haphazard manner on the shelves which made me feel like searching for hidden treasures while looking around.




In the Toy Kingdom SM Makati branch, I got  a Greenlight The Fast and the Furious Dodge Charger. It's the car that Dom Torreto fears in the first movie. It's the one driven by Dom and eventually crashed. (Looking back, when I was watching that first installment, I never thought it would be a franchise that will go on for another 4 more movies and another one more coming).

There's also the Fast Five Dodge Charger (The ash colored one) but that would be a buy for the next time.





Still in the topic of movies, I got the DMC DeLorean from Back to the Future, I think it was from MCS also. The Back to the Future trilogy is one (or three) of my most favorite movies of all time. It's just so fun to watch agin and again. The movies contributed a lot to the pop culture of the 80's and even today. This car is one the aspects of the movie that made a great impression. (as well as Michael J. Fox's futuristic Nike Mag shoes which just had a revival some years back.) Anyway, the DeLorean time machine is one of the coolest time travel devices ever built in movies or TV.




Just a few more images.

Here's the batmobile from that Batman movie-that-must-not be named. The car actually looks cool. It looks sleek and fun (unlike the movie where it is from).





Here's the batmobile from the Batman: The Animated Series which is one of the best interpretation of Batman in any media. (And also has one of the most amazing Joker interpretations of all time, through the voice of Mark Hamill). This batmobile looks brooding, dark and gothic (perfect adjectives for the Batman).



This one is from the Batman: Arkham Asylum video game. I haven't played it yet but I hear its an incredible game.





For my Christmas wishlist, I want to have a die cast model of Men In Black 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria (the rocket  is optional), Green Hornet's Black Beauty (Guns and spikes optional), the Ghostbusters van (so I wont be afraid of no ghosts) and the Tumbler.

Here ends my overlong enumeration of some of the die cast cars in my possession.

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