Tat Tuesday.

In case I haven't said it before I am a bit of a knife collector. I don't collect really expensive or rare knives. In fact most of what I have runs in at less than $20 a piece. I just go for the aesthetics. The problem I have, other than the stigma of having been prone to psychological issues in the past and liking knives, is that I live in New York City and many types of knives are illegal to carry and some to even own. The first part of that isn't a problem, I don't carry a knife, I do carry a small multi-tool,  the second is. A lot of the knives I like fall into illegal territory. One such breed of knife is the Balisong or butterfly knife. As with most things there are ways to get around this. That brings me to today's Tat Tuesday item the Bottlefly. Let's take a closer look at this novelty.

Tat Tuesday.

Sometimes, when I look back at the toys of my childhood, I am amazed by how out of left field some of them were. I don't know if the 90's had a larger contingent of these crazy toy-lines then previous and following decades, or if they just stick out in my head more. Take Barnyard Commandos for instance, it is a line of toys built around pigs and sheep fighting each-other. It sounds stupid. In fact it was stupid, and yet it was so odd I couldn't help but love it. So on this edition of Tat Tuesday I'm going to take a look back on that stupid toy-line and tell you why I loved it so much.

Tat Tuesday.

I am finally back. You have no idea how hard it is to get back into the swing of things after being 'away' for so long. It doesn't help that I am very lazy by nature. Thankfully I was able to get past the siren song of my bed and get back to 'work'. On this edition of Tat Tuesday I'll looking back on one of the more unique toys of the 80s/90s. Let's take a walk down memory lane and pay a visit to the nostalgia bomb that is Madballs.

Tat Tuesday.

A few months ago, while speaking about the Game Gear, I mentioned the Neo Geo Pocket. It was another failed usurper to Nintendo's handheld dominance. Like the aforementioned Game Gear it was an awesome little system that while technically superior could not overcome the Game Boy. To be fair to those dearly departed systems nothing has come close to pushing Nintendo out of the number 1 spot. Sony has had some success but Nintendo just continues to rule the handheld scene. Which is a shame because the Neo Geo Pocket was a fantastic system. I loved it. To me it was the unofficial successor to the Game Gear. The Nomad doesn't count.

Tat Tuesday.

I started High School in the second half of 1997. Which was the same year that the Digimon virtual pet was released. I was given one as a gift from a relative who worked for a toy store. I got it before it was supposed to be released. This was during the virtual pet boom. You had Tamagotchi, Dogz  on PCs, and of course Pokemon. Eventually I got a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Red and Blue, but before that Digimon was the thing. I still have a place in my heart for that little piece of plastic. Which is why we're going to take a look back at it.
 

Tat Tuesday.

There are some toys, that you see as a kid, that you never get. For whatever reason they elude you. Maybe they are too expensive, or too rare. One of those ever elusive holy grails, for me at least, was Dino Riders. I remember going to a relative's house and seeing one of their kids playing with a Dino Rider. The sight of an armored dinosaur, with a miniature rider, that could walk gave me a toy boner. A toy boner, in case you don't know and you probably don't since I just made it up, is that feeling of utter jealousy and the realization that all of your happiness exists in a piece of plastic. I had that. I'm pretty sure I was drooling as well. But I never had a Dino Rider. In fact I don't think I ever even watched the show. Which is a shame. It must have been awesome. Even if it wasn't those toys were so awesome it didn't matter. Don't believe me? Take a look.

Tat Tuesday.

This book is why I never became a ventriloquist.

On this edition of Tat Tuesday I am not looking at a toy from my childhood. Instead I wanted to talk about one of the reasons I enjoy reading. Although I sadly don't do it as much as I should. As a kid I loved the Goosebumps series. They were books that were made for people my age. That age in between being a child an a teen. They call them "tweens"  now. Back then their wasn't a word for people that age. Maybe I was just getting caught up in the fad. I don't know but the stories were fun and the books were collectable. That added up to a much enjoyed series.

Tat Tuesday.

A few months ago I did a post on the old Battle Beasts toy line. At the close of the post I mentioned that Diamond Select had plans to release a new line of Battle Beasts. In fact they had a countdown clock ticking off the days until the return of the line. That clock ran down a few days ago. As such let's take a look at just what is on the horizon for the Battle Beasts. Let's call this Battle Beasts 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Tat Tuesday.

As a kid the toys I gravitated to were simple action figures, mainly G.I.Joes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and random comic book figures. As such I missed out on a lot of the more interactive/creative toys. Such as the Creepy Crawlers that you see above. I actually thought that the Creepy Crawlers were a 1980's creation but I was wrong. Let's take a look at the surprisingly long and deep history of the Creepy Crawlers.

Tat Tuesday.

While doing research for last week's M.U.S.C.L.E. post I came across a very similar toy-line. A line that I don't remember ever hearing about and never had first hand. Which, after taking a look at the toys, is rather sad. The series, called "Monster In My Pocket", follows in line with the small unpainted, non-poseable, and collectible figures I spoke about last week. In fact this series is often cited along with M.U.S.C.L.E. as a major influence by the makers of O.M.F.G., S.L.U.G., and Z.O.M.B.I.E.S.

Tat Tuesday.

Due to my new found interest in independent toys, thanks to the amazing Glyos series, I have become more aware of small static figures. A lot of smaller "Art Toys" fall into that category, due to how easy and inexpensive they are to make. The funny thing is I have a history with this type of toy. Actually most people my age, well at least guys, do. Growing up in the 80's there was a line of small non-posable figures that were everywhere. They weren't insanely popular but they were omnipresent. That line was called M.U.S.C.L.E. and that is what I will be talking about today.

Tat Tuesday.

Last Tuesday, while talking about 50 cent machines, I mentioned rubber band guns. That passing mention got me thinking. I have always loved things that shoot. That is to say Nerf blasters, BB guns, and anything that fires a non lethal projectile. The most easily accessible is the rubber band gun. This accessibility has made the rubber band gun, not only, a child hood favorite but a cubicle warfare standby. Let's take a look at the different kinds of rubber band guns.

Tat Tuesday.

Last week, while talking about Pogs, I mentioned that one of the reasons they were banned was the "gambling" aspect. That is to say you could play for keeps and win something. Which is, of course, the definition of gambling. What's funny is that gambling is a large part of a kids life. In fact childhood hobbies can be directly equated to forms of gambling. For instance Pogs are Dice, Card Games are Poker, and there are even slot machine equivalents. Which brings me to today subject. Bubble toy vending machines.

Tat Tuesday.

When I was a kid there weren't many collectable card games. By the time Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! came out I was in high-school and past the age of their attraction. I did collect comic book cards as a kid but there was no game to go along with the collecting. Most of these card games are considered to be nothing more than fads. That is arguable, but what is true is that there was a similar fad that I did fall into. I, and I am slightly embarrassed to admit this, was  a fan of Pogs. Pogs were small round pieces of cardboard or other heavier materials. The idea was that they can be collected and played with. I liked Pogs. I was good at the game. It was my fad. So I thought Pogs would be perfect for "Tat Tuesday". So let's take a look at the history of this, sadly, short lived fad. 

Tat Tuesday.

In the last edition of Tat Tuesday, while talking about the Yak Bak toys, I mentioned Power Penz. It was my intention to do a full post on the pens themselves but I hit a bit of a snag. There isn't that much information available on them. I can't find much about the history of the toy series but I did find a lot of pictures. So I figured I would just take a look at some of them and give my impressions on them. I did find an old blog that was dedicated to Power Penz. To be honest I did appropriate a few of the pictures from that blog. Anyway on to the good stuff.

Tat Tuesday.

Not too long ago I talked about the best Christmas I ever had. It was the year I got a Game Gear. A few years later I made a small mistake. I got caught up in the Virtual Boy hype. My parents, doing what all good parents do, broke their collective asses to get me the over priced piece of crap. As you can guess, by my calling it a piece of crap, the Virtual Boy did not live up to the hype. Luckily I asked for something else as well. This second item was much cheaper and really just an after thought. It was a Yak Bak. I loved it. It single handedly saved that years Christmas.

Tat Tuesday.

I have a confession. I have always loved vans. That may not sound bad but you have to remember that vans have become synonymous with a certain type of person. You have your Serial Killers, Rapist, Child Molesters, and Guys who live in Vans down by the River. Which means that Vans get a bad rap. Even with that I still love them. Especially when they have awesome murals on the side. Which is what this post is about. Check after the jump for some really cool pics.

Tat Tuesday.

Last week when I was talking about GameCenter CX I mentioned that I was never a real gamer. I did have a number of game systems as a child. My favorite were the portable systems. Such as the Game Boy (Including all its upgraded versions), Neo Geo Pocket, and my personal favorite the Sega Game Gear. Which, in case you haven't guessed, is this Tat Tuesday's topic.