Toy OTD: 1:18 Scale Johnny Lightning Diecast: The Mystery Machine

It's always great to see a company move outside of its core audience to reach others. While I loved tiny die-cast cars as a kid (mainly Matchboxes), in general I've left that interest behind. Anyone who's trying to keep their Hot Wheels collection complete in the face of the latest enormous wave will know what I mean! Not that I have anything against them, there's just too damn many to collect, unless that's all you collect, and even then you're in for a rough ride.

So I need to narrow my focus when I collect diecast vehicles, and that generally means gathering up only the examples that jab at my animation/nostalgia lobes deeply enough to override my better judgement. I tend to stick with 1/18 scale too, as they gobble up space quickly enough to keep me from getting too carried away.

This is one of the first toy cars I bought, and it's a pip. It sports a great paint job - one that's nicely on-model, from the original awkwardly-drawn logo right down to the 'flower power' hubcaps. This toy is clearly made for younger children, as it doesn't have steerable wheels or opening doors. Minuses to be sure, but the thing that bothers me the most is that there's no characters riding inside at all.

I'm assuming that this is a taste thing with the majority of diecast car collectors - they want the car, dammit, and they don't want things ruined with the presence of some figurines symbolizing much of what they didn't like about the show anyway. I'm not one of those folks, but if the manufacturers aren't sufficiently motivated, I do prefer no passengers to badly-cast or -painted ones, so I'll give it a pass.

I picked this up some time ago, but it's still easy to get on eBay. The price seems to range between roughly twenty-five and fifty dollars. Good luck!

Toy OTD: Funko Wacky Wobbler SDCC Exclusive: Scooby-Dum (2007)

I can feel your respect for me as a collector slipping away, and I'm not sure that I blame you. Scooby-Doo wasn't exactly Hanna-Barbera's creative zenith, and the show was wearing pretty thin by the time that Scooby-Dum came along. So why did I buy this?

I'm a big-time sucker for merchandise of obscure cartoon characters, and I do like how this was made. It's not perfect - the eye paint is a little weak, and it does have a(n arguably more necessary) label on it. But I like the fact that the pose is well-balanced, and that the base has been kept to a minimum (making it monochromatric - with the name sculpted on it, and not painted - might've been nice. Placing the nodder pivot at the collar is a good call, too.

This was an exclusive at the Funko booth last summer at San Diego Comic-Con. It's still for sale at toywiz.com for $69.99 + shipping (!!), a far cry from the under-$20 price that I paid. Surprisingly, eBay is the far saner option, selling there for $11.50 + $8.00 shipping. Phew! That's much better - Scooby-Dum's not that interesting a curio!

Toy OTD: Belae Scooby-Doo Soap Bottle (1999)

This isn't a Soaky soap bottle - (I think) those were made from the late fifties into the early seventies, so this is far too modern. Still, it's a terrific sculpt - better than a lot of the older bottle toys. It's great how the designer hid any trace of the cap under the head (it separates below the collar).

They get big points, too, for picking a character that you can sculpt in a pose that can form a bottle shape nicely, without resorting to props or small backgrounds. The colors of the head and body plastic are two clearly different browns (not as obvious in the picture), but it's a minor quibble considering how on-model and in character it is!

I bought this new at a Walgreens (or Target, or something like that) for less than ten dollars. I can't find one for sale online right now, so pop in a favorite search on eBay and keep your fingers crossed!

Toy OTD: Funko Wacky Wobbler: Velma

Funko just keeps delivering plenty of kidvid love - this time in the form of everyone's favorite bespectacled teen detective, Velma! As usual, the sculpt is nice, and the paint apps, while varying to a degree, are also good.

Rather than give the character a grotesquely oversized head, the designer wisely chose to bobble Velma at the waist, like a hula nodder. It's a nice touch that best preserves the integrity of the source design. There's the usual awkward and unecessary labeling of the base, but all things considered, it's a minor quibble.

You can get a Velma Wobbler for $8.49 + shipping at givemetoys.com.

Iwao Takamoto, 1926 - 2007

LA TIMES: Scooby-Doo creator Iwao Takamoto dies
From Associated Press 8:05 AM PST, January 9, 2007

In a career that spanned more than six decades, Iwao Takamoto assisted in the designs of some of the biggest animated features and television shows, including "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," "Lady and the Tramp" and "The Flintstones."

But it was Takamoto's creation of Scooby-Doo, the cowardly dog with an adventurous heart, that captivated audiences and endured for generations.

Takamoto died Monday of heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Warner Bros. spokesman Gary Miereanu said. He was 81.

Born in Los Angeles to parents who had emigrated from Japan, Takamoto graduated high school when World War II began. He and his family were sent to the Manzanar internment camp in the California desert, where he learned the art of illustration from fellow internees.

Despite a lack of formal training, he landed an interview with Walt Disney Studios when he returned to Los Angeles and was hired as an apprentice.

Takamoto worked under the tutelage of Disney's "nine old men," the studio's team of legendary animators responsible for its biggest full-length films before moving to Hanna-Barbera Studios in 1961. There he worked on cartoons for television, including "Josie and the Pussy Cats," "The Great Grape Ape Show," "Harlem Globe Trotters" and "The Secret Squirrel Show."

Takamoto said he created Scooby-Doo after talking with a Great Dane breeder, and named him after Frank Sinatra's final phrase in "Strangers in the Night."

The breeder "showed me some pictures and talked about the important points of a Great Dane, like a straight back, straight legs, small chin and such," Takamoto said in a recent talk at Cartoon Network Studios.

"I decided to go the opposite and gave him a hump back, bowed legs, big chin and such. Even his color is wrong."

Takamoto also created other famous cartoon dogs such as Astro from "The Jetsons" and Muttley, the mixed-breed that appeared in several Hanna-Barbera animations. He also directed the 1973 feature "Charlotte's Web."

Takamoto was survived by his wife, Barbara, son Michael and stepdaughter Leslie.

Funeral arrangements were pending.