Cooey's Toy Box

I've occasionally gotten Happy Meal toys but this is one of the cutest toys they've released. This kitten's eyes turn dark, big and oh so adorably round! And here's a video of the eye action. It's sooooo cute!

Here's an amazing 2,000-foot-long Hot Wheels Track! The video is  a charitable effort designed to raise money for Hope for Gabe , a charitable foundation to help fight Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy . Drop by the links and know more about Hope for Gabe.

Because I'm excited about my new toy, I used my google fu and dug up this gem of a site about nerfs. Check out Nerf Guns: Pics and Reviews of all Toy Nerf Guns . I also discovered a subgenre of aficionados  who customize their nerf blasters: NERF GUN MODIFICATIONS CUSTOM NERF GUNS THE NERF PLACE TO BE Maybe I'll buy another pair and see if I can make a mod.

I got a Maverick REV-6 as a gift this month. My nephew and I have been playing with a brace of Mavericks since last year but this is my first Nerf gun. Here's the wiki entry about the Maverick: The Maverick REV-6 is a revolver-type blaster and is currently Nerf's most successful and most popular gun to date. Receiving very high praise, the Maverick is one of the most popular for its ability to be modified and for its low price. The Maverick REV-6 is capable of firing darts up to 25 feet and at an average firing rate of 60 shots per minute. The slip clutch in the Maverick's revolving barrel is known to cause jams; if this becomes a problem to the user it is possible to modify the clutch to no longer slip. Other popular modifications include the "Barrel Drop" mod, which enables the revolving barrel to drop out far enough to grant access to 4 barrels, instead of the 2 allowed in stock form.

The ever-thoughtful Mr. T ( Tonie Algunas) surprised me with a birthday gift this morning at the office with a Hot Wheels 2004 First Edition 001 Batmobile! I debated for awhile whether I should open the carded diecast until the wrinkle on the lower part of the package decided it for me. Man! I wanted to get this baby into my hands:) Here's a quick walk-around of the model. It's in purple and black metal flake (Hot Wheel's term for metallic colored castings) with a black base and PR5 wheels. The PR5 series of diecast wheels were named for Phil Riehlman -- celebrated Hot Wheels designer -- who designed the wheel starting with the 2000 series. More pix when I get this baby home and under my studio lights. Enjoy!

I picked up a bag of rather largish 54mm Vikings from a HOng Kong company called Supreme. I'm pretty sure these are recasts but of what I have no idea. The figures are horridly painted but that doesnt matter since I'll be repainting them anyway. The details on the sculpts look rather crisp and aside from the rather Basil Rathbone-ish mustaches and beards, I figure these can be nice Norsemen. I'll be posting the painted versions soon. Enjoy!

Some of my favorite toys are my toy soldier sets with plastics dominating a large portion of my collection. Featured here are plastic recasts of the Britains Saracen Knights, also billed as Storm Knights. These 54 mm figures come with removable weapons and bases. The originals are quite rare, with mint samples reaching $70 to $100. Too bad mine are only repros, bought from a department store toy section for around $3 a bag. I still enjoy fiddling around with them immensely, with some figures receiving paint jobs and being basis for conversions. I'm currently in the process of displaying these in my hobby room and I thought I'd take a few snaps. The box art shown above is not mine though. I picked it up on the net some time ago. The pictures below can be clicked for bigger versions.