I Finally Completed my 2018 Matchbox Collection

  Last year the distribution for Matchbox was terrible in my area. I mean really bad. I was barely able to find the new models that I needed to complete the set. 2 models have eluded me for one whole year. Those models were the 15 Cadillac Escalade and the Oshkosh M-ATV in tan. I never saw that wave at retail like ever. A few years ago Matchbox released an Oshkosh M-ATV in tan but I passed on it when I saw it in Dollar General like an idiot. Oh well. I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Hot Wheels Retro Entertainment Ferrari 250 GTO California when I saw it at Toys R Us. That one I will never get over not buying when I had the chance.

2018 is complete

  No where was I going with this again? Oh yeah, how I got the 2 Matchbox cars I was looking for. Well I acquired them in a trade. This is where buying doubles of cars has sometimes paid off. You see years ago, I started a habit of buying 2 of every Hot Wheels car that was from a movie. I didn't always buy 2, it only started a few years prior. There were several Batmobile's that I never bought 2 of. Anyway, I love the Hot Wheels Isuzu VehiCROSS. I love it so much, that I bought all 3 different ones in silver, yellow and red. I bought 2 of each. One was to open and one was to keep carded. So I had acquired a silver first edition VehiCROSS, Aston Martin DB10 and green Panoz LMP. The person who I traded with couldn't find them in his area, and I couldn't find the Escalade and M-ATV in my area. He also had a Forza AMC Rebel Machine that I wanted. I am a sucker for American Motors cars. So that's how I ended up completing my 2018 Matchbox collection.

I found my 24th Super Treasure Hunt Car today

  Today I had a hankering to go to Walmart. I just couldn't be at ease until I got there. Right now Walmart's across the country are getting in the Easter toy shippers. Usually they contain all different toys for Easter basket stuffers. Usually these seasonal shippers have 2 things I like to collect, Lego Polybag sets and Hot Wheels cars.
  So I head to the toy dept hoping they had the shipper. My luck paid off they did indeed have the shipper. First I spotted, the Lego Polybag sets, I see two new Star Wars polybags, the Naboo Star Fighter and Snowspeeder. I don't like the prequel films, since Plinkett's reviews have changed my mind on how crappy they were. I try to distance myself from anything associated with the prequels. Since I collect Lego Star Wars Polybag sets, I had to get them anyway.
  Now I went to the other side of the shipper, where the Hot Wheels cars were. It looked like the shipper was untouched. So I started to rummage through the dump bin grabbing the cars that I needed. I spotted the 96 Porsche Carrera, and the Spider Mobile. Great that's 2 cars down. I was really pressed for time, so I really didn't have time to dig for anything else. So just when I was about to give up, I dug into the middle of the Shipper and found a '92 Ford Mustang Super Treasure Hunt car! I couldn't believe it. I found my 24th Super Treasure Hunt Car! Well technically my 25th if you count the duplicate 2017 '69 Chevelle SS Super Treasure Hunt that I found a few weeks ago. I don't really count duplicates. So I was so happy that I found my 2nd Super Treasure Hunt from 2019, the first being the '90 Honda Civic EF that I found last year.

Downsizing the Collection

  I collect all types of things. Die cast cars, action figures, hats. and soundtracks. However I needed to cut back on one of my collection, my WWE figures. You see I loved to collect the Legends/Flashback figures and most importantly the Women's figures. With Mattel's horrid distribution and lack of Flashback figures, I decided that I am done collecting flashbacks. So I decided to sell off a majority of my Flashback figures. I'm still collecting the Women's figures though.
  Deciding what to keep was the hardest part. So I narrowed it down to which wrestler will I keep and which ones will I sell. It was tough to decide on who stays and who will go. I eventually decided I would keep the most iconic figures, such as DM Hulk Hogan, Legends Series 5 Macho Man Randy Savage and Andre The Giant. I also decided to keep my Kane collection. I try to collect every different incarnation of his attire going back to Dr. Issac Yankem DDS. I also decided I would keep my announcers and suited figures as well.
  Anyway, the reason I decided to downsize my collection is because, I haven't been getting a lot of figures like I used to. Partially is because I am losing interest in collecting. The Women's figures keep me going. They are the only ones that I am interested in. Other than that, It's time to get out of collecting. I need the money as well.

Another Snap-on Thrift Store Find

  I go to different thrift stores a few times a week. I always checkout the selection of hats. In the past I have acquired quite a few Snap-On Tools branded merchandise at thrift stores. I have found a winter jacket, a hoodie and a few different hats. Yesterday I acquired another hat.
  I decided to venture off to The Salvation Army yesterday to kill some time. So as usual I went to check out the hats. Not hoping to find anything good, they put out some new hats. Some were literally new with the tags. While rummaging through the hat rack I saw a black Snap-On Owner's Edition hat for $1.99. I own a handful of Snap-On tools that belonged to my father so I had to have this hat. This hat was priced right at $1.99. I did see a blue Aarons hat for $1.99 as well that was new with tags but I decided to just get the Snap-On hat. On the back of the hat it says their old slogan Snap-On There Is A Difference. Where do I know that slogan from? I've seen it on my 2001 Snap-On Catalog.
 

I Finally Got A Team Issued NASCAR Hat

  If you are a NASCAR fan like me, you probably own some racing hats. Unfortunately today, not all hats are available to the public. Years ago if a driver had a certain hat, they sold such hats. Today drivers don't just have one sponsor for the whole season, some have multiple sponsors that alternate during the season. So these other sponsors usually don't have hats made up for the fans to buy. They are usually team issued. Which means they are only given out to employees of a race team.

My Team issued hat.

  Now I am a fan of Michael Annett. I love his TMC Transportation sponsored car. Michael Annett's father, Harold Annett, owns TMC Transportation. However as you may have guessed, JR Motorsports doesn't sell TMC Transportation racing hats. I've been trying to track a TMC Transportation racing hat for a while now. They hardly ever come up for sale. A few days ago I was browsing eBay and I saw a Michael Annett TMC Transportation, Darlington throwback hat. I've seen this hat on eBay before and it was a whopping $32.99. I wasn't going to pay $32.99 for a team issued hat. To my surprise the hat was 40% off making the hat $19.79! At 40% off I could finally pull the trigger and buy the hat.
  Team issued hats can be expensive on eBay. You have to check often to see what pops up from time to time. I've seen Chip Ganassi Racing 5.11 Tactical hats go for as much as a brand new 59Fifty fitted goes for. I like mesh hats but there is no way I would spend $35 on a trucker hat. So this hat is one of my Christmas presents from my Aunt. She gave me a $50 MasterCard gift card for Christmas.  So I will be buying more stuff on eBay with the gift card. I'm done on the team issued hats.

Reunited At Last

My Long Lost trucks

  Today I was told to bring down an old cradle toy out of the attic for my niece. So I did just that. To my surprise was, 4 missing Hot Wheels Monster Jam trucks. I thought these trucks were lost for good. I haven't seen them in years. I thought the trucks were long gone. My niece wanted the trucks but since they were mine, I was not going to give them up. You see I collected the Hot Wheels Monster Jam line and these 4 trucks were some of my first trucks that I owned. These trucks were the short hub metal based ones. These are also more desirable to collectors. Anyway these 4 trucks were Five-O, Hot Wheels, Team Meents and The Incredible Hulk. I never thought I would hold these trucks in my hand again. It's good to be reunited with old toys.

I Found my 22nd Super Treasure Hunt car Today

 I collect Hot Wheels Cars. That's a given. Pretty much every collector is hungry for a Super Treasure Hunt car. You're lucky if you only find one in your lifetime. You're even luckier if you find 22 of them in your lifetime. Best part is I never bought one online. I found every single one of my Super Treasure Hunt cars in a store. The only one I never found in a store was the 2001 Panoz LMP that I bought at the Farmer's Market for $1. The seller had no idea what he even had.

My 22nd Super Treasure Hunt Car

 So today I had a huge trash bag full of store bags that had been sitting around my house for what seemed like an eternity. Mom told me to take them to Walmart to place them in their plastic bag recycling bin. Not a problem at all. As with every trip to Walmart, there has to be a trip to the toy dept. That's a given. So I went to the diecast section and noticed that they must have freshly stocked a new case of Hot Wheels cars, seeing the pegs filled up with a 2019 A-Case.
  I searched the pegs looking for the Super Treasure Hunt 90 Honda Civic EF. This particular Super Treasure Hunt Car is really hard to spot. This car blends right in with the regular version. You need to pay attention to the detail of any white 90 Honda Civic EF from the 2019 lineup for the Super Treasure Hunt. So how hard is it to tell apart the Super from the basic? Well for one, they are almost painted identically. It doesn't help that they are also both painted white. While the Super is painted in a pearl white color, it's still hard to spot.  One thing that sets them apart is the wheels. All Super Treasure Hunt cars have Real Rider rubber tires. If you aren't sure just check the wheels on the Civic.
  So I was so happy when I did a double check and saw 2 90 Honda Civic EF's. One was the regular and the other was a Super. I couldn't believe it. I found my 22nd Super! I went to purchase the car in the Automotive section. I later went home and placed it in a Car Keeper protector and hung it on my wall with the rest of my Super Treasure Hunt cars. So far I found 4 this year. I found 2 from 2017, 1 from 2018, and the first of 2019. I hope to find more next year or sooner. The hunt will continue.