PlaidStallions turns 11

This week marks the 11th anniversary of the launch of PlaidStallions. Truth be told, it was two days ago but life has been so bumpy lately, I totally forgot about it. That would have been a big mistake and here is why.

In eleven years of doing this, it has never felt like work and while it doesn't pay, it does pay back in all the wonderful (and often hilarious) feedback I receive from you folks. I look forward to doing this.

I cannot begin to properly explain how you all have impacted my life in a positive way and for that I'm very grateful today and this the reason that 11 years later I'm still scanning my smelly old catalogs.

Lining up some fun things for the remainder of the week including a new minisode podcast but I just wanted to start by giving praise where it's due. Thank you.

PlaidStallions Turns Nine Contest!

 

It took me by complete surprise this week that it has been nine years to this day that I decided to start this blog. 

Many thanks to my then infant daughter for taking a long nap on April 26, 2006  (she doesn't take so many these days) and giving me the time to begin this journey.

I really have to thank all of you for making this experience a dream, for commenting here and on the facebook page, for writing in, listening to the podcast and for making my book a success.

I am eternally grateful for the friends I've made and experiences I've had through this site.


To show that gratitude I'm having another contest:

Create a Rack Toy Contest!

I've done contests here before but this one was cooked up by my pal and podcast partner Jason Lenzi and it's brilliant.

Concept: Pick the most inane 1970s TV, comic or movie property you can think of and marry it with the most inappropriate rack toy you can think of.

Here's an example I drafted up but you don't have to do anything fancy, just send me the idea:

 

Email your best idea (no design work needed) to kid70s *at*  gmail.com (replace the *at* with an @) I'll pick the winners in Mid May and I'll even try to mock up the three best in photoshop like I have done above.

Prizes:

3rd Place: A copy of my book Rack Toys: Cheap Crazed Playthings

2nd Place: A Brick Mantooth action figure on a limited edition "Woolco" card

1st Prize: An Official Brick Mantooth Sky Diving Parachutist Figure Mint on Card.

Thanks again to everybody for reading, listening, supporting and joining in on the fun, it's made my life better.

I look forward to your entries!

PlaidStallions 8th Birthday Contest!

I say this every year but in addition to being pleased that I remembered the site's birthday a whole two days prior, I'm grateful for the entire experience. A new contest and a whole bunch more of my babble after the jump!

PlaidStallions Fifth Birthday Bash!

As if my pants inching up higher and the growing need to get those damn kids off my lawn weren't enough signs I'm getting older, this impulsive idea of mine hits another milestone.

Yes, we're five and I can't believe how far this has gone and that I've stuck to something this long. Seriously, I don't even finish sandwiches sometimes*. Originally I thought the site was a "five year mission" tops but I have so much I still want to do, that I simply have to keep going.

I've got a couple of treats in store today including a contest, an announcement and a way cool feature.

Thanks to all of you for the kind words and support over the years and especially for making me laugh, there are so many times I've logged on and wish I'd thought of the some of the comments you folks write.

Sometimes, with my weird little obsessions you can feel a like you're the only person who gives a crap, it's really nice to know I'm not alone.



(* That was BS, I not only finish sandwiches, I often finish other peoples as well)

Plaid Stallions 4th Birthday Bash

I know I promised a Cylon picture (and I'll get to that) but I just realized that today makes the fourth anniversary of this blog. So it seemed fitting to unveil Card #0 of the PlaidStallions trading cards, the Brick Mantooth action figure.

I cannot believe that it has been four years since I first created this blog and this (rather dry) first post. If you had have told me that I'd still being doing this let alone making trading cards, books and action figures I wouldn't have believed it. Mostly because I don't usually have that much "sticktoitiveness".

It's been an incredible positive trip and I've met some truly remarkable people and made some genuine friends. I truly thank you the reader for all your kind words and thoughts over the years, they've meant the world to me.

As with all the PS birthdays, it's time for another contest, just send me the answer to this question:

What's the one toy or childhood item from the 1970s you still wish you had?

Email me the Answer here and I'll announce the winners next Saturday.

Prizes include: Commercial DVDs, trading cards and Mego Reimagined Catalogs.

Again, my thanks to everyone for this terrific and fun journey.

PlaidStallions 3rd Birthday Bash!!

It's our third Birthday here at PlaidStallions (give or take a week, I need to write this stuff down) so I thought what better way to celebrate than to run a contest and give out some "party favours" so to speak.

So, the theme of this contest is Favourite Things. Namely, what is your favourite thing about PlaidStallions? send it to our mail box and you're in!

The top two names drawn will get a copy of our DVD plus a complete set of trading cards, the next three will win complete sets of the trading cards including two never before seen mystery cards!

I'll announce the winners on Tuesday's blog, in the mean time, here are some of my favourite things about this project, other than the great people I've met:

Mall Appearances are just something that stuck with me as a kid, if you're reading this on Saturday morning I'm actually meeting Darth Vader right now.

Fashion Mockery Everybody kind of lost their minds in the 1970s and we're all better for it. While I can't believe some of the styles, I wish the butterfly collar would make a come back.

Lincoln Monsters working on this site reconnects me with lots of childhood favourites but none as prized for me as the Lincoln Monsters. I'm a huge geek for these hastily made figures and am still actively seeking some out (ahem)

Rack Toys I love cataloging Rack Toys, the stranger, the better. It doesn't look like I'll ever run out of material in this department.

Enough about me, tell me yours and thanks for reading my weird ramblings and ignoring my horrible grammar and Canadian spelling for these past 3 years.

Plaid Stallions enters the "Terrible Twos"

It's hard to believe that it's been two years since I started this blog, primarily to fill the time one afternoon while my baby daughter napped. It's a strange feeling, it seems like yesterday although I can't remember a time when this didn't exist. I had no idea what I was doing when I made my first fashion mockery post (which got a whopping two hits,probably both me) and I had maybe 12-15 department store catalogs in my collection. Since then, it's grown into something a little bit larger:

Now it's balooned into the monstrosity you see before you, an burgeoning mass of catalogs, toy store fliers, colouring books, newspapers, Archie digests (I like them, ok!) and more magazines than a man should own.

If I stopped buying catalogs today, I could probably coast on the lot I have for about 12 months but I can't seem to bring myself to stop buying.

Speaking of which, I made a purchase recently of a catalog I already own, the reason was that I had ripped out one of the pages when I bought it back in 1989. It had to go in my locker you see, it was just too cool, I called the gentlemen in the picture "The Plaid Stallions"

Yes indeed, these are the original Stallions, ripped from the pages of a 1974 Eaton's Catalog, God Bless 'em! Also, to commemorate this occasion (this is not at all a coincidence) I've done some new things:

First, I've completely revised the Plaidstallions website , I was never really happy with the original design so I cleaned it up and toyed with the format. One thing you will notice is all the videos are gone, I moved them into their own gallery.

I'm also geeked to announce these:

Yep, I ripped off the Megomuseum (they'll forgive me) and am putting out a couple of Plaidstallions trading cards. The first two are due soon, I have no idea what to do with them, probably give them out through this blog. I have plans for one or two more, maybe a sticker, we'll see.

So that's it, I'd like to thank everybody for making the last two years an absolute joy, props to the folks who sent in mall appearance photos, the supportive gang at the museum forums, my webmaster Joe DeRouen, Steve Leach, Rob Chatlin, Scott Adams, Rob Kelly, Ben Holcomb, Amanda Currey, Keene Silfer, Daniel from Action Figure Insider, , Robert Berry from Retrocrush, Sharry, the wonderful myspace gang, Detour magazine, WGN Chicago, Rob at topless robot and my ever supportive wife, Michy.

And giant thanks to all the folks who regularly visit this blog making way more clever comments than I can ever think of, you people make me laugh everyday and make me want to turn on my computer.

As a bonus, a piece I wrote for Topless Robot is up today. It's an extenson of a blog I wrote here called the 9 ugliest female action figures ever. Enjoy!