The Story (thus far)

When I was a kid, I liked Batman.

I grew up in the Sixties and Seventies. That was a golden age for liking Batman.

I wanted to BE Batman. I don't know why really.

I wasn't overly disposed to justice or fighting crime. I just really liked the costume.

The image. Comic Books. Superheroes.

I couldn't get enough of it.

Back then we didn't  "collect" toys. We played with them. And we played hard.

Even our favorite, treasured items regularly took a pounding.

This is something that parents struggle with.

I try very hard now as a Dad to remember that play is tactile and explosive.

As adults, we tend to think of kid's toys (that we've paid for) the same way we think of

our own possessions. Like our cars.

But you have a different agenda as a kid.

So when, as an adult I felt the inevitable lure of nostalgia, that refuge of memories

of safer and happier times (regardless of reality) - I did what most people seeking tangible proof

of those days do - I headed to the attic.

And yes, some toys had survived a major house move, infrequent house cleanings, and the odd

yard sale purge. But alas, not the ONE toy that by itself shone in my memory as a

symbol for my entire childhood toy bliss: The 1966 Corgi Die-Cast Batmobile.

This was one of the coolest toys ever made. I liked it so much, I played with it so hard - I remember

that in the course of a few years I was actually given more than one of them.

Inconceivable in those days.

And so, 20 years later, with my visual memory in full force I set out to find that toy.

I tracked down the Corgi Batmobile and a few older toys from my youth and had

assembled a little shelf full of these memories. Everything was fine. Boy the Sixties were great.

The coolest toys in the world came out then and here I have collected them again. Contentment.

Then in 1988, as a Birthday present, my then-girlfriend (now wife) gave me another Batmobile toy.

Not a 1966 Batmobile but one that had been made recently. Hey cool.

Who knew that kids still liked Batman? Nice box art too. Hey - what are all these little guys pictured

here on the back of the box? Oh there's a pamphlet inside, let's see here - Oh, crap...

Here I was discovering a new world of superhero toys that I never even knew existed.

Music. Cars. TV Shows...Things that come out after your formative years, you sometimes tend to

think of as absolute dreck. You know - "They don't make them like they used to."

But - If you start to sift through you find some gems.

And as many prospectors might tell you - those gems are just perks.

it's the sifting that's the fun part.

One of the things that was better (or worse, depending on who you talk to) about being a kid in the

Sixties and Seventies was that the absence of two things - 1) The internet and  2) Toy publications.

Both different  offshoots of the age of information. These things have created an "end of innocence"

patina on the whole toy world. Kids today know about what's coming out whole years in advance

of their arrivals in stores. In 1969, you got what your parents found for you at K-Mart or Woolworth's.

Maybe if you were lucky, you got to ogle the Sears Christmas Wishbook and circle crucial items

with a pen. But it was aptly named - WISH book. And it showed you toys that already existed. Possibly even old

toys from last year that weren't even made anymore. I remember distinctly gawking at grey-scale

drawings that showed the amazing Ideal Batman Playset and knowing that it was somehow so far out

of my reach, I didn't even bother to circle it.

Those were simpler times. Imagine the sheer outrage that would ensue if a retail catalog chain like

Sears dared to put the word "Christmas" on their publication these days.

We didn't know what toys were coming out next season. We certainly didn't have full color guides

accounting for all the toys that had already come out for 40 years and their values in the

collector's market. We were amazed and happy with what we were given. We have forums and blogs now,

where we can whine about why the new Batman figure's cape isn't the right shade of Blue.

Why Princess Leia's genderless mug looks more like an ape than a human.

And somehow, allegedly - the toymakers are listening now.

Listening to collectors. Amazing.

But it wasn't always this way.

And maybe partly because of something that I've had the fortune to be a part of, the industry has changed a bit.

Custom toy making.

Kenner never came out with a Super Powers Batgirl figure? Aurora never issued an

Aquaman model? Boba Fett with rocket launcher is too much money?

Don't fret - make it yourself.

It is a new art form. It is expression, and freedom, and the future.

I'm not the best, I see new stuff everyday that blows yesterday's stuff out of the water.

I can't take credit for being the most prolific.

But I was among the first. And I get emails all the time from people who remember my old ads in

Toy Shop magazine and seeing my figures in magazines. I get letters from far off countries asking to

buy items I haven't advertised in over 12 years.

So feel free to email me if you remember the old stuff, have new questions or comments.

And if you have custom work of your own you want to show off

I'll be featuring other people's work as well  - so send them to me.

This website has been a looooong time coming so I hope you enjoy it.

Scot Fleming

(Scooter)

January, 2005