Another time to 'shut things down' for a while!

 

It's that time again, gang! Without going into too much detail (it's MOSTLY just boring, kinda dreary 'real-world' stuff anyway! And I try to keep clear from that kind of drudgery, here in my little TEENY-TINY corner of the web!)--- I've decided to shut things down here for a bit!

Also like last time, there's NOTHING bad going on with my health, no other kinds of personal or family-crisis-related stuff (outside of a few---again, pretty routine--- issues and situations that need to be dealt with!)! It's just better if I set aside this little goof-ball, geek-out-fest that is 'Loyd Stuff', and be all 'responsible-and-fully-involved-with-the-real-world'!  For a while anyway! 

Hopefully, I'll be back shortly--- with the USUAL crunchy-geeky-goodness! Meanwhile, stay safe, sane, and happy everybody!

Loyd's BONUS video-clip!!---# 41!!--- Another REALLY-NEAT-O 'Bat-item' gets restored!

The aircraft of a certain 'Caped Crusader'! Easily one of  'ol Loydster's all-time FAVORITE 'Bat-vehicles'! (AFTER the Batmobile, of course!)

 Once again, the 'video-TREASURE-TROVE of GEEK-tastic stuff',otherwise known to the general public as Youtube--- has yielded-up something WAY-MONDO-COOL! Something that just about made me jump up and do a little 'happy-dance' in my living room, as I watched it!

It also helps that, one of my FAVORITE  'Youtube personalities' happens to be the host / interviewer in this clip! Mr. Adam Savage! Truly a 'kindred-soul' / creative-type / 'UBER-geek', like a number of us out there!-- Though he's a LOT more smart / gifted with mechanics and electronics than I could ever DREAM of being! 

Anyway, more about Adam after the clip! If your'e a 'Bat-fanatic' (like, guess WHO?), and you REALLY dig on the '89 'Batman' movie (guess WHO--AGAIN?), this clip will make you do your own 'happy dance', TRUST ME!!!---

Truly a piece of  'movie memorabilia', that's received the loving restoration it deserved! Next time your'e surfing around Youtube, if you haven't checked out Adam Savage's channels---- jump in (either 'Adam Savage tested', or 'One day builds' are excellent!),and prepare to be entertained!

Nearly EVERY episode I've watched so far, has been a KING-SIZED-helping of GEEK-A-ZOID-crunchy-goodness! Especially FUN, is the series of videos where an actual TITANIUM suit of 'Iron Man' armor is built--- that's also BULLET and BOMB-proof! (Oh, and they also---Adam, and a team of other creative-and-WAY-smarter-than-me-types, that is--- figure out how to make it FLY!) He also has a 'question-and-answer' series of videos ('Ask Adam Savage', of course!), that are pretty fun to watch too!

MANY thanks, to not ONLY Mr. Savage for the video--- but also, the team of folks who did such an excellent job of restoring the Bat-Wing! We can only hope it ends up in a place where LIFE-LONG 'Bat-fans' like myself can see it in person, and admire it up close! I would definitely stand in a REALLY-LONG line to get the chance to do that!

VERY cool car mags, that are no longer around!

Once again recently, the 'ol Loydster has stumbled across something that made me feel like THIS guy!--

 

Nothing makes one feel more like some kind of PREHISTORIC beast, than finding out that a HUGE chunk of print magazines,some of which I had enjoyed for DECADES--have went away! AND-- it happened OVER A YEAR AGO!

But--- this blog being what it is--- a place where I like to keep the focus on all the stuff that keeps me GEEKED-OUT and happy! (and I sure hope that vibe floats out toward whoever comes by to check in with all 'the-couple-of-times-a-month' silliness I post up here!)--- I decided to make this here entry, about 'the dearly departed mags' (the ones I actually used to collect, anyway!), and what I enjoyed about them! (with maybe a little nit-picking about them along the way too!)---

Ah, good 'ol 'R&C'! Hands-down, what eventually replaced 'Hot Rod,' as my ALL-TIME favorite car mag! It actually disappeared off the magazine shelves before most all of the others on this list. (It was discontinued in 2014.) A low-down, dirty shame that this one had to go away!

The editorial team had it RIGHT, pretty much ALL of the time I collected this mag (off and on, for around 15-20 years or so!), with a nice mix of high-quality pics / articles, on a pretty wide-range of vehicles. The tech-related stuff (which, to be honest, has NEVER 'floated my boat' too much!) was always kept at a lower profile, with plenty of focus on the craftsmanship and the artistic skill it took to build the vehicles featured! One of the VERY BEST 'working-class-guy'-focused car mags, for MANY years!

Even when I let my subscription run-out the last time, (which was only a short time before it went away, sadly!) I still enjoyed scanning through the occasional issue at the local 'Wally-World'! I still miss it!

One of  the two 'Mustang-related' mags I actually had subscriptions to, over a good chunk of time! At first a little TOO obsessed with restored / pristine-collectors-item-type 'Stangs, it actually improved / evolved into a much more 'average-working-guy'-friendly mag over the years! A little TOO tech-article heavy at times (especially during it's 'restoring stuff to factory-original-ONLY'-phase!), it was still a fun read each month, when I was collecting it. Like most of the others on this list, it went away in early 2020. Another one I miss occasionally checking out!

 

'Corvette Fever', actually merged with the mag just below, about ten years or so ago! Fun in a lot of ways. Great photography. Interesting history-of-the-'Vette articles, sprinkled in from month-to-month. I let my subscription run out after a couple of years though, 'cause the focus seemed ever-increasingly--- to be more about the 'collectible-value' of the cars. That just gets tiresome to me! Especially if it's hammered-on in article-after-article, month-in-and-month out!

'Vette' was, like 'Mustang Monthly', another one that actually improved over time. There seemed to be a nice balance, between looking at the older 'collectible cars', and customized / hot-rodded models. (I'm guessing that was a nice by-product of the two magazines merging, in 2010) It disappeared off the shelves in 2019.

'Muscle Car Review,' isn't a really large part of my 'car-mag' collection. In fact, I think I actually browsed through more issues of it, at various 'Wally-Worlds' and grocery stores over the years, than I bought and took home to read! Another one that stayed a little TOO focused on the 'factory-original-only'-type of articles! Fun, but only up to a point. Also gone in early 2020.

'Mustang and Fords', was actually in some ways, a bit more fun to read each month--- than 'Mustang Monthly'. For a time, I subscribed to it alone, to get my monthly 'Stang-and-classic-Ford-fix'! That was part of the fun! There were classic 'T-Birds, Cougars, and even Falcons sprinkled into the mix every month! A little more 'working-glass-guy'--friendly too! Not afraid to show-off customized / hot-rodded vehicles either! I did some SERIOUS digging around, and could NOT find out for sure when this mag went away. But it's definitely been gone for a while.

I was REALLY surprised to hear about 'Car Craft' leaving the shelves! One of the OLDEST car mags around, even though it also had just a small presence in my collection. Nearly as much fun to check-out each month as 'Hot Rod'--- but I did more browsing / scanning through it at the store, than bringing issues home to keep! Still, kinda sad to see it go away! Another one gone in 2020!

Another shock, to hear about 'Street Rodder' disappearing! A little 'tech-heavy' at times-- it was STILL, for many years, one of the BEST 'bang-for-your-buck' car mags out there! One of the THICKEST too! Up 'til just a handful of years ago, an average issue would run DOUBLE the page count of any of the other car mags! Like 'Rod and Custom', the photography was top-notch, with plenty of focus on the art / craftsmanship that went into the featured vehicles. Another one I'll miss checking out--- even if I didn't BUY every issue!

I guess it doesn't take much of a genius, nor do you need to be any kind of 'whiz-kid', to figure out what made all of these REALLY COOL mags go away! A lack of readers! There's SO MUCH, right here on the 'ol 'virtual super-higway' to read now! Including archives of articles from a number of these very mags. Sadly, the paper magazine's become a sort of 'endangered species'! 'Hot Rod', is pretty much the ONLY cool car mag left standing!

While the thought of the magazines disappearing disappoints me, it also makes me glad that I've saved (old 'PACK-RAT' that I've ALWAYS been!) so many of the car mags that I have! Month-to-month issues may have left us.... but, as long as I'm still around and kicking, I can treasure the ones from the past that I've saved! And that, is something I BOTH--- breathe a sigh of relief about, and smile about too!

Dusty Hill, R.I.P.

One of the members of just about the GREATEST 'lil 'ol boogie-band to come out of the great state of Texas, has left us this past week! Mr. Dusty Hill, bassist for Z Z Top, passed away suddenly, on Tuesday, July 27th. 

If you dig on music nearly as much as the 'ol Loydster does, you've probably heard the somewhat shocking and sad news already. There's also DOZENS of obits and articles up about the guy, all over the web! From Rolling Stone, to the New York Times. So, I won't rehash or wear anybody out, that may be checking out this post, with (probably BETTER-written) facts that I cribbed from other sources!

Nope, what I'll do.... at THIS point in time anyway, is just say how REALLY sorry I am to hear about his passing. But--- also, how VERY happy he and those other two characters he played with-- for OVER 52 YEARS--- made me, over the years!---Especially during that ROUGH, lonely chunk of time I endured, serving in the Air Force! (I REALLY need to put up a post about these guys, in the not-too-distant future!) 

My thoughts and Prayers go out to Billy Gibbons and Frank beard! They probably feel like they've lost a BROTHER, no doubt! Let's end this post on an appropriately HAPPY note, though! (Like Billy, Frank--- and of course, Dusty-- would want us to do!) With the KILLER-live-version of one of my ALL-TIME favorite remakes, of a certain Elvis tune! (Featuring Dusty on vocals, of COURSE!)----

Loyd's BONUS video-clip!!--- # 40!!--- A condensed 'Bat-history'!

 

The Loydster's most FAVORITE fictional character, EVER? Well.... yep, most definitely!

Being the SHAMELESS 'Bat-fanatic' that I am, I'm ALWAYS on the look-out for cool YouTube content featuring (mostly classic versions of) The Caped Crusader! This weekend, I stumbled across yet another PRICELESS channel, that needless to say, is right up my alley!

Once again, I'm also amazed at the abilities and tech-know-how, of some of my fellow geek-a-zoids out there! From the 'Tell it Animated' channel, here's a short (around 3 1/2 minutes or so) history of the 'live-action' versions of the Gotham Guardian!----

If you got a kick-and-a-half out of that, (like I, of course did!) check out some of the other videos that have been posted up on the 'Tell it Animated' channel! The best ones I've checked out so far, include: 'Captain America', 'Hulk, 'Spider-man', 'Iron man', and 'Wonder Woman'. FUNNY stuff, but STILL filled with CRUNCHY-GEEKY-goodness!

A 'Dynamic Modeling Duo'! (OR--- It was a LOT of fun, while it lasted!)

 

Climb aboard the 'Loydster-time-travel-express', and take a little trip with me, to around 10 years ago. There was a little less gray in the 'ol whiskers back then. More important than that though--- my son, Mr. Wade, was still at the stage in his young life (he was around 12 or so, at the time)--- where hanging out and doing things with his dad was ok / didn't cramp his style!

That was also about the time he started showing a pretty keen interest in building model kits! So, being the shameless 'over-grown youngster' that I was (and STILL am, and will ALWAYS be!), I dove back into the kit-building along with the lad! 

I hadn't thrashed on any models in a few years by that time, so we tackled a couple of basic 'showroom-stock'-type kits first. The above-featured 'Vette and 'Stang, were our first two efforts. Since they turned out alright, we occasionally prowled the scale model section at Hobby Lobby stores, around the Tulsa area, looking for another project to dive off together into.

THEN--- it happened! In a case of PERFECT timing--- a kit was released that, up to that point, was LONG-desired and talked about, by 'Bat-fanatics' everywhere! (my son and I included!) I of course am referring to the '66 TV-series Batmobile! We stared at the kits there on the shelf in the store for a few minutes, hardly believing our eyes! 

After getting over our shock, we ended up snagging two kits. a more detailed 'glue-together' kit, (for us to work on together) and a 'snap-together' kit (that included Bats and Robin figures!)---for 'ol dad to tinker on later.

I recently stumbled across the pics below, of  Wade and I thrashing away on his 'scale-Bat-ride'. They made me smile, and sure brought back some good memories! Including how we had the little MP3 player I had at the time, hooked into the speakers up in the (now GONE, but not forgotten) 'man-cave'-- blasting away, with a WIDE variety of music! (Some oldies, classic rock, contemporary Christian stuff, even some movie soundtrack odds and ends sprinkled in here and there!) Fun times indeed!---

Wade doing the kinda tedious, but VERY necessary task, of CAREFULLY cutting out the decals!(There were TONS for this model! An INSANE amount, in fact!)

Dear 'ol dad himself, laying on one of the pin-stripe-decals---VERY carefully! Notice the tooth-pick I'm utilizing, to pull the decal into place! an old trick I learned way back in my teens!

The fully painted / decaled / detailed body (we laid a few coats of nice SHINY  GLOSS black onto the already 'molded-in-black' body, by the way!), ready to be mated-up with the chasis / interior-bucket.

Just for a few grins and giggles, we set the 'snap-kit' model's body, next to Wade's 'glue-kit' version (after paint, of  Course!)-- to see if anybody looking at the pic would see any differences. Well..... can YOU???

The finished 'Bat-ride'! Father and Son were pretty proud of this little number! Fully justified, I think!

The display-case-enclosed model, where it proudly took up residence in the boy's room for a number of years! Note the quote, from the early episodes of the TV show!



Well, now the boy's a young man. His model-building interest kind of tapered off, not long after we finished the Batmobile project. We started working on another 'showroom stock' kit (a '53 'Vette, if my memory's working right!), but it was never completed.

I have no hard feelings or bitterness about it though. (Despite my remarks, in the opening paragraphs of this post!) Kids grow up, go through changes, gain interest in some things, lose interest in others. It's just the way life works. AND--- like the title of this post says, it was SURE a LOT of fun while it lasted!

Oh, and Wade obviously shares a fondness for those memories of dad-and-son, thrashing away on the model kits too! How do I know? Because he STILL has ALL 3 of the kits we tinkered on together. Each one in it's own display case.

Guess those are 'FUN times indeed' in his memories too! 'Ol dad and his boy, sharing GEEKY-GOOFY-but-oh-so-COOL-times together!