Welcome back everybody! It’s a new year and time’s a wastin’ so let’s fire away on the first Toy Chest of 2021!
Everyone has regrets. Things in their lives that they wish they could do over again, things they wish they could take back. Decisions that haunt them for the rest of their lives.
This is one of those decisions.
Back in late middle school, early high school I had “grown out” of toys in favor of more teenage pursuits. For whatever reason I decided that selling off some of my stuff at a garage sale would be a good idea to get some cash for who knows what. Music. Hockey equipment. I can’t remember.
The unfortunate victim of my decision was my M.A.S.K. collection. They were the most recent line of toys I had started to collect before aging out (or so I thought) and because of that I was less attached to them, less sentimental.
So I decided that several of these would go into the garage sale. I carefully matched the figures up with their vehicles, priced them, and watched and they quickly disappeared.
My regret was instant. Before the sale was even over I was sick to my stomach and eventually pulled everything remaining out of the sale.
Oh the humanity. I saw right away something I never anticipated. Someone had decided that it was ok to mix and match figures and vehicles, picking whatever they thought were the coolest. And I can’t be sure that some figures weren’t just pocketed outright. It was a disaster to say the least.
Needless to say, I never sold a toy again. I took my driverless vehicles and vehicle-less drivers home, and stored them away where they remained a painful reminder of the folly of thinking one self too old for toys.
Which brings me to today’s item, a victim of that mistake from over 30 years ago, and how a few bucks and the miracle of the internet can heal old wounds.
Sly Rax w/Piranha
Company: Kenner
Acquisition Year: 1985
Acquired via: Purchase (Venture)
Years In Possession: 35
Sly Rax, a member of the evil V.E.N.O.M. organization was by far my favorite bad guy on the cartoon, and was the first villain character I purchased.
Equipped with his mask, codenamed Stiletto, he was the driver of the semi amphibious motorcycle, codenamed Piranha.
On the cartoon his mask was as cool as his personality, which was easily a standout since it was basically a voice actor doing a Jack Nicholson impression. His command to active his mask’s weapon system was a simple, nonchalant “Stiletto, fire”, after which metal knives would materialize and shoot from the bottom of the mask.
I always felt that Piranha was meant to be the dance partner of Brad Turner and Condor (See previous Toy Chest) since both were motorcycle type vehicles.
But where Condor’s alt mode was an airborne vehicle (helicopter), Piranha’s alt was water based.
The sidecar could be sealed and ejected from the bike to function as a speed boat or submarine.
Now, as I mentioned, my Sly Rax was involved in “The Incident” and unfortunately, that figure was one that was lost in the mix and match debacle that occurred. So for many years, all that I had in my collection was Piranha itself.
That is until just a few months ago when I decided it was time to replace my missing M.A.S.K. figures. The first one on the list being Sly Rax. Luckily I was able to find one in pretty decent condition. These toys, especially the figures, are pretty difficult to find in good condition for a reasonable price (the double edge sword of eBay). They’re exceptionally prone to paint wear which I’m sure has to do with the softer than usual plastic that Kenner used.
With the mask off and that biker jacket he kinda looks like Tom Savini.
At any rate, I was able to re-acquire the Sly Rax figure so that I once again had a complete set of figure and vehicle, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
Anyway guys that’s about it for this month. I hope you enjoyed my tale of woe that actually had a happy ending after all.
Come back next time and see what I manage to pull from the depths of my Toy Chest (a.k.a. my basement storage area)!
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MASK! I can beat your tragic story. Growing up, I had lots of GI Joe, He-Man, Ghostbusters, Micro Machines, Star Wars, and Thundercats. When I hit “that age”, I put them in some large boxes in my parents unfinished basement. The only things down there were old bed frames, wicker furniture, and other “antiques” my mom planned on restoring over time. I always took comfort knowing they were safely tucked away.
Fast forward to multiple moves, kids, etc. My daughter was of an age for me to start showing her my amazing stash. I traveled to my parents and stayed the weekend. I went to the basement to retrieve my hidden treasure and it was all gone. My mom swears she didn’t give it away, a nasty habit she had.
But don’t worry, there is a pot of gold at the end of this rainbow of a story……even though she “lost” my “junk”, she did manage to come into possession of a bunch more “antiques” to restore in the future! I can’t wait to see what she does with that old waterbed!
Ugh. That is criminal.