06/04/05
01. Tomytronic Pac-Man electronic game
Okay, I hit the motherfucking jackpot today. Well, this is what the jackpot is like for me. First up, we have this lovely Tomytronic Pac-Man tabletop LED game from 1981. Two dollars at Red White & Blue. Comes with beepy music and "amateur" and "pro" settings. For this version, the power pellets were replaced with red stars, and due to an unfortunate stroke, Pac-Man is only able to face to the left. Here's a shot of the game in action:
Featuring cryptic Japanese writing to the right of the Tomytronic logo (I get excited about things like this,) Pac-Man goes for around 20 dollars on eBay, but it's far too cool for me to ever part with. Man, Red White & Blue was on fire today. Have a look at this next one...
02. Newer, working Speak & Spell
Just like the last one, but it works! Oh, and it's a newer version with a flat, "membrane" keyboard. Two dollars for this glorious squawkbox. Of course, it's got no battery cover, but if your thrift store find is meant for kids and it doesn't have one of those hinged, swing-open battery covers on it... it's not gonna have one at all. Learn a little about circuit-bending, something quite a few people inflict on these and other unwitting toys, here.
Special Bonus!! Depeche Mode named one of their fruity albums after this toy!
Oh, but the senses-shattering cavalcade of Red White & Blue finds doesn't stop there, friends...
03. Commodore 64 model 1702 monitor
I finally have one again to go with my Commodore 64, and I didn't have to spend 6000 dollars for shipping to get one from eBay! The tag color sales at RW&B finally came through for me, and I scooped this up for $12.50 - half off the original price. I had one of these as a kid, and it's a joy to own one again. The resolution and color really is superb even though it's from 1984, and you just can't beat that Commodore logo with the swank font and rainbow stripes. It's currently hooked up to my Dreamcast where it gets quite a bit of use. I tried to get a shot of me playing Bird Week for the Dreamcast NES emulator, but my digital camera kept fagging out on me.
And so ends one of the most rewarding days of thriftcrawling I've had here in New Orleans. The gods surely smiled upon me that fateful Saturday, and I smiled right back at them by paying tribute to their holy gifts on the internet. Why they chose only to bestow gifts of outdated technology from the 80's upon me, I have no clue.
The gods must be crazy.
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