3 comments about O'Brien's Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks 4th Edition (Paperback) (Collecting Toy Cars & Trucks).

1. For Matchboxes, very difficult to find and reasearch based on a proprietary numbering system. Numbering system not clearly articulated in overview. I had to purchase a new "Matchbox specific" guide from another publisher.



2. Information seems to be well organized and spelled out, but was disappointed that there were so few color pictures.



3. I've found most everything I was looking for all in one source! If you like collecting cars and trucks, you must have this book!

5 comments about O'Brien's Collecting Toys: Identification and Value Guide, 11th Edition.

1. Great Resource for Toy Collectors. Got this as a gift for a family member who collects toys. He said it was very informative, especially for antique toys.



2. I would rate this comprehensive guide to collecting toys as a basic necessity for the beginning toy collector as well as the veteran toy collector. Not only is this new reference exciting, but the information is extremely helpful, reader friendly, accurate, and up-to-date with contributions by many leading authorities in the toy-collecting field. If you are seriously interested in toy collecting, then this fine book is a MUST for your toy-reference library!



3. Elizabeth Stephan's O'Brien's Collecting Toys, 10th Edition is a weighty price guide which could well be used as a price 'bible' for toy collectibles. Anticipate only a handful of color photos mid-book: the meat of the title lies in its black and white photos throughout and more particularly its over 50,000 items categorized for quick reference and provided with the latest values.



4. 10th edition, year 2001 very comprehensive collectible toys guide featuring more than 51,000 values for its 17,000 listings. There are more than 3,700 black and white pictures and a 16-page color section. A complete table of contents makes item location easy. Its items range from Action Jackson, Buck Rogers, Charlie's Angels and Evel Knievel, to Addams Family, Howdy Doody, Munsters and Pez and Matchbox, Renwal, Tootisetoy and wooden toys. Each major topic covers a nice introduction to the area. Very useful reference for toy collectors and enthusiasts.



5. O'Brien's Collecting Toys covers an awful lot of ground and does it well. Whether you are a collector or a dealer you MUST have this book to be on the same page everyone else is when evaluating the values of most antique and vintage toys. While the book does cover many of the popular toys and manufacturers, it does have many ommissions, at least in the area of tin windups. In the future I'd like to see more toys added, and other manufacturers included..most notably Guntherman, Marklin, Martin, Arnold. A more intuitive listing of the toys would also help as it can sometimes be difficult to find the toy you're looking for.

5 comments about Matchbox Toys 1947-2003: Identification & Value Guide (Matchbox Toys).

1. i can track my collectible item from this catalogue.
   this book help me a lot
   
   thanks
   
   
   ari



2. I collect superfast Matchbox from 1969-present. This book only lists 1-75 (1/64th scale) Matchbox cars which is fine for my use. It is good becasue it lists all models in alphabetical order so you can cross-reference the number (1-75) of the model - most model numbers are not imprinted on late model cars so it is helpful in that respect. However, I found it lacking in the number of variations it listed. There is no consistent differentiation between wheel type (other than RW and SF), interior color, stickers/decals or other minor variations. This guide does not use the same numbering system as Charlie Mack's Encyclopedia (e.g. 14 A 3) making it difficult to have the references compliment each other. This guide does list more recent models where as Charlie Mack's guide is typically long overdue when a new edition comes out. But again, this one is not as complete regarding model variation so you may not know if you are collecting all the variations of a particular model you want in your collection. Another positive point of this book though is that not all pictures are of perfect cars -- the cars in the photos have a little play wear and is more reflective a practical collectors cars rather than some ideal collection most of us will never have. Lastly, in comparison to Charlie Mack's guide, I find it nice becasue most of this book does dedicate it's picture space to the 1-75 models. One of the dissappointments I have found with Mr. Mack's guide is that it lists a lot of subtle variation (i.e. light blue, mid blue and dark blue Soopa Coopa) but does not show pictures on how to tell the difference (neither does this one -- it doesn't even try to differentiate). Also, much of the picture space in Mr. Mack's guide is with models that no one I know really collects (i.e. NOT 1-75 series, super kings and models of yesteryear). I'm still not sure where 1/2 of the pics in Charlie Macks book come from (I've been collecting MB superfast for 20 years) -- perhaps thats why it is called an encyclopedia. Dana Johnson's book simplifies things but does not take it to the next level by any means.
   
   Basically, I use Dana Johnson's book as a supplement to find model numbers so I can look up varaitions in late model cars in Charlie Mack's guide. I do think Mr. Macks guide can be too complete, in that it lists more model variations than most people can possibly collect. However, Dana Johnson's guide is too incomplete. I prefer Mr. Macks guide becasue it lists all known variations and allows me to decide which variations I think are significant to collect.



3. It is amazing to see every single matchbox diecast ever made into production grouped under one title. You can easily assess the value of your cars and hit the road to find precious collectables with this very usefull guide.



4. Interesting book with a bias in its pictures towards Matchbox models released in the last 10 years. Great that it concentrates almost wholly on the 1-75 series Matchbox models which is all I collect. Very useful if combined with other books as a model identification guide, especially as this one is in alphabetical order and up to 2003 year. I would rate it as less than useful in terms its value to me as a price guide. There are better and more accurate books around reflecting international prices especially of the 1953 to 1969 series issues.



5. The benefit of this book is in its arrangement. For the first time in any toy car price guide, models are listed alphabetically by model name, making this the easiest-to-use Matchbox toy collector's guide ever published.

   The only compromise, due to time constraints by the publisher, is that the book only lists three-inch models, which leaves out Major Pack, Kingsize, Models of Yesteryear, Skybusters, and larger Matchbox Collectibles, hence the 4-star rating. This will thankfully be remedied with the release of Volume 2 in 2005.

3 comments about Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World.

1. This is an amazing book! Eloquently written, with great insights into toys as a whole, this book gives a comprehensive overview of the emergence of designer vinyl. Great images!



2. All the cool pictures of toys I can't have are nice. But it's really better than all the other toy books becuase it explains all about toys and how come they are so cool. I know it was for adult level reader but I learned a lot that my friends don't know! It wasn't hard to read and I wish it was twice the size. My only problem is There was not enough Blythe information even though she's on the cover.



3. Ah, what a wonderful invention plastic is! Nearly limitless possibilities, able to be shaped into almost any form, take on any color, and endure across the centuries. As functional as it is fantastic. Of course, it was only a matter of time before artists took this malleable material into their capable hands, and created something that the inventors of the plastic would have never imagined. In this case, it is toys.
   
   "Plastic Culture: How Japanese Toys Conquered the World" supposes to tell the story of plastic, and its journey from function to fantastic, from commerce to art. Supposes to, because unfortunately the book seems to have fallen victim to a loss of focus, or possibly a conflict between writer and editor. Instead of this history of plastic, and their connection to Japanese culture, what the writer wanted to write about was an artistic movement called Urban Vinyl, originating in Hong Kong and then spreading to Japan and the US. That's his passion, and it shows.
   
   The first half of "Plastic Culture" is rough. It begins with a very brief history of plastic's invention, and its use in toys across the years. There is some brief connection with Japan, introducing the Kaiyodo model makers who perfected the garage kit. There is a half-hearted section on using toys for marketing purposes as mascots, mainly mentioning McDonalds Happy Meal toys and the Olympics. Trying to swing the story back to Japan, Sanrio is covered with their successful line of Hello Kitty figures and other characters. These articles are all short on text, and heavy on pictures, jumping rapidly from section to section without much logic or interest. Its pretty boring, and not very well researched. Then, on page 43, author Woodrow Pheonix begins the section on Urban Vinyl. And it all changes.
   
   The Urban Vinyl movement began in Hong Kong, with a couple of young talents started taking apart GI Joe figures and putting them back together street-style, dressed in the latest Hong Kong fashions and with an attitude that GI Joe never imagined. These two, Michael Lau and Eric So, exhibited their work at galleries, and inspired other artists to see toys as a medium of expression, rather than just playthings. The movement jumped across the water, to Japan with its ingrained toy culture, and then to the US underground comics scene, where artists like Dan Clowes ("Ghost World") and Archer Prewitt ("Sof' Boy") began teaming up with Asian designers to produce unique figures combining all of their talents and visions. Into this comes Takashi Murakami, famed for his Superflat exhibition and one of Japan's greatest modern artists, who sees the concept of creating original works of art in toys, rather than just reproducing existing works in plastic. Yoshitomo Nara, another prominent Japanese modern artist, follows suit. Its fascinating.
   
   If this book had been called "Urban Vinyl," and started with Lau and So in Hong Kong, then been given enough depth to explore the artistic movement completely, it would have been incredible. Woodrow Pheonix has a real passion for this movement, and a deep insight into what makes it tick and how the pieces fit together. His interviews with Murakami and Nara really made me reconsider the way I see toys, and it was great to here these two giants of modern art put forward such opposing yet complementary viewpoints on Urban Vinyl.
   
   But it wasn't, and so "Plastic Culture" is really only half a great book. That second half is really something, and worth picking up the book for. It makes me want to learn more about Urban Vinyl and hopefully someday Pheonix will get to write the book that he should have. I will be first in line to pick it up.

5 comments about Marble Mania.

1. wonderful photos', informative narrative, the new guy can't go wrong. And the speed of shipping can't be matched. Thanks all around.



2. i loved this book because it gave you funny expample of how to play i also loved it because it gave you marbles that you can play with.
   from,
   caroline



3. Marble Mania has fine photographs of every imaginable marble from pebbles found alongside streams to the Industrial Revolution in Germany & Austria. Here the cutting of agate cubes & polishing them into marbles for export all over the world became a huge cottage industry. You have to see the beauty of all the clay, pottery, crockery, china & porcelain globes. It was fun to read this big book. Found myself chatting at the local recycle shop about the blue canning jars in their windows filled with marbles. Eyeing them eagerly, with a little more knowledge & a few more names.



4. I bought this book for my husband (from Amazon) for Xmas. Not only is the book very beautiful, but he has become an expert in his own right. With a year-2000 interest in things retro, marbles are enjoying a boom. We now have jars of them everywhere, looking great and, according to this great book, appreciating in value as we watch. With the help of the pricing guides we discovered that we already owned some very valuable marbles, and have since acquired more. In fact, the book paid for itself about 10 minutes after we got it, with the discovery of an unrecognized treasure.



5. Marble Mania will prove to be the standard to which other marble related books will be compared to. A thorough, comprehensive view of all aspects of marble collecting. Graphically superior with detail that will be utilized by not only the beginning collector but the advanced collector also. Mr. Block has taken the time, performed the research and compiled this vast amount of information into an enjoyable, eye and mind satisfying beautiful book. Mr. Block is clear in his intentions to continue to be the leader in an area of great challenge, I can't wait for Mr. Block's next marble book. The bar has been raised!

5 comments about The Big Book of Lionel: The Complete Guide to Owning and Running America's Favorite Toy Trains.

1. This is a comprehensive and clear book. It could be provide more information on electrical connections, but this is a relatively minor quibble. This book provides a very good overview of the lionel world.



2. This book lays a great foundation for anyone starting out. Practical ideas and methods are shown for wiring track and accessories. Care and maintenance. High quality book with very thick glossy pages and many many color photos along with some B/W photos. This would be helpful for anyone interested in 3 track O-gauge even if they are planning on using non-Lionel trains and accessories.



3. if you are serious about lionel trains this is a must have for info



4. The book covers a wide range of subjects on planning, building and operating a Lionel O-guage layout, but does not go into a lot of detail. Both Post-War and Modern Lionel trains and tracks are covered as is the newer TMCC electronic controls. The photos of existing Lionel O-gauge layouts are excellent, but the book did not describe the type of track nor were track layout diagrams provided, which would have been very informative. Nevertheless, the book is interesting and provides a good overview of what to consider when planning and building a Lionel O-gauge layout.



5. This book with its excellent pictures and detailed descriptions will satisfy the model train neophyte as well as the old veterans.
   It is geared especially to the famous "O" gauge Lionel trains of yesteryear. It can serve as a reference book for those just starting out or rediscovering the joys of model train collecting and operating layouts.

No comments about Warman's Transformers Field Guide: Identification and Values (Warman's Field Guide).

2 comments about Classic 80s Home Video Games: Identification & Value Guide.

1. The one thing in this book's favor is its price, which renders criticism of it somewhat moot. At a glance, the guide offers relatively comprehensive coverage, but as one digs into the content offered, the beauty of the photo spreads is mostly skin deep. Although nearly all game titles presented within are documented with photographs, far too many items are only partially illustrated (e.g. only a cartridge, but not the accompanying manual or original packaging). Given that the authors could have reached out to the collecting community to obtain photos of the missing items, each absence adds up to an inexcusable shortcoming for a field guide. More troubling are entire product ranges that go unmentioned (e.g. the double-ended cartridges Xonox produced for the ColecoVision) and the rather slipshod presentation of non-game materials for each system, such as peripherals and third-party accessories. The latter are listed in bulk at the end of each section, often without photos, and in alphabetical order rather than categorized by item type. Much to-do is made of variants in packaging cataloged within its pages, but here, too, the information is scattered and incomplete, despite appearances that comprehensive research has been done. General layout of each section can at times be equally haphazard, but for the most part works.
   
   Perhaps the greatest weakness of this work is the effort made to assign valuations to items for collectors. In some cases, the information is accurate. However, by and large, the dollar values appear to be assigned with no attention paid to real-world transactions, instead being plucked from the imaginations of the authors or thinly-veiled formulae (e.g. manual prices are near exclusively assigned as a fraction of "complete" specimen prices, which is an altogether mistaken methodology). In some cases, prices are assigned for portions of games that go beyond reason (e.g. per-token pricing for Odyssey 2 board/video games). These are all common traps for collecting guides, and despite assurances that both authors have deep experience with the field, there is little evidence that either managed to overcome personal bias in assigning values. It would have been better to leave the book as an identification guide than to stretch its authority to (poorly) cover individual game pricing. Moreover, it doesn't help matters much that the book itself is littered with pleas from the authors to contact them to sell them your games. Absent independent research, this work should not be trusted as an authority on the valuation of video games of the era.
   
   [...] the guide is also plagued with authorial bias in its summaries of each system and their merits. It would have proved more profitable to devote more space to the history and nature of each system and less to editorializing about which is better than the other. There's a certain amount of hubris involved with the authors' undertaking here, evident from the front and back cover illustrations. What's on display are the gems of a collection, and not the games that would be familiar to someone who might have owned any of the systems covered back in the 80's. The desire to show off the holdings of the authors should have been tempered to broaden appeal of the work, but again, this is a pitfall common to the field.
   
   In sum, this is a fair first effort that tries to cover too much ground to its detriment. For the price, it's a somewhat useful identification guide. Beyond the photos, though, there isn't ample evidence that the book can be trusted as a value guide or comprehensive catalog. Perhaps a later edition will address these problems, but until the authors rein in the exuberance they have for their favorite systems and personal collections and draw upon the larger collecting community to both broaden and deepen coverage, I fear that one can only hope for the fiddling of a number here and there and not much else.



2. Classic 80's Home Video Games is a fantastic pictorial guide of all things the classic video game collector could ever want. Full color photos, prices for loose game, manual and box, along with descriptions of all known variations of said games. This guide doesn't bog down in text descriptions like other guides seem to do, rather, Jason and Robert let the large, beautiful, full-color photos speak for themselves.
   
   The guide also includes some items either glossed over or completely ignored by other guides. Peripherals, patches, posters, catalogs, they are all in there, and all in full color photographs.
   
   I highly recommend this guide, whether you are a new collector just starting out, or a longtime pack rat such as myself. For the price, it really can't be beat.

5 comments about Theatre de la Mode: Fashion Dolls: The Survival of Haute Couture.

1. I went to the museum that owns this collection... the Maryhill Museum of Art in Washington State (About 2 hours outside Portland, OR). The photos don't do these creations justice I must say. The details on such a tiny scale are truely amazing! I've been meaning to get this book, its been on my wish list forever. I ended up getting it at the museum for full price, but it was worth it!



2. I saw an article about these dolls, that had a few tantalizing photos. I am so glad I found this catalog of the show. The fashions are presented on 29" dolls, in a theater setting, and there are so many of them, I have to keep going back to look again. The story behind their creation is equally interesting.



3. The color and lighting in most of the photographs is poor...I understand this is an 'art' book, but when I am looking for a specific design, if the picture is going to be no bigger than a business card, I would hope it would at least be a straight on shot done in good lighting. If you want that, this is NOT the book for you...check it out from the library, at least then your disappointment won't cost you 20 bucks.



4. Whatever your interest that led you to this book, you must purchase it. You'll find yourself studying this book from cover to cover, over and over. The little dolls and their story are mesmerizing.



5. I,m absolutely delighted to see this book back in print as I ,ve been searching for itf for years. The enlarged photos give an even better view of the detail and workmanship in these tiny garments. IIt,s a lovely symbol of postwar renewal and optimism to be treasured always.

3 comments about Warman's Star Wars Field Guide: Values And Identification.

1. This is perhaps Mr. Wells' best Star Wars book yet. It's cleverly modeled after a the type of field guide used by bird watchers. It's very small (five inches tall, four inches wide, and a little over one inch thick), and contains a great SAMPLE of full-color images on high-quality semi-gloss paper. For example, there is at least one sample images -- and usually even more -- of each card type from the original Star Wars action figure line (Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Power of the Force, Droids, and Ewoks). There are also sample images of most of the new carded figures from the 1990s all the way up to 2004. And that's not all... There are sample images for dozens of other items, too! Vintage examples include loose figures, 12" figures, Topps trading cards, comic books, vehicles, playsets, lunchboxes, glasses, etc.. Newer items include Lego, Hallmark ornaments, and newer trading cards, comic books, etc..
   
   That said, this book is NOT, nor was it designed to be, even close to 100% comprehensive with regard to images (it just gives you a sample image or two of each type of item so you will be able to identify something when you come across it). But, it DOES include fairly comprehensive lists of most items in most genres (both vintage and new), and a pretty reasonable price guide for each item it lists (I'm not a big fan of price guides, but the prices in this book are at least as good as any other I've seen).
   
   It is not the best or most comprehensive Star Wars collectable book out there (if that's what you want, I recommend John Kellerman's Star Wars Vintage Action Figures: A Guide for Collectors). But, that book costs a lot more and you can't and wouldn't want to carry it around with you. This Star Wars Field Guide contains tons of photos and valuable information in a small, high-quality package.



2. this is a great book i love it and its very interesting! Great information and pricing !



3. This book is not as complete as "Tomart's Price Guide to Worldwide Star Wars Collectibles", but it is far more useful as a pure pricing guide than Beckett's "Official Price Guide to Star Wars Memorabilia". It's small (about 4" x 5") but contains over 500 pages, including 250 color photos.
   
   The items are arranged clearly and logically into 20 categories, with brief but useful introductory paragraphs alerting you to important background about each category. A very handy pocket reference tool to carry with you when attending a trading convention, flea market, or anywhere else you're looking to buy or sell Star Wars memorabilia.