Cars 2: Cliffside Challenge Track Set

Here is the Mattel Cars 2 1:55 scale "Cliffside Challenge" track set! With this, you can recreate the fun and excitement of the Porto Corsa race seen during the Wolrd Grand Prix in the film.

Not only that, this is one of six sets that connect to make an awesome chain reaction! The others include Stunt Ramp Getaway, Barrel Blowout, Spy Jet Escape, Tokyo Spinout, and the Big Bentley Breakout.

 

This set comes with one plastic 1:55 scale Francesco car and is meant to be used with the diecast line as well. 

My only complaint with this set is that it was a little tricky putting it together. The directions had no words, only pictures, and it was hard to tell what track pieces connected together. Anyone else have this problem who am I just really bad at following directions to assemble things?

 And here is a brief video of the set in action. Of course, it's much more exiting once all the other five track sets are connected:

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and come back daily for for updates from my ever expanding collection of Pixar toys and collectibles!

Toy Story 1 2 & 3: Buzz Lightyear Buddy Pack Figure Storage Case

Do you collect Toy Story Buddy Packs? Are you looking for a cool carrying case to store them in? Then look no further! Here is my Buzz Lightyear storage case meant for for buddy figures (fits up to about 30 figures it says, but I haven't tested it since most of mine are still in the packages). Of course, you can also use it to store any type Toy Story figures that are small enough to fit.

 

 This came out around 2010 but you can still find it online for under $20. On Amazon, however, it's quite expensive with almost a $50 price tag. 

Check out my other posts from the Toy Story buddy pack collection:

The buddy packs themselves

Action Links playsets

Pop-Open playworld 

Pull and Go vehicles 

Partysaurus Rex Tubtime buddies

Dr. Porkchop playset

Garbage Truck Playset

Check back daily to see more items from my Pixar collection. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Lego: Toy Story 3 Lotso's Dump Truck

Here is one of the few Toy Story 3 Lego sets I got back when the film was released in 2010...Lotso's Dump Truck! It's 129 pieces and comes with Lotso, Stretch, Chunk and truck driver mini figures.

Below is a couple pictures of it back when I first built it: 

 

For more of my Pixar related Lego sets, check out the Lego label to the right.

The last few sets out there I'd still like to get are the Pizza Planet Truck, Woody's Roundup, Western Train Chase, Trash Compactor Escape and the Garbage Truck Getaway.

Thanks for visiting today's post and be sure to come back daily for more updates from my Pixar collection!

Cars 2: Sir Harley Gassup

My original 2011/2012 Cars 2 diecast collection is finally complete with the addition of the "Chase" Sir Harley Gassup, the Lord Steward who appears in the film along side the Queen at the London race and Mater's knighting!

I was never able to track this down at stores when it was first released and has sold only for higher prices online since. He seemed to have a distribution that felt more like a "Super Chase" car rather than just a regular "Chase."

I was SO excited yesterday when my wife Brita surprised me with a mystery Amazon package and wanted to give it to me as a little "just because" present! I had no idea what it was and was so surprised when I opened it up. This car was a long time coming! That was extremely loving of Brita and I can't thank her enough.

Trivia (from Pixar Wiki):

• Harley is a Tatra 87, a Czechoslovak car.
• He is named after Cars 2's production designer Harley Jessup
• Concept art shows the Tatra 87 was first envisaged to be a member of the Lemons group.

His one line in the film is :  "Your Majesty, may I present for the investiture of honorary knighthood of the British Realm, Tow Mater of Radiator Springs!"—Sir Harley Gassup announcing Mater.

Toy Story 1 2 & 3: Zing Ems Wave 2

A few weeks ago I was super excited to find an unexpected wave 2 of the Toy Story Zing Ems at Target! I had no idea these were even being released and there they were. Since then, I have searched eBay, Amazon and Google Images (just out of curiosity) and I can't even find a single picture of these new ones. They're kind of unknown right now which made me even more excited.

Check out my post about WAVE 1 of the Toy Story Zing Ems

This new wave includes eight fun new characters and a Woody and Buzz variant for a total of 10 new Zing Ems :

Action Buzz Lightyear (different from the wave 1 Buzz. This one has a green bottom and a different facial expression) and an Army Man!

Hamm and Lenny!

Lotso and Shark (with Woody's Hat)!

Hero Woody (different facial expression from the "Sheriff Woody" in wave 1) and Stretch! If you look close to Stretch, you can see she has a cool glitter paint job.

Bullseye and Buttercup!

If you collect these, keep an eye out for them. Maybe these were released early at my store by accident and that's why I can't find them anywhere online. It's a mystery! Either way, they should be widely available pretty soon I imagine. 

Thanks so much for visiting the blog today and check back daily for updates from my Pixar collection! 

Cars 2: Spy Jet Escape Track Set

Here is the Mattel Cars 2 Spy Jet Escape track set! Here you can recreate the exiting Japanese Airport escape scene from the film.

 This is one of 5 other track sets that connect to make an awesome chain reaction! The others include Stunt Ramp Getaway, Barrel Blowout, Tokyo Spinout, Cliffside Challenge and the Big Bentley Breakout. Look for more posts on these track sets soon!

 

This set comes with one 1:55 scale plastic Mater and a small launching plastic Siddeley the Spy Jet. It works with diecast cars as well.

 

Here is a brief video of the set in action. Of course, it's much more exiting once all the other 5 track sets are connected:

 

Monsters University: Mike Bop Ball

Ever wanted to punch Mike Wazowski over and over again? This is your chance. All you do is blow him up, tie the knot, secure your finger and punch to your heart's desire! 

 When I was at Kmart a few days ago checking for the latest cars, I saw this MU Mike "Bop Ball" in one of those holiday $2 bins and said to myself "this is too random to pass up!" I don't usually ever go for the cheap stuff, but I thought this was a pretty funny. 

 

Of course, it does get old after about 30 (or less) seconds...but it's still fun and hilarious! My nieces and nephews will for sure get a kick out of this when I show them during Christmas break.

 

Check out my Vine video below to see it in action:

Lego: Toy Story Army Men On Patrol

Here is one of the few Toy Story LEGO sets I got back in 2010... The "Army Men On Patrol"! It comes with four Army Men minifigures, a stretcher and an army truck (not seen in the film, but still fun here). This set is 90 pieces. 

Below is a picture from back when it was first built a few years back:
 

Check out my "LEGO" label to the right to see more Pixar related LEGO sets and look for more here soon!

Toy Story 2: Notebook

Here is my original 1999 Toy Story 2 spiral notebook! It has a 3D vinyl type material front which makes it look pretty neat. I'm not sure where this came from originally (as I'm sure it was a gift from my parents) and I can't seem to find even an image of it online. It's still in almost perfect condition with no writing in it whatsoever! 

Here's the back:

 

Cars: 3D Poster

Here is the Cars 3D lenticular 11"x14" poster! This was available at Best Buy quite a few years ago. There isn't much to report/review here since it is what it is, but I recommend it to you Cars fans nonetheless! If you're interested in tracking it down, I found one on eBay here. 

Toy Story 1, 2 & 3: Limited Collector's Edition Read-Aloud Storybooks

 When Toy Story 3 came out in 2010, I was so excited (being that the Toy Story films are probably my favorite Pixar movies if I had to choose) to see a plethora of new Toy Story products out for the first time in 11 years! I figured, since this would be the last Toy Story film, I'd better get all the things that really stood out to me before they left the stores for good.

Getting a few of the books I saw at the time was definitely on my list to get. But which ones? There were SO many. Once I saw these ones and flipped though the illustrations, I was sold. They were the artistic style that I really like and the summarized stories were well written.

 The first two Toy Story stories can be found in the first book and the story of Toy Story 3 got its own book (as seen in the pictures above).

A page example from Toy Story:

 A page example from Toy Story 2:

 A page example from Toy Story 3:

If you have young kids who would love to read these classic stories over and over or if you're an adult Pixar book collector OR if your both, I can't recommend these enough! 

These books were limited collector's editions and are a little hard to find. I could not find them on Amazon (except for Kindle versions) but I did see a couple on eBay for under $15 if you are interested. 

Thanks for visiting and come back daily to see more items from my Pixar collection! 

Cars: Artie

Here is Artie, the RSN (Racing News Network) TV director from Cars! His appearance in the film can be seen in the screenshot above. This version of the character has lenticular eyes but he was also released in the "final lap" collecting with fixed eyes.

From Pixar Wiki, here's a little about Artie: "Artie started covering local sporting events back in Wilmington, Delaware, but caught the attention of Racing Sports Network executives with his ability to not just cover the race, but the story of the race as well. Artie likes to say, 'If there's a story out there, I'm just trying to cover it.'"

Cars 2: Barrel Blowout Track Set

Following my post on the Mattel Cars 2 Stunt Ramp Getaway Track Set from back in July, here is another track set from the same line..."Barrel Blowout!'

This is one of six track sets that connect to make an awesome chain reaction! The six include Stunt Ramp Getaway, (this) Barrel Blowout, Spy Jet Escape, Tokyo Spinout, Cliffside Challenge and the Big Bentley Breakout. Look for more posts on these track sets soon!
 

This track set represents the opening scene from Cars 2 when Finn escapes the oil rig. The set also includes two vehicles: one plastic 1:55 scale Finn Mcmissile and one plastic unnamed "Crane" character. 

 

 Check out the short video below to see this set in action!
 

Toy Story: How to Draw Book

If you wanna learn some of the basics of drawing your favorite Toy Story & Toy Story 2 characters, this is the book for you! This is my original "How to Draw: Toy Story" book from 1999. I can't say I ever made it far with the drawing thing, but for you aspiring artists/Pixar fans, this book is a great book for beginners! Maybe my kids will have more of a drawing talent than I do someday :)

I just saw a couple of these on eBay for a cheap price... so if you're interested, track them down HERE.

Toy Story 3: Lenticular Poster

It's hard to tell from this picture, but this awesome Toy Story 3 poster is actually a "lenticular" print with a 3D effect! The size is 27" by 17" and is a vinyl type material. I'm not sure where it originally came from, as it was a gift from my parents back in 2010 when the film was released...does anyone remember where this was first available? 

This is a great item for any Disney/Pixar fan...especially if you're a movie poster collector. This one is pretty neat because it's not one of the more commonly known Toy Story posters out there.  

There are currently 3 of these on eBay so check it out if you're interested in tracking this down!They sell for about $15-$20.

UPDATE: Thanks to blog reader Zach who remembered that this poster were originally available at Toys R Us when you spent a certain amount of money. Thanks for letting me know Zach! 

Cars: Fabulous Hudson Hornet

23 days till Christmas! Here is the new holiday 2013 package edition of the Fabulous Hudson Hornet 1:55 scale car from Mattel! This particular version has "lenticular eyes." 

When the Cars diecasts were first released, I wasn't the completest I am today. When I got the Fabulous Hudson Hornet crew-chief car (with headset) back a few years ago, I figured that was good enough...but these days I recognized that I needed the character without the headset (as seen in the film right after the final big race and during the credits) as well if I was going to feel like my collection was really complete. : )

 

I was super happy when I saw that Mattel had just released this character again...not in the mainstream lineup of 2013 cars but only in this Christmas/Holiday packaging. That works for me since I don't care what package he's in, as long as I get the character!

One of the main reasons to be exited about the Hudson Hornet's return to stores is because, if you missed him back during his initial release, he can be very hard to track down online for a decent price. He usually sells, even just loose, for pretty expensive prices ($20 +).

I found this one at my local Fed Meyer grocery store and he was 20% off! He was not in the main Cars isle, but was found on a display stand (with the other 2013 Christmas edition cars) near the toy section (seen below).

I only started checking Fred Meyer for Pixar toys a few months ago. Before then, I had never even heard of it. I looked up to see if I had one near me one day after someone tweeted about a good find that they had found there, and luckily thee was! If you have one near you, I'd definitely check it out. They have had many Pixar things (mainly Toy Story, MU and Cars stuff) that I have not found anywhere else. It has been a great spot to check during my weekly toy runs so if you're a collector as I am, definitely check it out! 

A Toy Story Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar!

Happy first day of December! Today's post is on the Hallmark exclusive "A Toy Story Countdown to Christmas" advent calendar from 2010! Each day of the month you open a flap to reveal a surprise fact about how the toys of Andy's room like to celebrate the Holiday Season as you countdown to the best day of the year. Since I haven't opened this yet, as I'm saving this for my kids to have someday, I'm not sure what you can expect as you open up the flaps....but sounds fun!

You can find this still on eBay for under $15 if you're interested in getting it this year! If you're a fan of Christmas, Toy Story or Disney/Pixar in general, this is for you. 

 

UPDATE 12/03/22—

Well, here I am almost a decade later updating this post since the time has finally come to give this advent calendar to my son Aidan who's just about to turn three years old! Luckily he loves Toy Story just like I hoped he would ;)  Here are some updated pics of the calendar and Aidan enjoying opening the first couple doors— I'm looking forward to opening a flap each day with him this month! Pretty surreal and magical after all this time. I also posted a video to my Instagram account HERE to capture the fun.

Cars: Mike and Sulley Movie Moments 2-Pack

 Here is the Movie Moments Mike and Sulley 2-Pack from the Cars "supercharged" line! I absoulutey love these cars...such a great set! 

One of the funniest and most creative scenes in Cars is during the end credits when the cars are at the Radiator Springs Drive-In Theater. There we see many of our favorite Pixar characters in car form such as Buzz, Woody, Hamm, PT Flea, Flik, the Circus Clowns, the Yeti, and, of course, Mike and Sulley!

The scene is hilarious because it pokes fun at how John Ratzenberger has had a cameo in every single Pixar film. The scene can be watched Here. Never gets old!

As of 2014, with the "Circus Cars" being released as Super Chases, Mattel has made every character from that scene...I'll be posting more soon, so stay tuned!