#i can't believe i got to go to that the same year i saw matchbox twenty with the goo goo dolls................... | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

perryvonvicious · 1 year

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Completing a Toy Collection After 35 Years!

Right from the start, I want to address the fact that the title I've chosen here is, indeed, clickbait... sort of.

When I was just 2 years old, another little boy at my babysitter's house brought a VHS tape his parent had recorded off TV... the event in question? 1986's Return of the Monster Trucks! Our babysitter put it on for us, and my life changed. For years thereafter, monster trucks became an obsession for me. That same day, I came home from the sitter's and I would not stop asking my parents for monster trucks. They had no clue what a monster truck even was, but I was 2, and it was the first time I found a unique interest all on my own, so they wanted to indulge me.

My parents played monster trucks with me, using whatever toys we had that could approximate monster trucks or crushed cars. It might mean me crawling over paper grocery bags to "crush" them, or my dad helping me make trails and tracks in the sandbox for my Tonka trucks to race through. But the only actual monster truck item they could find for me, was having the mother of that other boy make a dubbed copy of Return of the Monster Trucks so my little brother and I could watch it at home.

It wasn't until my 3rd birthday that my parents found, hanging on the pegs of the toy aisle in Ames department store, Matchbox monster truck toys ACTUALLY BASED ON THE VERY TRUCKS FROM MY VIDEO TAPE! The toy series was called the Matchbox Super Chargers. I can't actually recall my reaction when I opened those presents, but I can, at age 38, remember exactly what I got: Bigfoot, USA-1, Awesome Kong II, and Rollin' Thunder!

I would get many other monster truck toys over the years, some from the same series, some from its sister series (Monster Wars), and still others from off-brand toy makers who pretty blatantly copied everything about these toys' stylistically... but those first 4 toys were always my favorites.

Years went by, and my obsession with monster trucks faded into the background as I discovered other things in life: wrestling, music, books, abstract art, Disney Parks, filmmaking, weight lifting... and, of course, girls. My toys left the toy box and entered a cardboard box. At some point, likely while I was in college, I agreed to give them away to my (now ex-) girlfriend's baby brother. He was a good kid, probably 8 at the time, and he LOVED monster trucks. They went to a good home.

Jump ahead to July 2020. My birthday was fast-approaching and, like when I was little, I was constantly trying to guess what present(s) I might get. My wife kept getting a little grin and laughing. "You're not going to guess what I got you, but you're going to love it," she'd say. My present, when I finally saw it, was in an oddly shaped box, and it was a little heavy. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I had no idea what this weird, oddly-weighted item could be.

I opened the gift to discover a mostly-complete, and in pretty good shape Matchbox Super Chargers Arena Track Playset! I couldn't believe it. I'd never managed to get one when I was a kid, but I'd ALWAYS wanted one.

The surprises didn't end there... because this playset was designed to also be a carrying case for the individual trucks, and I could feel some thing(s) rolling around inside. My wife told me she didn't know anything about other toys being included when she ordered it. I opened it to find Bigfoot, USA-1, and a pulling sled! I couldn't believe it! She also revealed that she had a second, smaller gift. It was Rollin' Thunder!

This might be the only time I've ever been driven to tears by a birthday present.

I began slowly collecting more of the series. My first purchase, no surprise, was Awesome Kong II. In just a week, I'd reclaimed my original four toys. Shortly thereafter, my Dad found a box of toys in the garage... it was my entire collection of the Monster Wars series! Over the next few years, I would make some trades with folks online, and even be gifted toys from fans, all the while, slowly growing a collection I'd never managed to complete as a kid.

Then came today. Today I received the last two toys from the series. They were sent my way by a fan. It took me 35 years, but I finally have the full set of my favorite childhood toys!

Admittedly, there are rare variants, oddball rereleases, and rare foreign releases, but I'm not worried about those.

For now, I leave you with a photo of the collection.

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