F For Fake

I'm rich! Rich, I tells ya!

Can a Mod change the title of the thread? Doesn't seem fair to drag the dude's name around when it looks like the OP was at fault the whole time. Somehow managed to not read this thread until this morning, and it packed in a lot of Friday goodness!

I'm assuming you want to ship them flat and not rolled, right? With prints and (relatively inexpensive) original art (the expensive stuff gets a proper box) I usually put the art in a plastic sleeve (original art sleeve if you have them, if not you can assemble your own by creatively cutting the sides of magazine bags ahen then assembling them with tape) and then sandwich it between two Regional Rate A boxes (using painter's tape to affix the sleeved art to one of the boxes). I then slide this art sandwich into a Priority 1095 box, or a medium flat rate box, whichever I have handy, until it is snug and secure in the middle, leaving the ends of the larger box open. Then I tape the ends of the outer box. This is the cheap/fast solution, as all of those supplies are available for free from USPS. This is the part where someone probably comes in and says you aren't supposed to use USPS supplies like that. I've been doing it this way for many years, and have never had an issue. YMMV. This makes a pretty sturdy sandwich which is pretty difficult to bend. Otherwise, for pricey stuff, I'd use foam board or masonite for the sandwich, and then use a proper box. If I don't have any extras laying around from CLink, sometimes Amazon will send stuff in nice, long, flat boxes that also serve the purpose. I'm sure there are boxes out there made specifically for this, but I don't deal in art often enough to buy them in bulk. Good luck!

Thanks Patrick, yeah, the clips on the top half are my major concern. I've read on some forums that some folks used vaseline to lubricate the clips before they tried removing them, but I'm not sure if that would be effective or not. May be worth a try. Definitely going to be spending some toothbrush time with this beast. I would just spot clean it, but some of the dust is so ground in that I think a full immersion is the only thing that's going to get it totally clean. Luckily there's no yellowing, which is why I went ahead and picked it up even with the dirt. Ooh, what piece have you been working on? I love cleaning/resto pics, if you have any please share!

I'd really like to have an Alf 48, but I'm still holding out for finding one in a bargain bin one day. But that may be a fool's errand, because I can barely find them at ANY price locally. There was one copy at a show I went to back in the spring, but it was around Fine for $40, and I just couldn't make myself pay that. Maybe I should have bit the bullet, but I just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to find a cheap copy one day.

Yes, for the longest time you could find tons of this material in the bargain bins. And there's still SOME of this out there, particularly the 80's Hughes books that still haven't caught on (Maze Agency, JLI, etc.) But either dealers aren't putting those books in the boxes as much anymore, or I'm competing with a lot of other folks for the same stuff, because I definitely don't find as much of this material on the cheap as I used to. But I guess that could be said about nearly any book these days.

Thanks bud! Yeah, the Drome is in nice shape, and no noticeable yellowing to the grey parts, thankfully. However, it is SUPER dusty and needs a serious deep clean. Going to have to try to figure out how to get it taken apart without breaking anything, and then rinse it in a kiddie pool, I guess. The things we do for our toys! Can't wait to see how the Flagg turns out!!

Moviepass was an awesome idea that was always too good to be true. Once they got their glitches worked out, those first couple of months that I had it (September/October, or October/November...I know they did the price drop to $10 in August and then it took about a month to get my card due to the influx of new users) it was glorious. But sure enough, they started stripping features away. First it was that you could no longer see the same movie more than once. Then it was surge pricing. Now it's no major new releases. AND the price is going up. It was never going to last, but it was a fun few months. That being said, i'd gladly pay $20 a month if they put it all back to the way it was, but I think that time has passed. Not sure that I'll keep it at $15 a month in the current state. AMC's deal is not bad, but we only have one AMC theater around here, and it's the worst theater in town. Of course, none of them are as bad as Cinemark's, which is $8.99 a month...for one ticket, and the right to buy additional tickets at $8.99. I mean...whut???

Same, I pick them up for a buck or two, but I don't see them much anymore in the bargain bins. Just think it's a cool cover, and I'm not even a Venom guy.

No, they've had those for a while. I never picked one up though, as I think they're a little pricey considering I can get a whole Detolf for the same price.

Here's my rack of GR 15's. Couldn't get a good glowing pic, but they look pretty neat. The Rack to the right holds all of my copies of X-Men 1, some shiny/glow books like Spectre and Hulk, and my collection of multiple copies of Meltdown. Meltdown is a nostalgia purchase, as I remember buying it off the rack the day after Christmas and reading and re-reading it when I was a kid. I thought the art was soooo cool. Anyway, I buy every copy that I find for a buck or less in decent shape, so I have a nice little stack of those as well. Same deal with X-Men 1, although I only pay 25 or 50 cents for those. That release has a lot of nostalgic draw for me, and as I mentioned earlier with the GR 15's, it's a dirt cheap book that you can display and never worry if they get a little dusty or banged up, as there are always more out there. With the GR 15's, top two rows are Gold 2nd prints, next two rows are newsstands, and the rest are standard.

I hoard, but only on dirt cheap books that I think are cool. For instance, I buy every copy of Ghost Rider 15 I can find, but I won't pay more than $1 for it. But if it's a buck or less, bring 'em on, I'll buy 'em! Because, you know, glow in the dark flaming skull. What's not to like? Same with any Dave Stevens, Adam Hughes, Brian Bolland or Mike Mignola covers I find for a buck or less, though those aren't nearly as plentiful as they once were. Why do I do it? I dunno, I just like the books a lot, and for a buck or less, I figure why not? With some books, it's because they display well in my comic racks, and I can set them out in the racks without worrying that a valuable book is going to be damaged. A comic rack full of Ghost Rider 15 looks pretty cool, and I don't have to sweat it if they get bent, dusty, whatever.

Thanks man, I was pretty happy! The Night Raven was far and away my favorite as a kid, but I sold my original back when I sold all of the rest of the stuff. I've owned a couple since then, but always ended up selling them off. I'm hoping to make this my keeper! Yes, Night Landing is terrific, I love all of the little pieces it comes with (not shown, the radio, shovel, gun, etc) and you're right, not only was it a great price point at the time, you can still pick them up now, complete, for under $20. I paid $8 for this one!

It is legitimately a book I just don't see that often. I finally found a VG/F copy at a yard sale for 25 cents a couple of months ago, and just threw it up for auction on eBay this weekend. It closed at $28. We live in crazy times!

Now waitaminnit, defense wins games!

Had a good time at the Kentuckiana GI Joe Toy Expo this weekend. This was the fifth year, and the show has really grown, nearly doubling in size since last year. It's still a SMALL show, only one day for about 6 hours, but well worth a visit. I was a little disappointed in the selection of ARAH figures this year, as it seemed they took a backseat to the 60's 12" Joes. Those are cool, don't get me wrong, but I am an 80's kid, so ARAH was my jam. Plus, I don't see how these guys store all of that 60's Joe stuff, as those pieces are ENORMOUS. Planes, boats, space capsules, it's all really neat, but you'd need a barn to hold all of it! As for me, my goals this year were to pick up one "major" piece, a couple of complete vehicles, some drivers/troops that I needed, and whatever else caught my fancy. The mission was a success! The Terror Drome needs a really, really good cleaning, BUT it is 100% complete, Firebat chains work perfectly, etc. Now I have to figure out where I'm gonna put the thing. Nearly bought a Defiant for $400, but it was missing all of the expensive pieces and it would also have needed a serious cleaning. Also, if I came home with a Terror Drome AND a Defiant, the wife may have started divorce proceedings. (Oddly enough the Terror Drome has been sitting on a table in the basement for two days yet, she's walked by it numerous times, and hasn't even mentioned it. I think she's finally blind to my nerddom!)

Dave, you're a far better man than I. Were he my friend, I'd suggest he sell all of those comics and use the money to get an apartment (or a house, if there's some nice stuff in there.)

With most of the FedEx packages I receive, they make one delivery attempt, and before they can make the second attempt, I go to their site and have them hold it at a FedEx location. I used to always have them held at a FedEx/Kinkos, but recently they've started holding them at my local Walgreens. Back in the photo shop. That was...surprising. But whatever. The only company I sometimes have issue with is Sideshow, but they are generally using UPS. When I attempt to have the package held at my UPS store, I have to actually call Sideshow and ask them to contact UPS on my behalf and have them remove the restriction so the store can hold the package. It's a pain, but at least it's an option. And that's what burns me about this new setup, because it doesn't appear to leave the OPTION of having the restriction removed. If we, CGC's customer, call them and say we are willing to take the liability of having FedEx hold our package at a secure location, then they should abide by that. Offering no other choice is not_in_tune_with_social_norms crazy. I dunno, I've got a stack of books I've been meaning to send out for about a year now, but with this change, and with what I keep reading about the inconsistent/super-tight grading, I'm thinking it just may not be worth the hassle anymore.

Whoa, that's not a man cave, that's a toy store. I'm bringing a shopping cart and my wallet, see ya soon!

Same! And the face, I think it's the nose...I dunno, just doesn't look right. Anyway, threw mine up on eBay yesterday and it's on its way out west as of this morning. Was super stoked when I ordered it, but once it showed up, I knew it wasn't for me. Hope the new owner digs it.

I bought the individual "deluxe" hardcover issues as they were released, along with the final slipcase for the set, because I think it looks pretty snazzy. But that's about the best thing I can say about it. It wasn't a BAD story, it was just so underwhelming in relation to the hype and sheer tonnage of product released, not to mention the cost. I think those HCs were about $12 a pop, and the stories inside were definitely not worth that much. I honestly can't remember much about the actual story, something with Kryptonians from Kandor? Or maybe not? Who can say. As was mentioned above, the backup stories were much more entertaining than the main story. So, yeah, a big "whatever" storywise, but that slipcase set still looks pretty cool!

YES, I got mine last week, and you hit on ALL of the points that concerned me. I hadn't read any other reviews yet, so I was wondering if it was just me. But you're absolutely right: it just doesn't LOOK like Bettie, and also, for me, the whole thing has a kind of light/cheap feel. I wanted to love it, but I am thinking I may not hold onto it.

Well this is troubling, because I have to have all of my FedEx and UPS shipments redirected and held for shipment, as I am never, ever home when they attempt to deliver. Makes no sense.

Love it, especially the eye-popping color on the card. Hulk is such a toyetic character.

I think this figure is actually underrated, as this really marked a huge tide change with action figures, moving into the larger scale and introducing detailed sculpts to the mainstream. Without McFarlane's Spawn line, we wouldn't have NECA, Mezco, DC Direct, Marvel Legends, etc. I need to grab one or two of these. I've owned a bunch over the years, and have always sold them. Need to add one to the permanent collection just out of respect!