WOW! How long did they have to train to make something like that. I’d love to have seen it being made and track their progress. Nighthaws, do you have ties to this crew? Did you engineer this project?
It doesn’t have a key, but operates by pushing down and back, and letting go, and springs inside propel it forward.
I’m not as familiar with this one, and it’s not at old as a couple we’ve seen.
There are loads of Wolverine tin toys on ebay selling for $20-75…..but I knew the celebrities on this would make it more valuable.
I figured a couple hundred dollars or so, without the box.
…..
Well… I looked it up and saw a number of closed sales with no visible prices, and two with auction prices that were quite different.
One, in what sounded like great condition, with the original box, and a pre-sale estimated value of $600-$800, sold for $300.
Another, with “pinpoint nicks and scratches”, and no box mentioned, sold for a nice, even $575.58.
But I think part of that was that it was sold by Hake’s Auctions in Pennsylvania, which is a very high end, well known venue for vintage toy sales, and their reputation draws serious collectors.
…
Antique toys, like most antiques, are only worth what a buyer in front of you will pay. That sounds obvious, but people forget.
Go to Target or Macy’s or any retail store, almost anywhere, and you’ll find the same items with the same fixed prices.
So people who have a tin toy or an antique dresser think they’re going to get what it sold for at Hake’s or was appraised for on Antiques Road Show…
But the reality is that it’s hard, and expensive, to put that stuff in front of the collectors who buy it at those prices.
And to develop a reputation that makes rich buyers trust you about value and provenance.
…..
Nowadays eBay and Etsy and such have given you a better shot… but you’re still more likely to get 50%, if you’re lucky, from somebody who knows where to sell it and to whom, and who also has skills and the reputation to back up his claims.
Before the Internet, I sold an awful lot of vintage toys, costume jewelry, and collectibles over the years for about 25% of the values I looked up…. to dealers who were going to sell them to other dealers, who were going to be the ones to sell them in a fancy store or auction house…
Or even in a better known booth in the same antique show where I was selling…. But they had more well-heeled customers.
It’s Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, in… The Godfather.. um … must be II, because I didn’t see III, and De Niro wasn’t in I, since Vito was played by Marlon Brando in the first one.
No rain in the desert to rust it… Or when there is, it dries very quickly.
That’s an amazingly sun-resistant finish, though.
I never really thought about it, but it’s probably not regular paint, on old locomotives.
Probably a mixture of lampblack, essentially soot, in oil and/or solvents, liked they use on old wood stoves, because it’s cheap, and would resist the heat of the boilers and fireboxes, and the steam…
And possibly the desert sun.
I’d look it up, but I’m sleepy… And I’m sure one of you guys knows.
It looks unbelievable, but that’s why someone bothered to post it. I blew it up but saw no clues to it being fake. Even the JEPG distortions on the engine fit with the same patterns in the background.
A couple of things don’t look right. The split logs are too smooth at the split lines. When you split logs, they tear apart.
That kettle doesn’;t look right. The focus appears just a hair too fuzzy and the coloring suggests brass. Brass would soften in a fire that hot.
There is a shadow in the fire. Not significant, but it provides another data point. The shadow is square, suggesting that the original was taken from a brick fireplace rather than a stove.
It looks off to me too, but I’m not familiar enough with that type of stove to be sure. The fire looks to sharply focused to be behind glass. It also seems to fill too much of the view, there don’t seem to be any edge effects; it’s as if we are seeing the center of a fire that extends at least another foot in each direction. As I said, I haven’t seen one of these before, so maybe it’s normal.
Thank you. Based on this, I think Nighthawks’ photo is real but enhanced. The fire seems to had the saturation increased, and perhaps even used some sharpening. In your picture, Mr. Sherman, the glass definitely diffuses the appearance of the fire; but in the prior picture the fire matches the rest of the scene.
Kay Nielson was an amazing artist… another one I was told years ago was “only an illustrator”.
Good enough for me!
I realized as a young adult that I’d loved his illustrations in a book I’d had as a child, so young that it never occurred to me to think about who painted the pictures in books.
Creams are mostly round, or oval, or sometimes molded into fancy shapes.
From the conventional square shapes, the flimsy plastic tray that they don’t quite fit into, and the lack of both paper cups and surface gloss on the chocolates, I’d say this is a cheap “nuts and chews” (nut patties and caramels) assortment from the drug store, or even Dollar Tree.
You’d think people making a calendar like this would at least Google up a proper picture.
If they’re taking their own photos, maybe they don’t eat chocolate, so they’re unfamiliar, or they didn’t have the money for a decent box.
I’m getting my taxes done.
I’m going to the doctor.
Checking your heart seems appropriate on Valentine’s Day.
.
,
Polar Express?
WOW! How long did they have to train to make something like that. I’d love to have seen it being made and track their progress. Nighthaws, do you have ties to this crew? Did you engineer this project?
I can just hear some people out there railing about all the puns…. As if you’re crossing some kind of line.
Others’ lights are so dim, they don’t even make the connection.
But I say, that’s just the ticket!
,,
Love that Nichelle is doing the Vulcan salute.
I’d say “Live long and prosper!” but I guess I’m too late.
,.
By Wolverine, 1955.
Tin with wooden wheels.
It doesn’t have a key, but operates by pushing down and back, and letting go, and springs inside propel it forward.
I’m not as familiar with this one, and it’s not at old as a couple we’ve seen.
There are loads of Wolverine tin toys on ebay selling for $20-75…..but I knew the celebrities on this would make it more valuable.
I figured a couple hundred dollars or so, without the box.
…..
Well… I looked it up and saw a number of closed sales with no visible prices, and two with auction prices that were quite different.
One, in what sounded like great condition, with the original box, and a pre-sale estimated value of $600-$800, sold for $300.
Another, with “pinpoint nicks and scratches”, and no box mentioned, sold for a nice, even $575.58.
But I think part of that was that it was sold by Hake’s Auctions in Pennsylvania, which is a very high end, well known venue for vintage toy sales, and their reputation draws serious collectors.
…
Antique toys, like most antiques, are only worth what a buyer in front of you will pay. That sounds obvious, but people forget.
Go to Target or Macy’s or any retail store, almost anywhere, and you’ll find the same items with the same fixed prices.
So people who have a tin toy or an antique dresser think they’re going to get what it sold for at Hake’s or was appraised for on Antiques Road Show…
But the reality is that it’s hard, and expensive, to put that stuff in front of the collectors who buy it at those prices.
And to develop a reputation that makes rich buyers trust you about value and provenance.
…..
Nowadays eBay and Etsy and such have given you a better shot… but you’re still more likely to get 50%, if you’re lucky, from somebody who knows where to sell it and to whom, and who also has skills and the reputation to back up his claims.
Before the Internet, I sold an awful lot of vintage toys, costume jewelry, and collectibles over the years for about 25% of the values I looked up…. to dealers who were going to sell them to other dealers, who were going to be the ones to sell them in a fancy store or auction house…
Or even in a better known booth in the same antique show where I was selling…. But they had more well-heeled customers.
.,.
I don’t know exactly why
It’s Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, in… The Godfather.. um … must be II, because I didn’t see III, and De Niro wasn’t in I, since Vito was played by Marlon Brando in the first one.
…
Poor old train!
Get up, train! You can do it!
…..
Sure looks like it could.
No rain in the desert to rust it… Or when there is, it dries very quickly.
That’s an amazingly sun-resistant finish, though.
I never really thought about it, but it’s probably not regular paint, on old locomotives.
Probably a mixture of lampblack, essentially soot, in oil and/or solvents, liked they use on old wood stoves, because it’s cheap, and would resist the heat of the boilers and fireboxes, and the steam…
And possibly the desert sun.
I’d look it up, but I’m sleepy… And I’m sure one of you guys knows.
It looks unbelievable, but that’s why someone bothered to post it. I blew it up but saw no clues to it being fake. Even the JEPG distortions on the engine fit with the same patterns in the background.
Thanks!
Hmmm… Never occurred to me that it might be fake.
I guess I’m just gullible.
What I was saying one of you guys probably knows is whether those old engines were coated in paint, or something like stove blacking, ie lampblack.
Sorry, that knowledge is above my pay grade. 😉
.
Be cooooool. Gotta keep things in perspective, man.
.
Why does this look fake to me?
It’s it a painting, or part of a museum display?
A couple of things don’t look right. The split logs are too smooth at the split lines. When you split logs, they tear apart.
That kettle doesn’;t look right. The focus appears just a hair too fuzzy and the coloring suggests brass. Brass would soften in a fire that hot.
There is a shadow in the fire. Not significant, but it provides another data point. The shadow is square, suggesting that the original was taken from a brick fireplace rather than a stove.
It looks off to me too, but I’m not familiar enough with that type of stove to be sure. The fire looks to sharply focused to be behind glass. It also seems to fill too much of the view, there don’t seem to be any edge effects; it’s as if we are seeing the center of a fire that extends at least another foot in each direction. As I said, I haven’t seen one of these before, so maybe it’s normal.
This is an unedited picture of my woodstove taken last month. It seems to be a very similar model, so I’m guessing the above is real.
Thank you. Based on this, I think Nighthawks’ photo is real but enhanced. The fire seems to had the saturation increased, and perhaps even used some sharpening. In your picture, Mr. Sherman, the glass definitely diffuses the appearance of the fire; but in the prior picture the fire matches the rest of the scene.
find the heart
Found it. I just happened to look in the right place.
Um…. isn’t that how it always works?
Cos I never seem to find things when I look in the wrong place! 😁
And it’s always in the last place one looks.
Not tonight.
Got it.
I wasn’t going to post a solution, since everyone so far seems to be finding it…
But just so nobody is sad cos they can’t find the heart on Valentine’s Day…
If you need to, or just want to compare…
I hate to be cruel, but I’m heartless on this one.
He’s probably running an IBM Watson now.
I love a good deus ex machina.
I’ll try this again. It’s marked as V2, so he might have pulled a first one and added a edited version? It’s a guess.
Kay Nielson was an amazing artist… another one I was told years ago was “only an illustrator”.
Good enough for me!
I realized as a young adult that I’d loved his illustrations in a book I’d had as a child, so young that it never occurred to me to think about who painted the pictures in books.
Whoa… this must be serious!
BatBasset and Sparrow are having a meeting!
With…um… each other…. cos… like…. they can’t just talk about all this over dinner, since they live in the same stately mansion.
OH! A meeting of the minds… I get it. They’re thinking.
And what better way to think than with the aid of a super Bat Computer.
Holy MegaBats, BatBasset!
….
And what a great, bird’s-eye view of the BatCave! Or bat’s-eye?
We’re privileged to see into the secret world of BatMan and Sparrow.
Apparently they maintain those superhero physiques in their own private gym.
Okaaaay… maybe I’ll just leave the obvious questions alone.
…
Dr. Felix Ratbreth… that sounds… I dunno…. oddly familiar.
No… maybe not.
But for some reason, I get the feeling that his morals stink.
Maybe his molars do, too.
…
More importantly, what is he up to with the Evil White Cat?
I don’t trust either of them as far as I can throw them.
Actually, I’ve never understood that expression, since I can’t throw anybody very far…. no wait… I get it.
It’s supposed to be only a short distance.
Well in that case… I may as well say that i don’t trust either of them as far as I can throw … oh, how about… the Arc De Triomphe?
That shows a LOT less trust… cos who knows how far I could maybe throw a couple of bad kitty kitty cats.
I mean, I’m not usually the cat-throwing type, anyway… though in their case, I might make an exception.
But I digress….
…
The real question is how they steal those gigantic monuments… and why…
And what they would do with millions of MacDonald’s arches….
…. unless… hmmm… they’re going to open a theme park with huge monuments and a million hamburger stands?
Nah… that smells like work.
…
One thing kitties, good or bad, have in common with basset hounds… when it comes to work, they all prefer to nap.
That’s one reason why this tail…. er, tale… moves slowly.
The other is that so we can savor each moment.. and I do!
Why show any with nuts, marzipan etc. then?
There’s not a cream in that box!
Creams are mostly round, or oval, or sometimes molded into fancy shapes.
From the conventional square shapes, the flimsy plastic tray that they don’t quite fit into, and the lack of both paper cups and surface gloss on the chocolates, I’d say this is a cheap “nuts and chews” (nut patties and caramels) assortment from the drug store, or even Dollar Tree.
You’d think people making a calendar like this would at least Google up a proper picture.
If they’re taking their own photos, maybe they don’t eat chocolate, so they’re unfamiliar, or they didn’t have the money for a decent box.
It’s also Oregon day!
Yay Grass Roots. That was our traveling CD for many years. My Millennial daughter knows all the words better than most Boomers.