Michael’s Toy Chest

Found this very cool Lionel train set on Amazon. When I was a kid I had a great Lionel set. In reality it wasn’t much more than an oval of track, a steam engine, and a few cars. But I loved it dearly and it was one of those that makes you think back and go “why on earth did I ever get rid of that.”  I went from Lionel, to HO, to N gauge, and now I have mostly British OO trains.  But I still miss those big Lionel.  The LEGO railroad that my son and I build under the Christmas tree is nice, but there is something about the sound of the Lionel cars over that three rail track that just can’t be beat.

Just got hold of a copy of Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Can’t believe that as a toy and toy store fanatic that I haven’t seen this moving. This film is billed as “equal parts whimsical and bittersweet, Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium is a family-friendly movie that will charm youngsters.”

Hopefully those youngsters can be a little older of age – like me. I will let you know what I think of it as soon as I get a chance to watch.

Another segment on James May’s Top Toys show was devoted to the Scalextric race cars. The Scalextric cars are typically sold as a set containing enough track to make a circuit, the necessary power supply and throttles and two cars. The cars are usually based on real vehicles from Formula 1, A1 Grand Prix, NASCAR, rallying, touring, or Le Mans, or based on ordinary road going cars. A number of novelty sets have been produced; for example, horse racing sets and 360 degree sets. The latter, produced sporadically since the 1960s, have a specially-made guide that enables the car to run back the way it has come by spinning through 180 degrees.

Top Gear’s James May presented a program about his Top Toys, and this is the segment on the number 1 toy – the train set. We also get a glimpse of Pete Waterman’s O Gauge layout. This all too brief video gives a nice introduction to the Hornby and Triang model railways of the UK as well as the hobby of train collecting. Train collecting is much different from building model railroads because the purest collector never runs his trains. In fact, in their best case scenario the toys are never even removed from the box.

One man… stripped of everything he owns and challenged to just buy British…

Join award-winning television comedian Dom Joly on an epic road trip around Britain in an attempt to fill his house from top to bottom with British-made products in the brand new series Made In Britain.

As part of this unique experiment, Dom will have his family home turned upside down and stripped of everything he owns that’s not made in the UK. He’s then challenged to go on a remarkable shopping trip, travelling the length and breadth of the country to try and replace all his foreign goods with British-made products.

Before the inspectors arrive, Dom’s quaint country cottage in the Cotswolds is a safe haven for foreign merchandise: the Italian coffee machine, a television manufactured in Japan and pants made in Taiwan. In no time at all the Joly family home isn’t looking quite so jolly anymore. In their bid to find out what’s British and what’s not, the experts have banished two thirds of everything they’ve looked at including his bed, laptop and, controversially, his wife’s cosmetics, and Dom is left with little more than his Savile Row suit, a pair of muddy Wellington boots and a lengthy shopping list for his trip.
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