Belgium to Bagiuo

The adventures of ‘Tipaklong‘

The little fellow came all the way from Belgium, sent in by a good friend. I’m pretty sure he has travelled quite well; from his birthplace in Germany at the Siku factory and passed on to different other places in Europe. One can tell it was well enjoyed, by the play-worn look. That is a good thing! This small VW-T2 crew-cab brought smiles to many faces!

Now it’s bringing smile to mine and the family!
It will be a fun travelling companion here in this part of the world.
First adventure: the summer capital, Bagiuo.

Checked-in at a suite.

Resting on a pillow… spoiled!

Dusk, waking up early.

Ok, why Tipaklong? The ‘grasshopper’ , its face does look one. Doesn’t it?

Enjoying the landscape at Mines View Park.

Blending in with the foliage at the President’s Mansion

Resting at Wright Park.

Trying a miniature bridge at the Botanical Garden

Rock climbing at the Grotto

Now, an interesting VW-T2 in Session Road.

Juan Cycle Mind

Padyak ng pedal
Kaluskos ng kadena
Gulong ng gulong
Halik ng hangin
Saya ng sikleta

(Loose translation =“Cyclist’s Sensory Pleasures”)

My CR

Cycle Room, the size of a toilet :-)
It stores the 1:1 2wheeled delight

My small scale delight…

Corgi 1:43, the wheels are diecast!

Orange posturing

Citrus colors are undeniably ‘in vogue’ this summer.
Hot like the weather, are colors of green, yellow and orange.
It’s easy to associate them with something fresh, something new.
New, can be also interpreted as an event of renewal or change.
No wonder, even political parties are taking on citrus colors as their official hues. I don’t blame them; they must be saying their choice of color is indeed suited to mean change. But change can have different paths; change for the better or change for the worst!
I do hope it is for the better; a better future for the now generation.

I hate politics, I really do. It makes me sick sometimes. Sadly humans are social beings admittedly having political views one way or another. These past vacation weeks, I experienced seemingly adult persons arguing childishly and heatedly about whom to vote for president. Their views and their rationale are contrastingly correct and wrong at the same time. Maybe they should see first what their candidate’s political citrus colors chosen, hypothetically meant. Maybe a clue will unfold regarding their political posturing? It’s the only light-heartedly and sane way to analyze it.

Like these on http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html
Dark green is associated with ambition, greed, and jealousy.
Dull (dingy) yellow represents caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy.
Red-orange corresponds to desire, sexual passion, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action.

Or you Google more for other color meanings…there are tons on this subject!

Better yet, I’d just stick to the color I like best on a Thing... or two. More specifically the VW 181 Thing. The Thing came in citrus colors as well, but then again I’m partial to…..ORANGE.
Why?
Three reasons to like this hue…

Faller (Germany) up front

Matchbox (Mattel) middle

HotWheels (Mattel) back


Posturing Variations
Faller has fold down top, fold down windshield.
Matchbox has fold down top, top up windshield.
HotWheels top up top, top up windshield.

Run for your life!

There is a recent (2010) amusing story about this subject. Funny and heartbreaking at the same time, depending on how one sees it.
The protagonist is a young lad under our watch (his mom works abroad) and is the subject of an unusual snapshot of life. A true story...
So here goes…
He was being taught how to drive their ‘green’ car on that day. It seems like one of those normal days for practice driving, as he has done this routine previously and even had attended formal driving school weeks back. But this is no ordinary day, and what was about to happen will change his life forever.
He seems a bit edgy that day, as observed by his two lady passengers. It was maybe due to an earlier scene in which passing-by school children were laughing at him while he seems so tensed practice driving. Another is that, a rusted VW Beetle overtook him because he was using only 1st and 2nd gear all the time. On top of that, the Beetle’s driver even made an effort to stop and asked “if anything is wrong”, since the ‘green’ car’s pace was too slow. Subsequently, adding insult to injury? Maybe!
Then a few meters down the road, the unthinkable happened. The ‘green’ car being an import was equipped with an active heater. That heater core has a hot water recirculation system from the engine radiator going to the inside aircon evaporator/waterheater radiator via a pipe loop. That pipe inside the car’s interior leaked and the a/c fan drove white steam spewing from the aircon vents. Like sauna steam, it’s warm but won’t hurt you. Harmless steam won’t kill you, but can ruin your life (and your character), which is even worst.
Guess what! Our young lad panicked, opened the car door and ran for his life! In all probability and instinct-driven went on to saving himself! He did run a good distance away from the ‘green car’ and leaving his lady passengers still inside the car! The ladies were all composed and even were asking him to park the car properly, while he was biting his nails, shaking his head, and was jittery. Our disgraced protagonist was later on repeatedly saying “Di ko na kaya” and “Ayaw ko na” (“He can’t do it anymore”) , referring to him driving the ‘green’ car never again….forever! He totally freaked out!
The incident totally changed his life and what people perceived of him. He’s been the butt of jokes in many instances. Definitely this one will stick out like a sore thumb for the rest of his life. Life then can be a sick joke!

On a much lighter side of things, this particular ‘run’ is much welcomed in its life span. It can well be said that a diecast manufacturer will maximized the production run of a certain casting, for profit. You’ll eventually wish that they’ll retire it after so many over-played variations. Such is the case, when HW opted to retire the two castings of the beloved Porsche 911. Retirement then should be a good thing after all?

The two 911 HW Final Run,
Love the met blue paint job…

…the spoke-wheels as well!

White paint is fitting on the Carrera…

…the side graphics is spot-on hot!

These won’t hit the roof in dollar value…

..who cares…

…a good champ knows when to retire in good esteem.

These are special for 911’s collectors?
I personally feel; they are!

2 Slices of Pizza

Pizza is an inseparable part of me and my teenage slice of life. Having been blessed to be sent to the big city for college schooling, my journey to adolescence started with that time too. Using our Volkswagen, my dad and I would journey 125km from our home to my second home in the city. More aptly, a dorm away from home, best describes it. Before my dad headed back home, he always treated me to a hefty meal of pizza, chips and chicken. These memorable rites were repeated countless of times, and collectively, a wonderful bonding of father and son. Looking back, I greatly appreciate my dad for doing so.

Well, there’s also something special with this particular pizza themed diecast as well. Lesney Matchbox did the early VW T2 in the guise of a Dormobile. They got it right, a proper Dormobile is a Microbus with a pop-up roof as a sleeping deck, and the 2 versions (blue & orange) in transitional wheels are so pleasant in every detail. From that casting, another variant was developed. That other variant has the roof rendered without the pop-up plastic; making it a one whole piece of diecast top. Curiously the bottom plate has still the ‘Dormobile’ marking, which IMHO should be more aptly termed as a ‘Kombi’. That makes it somehow special though; a marking error from the factory maybe, that no one needs to complain about. Me, I love it 100%. With the pizza tampo, it serves as a reference to that memorable time when VW and Pizza became part of my slice of life.

White pizza van VW T2 has the still ‘Made in England’ charm.

Black pizza van from the Mattel era is a VW T1 ‘Samba’ in the backdrop.

These 2 makes me crave for 2 slices of pizza. Tasty!

How to Spot a Rabbit

The colorful story of the VW GTI Mark 1 is such a well documented and glorious one. Even Jeremy Clarkson has high regard for the original hot hatch. But then again the Mark1 GTI has a continental divide that makes it even more interesting. Jeremy’s beloved Golf GTI was the 1976 European version with the 1.6 liter 110PS that started it all. Then from across the pond, there is the Rabbit GTI of 1983 U.S. release with the 1.8 liter engine.
Of course, the Golf was never called one for the 1st series in the American market, but was known as the Rabbit. The succeeding generations were properly named Golf, in whatever market they were sold, up to the 4th generation. VW of America revived the Rabbit nameplate again, on the Golf Mark 5. Confusing? I am as well. It’s purely marketing to me!

Small-scale talk-wise, HotWheels didn’t miss the opportunity to model this famous hot hatch. Made in HongKong and marked ‘Hare Splitter’ it is an obvious spin of the Rabbit nameplate. Surely HW was suggesting this to be the GTI version of the Mark1 VW Rabbit, as this was ought to be a sportier version. But then again, there a continental divide that makes this particular diecast interesting like the real Mark1 GTI! The Rabbit version has square headlights and the Golf version has the round ones, as easy visible differentiation. So HW actually modeled the European Golf GTi, not the U.S. Rabbit GTI. A wonderful mix-up of sorts! Another interesting tidbit to add to the colorful GTI Mark1 story!
I love this Hare of a Golf….

Or Golf of a Rabbit….

GTI spotting #1 (above): backdrop #1 is the HotWheels Golf5 GTI (custom by Komenda VW). No Rabbit5 GTI exist! Another one of those amusing marketing move!

GTI spotting #2 (below): On background is Matchbox Golf GTI Mark2. No confusion of hare whatsoever :-)

Intended Accelerators

Reading between the blurred lines

A great number of us want to be in control of everything around us. Such is man’s voracious quest for control over the physical world, the society, his emotions and his desires. But in spite of that, man can’t completely get what he wants, tooooo badddd that it will never happen. Nothing can be perfect!
End of story?
Not really, there is such a word as; compromise. Now that seems kinda fun, when you look at it from an optimistic perspective. More like learning to accept cheerful improvisation and adapting to known limitations. There is always a child in us that says; I’ll make do with inadequacy and imperfection.
Take the case of these vaguely controllable toys that are such fun.

THE Bump car!
Steering is mayhem, it accelerate like stink! Never mind the brakes; there is none! What fun!

(Shown are EnchantedKingdom Roadsters, shot by ECM 21Feb10)

THE Slot car!
Steering is fly-by-wire control guessing game, its throttle control stinks even more! I love slot racing!

(Shown is OCR Porsche 935)


The Pull-back car!
Steering is surface dependent, it accelerates but bumps to a stop! You gotta like the hybrid drive (free wheeling / friction wound combo) it has! I do, Darda is my fav of the genre!

(Shown is DARDA VW Golf Cabrio)


Something coincidentally similar to cars nowadays?
Unintentionally Intended? Hmmmm….

Something NEW, Something gOLD

Side-by-side feature

The VW Scirocco GT24 was raced in the 2008 Nurburgring 24 hour even before the actual market launch of the production model.
The result is a 1-2 victory in the 2.0-litre turbo class. Impressive!

Then comes HotWheels, racing to bring this to our pegs and the result is a winner as well! Equally impressive!

Joining it at the background is the original Mark 1 Scirocco.

Something NEW, by HW

Something OLD gold, by Polistil-Italy

And something to look forward to from HW...
the red version as raced in 2009.

914 / four

My partiality to the car wearing both the marques that I loved most is obvious.
The VW-Porsche 914 is such an automobile of queer amalgamation due to its parents.
An offspring brought about by a volume car company on one hand and the other the purveyor of specialty sports cars. The result is an interesting combination to say the least.
Today the union has come full circle, Porsche is now owned by Volkswagen AG.
My interest was reinforced with the recent introduction of MB of the 914. This makes it a 3” quartet of one of my favorite car.

Matchbox

Siku V-series; Germany

Faller; Germany


Schuco; Germany

Poster Poser

Those my age would know this;
As a little boy, the exotic wedge fast shape is an ultimate dream ride.
The menacing look even captures the childhood fondness of robots then.
I remember my classmate would draw this endlessly until he masters the car's details.
Most of us would have pictures of it. A poster is the ultimate on the wall décor.
Ah those were the days!


Reliving that age of naïve automotive amazement is embodied in this heavy 1:43 diecast.

Bandai Lamborghini Countach