My Odds & Ends: AMENDMENT #2!!!

[BrandonDaCollector]

Oh man-o-man, I have been waiting to showcase this for quite some time. It's My huge Belt Buckle EXTRAVAGANZA! This is My ENTIRE COLLECTION Now it's quite special how I got them in many ways. First I must explain that I am NOT a classy guy dressing up and all that jazz...nope, I have always dressed very casual and usually never wore jeans and belts so Belt Buckles were not My thing as I didn't require them. However, that would change in a different and unexpected manner and this is how it changed Me. So I always went to the grocery stores with My Grandma, always have since I was a youngster. We always played the vending claw machines and nine times outta ten we would always get something out of them no matter what location we'd go too. For example, there was this one time at My local Big Lots (the same one I always mention) she grabbed a huge 18" Marvel Incredible Hulk and he knocked in several plushes in the hole and then he fell in too Oh we did this stuff on a weekly basis, for years, it was tremendous times and I have a ton of stories to tell like that but they will have to wait. Over all of this time the owners of the machines at multiple locations throughout our neighborhood like at Schnucks on Loughborough (ESPECIALLY THIS ONE!) & Hampton and Arsenal (Arsenal was My fave) and even the now defunct Shop 'n Save (it's unbelievable their are no more due to the P!demic) would "FIX/RIG" the claw by untighting the screws of it and putting things here and there where they THOUGHT WE COULDN'T GET IT oh but we outsmarted them time and time again! My Grandma was just great at it and I was ok. We both would take turns and put our money in and a lot of it was for Me but occasion she would want something to but not often. See, the owners of the machines OWNED all of them at every location in our area (we studied hard and researched them!) and countless times they just got mad at us. First it was by an older lady then a Mexican fella. We did this from the mid 90s to the early 2010s until things changed. We weren't perfect, there was times when we struck out for a while or when they never even filled the machines. There was countless times the machines would act up and brake while we were playing them and an gosh were we disappointed when we were anticipating saying to each I wonder want they got new in the machines now Then the machines would be out of order suspiciously...we always theorized it was most likely on purpose just so they wouldn't lose their money and items. We always had a small audience watching us which sometimes we didn't prefer cause we just wanted it to be us so we could concentrate as much as we could and get out as much as possible. We did have some competition however at the time. Sometimes there was a guy that looked like Aaron Eckhart/Christoper Lambert that got out a ton of bean bags out of the small plush machine that we sometimes played and he'd come over to the other machines and wasn't after what we were so that really wasn't a biggie but there was this tall older guy who always went after what we wanted and usually got it and he cost us many times more than I can count... he was nothing but a darn spoiler to put it mildly During the early 2010s the Mexican guy was finally wise to us cause it was pretty much a mystery who was basically robbing him getting all of these Looney Tunes, Disney, DC & Marvel and cartoon plushes and much more outta of all of the vending machines because we never truly "encountered" each other. We always saw him pulling up in the parking lots and filling up the machines but never let him see us until one day at the South City Schnucks that we didn't go to that much. He finally knew who was behind all of this "prize winning" for years! Shockingly, he actually took it well and was pretty nice to us and even put things here and there so we could get'em (he put in some awesome Ghostbusters plushes in while we were watching him (it was fun to be honest) and we got all of them but Winston...never had him in any machine - maybe one day I will showcase them in the future). After that, times were changing, things were winding down and stores were changing their ways and were getting rid of the machines to fit their own convenient brilliant corporate ideas and so fourth. I complained to them many times but it did no good and so that is was it and our time at the machines was over but man it was such a wild ride

So with My big journey down memory lane down pat, its quite unbelievable reliving this after all of this time as I haven't talked about it in so long. I am very thankful that Me and My Grandma got them during them times! Now how we got these beauties is we hooked them through the loop. There was only a few that was actually on a card with a ribbon on them for advantage but more on that is a bit. They are made of pewter & metal and some are even painted and they are still in great condition as I have took good care of them! Of course We had misses too, there was many more Belt Buckles in the machine that We just were unable to capture but this is gonna be one heck of a run from 1997 to 2008! Here is ALL of My Belt Buckles that we got out of the jewelry machine most at the Schnucks Loughborough location with select commentary & notes and by the way, My case of them together weights nearly 15 POUNDS



American Flags: I'm a proud American and these were a must have!



Nature: I love animals and nature so I had to get them. The sculpting is superb!





Old West & Culture: I've always loved that sort of stuff, they caught My eye and we got'em!





Trains & Oil Workers: Again, love that stuff!



War: While I like to watch war in movies, video games and stuff, I don't like it for real. With that being said, I had to get these because I honor our troops who paid for our freedom so this is one of My little ways of showing that



Bikers: While I do not not agree with the overall style of Biker clubs, I do like them and one of My Grandpa's passions was bikes so this is to him



Fishing: I loved fishing, I always catched and release!



Racing: I was never a race car fan but didn't have nothin' against it so I wanted these for the collectablity!



Sports: Never got into these sports much less teams so the same as above.



St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Bulls: Oh these were an absolute must have! I loved the Cardinals (My home town team) so this is so crucial to own! Now the Bulls on the other hand, I never followed basketball faithfully but I knew a bit of their history then so it was a must too and besides, their state is just next door!



Pro Wrestling & Triceratops: These were My MOST WANTED out of ALL OF THEM! I was so euphoric when I saw the Wrestling one, it looked so classic and old school (the Attitude Era was in full force and I was missing the classic stuff already). I believe it was an inspiration of Hulk Hogan vs. "Cowboy" Bob Orton. The Dinosaur buckle was really My thrillzone here because I loved the design, sculpting and especially the paint of the scenery! Oh I remember about 25 years ago this year as to how it was for back then



WCW: WOW, I was extremely surprised that they had more wrestling in the machine (as you saw in My Vintage Wrestling Topic, We got out plush figures of Goldberg & Sting from there!) and it was all WCW One is of Goldberg because he was THE MAN! The others are both nWo - 1 is Black & White and the other is The Wolf Pack Black & Red. I think we got them of different days, I'm not sure. When I got these I was so happy to add more to My already big WCW collection



St.Louis Rams: Now this the bittersweet one because it was THE LAST one we ever got Notice I left it on the card with the ribbon. When they were like that it was kinda easy to get them out provided they didn't "rig" the claw too much because if they did then the it just couldn't handle the wait. I loved the detail and it was like all of the other sports themed ones I have it is all official and authentic. Every time I look at this one it just reminds Me that was the last one I ever got Here is also a pic of it out from it's card back




Copyrights & Logos: As you know, I love copyrights. Here is a great gallery of them with the years and companies that made them! It's so amazing when I see stuff like this










SPECIAL BONUS GALLERY!

Cardinals & Rams: Yep, the two teams of Saint Louie at the time (Rams are longer ours) so I wanted to put them together as it should be!



Scale: Here s My OSTM Hollywood Hogan & Goldberg action figures that I showcased in My Vintage Wrestling Topic, I thought they were very apropos to show the size comparison!



All Together Now: 2 more shots of My Belt Buckle Collection concurrently




Well, that's it for this one. I hope you have enjoyed it. My collection is worth a mint especially the WCW ones, most of these are extremely rare and hard to come by. It was truly remarkable showcasing My huge Belt Buckle Collection! I have much more in store to present, until the next one I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

Cool looking belts. I don't really know anything about that sort of thing or their value, but they are nice to look at. I've never been fashionable, I usually only own one belt at a time until that one disintegrates and it's time for a new one, lol. Not sure I've ever owned a decorative belt. Schnucks sure is a funny sounding name for a store.

[BrandonDaCollector]

Thanks PB, Me too as I said I usually never wore pants that required belts but when I got these they became My collectables and that's it, been like that ever since. Oh yes, these vary in value but like I said, the WCW ones go for a pretty penny

Oh, Schnucks is MO's own grocer and their a huge one. They basically ran National out of business (I talked about them when I posted My Halloween Bendables last year - I loved that store). Who knows I might make a special about them soon because I had fun times there in the 80 and early 90s, in fact there is other stuff I have already took pics of from there so in time I'll get to it

Here is a small bonus, here is a pic of the Schnucks on Hampton

[BrandonDaCollector]

So here is My next showcase in My great Odds & Ends Topic, Rocky Mountains & St. Louis Books! I have always loved books like these and especially these great guides and as usual they have a bit of a story behind them. I still prefer books over the digital age. So let's not delay any further...

Rocky Mountains: My Mom got Me this along with another you'll see in a moment. I was with her and her friend Frank in the Spring/Summer of 1991. We went to the Gate Way Arch of St. Louis, My home town Underneath the Arch is a historical museum that's filled with history such as preserved species of Missouri animals such as American Bison, Civil war, Colonial and Old West artifacts. Anyway, I love this book, never been to the Colorado Rocky Mountains but it's gorgeous looking. Take a gander at the pics of My wonderful book

[BrandonDaCollector]

NOTE: Remember, these St. Louis Books are from the early 90s, much has changed since then

St. Louis Book - Gateway to the West: Ah, this is one of My most prized books of My entire book collection St. Louis is full with rich history of all kinds of the city, sports like Baseball & Wrestling, nature and so much more. Saint Louis is one of the most beautiful urban areas anyone could be and this great book shows the tourists or Mo native how great the city looks and what's it's all about.



Here is a fantastic picture of East St. Louis, Illinois view of the Ancient & Gorgeous Mississippi River and downtown St. Louis!



Here is just an example of some of the designs of old and newer housing complexes.



The St. Louis Zoo is a great spot and one of the most famous zoos of the world! In fact have had many extremely rare species, including one I could believe i saw it person around a decade or so ago which was the Okapi because one point it was a cryptid until it was completely discovered



Great fireworks, the iconic Bush Stadium and The Court building!



Here is the awesome cityscape of Down Town St.Louis! Look at that beauty when the original Bush Stadium was still standing. Look at the Mississippi River too! I was in a helicopter not to long after this with My Grandma and I saw the city just like this, it was so radical :bounce: :cheers: Here is Grant's Farm, I went there countless times during My early school years and long after that. It's a National Park that is owned & operated by Anheuser-Busch Brewery! They have tons of wonderful animals roaming the land like Bison, deer and among others!



Here is Eads Bridge, it was the first bridge made that crossed the Mississippi River. It is so cool when your down town and you see how massive it is!



There's Market street and the iconic Union Station! There is also the Schnucks grocery store have mentioned many times before however, as much as I have been down in that area, I have never been to that particular store and look at that sign



So that concludes My first St.Louis book. There's the back cover, the copyright and the price. Yep, $6, a quality book like this would cost you double that now

[BrandonDaCollector]

So here is My second one. I believe I got this in 92 or 93 at Walgreens with My Grandma. Its a much smaller book but its just as fun as the previous one. There's the Arch. Again the St.Louis Zoo. Notice the Gorilla Statue. That is Phil, he was one of the biggest Gorillas ever in a zoo and one of the most well known of all of them of all-time. My Grandma actually knew him when she was very young as she used to visit him every now and then and especially for his Birthday parties. He was so gentle and she was his best friend, they were so close to each other. There was many famous classic wrestlers that would play tug of war with him and he would always beat them! Sadly he died in 1958 and My Grandma was so sad about it because he was her friend Maybe one day I will talk about this further.



Some more great views!



Ah Six Flags, that was great then and the Botanical Gardens, in 2010 they had an excellent Dinosaur exhibit, I went with My Mom stayed there for many, many hours, it was so exhausting but thrilling none the less



There's Anheuser-Busch Brewery! As I had said when I showcased My Insane Keychain at the beginning of this great topic of Mine, this is were all of your great Budweisers, Bud-Lights and so on comes from Its a terrific area and it's only about a 15 minute drive from My location. It was so cool Down Town back in the day



Ah, another grand look at Down Town St. Louis and look at the original Bush Stadium! It was a great ball park, I went down there countless times and saw so many St. Louis Cardinal games. It was just great times then things had to change and they made a new one. I admit, you can see the city a whole lot better in there but it doesn't even come close to the classic look, feel or anything like the first one



Here's the price tag...$3.99...such a bargain



We're All Together Now: Notice the size difference of the two St. Louis books



Well, that'll do it. Make sure you see this from the beginning I hope you liked it and were surprised a bit or even educated if aren't familiar with St.Louis.. I may present more of My great city in the near future within this topic. Next up will be another great and fun one, until then I'll see you around

[BrandonDaCollector]

Remember Where's Waldo If by any reason you are not familiar with this great book series, then CLICK HERE for the Wiki Page!. I have always liked this character (sometimes he is called Wally) and thought it was so fun back in the day. How I found out about this series of books was thru kids at school. It was around late 1990 to early/mid 91 when a couple of them brought their books over which I believe it was for "Show & Tell" and I was like gosh, what are them books I love the way they look and how big they are. So they explained it and such and I was thrilled and asked'em if I could look at'em and I told'em I'll be careful (I'm always carefully with My books...most of the time) and they let Me see'em and boy did I fall in love as I had found My new fun book series! Oh these were the days before the web when you found something, it was special and it would never leave you So, I told My Grandparents about'em and their like we'll see about goin' and gettin'em for ya. Well, this was really in My Grandpa's heyday (if you recall in My Grandma's tribute, I featured about him), I mean he was in top shape and everything, we did so much together We rode all the time on his great Suzuki motorcycle, it was so fun and so was he. He took Me to Target and got Me all three of them This was a major and wonderful moment, I remember like it was last week. We rode back home and I was so euphoric, a young Brandon that got them books I wanted at school I gotta thank them at school too cause it's possible if I didn't go there and all that I may have never found'em Oh but wait, that's not it, sometime after that, when Me and My Grandma went shopping, I wanted to stop at B. Dalton (remember them?) cause I loved to get books and see what kind of new ones to My liking that may have. This time there wasn't much but wait, wait, there was a NEW Waldo book It was smaller and was paperback, not hardcover like the previous three. It was more of an activity book but gosh it was still a must for Me. So She got it for Me and it was another good day to remember

Here they are, ready to see'em

Now notice the three are rather large & hardcover like I like while the other is paperback and much smaller. That kind is fine too however. I have found Waldo in every book, I test Myself about it too but every once in a while I always notice something new within'em, it's always so much fun indeed



Where's Waldo - 1987: Oh this one was tremendous, I loved the blue cover and all of the city landscapes & urban areas. Really cool




Find Waldo Now - 1988: Oh this one is where is he a time traveler from the stone age to the future, it was so cool especially him in Ancient Egypt & Ancient Japan in the days of the Samurai




The Great Waldo Search - 1989: Another great one. this time it get's more difficult as you have to find just not Waldo but Wizard Whitebeard and the Scrolls Oh I love this one, I love the Transylvania section, its so exciting

NOTE: The stickers that you see are from the last book, a young Brandon decided to stick'em there




Where's Waldo: The Ultimate Fun Book - 1990: Ah, here is the last one and it's way different. It's more of an activity book yet follows the traditional concept of find the characters but gosh it's arguably more funner than the other ones. It introduces Waldo's new girlfriend Wilma and her pet dog Woof



The Back Covers!

[BrandonDaCollector]

SUPER SPECIAL BONUS!!!



That's right, I am going to try to bring back another store that has been gone for quite sometime but it's one that I think most of yesterday's generation will remember and it is one that I was just talking about where I got My Where's Waldo: The Ultimate Fun Book and that is none other than B. Dalton Bookstore

Now I know a few months ago I spoke about B. Dalton and PB knew what it was so I'm glad I wasn't alone there Now if your somehow not familiar with them here is the Wikipedia page for more info!

Here is a YT vid of B.Dalton with a lot of additional history that you may not know, it is really good



So now we are getting to the big point of the feature. As you know, I have been trying to bring back old defunct stores, local and otherwise whenever I have a chance. Many people doesn't think much of the matter as they jabber about this and that on SM during this deplorable era we are currently in WHILE I am trying to NOT let great things of the past go, it's bad enough so much is already in limbo as it is, I have many collectibles, action figures and more and been to many places many times of the past. Once they hit unfortunate oblivion, that's pretty much it and I'm trying My darnedest to NOT let that happen

As I have mentioned within the topic My great Waldo Books, I got the last one at B.Dalton. It was such a great book store that wasn't that big. It was in a great general area that is only a few short minutes away from My location and that area is Hampton Village. It's building was connected to Schnucks that is still there. There was a really cool JCPenny & Johnnie Brock's that is both gone and a very memorable Walgreens there as well but they moved across the street however. Target is still across the street too but like I had said in previous topics & showcases they rebuilt it in the mid 2000s (I have so many memories there including that's where My Grandma got Me most of My great Street Sharks & the WCW figures in 95!). It was so fun in that whole general area. Anyway, we stopped in B. Dalton often, sometimes they'd have a new book of a movie, dinosaurs & animals or something and sometimes just go in there to look around. They actually had the SW: POTF 2 12" figures that I regrettably passed up as they had them by their counter as they thought they were special items which really they were. I remember asking the nice lady if I could see them, they had many of them including a Jawa, C3-PO, Anakin and others. Like I said, it was a small book store, nothing like their ultimate buyer Barnes & Noble or even Borders, I mean they are huge stores like Walmart but I really loved little stores as there wouldn't be much crowds and it would kinda feel homely to be in

Here is a pic I edited from inside a B.Dalton.. You can see it was quite small and packed with tons of reading material



Now as before when I showed Judy's Superstore in My recent part 1 of My Transformers showcase in My great Vintage Action Figure Topic, that has begun a trend of how I will show these stores and such via Instant Street View. Here is three pics I took and they are quite recent. Much has changed their I'm afraid over the years but to be fair everything still looks nice however. The circled building is WHERE B.Dalton used to be which is now the Noodles Company Notice the long building connected to it is still Schnucks and the building way down there with the tower used to be JC Penny. Also note in the second pic the small building far right is Bellacino's Pizza & Grinders, they are still there and they are great, man do they have some great A1 Bombers





Now, here we are to RESTORATION and BLAST TO THE PAST territory LOOK at the logo of the building NOW, it now says B. DALTON, oh I love it This is as close to how it was back then back in the day that I recall





Well that's it for now, I bet ya didn't know I was into Waldo did ya I hope you liked My special Where's Waldo showcase and brought some memories back and if your a novice to it then hopefully it made your day with something new that's a classic Also, I hope you liked My little bringing up B. Dalton back to true form as well. If your just now seeing this and you didn't see ANY of Where's Waldo showcase then stop it right here and get to the beginning, you don't want to miss it for a second + there's a lot of other great stuff that I posted in My Odds & Ends topic as well So I mentioned Johnnie Brock's, they are St. Louis's Dungeon Party Warehouse, if you like Halloween then you'll love them I got a very special and unusual book from them long, long ago and that will be My next showcase and I will also present Johnnie Brock's as well Until then I'll see you around

[packerbacker180]

I never got into Where's Waldo. Didn't really know much about them until a few years later than the books you showed and by then I was too old to pay it much attention.

B/Dalton's I definitely remember but the ones around here were always in malls. For the longest time the malls had a Walden Books and a B.Dalton's usually on opposite ends. Then B.Dalton's went away but Walden Books was around for a while after that. I used to go there on my lunch breaks when I worked at JCPenney a buy new novel to read on lunch. But when I was younger I'd always want to stop in to go through the spinner racks of comics.

[AcidDragon]

Great stories!

Always been a huge fan of Where's Waldo since I was a little kid from the first book I borrowed from the library to the Life brand cereal box with Where's Waldo cutout aquatic search game on the back to the monster themed puzzle we did at elementary school with all the vampires at a huge banquet to the short lived cartoon that aired on Saturday mornings. I also had that Where's Waldo Ultimate Fun Book and I got it from an obscure toys and novelty store at the mall when I was around 9. I remember it had these punchout paper figurines and other accessory pieces so you could arrange and make your own Waldo search game.

It's hard for me to decide which of the classic books are my favorite but I can easily say some of my favorite searches included the vampire banquet, the Japan civil war, the future one with the domes and the underwater one on the cereal box.

Even now, Waldo has a special place in my household and in our hearts.

You're right, in England (where he was created), it's known as Where's Wally. The evil version of Waldo known as Odlaw here is called Yllaw there which is more difficult to figure out how it might be pronounced since I've not heard it said out loud.