Saturday, April 29, 2006

The Diver & The Whale


The Diver & The Whale
Originally uploaded by Neato Coolville.
This is my first drawing for Illustration Friday! I've been wanting to do one for months and so here it is. Pen & Ink with Photoshop.

Friday, April 28, 2006

Neato-Aid Dino Lime Drink-Mix Pack

"Hey Kids, try a tall glass of cold refreshing Dino Lime, a new and exciting flavor from your favorite dirnk-mix, Neato-Aid!"

I've always loved the old drink-mix packs like Funny Face, Drink-Aid, and of course Kool-Aid. So today I thought it would be fun and make one up.

Ant Farm Comic Book Ad


Ant Farm Comic Book Ad
Originally uploaded by Neato Coolville.
Most kids had an Ant Farm growing up to the chagrin of all Moms everywhere!

I would go on ant safaris in the front yard snatching up red ants for my plastic farm. Of course it was good demented fun when you introduced black ants into your all red ant farm. Your farm turned into a battlefield. Gruesome acts of ant violence just a few inches away from your face. The battles were fierce and sometimes lasted for hours.

How many millions of ants gave their lives for the amusement of kids?

The Alien at the Sock Hop

This is the weirdest snapshot I've ever found and I purchased it on ebay last year. It's from the 1950's or early 60's and my guess is that it's from a Halloween school dance. This person's costume is really well done and the mask looks like something from a sci-fi b-movie.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

FRANKENSTEIN GLOW PUTTY

I had this as a kid and I got it stuck in the shag carpet in my bedroom. We could never completely get it all out. So at nighttime I always had a glowing spot of carpet. It was cool!

In the 1970's it seems like everyone had their one type of Putty. There was this one, Frankenstein Glow Putty and then there was Bugs Bunny Putty, Flash Gordon Galaxy Putty, Star Trek The Motion Picture Putty, The Pink Panther Putty, The Incredible Hulk Power Putty and The Amazing Spider-Man Power Putty. The 1960's had The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Secret Print Putty and Batman Print Putty.

I guess back in the day it was a cool thing to have your own putty if you were a licensed character. I noticed recently that Silly Putty has been using licensed properties to make their own putty more appealing.

McDonald's Happy Meal Box & Space Aliens Set

These little aliens/monsters were big time fun when I was kid in 1980. Our local McDonalds had just opened so we were there all the time and I scored a bunch of 'em. The cool thing is that they are based after classic b-movie monsters.

I've noticed on the vintage ones there seems to be three different variations of eraser material and five different colors. The variations are very soft, very hard & glossy and the common normal ones. They came in Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange and Brown.

I'm not sure when Diener started making them, but I've been told they were sold in stores before they became Happy Meal premiums. They were also used in gumball machines with suction cups on their feet and most recently I've spotted them at Hobby Lobby in day-glow colors.

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Old Toys "R" Us Sign


Old Toys "R" Us Sign
Originally uploaded by Neato Coolville.

I can only dream of going back in time and walking through the toy aisles checking out all the cool 70's toys. I snapped this photo back in 2001 in Anaheim. It has been torn down since then.


Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Off Duty Cylons From Battlestar Galactica

Who knew that Adrian Zmed was a Cylon back before the days of T.J. Hooker?

Cobra: The Class of 1982

Here is Bob, Doug, Larry, Nathan, and Bill right before they were shipped out to fight G.I. Joe. Too bad their Cobra Rattler took a nose dive into the side of a mountain on their first mission. I guess that's why they were called the Bad Luck Boys of 1982!

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Saturday, April 22, 2006

MEET ZOOTY THE NEWT


Meet Zooty the Newt! Zooty is tired of seeing many of his friends grow multiple legs, tails and eyes. So Zooty has decided to ask everyone to do their best and not pollute!

There is even a Zooty the Newt group on Flickr! So if you would like to be a Zooty Pal just go over to the group and join!
http://flickr.com/groups/96725030@N00/