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DIECAST Collectible
Model Cars And More
| Item# |
Description |
Stock
Status |
| Free
Figure |
Special
on going promotion. Place an online order and get a free
Motorhead single pack scale figure. Free figure is limited
to figures in this category: Motorhead
Single Packs . Just place one in your shopping cart.
When you check out and at the end of the order, we'll
automatically apply a credit for a free figure. Offer
is for online orders only. Note that the order for the
figure must be placed with your online order; Toy Wonders
will not retroactively apply this offer. |
New |
| 31360/27 |
Maisto - Harley-Davidson Motorcycles Series 27 (1:18, Asstd.) 31360/27 |
New |
| 31351BU |
Maisto Pro Rodz - Ford Mustang GTA Fastback Hard Top (1967, 1:18, Blue) 31351 |
New |
| 31351R |
Maisto Pro Rodz - Ford Mustang GTA Fastback Hard Top (1967, 1:18, Red) 31351 |
New |
| 34040 |
Maisto Pro Rodz - Pontiac Firebird Hard Top (1969, 1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Asstd.) 34040 |
Restock |
| 34275 |
Maisto - Chevrolet Corvette Convertible (1957, 1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Asstd.) 34275 |
Restock |
| 34344 |
Maisto Custom Shop - Ford Starliner Rescue Highway Patrol & Fire Chief (1960, 1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Asstd.) 34344 |
Restock |
| 34352 |
Maisto Custom Shop - Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 Hard Top (1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Asstd.) 34352 |
New |
| 34357 |
Maisto Custom Shop - Chevrolet Chevelle SS396 Hard Top w/ Engine Blower (1966, 1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Asstd.) 34357 |
New |
| DC11821R |
Shelby - Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake Hard Top (2010, 1:18, Red w/ Black Stripes) DC11821 |
New |
| DC11822BK |
Shelby - Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake Hard Top (2010, 1:18, Black w/ Black Stripes) DC11822 |
New |
| DC11823BU |
Shelby - Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake Hard Top (2010, 1:18, Blue w/ Black Stripes) DC11823 |
New |
| DC11841W |
Shelby - Shelby GT500 Super Snake Hard Top (1967, 1:18, White w/ Blue Stripes) DC11841 |
New |
| 43014GN |
Yatming - Magirus-Deutz S 3000 SLG Fire Engine Fcciwilligc Fcuerweht Mainleus (1941, 1:43, Green) 43014 |
New |
| 92118GN |
Yatming - Chevy Impala Convertible (1959, 1:18, Green) 92118 |
Restock |
| 92148BU |
Yatming - Ford F-100 Pick Up (1953, 1:18, Dark Blue) 92148 |
Restock |
| 92268BU |
Yatming - Tucker Torpedo Hard Top (1948, 1:18, Blue) 92268 |
Restock |
| 92458GN |
Yatming - Studebaker Coupe Express Pick Up (1937, 1:18, Green) 92458 |
Restock |
| 92548BU |
Yatming - Dodge Coronet R/T Convertible (1970, 1:18, Metallice Blue) 92548 |
Restock |
| 92608R |
Yatming - Jaguar E-Type Convertible (1971, 1:18, Red) 92608 |
Restock |
| 92708BK |
Yatming - Ford Falcon Hard Top (1964, 1:18, Black) 92708 |
New |
| 92748GN |
Yatming - Chrysler 300F Convertible (1960, 1:18, Green) 92748 |
New |
| 92748R |
Yatming - Chrysler 300F Convertible (1960, 1:18, Red) 92748 |
New |
| 92808W |
Yatming - Lincoln Capri Hard Top (1952, 1:18, White) 92808 |
Restock |
| 92828BK |
Yatming - Ford T-Bucket Convertible (1923, 1:18, Black) 92828 |
New |
| 92828W |
Yatming - Ford T-Bucket Convertible (1923, 1:18, White) 92828 |
New |
| 92829BG |
Yatming - Ford T-Bucket Soft Top (1923, 1:18, Burgundy) 92829 |
New |
| 92829GN |
Yatming - Ford T-Bucket Soft Top (1923, 1:18, Green) 92829 |
New |
| 92839BK |
Yatming - Ford Coupe Hard Top (1933, 1:18, Black w/ Flames) 92839 |
New |
| 92839SV |
Yatming - Ford Coupe Hard Top (1933, 1:18, Silver w/ Flames) 92839 |
New |
| 24018BK |
Yatming - Cadillac Deville Presidential Limo (2001, 1:24 Scale Diecast Model, Black) 24018 |
Restock |
| 4004DB |
Kinsmart - Funny School Bus Big Wheel (3.75", Yellow) 4004DB |
New |
| 5330DS1 |
Kinsmart - Chevy Stepside Pickup w/ Surfboard (1955, 1:32, Asstd.) 5330DS1 |
New |
| 5330DB |
Kinsmart - Chevy Stepside Pickup Big Wheel (1955, 1:32, Asstd.) 5330DB |
New |
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Thank you
Lu Su
Toy Wonders, Inc.
www.toywonders.com
201-229-1700
God and the Art of Toy and Diecast Marketing
Paradise Lost (intro)
By Lu Su
The other week, I had the opportunity to entertain two customers. They wanted to gamble. So I asked them if they wanted to go to Atlantic city or to one of the casinos on an Indian reservation in CT.
"Definately Atlantic City," they replied "Because if we aren't doing well in one casino, we can walk over to another."
It seemed like impecable logic so off we went and headed south down the NJ Turnpike to the Garden State Pkwy. If you have ever driven in New Jersey, you've been aquanitanted with at least one of these motor vehicle passageways. The drive was uneventful (which I consider a good thing) and we checked into one of the Boardwalk casino hotels. It had been fifteen years since I had been in Atlantic City.
Not that much has changed on the Boardwalk. But fifteen years ago, if you walked just one block away from the boardwalk, you were in a seedy party of town; back then so many of the buildings that had fallen into disrepair -many were boarded up and condemed. I was pleased to now see that two blocks after the row of casinos, there were busy and well lit shops. Over a decade ago I remember seeing these shops that had a lot of X's in its name or big signs that say WE BUY JEWELRY.
My guests were anxious to get to the tables. "We'll meet you downstairs," one of them had replied. I think they were in their rooms for 20 seconds, when I heard their door of the adjacent room slam. You know you've stayed in too many hotels, if you recognize the distinct sound of a hotel door makes when it closes (Kerchunk). It's a sound that is very different than any office or home door closing. So down to the lobby level they went. My two guests were men who probably thought unpacking is for wimps. I remembered something a funny commedian had said about the casino business.
"This is the only place where unsatisfied customers keep coming back", remarked Bill Cosby.
What I find interesting is how the casino business attracts people to their offering. From my observation, they initially employ a tactic that stimulates two of our senses: sight and sound. Interestingly enough, it's the same two senses that we use to captivate the attention of children and fish. Yes, you read that right. The same marketing strategy used bycasinos works well on children and those squirmy fishy creatures that swim in water. Let me explain.
After marketing toys for quite some time now I've made this observation, toys that incoroprate both (lights and sounds) have a greater liklihood of success. So as I walked down the rows and rows of slot machines, I noticed the same thing that draws children to toys still works on adults. If you were to remove all the lights and the sounds that typically accompany most games found in a casino, I doubt people would even play them. Try to imagine a casino with no lights or sound -it wouldn't have that much appeal.
Likewise this very skilled fisherman once told me long ago his secret in catching large and small mouth bass. He never used night crawlers, but always used lures. He told me that lures incorporated two elements: some type of reflective or squirmy material (to catch the fish's eye) and noise. I never realized until talking with this expert that lures are extremely noisy as they spin or coast through the water. So there you have it. The two basic secret ingredients to marketing. Make it noisy. Make it flashy. Works great on fish, children and, full grown kids.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast together. Apparently my guests had played so much the night before that the casino was going to comp up all the rest of the meals that day. As they were recalling their past comps at other casinos, I recalled that a colleage of mine told me that he knew a person who was adicted to gambling. He was such a big gambler that the casino would send a limo to New York City to pick up his party, give him free rooms, and shuttle him and his party back. He told me that the casino even purchased him a brand new Mercedes Benz. I was stunned in trying to image how much money you need to lose before a business can afford to comp you these benefits.
After breakfast my two guests wanted to get right back to the tables. I didn't ask my guest how much money they lost the night before, but I know frequent trips to the ATM isn't a good sign. To me gambling in the morning is like cracking open a beer for breakfast. I didn't have an appetite to give the casino more money so I went outside and walked down the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk.
As I walked north, I walked past the newest hotel and casino on the boardwalk called the Revel. It's a two billion dollar project, 1900 room hotel, casino, and entertainment complex. The builders had completed the exterior portion of the building, but that is it. At this point, the Revel is just an empty shell. This project ran into a series of difficulties. From my understanding several lead developers for this project perished in a airplane crash. With the poor economy, all construction halted due to a lack of financing. I'm sure the continued drop in attendance to the area as well as many existing casino closing or declaring bankrupcy contributed to this difficulty. At this time all lending institutions view this project as a money pit and have done what the leader in Monty Python and the Holy Grail kept ordering his knights to do whenever they came across difficulty, "RUNAWAY!"
What is interesting about the United States is that you generally do not have to travel far to go from an affluent neighborhood to an impoverished one. Walking down the boardwalk, you can see the proof of this theory. I guess it's par for course. In the board game Monopoly, you have some very expensive properties and some very inexpensive ones. For you Trivial Pursuit players, what city in the US has made the largest contribution to the board game Monopoly?
The answer is Atlantic City, NJ. The Monopoly properties are named after streets and avenues found in Atlantic City. Yet another claim to fame about our state. This particular board game is so immersed into our culture that I would bet that more Americans could list the names of the properties in order and tell you what the rents are for most of the properties. So not only has New Jersey contributed to an icon of Americana culture that spans multiple generations, New Jersey now hasthe most expensive oceanfront statue that almost no one comes to see. It's called the Revel.
After walking about two football field's distance from the Revel, I hit Oriental Ave. Many streets and avenues end at the boardwalk are marked with signs on the boardwalk.
So in the game of Monopoly, if you land on a Boardwalk you would pay $50 rent. This happens to be the most expensive property in the game. If you land on Oriental Avenue, the accomodations are probably not as nice, so the rent is less; you would only pay $6 rent. Oriental Avenue happens to be one of the least expensive properties to land (stay at) for the board game Monopoly. As I was thinking about the multi-billion dollar properties on the Boardwalk, I asked myself, what does the ocean front property on Oriental Avenue look like?
Well first of all, the boardwalk at Oriental Avenue has fallen into disrepair.
This is where the most expensive property on Oriental Avenue should be; it's next to the Atlantic City Boardwalk and adjacent to Atlantic Ocean. But it's just a pile of rubble now.
Here's another shot of the ocean front property located on Oriental Avenue with the multi-billion dollar property Revel in the background. I think most Americans would have difficulties in coughing up $6 to stay on this property. Noticed the next building on Oriental Avenue. This building now has ocean front view, but doesn't; because all its windows have been filled with brick and concrete. A building owner would only do this for security reasons -so this probably means that this is an unsafe neightborhood.
This is the property adjacent to Oriental Avenue and is located right on the famous Atlantic City Boardwalk. This building provides housing for lower income families. The two store fronts right on on the boardwalk have fallen into disrepair. I question of the staircase is even safe because portions of it have totally rusted away. As I peered inside the store window, I could tell that the store front has been vacant for quite some time. Amazing, with hundreds of people living next door of whom most probably do not own a car, all these people cannot even support a single grocery or convenience store. Either that or it means there have been too many robberies that the merchants have given up.
Towards the left side of the picture where the main building is and about five feet higher than the boardwalk level, there is a large common area right in front of the building. The courtyard is right above that blue wall on the towards left. Because of the angle of how I took the shot, the court yard area doesn't look large, but it is. It spans the entire width of the building and I would guess it's about 60' from the front of the building to the boardwalk.
I believe this court yard once featured an inground swimming pool. I could imagine a prestine blue pool surrounded by comfortable chairs, tables with umbrellas, a water fountain that ran 24/7, and shade trees with benches underneath them. I closed my eyes and I tried to image the most beautiful sound I could -the laughter of children as they chased each other around the pool.
When this building was new, the former tenants probably thought it was a piece of paradise: Ocean front view, located adjacent on the boardwalk, adjacent to the beach, and it's walking distance to all the activities that make the boardwalk the Boardwalk. This piece of property has all the ingredients for one of those deceptive "For Sale" newspaper advertisements. I notice that all the things that would help strengthen this community living in this building were gone.
The swimming pool that was once glistened in the sun had been filled up with concrete. A simple table with chairs has the ability to draw people together. But there wasn't a single table anywhere in the court year -not even a picnic table. No shuffle board, no bocce court, no vendors selling ice-cream, no want-to-be musician practicing their art in the courtyard. There wasn't a single shade tree or patch of grass to lay a blanket out for a picnic. For some people that once lived here long ago, as well as other hoppin towns like Asbury Park, or Coney Island, this use to be a slice of paradise. What happened? As I stood in front of this building, there was no number or a name for the building. If I were to name the building, I would have called it, "Paradise Lost."
From just looking at this building in this location, I know something has gone awry. This once was much closer to Paradise than it is now. You don't need to come to Oriental Avenue in Atlantic City to see Paradise Lost, next week I'll explain.
