So I have been involved in this hobby for a long time and it is not very often that I find something that I have not only never seen but have never even heard of. Well today’s post is all about something like that so pay attention.
Lately I have been on a real Six Million Dollar Man/everything Bionic kick. As a kid I loved my Steve Austin doll (yes it was a doll and not a 12″ action figure). I have very vivid memories of pushing the button on his back and watching the him lift his engine block accessory all the while making that unforgettable sound. All of you who had one will know exactly what I mean when I say that sound is like nothing else ever. I loved peeling his cool rubber skin back to reveal his bionic components as well as looking through his sad sad sad bionic eye (click here to read my thoughts on that feature).
Why after all these years have I developed such an interest? Simple… the economy. Most of you are probably puzzled by that but it is really quite simple. As a collector I believe firmly that a thing is only worth what someone is willing to pay and as I pointed out before, I am not a man with unlimited resources so I have got to be strategic about my purchases. That being the case I always have my eyes peeled for a bargain. Following me so far?
One thing you may have noticed is that everything has its day and what was the hottest thing ever can quickly become old hat and just yesterday’s news. Music is like that, art is and of course collectibles are as well. As I have mentioned to you on a few occassions, patience is one of the most important tools in the arsenal of a serious collector… I am a serious collector. Ok so I am not a very serious person most of the time but I am serious about collecting and as a result I have a serious collection (just ask anyone who has seen it).
Anyway, it just so happens that market forces being what they are and people being perpetually fickle as they tend to be, it appears that the market for a lot of those 70s era greats like the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman is in quite a slump. Maybe it is just because times are tight in general and people have less to spend on toys or that more people are liquidating items from their collections or both. All I can say is if you have a few bucks to spare, now is the time to buy. I would estimate prices are running at about half of what they would be typically which is awesome… unless of course you are the seller.
There will always be items that are just recession proof, usually pieces that are so rare or just so highly sought after that they always command beaucoup bucks. What I have for you today is just one such item. Check this out.
From Kenner I give you Jaime Sommers’s Bionic Bike.
This thing is just screaming 1970s, from the color palette (pink, white and a lime green) to the little girl’s outfit and hairdo. To say this is amazing would be a gross understatement.
The box states that this toy has the following features: a pull up antenna, a TV scanner with changeable scenes, bionic plug-ins and best of all a “click-click” CB mike!
I am dying to meet a woman, who would now be in her late 30s by now, who actually had one of these as a kid. If any of you did and had a picture of you with it I would love to see it and post it here. How sweet would that be? I can barely contain myself yet again… now you know why I am such a ToyNerd.
As you can see, this ride-on comes with a simple cardboard insert to stop it rolling around in the box.
In this view you can see the TV scanner with one of its scenes. Then above it you can see the green CB handset with its big pink button to activate the “click-click” feature.
For those of you wondering exactly what bionic plug-ins were you can see in the picture above. The pink plastic hose with the green cap on the end… well that’s it. There are three round holes on the white portion of the bike next to the hose, well this is where the green part plugs-in. It seems lame because it is but it was a common feature in a number of the toys from this line including the Six Million Dollar Man Bionic Transport and the Command Console, etc.
This piece came with the fliers that accompanied all of the toys from this line as well as a large sheet of stickers to be applied to the bike. The red parallelograms were for the bionic plug-ins, as you can see they added some wiring-like design to add to the effect… yeah…right! All mockery aside I do like the added touch of the license plate being JS-1.
So how much for this beauty? Simple answer… A LOT!
There is one on eBay right now with an opening price of $500 and a buy it now of $950. Is it worth that? You tell me. All I know for sure is, there ain’t too many of these about. This could easily be something that one of you could pick up for me as a birthday gift, I would totally appreciate it. Here is a link so you can get right on that.
Flickr = 24,843
There are currently 53 items listed on the ToyNerd Exchange check it out
Phenominal piece. Gender be damned, I would still tool around on that bike as a kid although I would hope that they made a similar Six Million Dollar Man bike for boys.
Wow, for a minute there I thought this was something you had recently purchased and I was going to comment on the perfect condition of the bike and how happy you must be. But yeah, I don’t love anyone enough to buy them a $950 plastic big wheel, sorry buddy.