And Now, It's Siku Time!

I'm back to my first love: toy fire trucks! I'm not leaving out pens and inks and notebooks, no. I just want to go back to my previous fascination before I got so enamored with fountain pens, inks, and notebooks. It's a coincidence, perhaps, that my treasure of fountain pens and toys come from the same places: Japan and Germany.

I love fire trucks. Real fire trucks, toy fire trucks, it doesn't matter - as long as they are fire trucks. I'm not sure what it is, but there is something about a big, red truck with sirens and flashing lights that always fascinates me. I tried to get my hands on a remote/radio controlled fire truck, but that plan did not work, and I was left wanting and pinning for a red toy truck. Until I found a couple of small, shiny, die-cast models called Tomicas. Tomicas are die-cast toy vehicles that are produced by Japan's Takara Tomy Company.

I bought a lot of Tomica trucks, not only the fire trucks, but also those of the construction, trucking, and farming series. I even got myself taxis and police cars. Other toys caught my fancy, like the Fire Saver from Matchbox's 50th Birthday, part of the 9-toy package I got from Leo Sajonas sometime last year. And then there's Siku.

I have always wanted to add European toy fire trucks into my collection. And research pointed me to Siku, which has, more or less, similar selection to that of Tomica's. I've seen them in toy stores, but couldn't get them because I didn't like trucks that are bigger and larger in size than my Tomica trucks. But Virra Mall's Toy Kingdom made me a very happy collector when I found out that their Siku selection now includes the Siku Super Series. Hurray!

And now, here are my Siku toys.

Here is Siku No. 1068, a Unimog fire engine, scaled at 1:87. It is cast in metal, and its high-quality design has fine detail engraving. This piece has been offered since 2006, but was only available here in the Philippines last year.

This is Siku No. 1345, a 4x4 version of the Panther airfield water cannon by Rosenbauer. It is designed for use at smaller airports, with the No. 1889 scaled at 1:87 meant for big airport action. Introduced in July 2009, I'm very happy to get it here now.

My Rhodia No. 10s at Play

I love my Rhodia No. 10s, and my toys love them, too!

It's obvious I had fun with my Rhodia pads when I did the photo shoot last week. Winks. :) I used the ChoroQ initially for size comparison, then I thought of my Cararama VWs. If only the other VW is orange and not red! It would have been a perfect Rhodia combination, right? Well... maybe it's time I go back to the toy store and find myself a black and orange combination...

Eye Candies = Shotglass + Toy Truck

I said I will write updates, and I did one on my pens and notebooks the other day. I am yet to write about the books I've read and the movies we've watched lately, yet I'm so giddily excited about these two eye candies that I'm writing about them now before those books and movies. *Wink.*

First, this shotglass. A new shotglass!!! Yey! I haven't gotten anything new in so long I forgot when. This shotglass is a gift from W, a good friend who truly surprised me when she sent this through someone in a brown bag (another brown bag!) with a yellow Post-It tab as a gift tag that said: "To CSD, For your collection. From: W."

I held my breath as I opened the bag because it took me so long to rip out the newspaper it was wrapped with. *Chuckles.* Then after the newspaper wrap, it was again wrapped in a thick bundle of soft paper for extra protection. And I deeply appreciate that. And when I saw the shotglass... Ah, I was just speechless. It came from the Philippine Military Academy, the country's premier training school for future officers of the Armed Forces. The crest/seal states: Courage, Integrity, Loyalty. Wow. This is my second Pinoy shotglass, and it now sits among my growing collection. Thanks, W!

Now this toy. This truck is Tomica No. 36: Nexco self run type mark car, with an Isuzu elf body scaled at 1/64. This is my first toy in a long break off collecting toy trucks. My last toys were #51 (Toyota Crown Comfort Taxi) and #68 (Isuzu Snorkel Firetruck) bought in September last year. I know I've been left behind in my other collections, with my last elephant in August last year, and the shotglass and toys in September.

I got new stuff latety, though. Aside from new pens and notebooks and inks and papers, I also got Christmas stamps and tea. Yes, tea. The ones that come in bags with tiny colorful tags? But that's reserved for a another post. Later. Ahem.

My Mid-Week Loot

I was in the City the whole day yesterday for a project meeting with a client at his posh building at Paseo de Magallanes. I got time to spare after the meeting and so I went to Alabang in search of the stuff that make me happy: pens, toys, books. And so here they are, my mid-week loot. Sinful, I know, especially to my shrinking budget and a headache to my savings allotment, but never mind. I haven't rewarded myself like this in a long while... *Grin.*

First, here are my Tomica toys. The first one is Tomy #68, an Isuzu Snorkel Firetruck scaled at 1/110, and the second is Tomy #51, a Toyota Crown Comfort Taxi scaled at 1/63. Why it's called a Comfort Taxi, I don't know. (Don't ask me. He-he-he.)


Next, I bought my own trio set of Pilot FriXion Ball gel pens. They're amazing! Pilot pens are just amazing! I also bought refills for my .7 G2s.

And then... I finally found the Rotring fountain pen I've been wanting to get. Yee-ha! It's a Rotring Newton 600 with an 18k gold B nib. Whoa. I'm now enjoying the pen as much as I enjoyed using the Core, my first Rotring FP.

My Wednesday in the City is a very productive day. Successful with my meeting, successful in getting the stuff I want--as a reward to my hardwork (and heartaches) the past several months.

Oh, and I also got my B a Nicholas Sparks paperback, A Bend in the Road. Sort of a belated quid pro quo for the Murakami she got me. Right, B?

My Newest

Here's the most recent addition to my growing toy collection, a Choro-Q firetruck. This one's #18 on the Choro-Q list, and it's my second Choro-Q toy, a very memorable gift from someone very special. Well, I'm glad that I now have all the firetrucks from the Cho-Q lineup. I'm hoping to get the police cars next time...

More Toys

I got myself more toys!!! Here are my new Tomica truck carriers: #14, which is a Mitsubishi Super Great Car Carrier, and #47, an Animal Carrier.

And now that my interest moves to collecting police cars too, here is my first Tomica police car, a Toyota Probox Voluntary Service Police Car scaled at 1/57.

New Toys

Got myself new toys yesterday. I got two new Tomicas, both Toyota Coasters, #92 and #118. I'm not keeping away from my passionate affair with firetrucks and trucks, I just couldn't resist the coasters when I saw them. Who could? Look at these beauties here:

Above is TOMY #92, a Toyota Coaster scaled at 1/89. Below is #118, the Toyota Kindergarten Bus, also scaled at 1/89.

I'll get the buses next time around. (Grin.)

Remember Them?

(More) New Firetrucks

Here are the firetrucks I bought from fellow DCPH member Leo Sajonas. I went on a trip to Caloocan yesterday, and when I arrived at the office last night, a JRS package was waiting for me. Inside are 9 firetrucks I ordered last week. Look on.

More Firetrucks

I'm really crazy about trucks now, especially little, small firetrucks. Here are my most recent "acquisitions", products of my recent weekend trip to the mall.

Here's a most coveted Takara Tomy ChoroQ No. 42. It's such a beauty.

And here's a Cararama Land Rover Fire and Rescue Service. It comes with an acrylic case. So nice.

And here's a MatchBox Ladder Kings. I'm so tempted to open the blister pack!!!

New Trucks

On my way to grocery shopping at Robinson's yesterday, I passed by the toy section and went home with three more trucks and less groceries. Hahaha!!!

Here are my new Tomy toys:

This one is a Furukawa Wheel Loader FL140, scaled at 1/79.

This is a Tadano Rough Terrain Crane Crevo 600, scaled at 1/160.

A hit among my male friends!

And this one here is an Off Road Dum, scaled at 1/119.

And then my Hot Wheels Fire Eater arrived in the mail this morning.

Could somebody keep my wallet for me? :)