Over Christmas and New Year I’ve taken the opportunity to sort out or clear out some of my old childhood toys in the attic. One of my favorites as a kid was Micro Machines. These tiny replicas of vehicles (both from real life, science fiction TV/Movie, and from the made-up world of the people behind Micro Machines) provided me hours and hours of fun in imaginary worlds and scenarios.
From what I’ve been able to gather from research, Micro Machines were going up until recently, or may indeed even still be going today Certainly Star Wars Episode I / II / III all have Micro Machine models of them. There is still a reasonable number available on eBay too, with some unopened sets selling for many times their original amount.
I had five main sets of Micro Machines.
I took some time to photograph the three TV/Movie sets as they were the dearest to me, and probably the most iconic of this amazing series of toys.
As I was photographing these, I figured out that the best way to un-bend any crooked parts (due to storage, poor manufacturing, or just general wear-and-tare) is to use a hairdryer to heat the model. In most cases the piece will resume its intended shape, but in case it doesn’t you can hold it stationary while it sets.
The Sets#
Star Trek#
Probably my favorite of all my sets. My (incomplete) collection spans everything from The Original Series (not my favorite), through The Next Generation (24th Century was the best!), Deep Space Nine, and up to Voyager, with the movies included in there somewhere too. While some of these have suffered damage over the years - mostly paint -
Star Wars#
Star Wars was probably my most collected set, consisting of a few squadrons of Rebel ships. Unfortunately Star Wars Micro machines proved to be the most fragile, and my TIE’s suffered the worst, with two Interceptors and Fighters all Killed In Action with snapped panels. Unfortunately they’re almost impossible to repair, but I may still give it a go on a quiet day.
Babylon 5#
My smallest collection, but not to be forgotten. Babylon 5 holds a special place in my heart. I’d caught the occasional episode on TV as a kid, and owned a single VHS Copy of Season 3 Episode 1 & 2 (which I got in a bundle with the 1997 PC Game I-War, later known as Independence War - The tentative link being that I-War used Newtonian Physics, as did Babylon 5. Check out the I-War Intro here to see what I mean). During my second year of University I got hold of the 5 season box sets, and promptly spent most of my first semester watching through it along with drinking red wine instead of studying.
The Others#
At the top, a collection of military tanks, jets and helicopters from around the world, all divided neatly into two factions.
At the bottom, a load of random science-fiction space ships, tanks and craft of various sizes, shapes, scales, and purposes. The limit for which was only my imagination. Ah those were the days…
So what now?#
Well I’ve tidied them all back into a (larger) box and stored them away safely in the attic again. This time the box is better and they’ve been sorted into the right categories. No longer will I be committing science fiction sacrilege by mixing Trek and Wars.
I have debated about selling the entire collection, but honestly I don’t see any need to right now, and it’s a nice piece of my childhood that I can hold on to. They don’t take up much room either, because, you know… They’re Micro… Get it?
