Mattel vs Johnny Lightning - "Star Trek"

Well, I finally found one of the new Star Trek "die-cast" ships. *heavy sigh*. What the hell was the marketing dept. at Paramount thinking. Really....really, really.First off, calling them die-cast...well that is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. The one I found is the Enterprise from the first three movies, so that is what I am basing my comparison on. The only part that is metal is the secondary hull...primary hull and nacelles are plastic. kind of like saying I'm a cyborg because I have a couple of metal earrings. That and the detail leaves a lot to be desired. Add to that there seemed to be a bit of a cost increase (but I can't be sure about that because the only place I have found one is a specialty collector store...). You know, I was just saying that a few days ago..."Gee, I wish I could find some more starship models like the Star Trek line Johnny Lightning made...but not as well detailed...or cool...and harder to find...oh, and I want to pay more." Ya...that's what I want.

Here is a comparison of the two ships by Hotwheels and Johnny Lightning.

My other beef with this line is that I assumed that by going with a larger company like Mattel, you would think that the toys would be a little more available. You know, as in "be able to find in a regular store like Wal-mart or Toys'R'Us". But such is not the case...when will I learn not to make assumptions. Even when they make so much common sense. So I say again...what the hell! I guess it's back to collecting the line by Furuta. Is there anything that the Japanese make that isn't cool.

"One small step for man..."

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." One of the most inspiring quotes of the modern age. As the 40th anniversary of man landing on the moon past yesterday, it made me think back to when I was a little kid watching it on TV. I was a little to young (two and a half) when Apollo 11 made it's historic landing, but I have vivid memory's of some of the latter missions. I remember having all matter of "space toys" when I was very young...and my total fascination with space and all things related in a larger part is the original birth place of my love of science fiction, and I believe to an extent my optimistic view of the future.

So what happened? One show I watched yesterday had a politician from the US on some talk show, saying that if we go to Mars, it should be robots and not humans. "Why should men risk their lives, when robots can do the job better?" he asked. I just don't think he gets it. The Apollo missions helped unite the people of earth better than anything else in history. In a clip of an interview with "Buzz" Aldrin he said he was amazed that after the mission... as they made appearances all over the world, people would come up to them and say "We did it!!". Not the United States, or America....we. That is why we sent humans into space. Yes, it may be better for a robot to go. Yes, probes can do the same job at a fraction of the cost. But where is the goal...the dream that humans can do anything we set our minds to. I like to think that NASA will find itself. Find a new dream and send a mission to Mars. I know they are currently working on a new program called the Constellation Program (the programs logo is to the right). The plan is to put men back on the moon in the next 10 years, and have a mission to Mars with any luck in the next 25 years or so. I for one can't wait. To be honest, I really didn't think, the way things were going, that I would live to see humans on a mission to Mars. Yes it will be incredibly expensive. Yes it will be unbelievably dangerous. But if it's one thing mankind needs now more than ever, its a dream that will unite all the people of earth in hope and peace. And I for one think that is worth a little risk.