I think it's a pretty good bet that everyone here enjoys old TV shows, movies, video games, and other pop culture media.  Let's get off the beaten path a little.

I was watching Antiques Roadshow last night.  Somebody had this really ornate dagger, the kind with an ivory handle encrusted with jewels.  They said their father collected antique arms and armor.  That's not something that interests me at all, even though I get why they're valuable. 

The next item up was a giant advertising poster, from 1905, for a French tire company.  Now, that kind of thing does excite me.  Print advertising used to be incredibly beautiful.  There were these wildly talented painters, most of whom remained largely anonymous during their careers and afterwards, churning out corporate works at a high clip.

So what retro objects do you love that aren't so popular?
What retro objects just totally fail to appeal to you?

My interests are varied when it comes to retro objects.

I have a collection of Trendmasters Godzilla figures from the mid-90s. There's a story in those that would make for a good thread on their own.



This is the 10" Biollante "Doom Island" figure (THIS IS NOT MINE, IT'S FROM ANOTHER COLLECTOR'S STASH). This is the "Holy Grail" of Trendmasters Godzilla. It was only released in very limited numbers, and mostly in small Asian markets. This was because Trendmasters was going under during the time it was supposed to come out. It goes for about $250 to $400 on Ebay, but they are SOOOO rare that to find one on there ONCE during the year is a miracle.

Also, He-man figures from past and present are in my collection.

I have a collection of comics, though most aren't worth much these days.

Several Godzilla imports from Bandai and Banpresto as well. Those are actually worth a bit of money.

I have several game systems ranging from the Atari 2600 to the PS3. The SNES and 3DO being my personal favorites. Also several games both opened and unopened.

I mostly collect video games and video games merchandise. Mostly Nintendo NES and Adventure games.

I still have lots of things from my childhood that I consider retro obsessions but for now I would say games.

rogerxy wrote :
I mostly collect video games and video games merchandise. Mostly Nintendo NES and Adventure games.

same, but i look forward into the more obscure games in game system libraries. granted i still like games that are well known

I collect old TVs. I need the wood grain case, whether printed on plastic or actual wood. They gotta have the dials, or even better is buttons 0-9 with a 7seg display. Black and white or color. Not something most people have room for but I do dedicate a lot of space to them. I also take in accessories like rabbit ears antennas when I can find them.

shakin steak wrote :
I collect old TVs. I need the wood grain case, whether printed on plastic or actual wood. They gotta have the dials, or even better is buttons 0-9 with a 7seg display. Black and white or color. Not something most people have room for but I do dedicate a lot of space to them. I also take in accessories like rabbit ears antennas when I can find them.

This is awesome. I have always had a bit of a fascination with old televisions myself, but never actually acted on it. Toward the end of the life of our furniture business, we still sold some console televisions from Zenith. As far as I know, they were among the last manufacturers of them. I feel like there would be a market for today's HD televisions set in a wood console. But maybe that's not the case.

My retro DVD collection is my retro obsession.

Vaporman87 wrote :
I feel like there would be a market for today's HD televisions set in a wood console.

Oh my god. I would totally want that. A market? It's niche and I'm not sure how widespread it is. But where I am some people are definitely into vintage stereo consoles. I feel like something similar with a TV could work. On the other hand, that old gear is cheap and this would not be. In my opinion/for what I would want, you couldn't just build a nice case around a new TV. The interface has to be old fashioned as well. The set would have to be adapted to mechanical controls for power/volume/changing channel, brightness/contrast/tint/hue.

And the remote should look something like this (although it would need a few more buttons)
 


It could be very cool, but you could also be relegated to Skymall.

In conclusion, SPACE COMMANDER Six hundred

As i like the ole red and white of coca-cola just love the stuff and some of the kitchen utensils,some furnishings.

Vaporman87 wrote :

I feel like there would be a market for today's HD televisions set in a wood console. But maybe that's not the case.

record players as furniture

With increasingly ornate phonograph cabinets anchored in affluent homes across the country—six million by 1920—it was only a matter of time before furniture makers got into the music business. Flush with orders for cabinets from the Edison company, the executives in Port Washington decided to eliminate the middleman and manufacture their own phonographs and records, even though their board of directors didn't harbor a single notable music lover.

So why not TVs?