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Are Your Kids Hooked On Zoo Mania?

If you’ve got young kids in school, you may have heard the term “squishy” floating around.  Are they talking in some kind of secret code?  Hopefully they’re not talking about that bug on the basement floor or the way your belly feels to them!  So what exactly is a squishy and how much do your kids know about them?  Do they have zoo mania?

Well, ease your mind, because a squishy is just a term for pencil toppers that are all the latest craze in schools across the US.  I was first introduced to squishies when my kids begged me to take them to the local pizza joint, but it was NOT to eat pizza!  That restaurant had a vending machine filled with the little squishies, as they called them.  There were Zoo Mania, Zoo Mania 2, Jungle Mania, and Sea Mania creatures in tiny 1″ plastic containers.  I think they spent about three or four dollars each just trying to get a variety of the squishy pencil toppers.

But the squishy mania didn’t stop there.  Occasionally they would get a “rare” one.  These are really what they were after.  In their quest for the rare zoo mania or rare sea mania

So You Want To Start A Dollhouse Collection

Many people are interested in dollhouses and miniatures, but are not really sure how to get started in the hobby. There are many types of dollhouses to choose from and they come in various sizes (scales). You can start your collection by purchasing pre-made houses or you can build your own from scratch or from a kit. Once you have erected your house you will enjoy decorating it and wiring it if you choose. You can also make or buy furniture and accessories for the dollhouse as well as fill it with people.

When starting a collection, you should choose a period or theme such as Victorian, Georgian, Tudor, or modern, etc.  When you have done that, you will need to make sure you know how much space you have to work with.  If you have quite a bit, you may consider collecting several houses and/or other types of buildings such as a general store, pub, hotel, cafe, or post office etc.

 You will also have to search for something that matches your budget. Or if you are the adventurous type, you may prefer to use your creativity and build your own collection. Most houses are made out of wood or plastic

2007 Topps Moments And Milestones Baseball Card Set

In 2007, the Topps trading card company revolutionized the baseball card hobby by releasing a massive set called 2007 Topps Moments and Milestones.  The set totals 12,453 cards (not including the add-on rookie card set) and at the time was the largest sports card set ever assembled!  To date, it is the second largest sports card set ever, trailing only the 2008 Topps Moments and Milestones baseball set!

The set often is criticized for being impossible to build and for being extremely complicated.  The set is designed like this:

There are 169 regular cards in the set (not including the add-on rookie card set)
Each card (#1-169) celebrates a milestone in that player’s career
For example, card # 2 in the set is a tribute to Albert Pujols’ 130 RBI season in 2006
So since it celebrates 130 RBI, there are 130 variations of card #2 (1-130)
Each regular card is printed on white cardboard and is serial #’ed to 150 copies

There are also parallels built into to the set to make busting packs more enjoyable.  There is the black parallel which every card is serial numbered to only 29 copies and there is the highly popular red parallel where every card is serial numbered to

Starting A Baseball Card Collection

This article’s purpose is to teach you the basics of the many facets of the baseball card hobby.  If you are thinking about starting a collection or have just recently started collecting, this article will be helpful for you and it is hoped that your collection will grow more valuable after reading this article.

Before you even buy that first pack, box or single online, you should set some collecting goals.  If you go to online auction sites and buy anything thats at a good price, you will soon end up with a closet full of $5 cards that as a whole, will not be worth much.  However, if you set goals like collecting only a certain couple players or collecting a certain set or cards from players on your favorite team, you can use your money to buy a few nice cards here and there and avoid stocking up on worthless $5 jersey and bat cards.

If you are considering buying packs or boxes, read here!  There is a BIG difference between the packs sold at retail stores and the packs sold at hobby stores or at online auction sites by hobby dealers.  First of all, hobby boxes contain more good

Lionel Trains How To Repair2010

Lionel Train Repair Guides Review – How To Repair and Restore Antique Lionel Trains

Being an avid Lionel Enthusiast for several years, as you can imagine, has added up to a vast collection of these trains. A number of the replicas go back a good many years. I it is fair to state the single annoyance with this hobby, was always the scarcity of suitable information about the locomotives themselves, that is available. I’m not talking about the Heritage for the individual trains, merely to the renovation along with fixing of the many parts.

For years I’ve invariably needed to find a good Lionel specialist to undertake the specialized job of lionel train repair for me. Sadly you’ll find fewer and fewer dependable repairmen about, plus they are getting trickier to find, let alone the charge that’s involved. After owning a rather prized piece of my Lionel collection in need of restoration, from desperation I set out searching the web for almost any advice attainable. That’s when I recently found the “Lionel Train Repair Service & Operational Manual CD”. I’d not come upon this previously and with reservations I set about reviewing it a little closer.

What I love About Lionel Train Repair