Joe Mauer Prototype

Wow, its been a long time since I posted a blog.  Not sure if blogging is still a thing (probably not) but this one deserved a post!  A fellow collector of mine found this one several years ago.  Upon selling some of his collection, he knew I'd like this one so we made a deal for it.  Its definitely a prototype made by BDA.  This was made for the 2014 season when Target Field hosted the All Star Game.  I believe this Mauer bobble was originally offered to the Twins as a potential giveaway that year.  They pivoted to do a Harmon Killebrew instead.  You'll see the similarities between the two bobblehead icons.  

Safe to say, this Joe Mauer bobble is one of my new all-time favorites.  

2014 TC Bear Bobbleheads

Back in 2014, the Minnesota Twins hosted MLB's All Star Game.  It was a week long party and plenty of stuff for fans to enjoy and see.  Of course there were bobbleheads.  3 mini bobbleheads were given away on 3 different mornings at Fanfest.  Joe Mauer, Tony Oliva and TC Bear.  TC was only given to kids under 13 (maybe 14) and they were pretty strict about that.  1000 bobbles of each were produced.  Mauer and Oliva were gone within 20-30 minutes of Fanfest opening.  There were plenty of TC's leftover.  And the TCs you found on eBay sold pretty quickly.  Ultimately the Twins sold the rest of them at Twinsfest a couple years later.  

What is unknown, by many collectors is the full version of TC that was sold during All Star Week.  These bobbleheads weren't numbered but I have a feeling that less than 300 were produced, most likely either 144 or 288.  I never saw one that week and I went to a few different events, including the ASG itself (thanks to one of my best friends, Matt).  

I've meant to show the difference of these 2 bobbles for a while.  As I know several people are looking for the full version and usually the mini version comes up.  So here is a picture showing both!  As you can see they are quite similar, for the most part, the same pose, but a different base and obviously different height.  The full version is definitely one of the harder to find TC Bear bobbleheads!  

My Second Custom Bobblehead - Glen Perkins

Several months ago I blogged about my first custom bobblehead.  I learned several little tricks while doing my Mauer custom bobblehead.  At the time I had ideas of specific customs I wanted to try. Even tho I still have those ideas, a couple other ones jumped to the front of the line.

Everyone knows my passion for Gopher Sports.  Being a U of MN Alum...maroon and gold always get my attention. I blogged about this specific bobblehead back in 2014...the final SGA bobblehead the Twins did that season, Glen Perkins.  After doing the Mauer bobblehead, I kept looking at the Perkins bobblehead, but his arms in front of his stomach caused a huge problem as I figured it'd be extremely messy when trying to paint around/under/over and in between that area of the bobblehead. Luck would have it...I received a broken bobblehead I bought from eBay...the arm was out of socket, but easily glued back into place and it looks just like new.  I found a couple extra Perkins bobbleheads and about a month ago started the process.  The first part - breaking his arms from the sockets they are glued in.  Once I did that cleanly (enough) the customizing was on.  See a side by side look of Glen Perkins, his SGA bobblehead and Perkins in his Twins uniform with his Alma mater's colors - Maroon and Gold.

2015 Goals

My last post did a little rewind on 2014 and looked back to see the results of my 2014 goals.  Here's my first stab at my goals for 2015.

1. Clear off some of the bobbleheads on my Want List! (Hint - I've already found one)

2. Connect with another manufacturer and do another interview - of course to share with you, the reader!

3.  Meet a few more bobblehead collectors and introduce them to my blog!  I've talked to several of you already and as I've said several times  in the past, its always a pleasure to meet and chat about bobbleheads and your collection!

4. Find a few "new" Minnesota related bobbleheads.  It seems like every month or 2, I'll come across a bobblehead that I've never seen before that has some sort of Minnesota ties, depending on that tie, I may or may not add it to my Want List, but it's always fun to see new ones.

5. Collect all the 2015 Twins bobbleheads - from what I know, they haven't been announced yet, but once they are, I'll be sure to blog about them!

6. Find out more about Northwoods League bobbleheads.  This is one collection that seems to be never ending. There are mascots, players, local celebrities and so far I haven't been able to come up with a full list.

7. Complete my SGA COA card collection.  As most of you know, most of the Twins SGA bobbleheads came with a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) card.  I think this ended in 2010 as they haven't been included the past several years.  When I started collecting, I didn't care about the card, but as my collection has grown, I've been able to nearly complete the COAs, I believe I only need 1 or 2 more.

8.  I'd love to be able to talk with any of the pro sports teams and their marketing department about bobbleheads.  I just have to get in touch with the right person on the right team!

9.  Connect more bobblehead collectors!  This past year I've connected a couple different bobblehead collectors.  It's nice to be able to connect a couple collectors or find specific bobbleheads for a fellow collector.  I also have a feeling this increases my karma points - who knows if it works, but I'll keep telling myself it does!

10.  Finally...just like last year, have fun hunting!  I don't have any doubts that I'll complete #10, but it is important, as this is a hobby of mine, to keep it fun.  The hunt continues...

Review of my 2014 Goals

Did I achieve much in 2014?  Let's find out.  Back in January 2014 I wrote a blog called "2014 Goals" and in August I made a "2014 Goals - Additions" post.  Click the links to review them!

I had 15 goals in total.  Let's see just how great 2014 was!

1. Get a couple more Twins red base bobbleheads.  These are given to season ticket holders and currently I have roughly half of them.  There are some rare and hard to find ones, but I'll do my best to hunt them down.  (I found several more and believe I have the complete set now)

2. Find 1 ecumen bobblehead (for a price I'm willing to pay).  There are 10 total.  I figure if I find 1 a year, it'll only take me 10 years to fulfill the set!  I know I can buy most any of them on ebay for $100 per...but I'm not interested in shelling out that much cash!   (Crazily - I found all of them and all for really good prices!)

3. Find the 1991 World Series set.  Again, I can pay good money to get this off Craigslist or eBay, but will wait it out until I find someone willing to take what I feel is a fair offer.  (Found this set on Craigslist, more to come)

4. Much like the previous "Goal" I'd like to find the Twins Managers set.  (Bought this one with the 1991 set from the same guy!)

5. Come across a couple local celebrity bobbleheads.  The ones I have now, I only knew of about 1/2 of them.  So I'm not even sure who'd they be!   (I've learned so much about these bobbleheads and can't wait to continue to add to this eclectic collection!)

6. I'd like to get the Paul Krause and Bill Brown Viking bobbleheads.  I know I'll have to pay for these, and I'm fine with that.  I just need to pull the trigger.  (I finally pulled the trigger!)

7. I'd also like to find a Goldy bobblehead that I currently don't have.  Right now I believe there are 4 out there that I'd like to own one day.  It'd be nice to come across one of them in 2014.  (I found a couple more, there are still 2 I'd like tho)

8. I'd like to come across and Timberwolves bobblehead that I don't have, either a mini Crunch or Johnny Flynn.  I also found out I need an Al Jefferson.   ( I found all of these and believe I have all Wolves giveaways now)

9. I'd like to complete the 2013-14 Wild bobblehead giveaway collection.  There are 5 in total, I already have one (I'll blog about that sometime soon).   (I got the entire set, 3 from one guy and 2 from another)

10. Last, but certainly not least...I want to have fun hunting.  My wife asked me the other day if I ever think about the mileage and time I spend on bobbleheads - I do, I certainly consider that when making an offer for a bobblehead or selling one.  To me, the excitement is finding the bobblehead.  Getting lucky when emailing someone on Craigslist or finding something unique or cool at a garage sale.  And of course meeting people along the way.  (Of course I had fun...I always have fun!)

11. Previously I mentioned Minnesota celebrities...now I'd like to learn more about other random and miscellaneous Minnesota bobbleheads.  For example, Hermann the German from New Ulm, or Mrs. Farmfest from Morgan.  I didn't know about either of these until I either saw them in a picture somewhere or in a friend's collection.  (As I mentioned earlier...I continue to learn about these all the time!)

12. Collect all Lynx bobbleheads.  They have given away several, so its a nice little collection so far.  (I'm well on my way but am uncertain if I have them all or not!)

13. Learn even more about the Pepsi One bobbleheads and find the 3 announcers - Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Chris Fowler.   (I've learned a bit more about these, but still looking for more)

14. Been pondering trying to get a couple email interviews from a variety of people.  Perhaps someone at AGP (or formerly worked there).  Maybe some of my readers - let me know if you are interested.  And maybe someone with the Twins.  It'd be fun to see a start to finish process of how a bobblehead is chosen and then created and produced.  (I actually have talked to AGP and plan on doing a blog post about that sometime soon!)

15. Much like #10 to keep having fun, but this time its more about the blog than the collecting.  I've had a lot of fun blogging about bobbleheads and really want to continue that trend!  (Duh...doesn't the previous 14 goals pretty much answer this one?)  

Happy New Year

Happy 2015 everyone!  I'll be doing a couple blog posts in the next few days.  The first will take a look back at 2014 and my 2014 goals.  We'll see how much I actually accomplished versus how much I hoped to accomplish!  Then I'll be doing another goals post and obviously tie it into 2015.  I always find it fun to make up some goals and see what I can reach during the year.

I know in general 2014 was a great year and I'm sure 2015 will be even better.  Hopefully its just as good with my bobblehead collecting!  What are you looking forward to in 2015?

Best Christmas Present Ever!!!

So about a year ago, I blogged about the Best Bobblehead ever.  Today I can blog about the Best Christmas Present ever.  Jessica (my wife) puts up with my passion of collecting bobbleheads and sometimes she even gets completely on board, much like she did with a our very own custom made bobblehead that she gave me for my wedding present almost 2 years ago.  We display that bobblehead on our mantle year-round.  But every winter she goes into Christmas decorating mode and that includes a little sass for our bobblehead.  You'll see why I'm talking about this shortly...

Christmas morning came and before celebrating with our families we had our own Christmas morning, just Jess, Murphy (our dog) and myself.  Before we started to open our gifts from one another she calmly stated, "I won this Christmas."  Obviously you know from reading my blog I'm a pretty competitive person, and so is Jess.  What did she mean by that statement, simply put she meant she got me the better presents or at least she won in terms of intrigue, thought, and well...giving me the Best Christmas Present ever!

She ordered a custom made Murphy bobblehead.  Pretty spot-on too!  I never expected this, but I knew when she said "I won this Christmas" it might be bobblehead related, however I never would have guessed it was a bobblehead of Murphy!  Merry Christmas to me!  Oh and there you can also see our scarves and "snow" that we are standing in during the winter.  

Oops...missed my 1 year anniversary

So apparently I've been doing this blog thing for over 1 year!  My first blog was December 11th, 2013, click the link to read it.  At the time I wasn't sure if blogging was going to be fun and interesting for me or more of a pain and chore.  Obviously it is definitely more of the former than latter.  175 posts in just over a year isn't bad at all.  I'd love to keep that pace up in 2015!

Even tho I'm 2 weeks late, I'm giving myself a small pat on the back for keeping up with this and giving my readers a huge THANK YOU for helping me do so!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone.  It's been quite a year for me in the bobblehead world.  I've learned so much about bobbleheads in the past year.  It's crazy to think about what I know now compared to what I knew 12 short months ago and it intrigues the hell out of me to know where I'll be in December 2015!

A few main thoughts.

1. Be nice to the men and women that deliver your packages.  When I do get something shipped to me, I usually have it sent to my office.  2 reasons, if I'm out of town during the week, it'll sit on my desk (in a climate controlled environment) til I return.  Secondly, if its delivered during a weekend, I don't worry about it as the building I work in is locked on the weekends, so it's never just sitting outside waiting for me.

2. When you have the chance to buy something you want, do it.  Or, ponder this question, does saving $5 or $10 really matter to you if its something you don't see often but know you want to add it to you collection?  I'm not saying to spend foolishly, but sometimes a good deal is just finding that specific bobblehead (or whatever) for sale - at a fair price.

3. Lastly, set goals.  I have my want list updated, I'd love to acquire some of those bobbleheads in the next 12 months.  I doubt I'll find them all, but isn't the "The Chase" part of the addiction?

New Idea - New Adds

After looking at other collectible blogs out there I have another new idea that I'm going to try to introduce to my blog.  This might not be perfect but I'm going to try to make a "New Adds" section. As the title suggests, this will be a place where I post pictures of any new additions to my collection. I'm guessing I'll do a monthly post where I share these pictures.  In the comments section, it'd be fun to have, you, the reader add pictures of your new additions as well!  So remember to take pictures (I know that will be the hardest thing for me to do).

I have a couple more posts this year, hopefully I'll have the time to do get them online!!

Want List (Part 15)

Finally!  I know you are thinking the same thing...the final part of my Want List.  However, I reserve the right to add to this list whenever I want. :)

This is also most likely the part of the list that will grow the most as I'm sure there are several out there that I don't know about!  So, if you have pictures of other bobbleheads like these or any of the previous 14 blog posts, please share them!  I'd really appreciate that and hopefully other readers will too!!

Below are two high school bobbleheads.  First is a Blaine Bengals bobblehead and then an Elk River Elks bobblehead!  The Elks bobblehead is hockey themed, they also did a football themed bobblehead.

Then we have a couple different college bobbleheads.  The first is Cobber from Concordia College. Then we have a "Power Bowl" bobblehead.  The Power Bowl was played between Concordia and Minnesota State University - Moorhead.  I'm guessing Moorhead also has a bobblehead, but I haven't been able to find a picture of it.  Last is a Southwest State University (now known as Southwest Minnesota State University) bobblehead of their Mustang mascot.    

Want List (Part 14)

This is the second to last post in my Want List series.  Thanks for continuing to read them, or look at pictures or just give me the satisfaction that you clicked on my blog!  I appreciate all of it!

The Northwoods League teams do a really good job with their giveaways.  Plenty of bobbleheads are given away each year and so far I've found it almost impossible to come up with a master list of each teams giveaways!  But I have found these pictures and therefore, I'd like to add them to my collection!

The first two pictures are of Slider from the Rochester Honkers, next is the mascot of the Alexandria Beetles, now known as the Alexandria Blue Anchors.  Last is Harley from the Duluth Huskies.

Want List (Part 13)

Checking in 13th on my Want List, yes I know its getting ridiculously long, comes a few different Mankato bobbleheads.  The first 2 are of Muttnik, their Northwoods team (Mankato MoonDogs) mascot.  And the third is the Mascot of Minnesota State University - Mankato which looks to be produced by their Hoops Club.

Want List Part (12)

A couple more random bobbleheads for the Want List.  The first is a Tires Plus bobblehead of their "mascot" Tuffy.  And one of the more unusual bobblehead "mascots" Jericho!  Jericho is the Fort Myers Miracle mascot.

Want List (Part 11)

Here are a few random bobbleheads.  The first is a variation of a commonly seen Fran Tarkenton bobblehead.  You'll notice the difference is he's wearing a white jersey compared to the typical purple jersey.  I believe the production run was limited on this bobblehead to...10, yep, just TEN!  Next is Ryan Suter when he played for the Milwaukee Admirals.  And last would be my final piece to my Pepsi One collection, Lee Corso.

Want List (Part 10)

This is my last post for Twins related bobbleheads I'd like to add to my collection.  I believe all of these are SGAs of former Twins players.  LaTroy Hawkins (Fort Wayne Wizards) makes another appearance and next to him is Lew Ford (New Britain Rock Cats).  Then we have Johan Santana (Savannah Sand Gnats) & Eric Milton (State College Spikes)!

Want List (Part 9)

Here are a few more Twins related bobbleheads that I'd eventually like to find.  First are a couple major leaguers, or umm, semi-major leaguers...you'll see what I mean by that in, 3...2...1

Yep, that's Aaron Hicks when he played for the Beloit Snappers and Trevor Plouffe when he was on the Rochester Red Wings roster.  I've seen these before, they aren't all that rare, I'm not willing to pay some sort of ridiculous amount for them tho!  Next we have a couple former Twins.  Gary Gaetti, the current manager of the Sugar Land Skeeters.  And a New Britain Rock Cats bobblehead of David Ortiz.  

Want List (Part 7)

In part 7 of my Want List series I have pictures of 2 bobbleheads, the first Don Shelby from the Alexandria Beetles and Don Meyer from Northern State.  

The Shelby bobblehead was a giveaway in 2011 while the Meyer bobblehead was a giveaway at a book release, also in 2011.  Here's a video from WCCO on the Shelby bobblehead!  I'm hoping I can add each of these to my collection in the coming months!

Want List (Part 6)

Here are 4 random bobbleheads.  I really don't know anything about any of them!  So, after a week-long delay since my last blog post, this one won't be very long.  The 4 bobbleheads are, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Nissemaend, Ron Meshbesher, and the Spam guy!  I think the Wilder and Spam bobbleheads are retail ones that can still be bought today.  The other 2 - no clue.  If I see pictures of bobbleheads with a Minnesota connection, I save the picture and start researching.  I didn't get very far with any of these!  

2014 Spring/Summer Finds #1

The top spot on my 2014 Spring/Summer Finds list is all about one lucky day.  I went to a few garage sales and thrift stores late this summer.  The first one I stopped at, I found this Josh Willingham bobblehead.  No, not the "hammer" bobblehead, the red base, season ticket holder one.  Definitely the most valuable Willingham bobblehead!

At the very next stop, I found one of the most popular recent Twins bobbleheads.  Kent Hrbek and Ron Gant from the 1991 World Series.  

And lastly I found these 2 bobbleheads at my last stop.  Quite the haul for me!  Easily my biggest haul in terms of value when you consider there were only 4 bobbleheads total.  Chi Chi Rodriguez and Maya Moore from the Lynx.  Luck certainly one out that day!