I’m a very patient collector. Some people, once they find something they want, will run out to eBay and purchase it right then no matter what the cost. But me, I can wait. I’ll add the item as a Saved search, maybe even Watchlist a few listings, and just keep checking back on the item. It doesn’t mean immediate gratification, but it often leads to some pretty decent deals. This set of sealed M.A.S.K. View-Master reels that I recently added to my collection is a perfect example of this patience.
I was initially looking for Muppet View-Master reels for my wife. But I decided to broaden the search by just going with “vintage viewmaster reels” to see what else might be out there. When I saw that this M.A.S.K. set existed, I immediately searched to see how common they were. Turns out, they’re not that common. But the price being asked, usually upwards of $25 – $30, seemed a bit steep. So, I saved that search and waited.
It took about four months, but right after Christmas this year, the person selling this set was clearly trying to move merch that didn’t sell over the holidays. They dropped their price from $20 plus $5 shipping, to $10 plus shipping. $15 is a price I’m willing to pay. I pulled the trigger and was very happy to have gotten such a cool collectible, in such great shape, for such a great price.
Now, these are sealed, so I can’t actually view my View-Master reels. But over at maskforce.com, they have the images posted online, so that’s good enough for me. Here are a couple from their site, full credit to them:
The reels follow the pilot episode, called The Deathstone, of the 1985 M.A.S.K. cartoon. A radioactive meteorite lands on Earth and V.E.N.O.M. disguises Miles Mayhem’s helicopter/jet Switchblade as a UFO in order to retrieve it. The M.A.S.K. team pursues and one of the team, Hondo MacLean, gets injured. When the meteor is recovered from V.E.N.O.M.’s grasp, it’s discovered that the meteor has healing powers, making Hondo good as new.
These View-Master reels were also available as part of a M.A.S.K. giftset that included a View-Master viewer. There was nothing special about the viewer, but the packaging, seen here from a Worthpoint.com post, is pretty great.
