Hazzard Homecoming 2012 part 1

Hazzard Homecoming 2012 was great.  I had shoddy cell phone reception and barely any wifi at the hotel so I couldn't post pictures while in Virginia.  Now that I'm home, let's dive into the the first set of pictures.

We got there on Friday.  It was in a new location, Ben Venue Road in Washington, VA.  The area was bigger than last year. 

On Friday afternoon, they had a small gathering of Dukes car owners to get cast signatures.  This was the first event of the weekend and it ran perfectly.  Every other event followed suit.  The whole weekend was full of events that ran without a hitch. 

Sonny Shroyer, Rick Hurst, Catherine Bach, and John Schneider went from car to car and signed every General Lee, Dixie Jeep, Patrol Car and other cars that showed up.  There were less than 100 people there and it was a Dukes fan's dream come true.  There was so much one-on-one time with the cast.  All the fans were very patient and no one mobbed the cast members.  It was a really nice time.

I was able to get a picture with John Schneider.

Jeff also snapped one with Bo.

Catherine Bach was also nice enough to take a picture with me.  

Sonny Shroyer is always great.  

The car owners that were there had a blast.

On the way through Sperryville, we took a picture of the original Cooter's Place.  It is now a bakery and furniture store.  

We then headed over to the Theater at Washington for the red carpet premiere of "Return of the Killer Shrews." 

The cast arrived in Dukes style.

I made my way down the red carpet with nearly as much fanfare as John Schneider and James Best.  

You can't imagine a more intimate theater.  Less than two hundred people could fit inside.  

Miss Alma and Ben made their way in...  

followed by Rick Hurst

and Sonny Shroyer.

Then came John Schneider and Catherine Bach...

followed by the stars of the evening. James Best wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, and his wife Dorothy Best produced it.  

The cast gave a presentation before the movie. "Return of the Killer Shrews" was a sequel to "The Killer Shrews" which James Best starred in in 1959.  It was a campy B sci-fi movie that garnered a cult following.  The sequel was a fun tongue-in-cheek movie that was a lot funnier than I expected.  Rick Hurst and John Schneider co-starred in the movie.  The crowd really enjoyed it.  There were a few Dukes jokes in the movie.  James and Dorothy made a fun movie, and Ben and Alma put on a great event.  

That's a recap of Friday.  I'll post more pics and stories soon.  

Hazzard Homecoming 2012 is upon us

It begins tomorrow.  If I can get a cell signal or find some wifi, I will post pictures and stuff live from the event.  I will be at the "Return of the Killer Shrews" red carpet premiere on Friday night.  And of course at the main event on Saturday and Sunday.  John Schnieder, Tom Wopat, Ben Jones, Catherine Bach, James Best, Sonny Shroyer, and Rick Hurst will all be there.  It is rare to get them all at a single event.  Countless General Lees and Hazzard vehicles, Jerry "The King" "Lawler, Sleepy LeBeef, BMX, Bluegrass... all kinds of fun to be had.  I hope to see you there.  If you can't make it, I'll cover it all right here.  

New Dukes Stuff - 8/8/2012 - Megos, DVD, Soundtrack and more

Got a new haul.  Here we go.

Starting off, I finally picked up a British version of the movie.  I guess the Olympics got me in the mood to by it.  I still wonder why its changed from Unrated to Unseen.  Guess it has something to do with the rating system.  I also got the pre-release version of the soundtrack to the movie.  It says "not for sale" "promotional use only" on the disc.  Pretty cool.

I got this art print done by Tom Feister for the AdventureCon.  It is autographed by the artist.  The AdventureCon is a comic con held annually in Knoxville, TN.  Tom Feister is a comic artist.  He has worked on several big name books including Avengers, Iron Man, and G. I. Joe.  He won awards for his work on a book called Ex-Machina.  That sounds like a Franks and Beans episode.  This piece was done to promote the show, limited to 200.  Tom did a good job capturing Bo and the General Lee.

This Dukes colored Warner Bros. Studios Fire Department patch comes from a very unlikely place. You might think I got it from my recent trip to WB Studios, but I didn't.  My sister gave it to me.  It has been in the upstairs apartment above my office for years.  She was in Hazzard County (the WB studio) years before I was. She had a friend who worked in the fire department.  This is a cool addition to the collection.  Thanks Kate!

I also made a trip down to Pop Culture Connection in Greensburg, PA.  What a good trip it was.  I loaded up on some Mego Dukes of Hazzard items.  All of these figures are in really great shape.

I got two General Lees.  The chrome wheel version and the matte wheel version.  They are incredibly clean and have no scuffs.

This Rosco's Patrol Car is probably the gem of the bunch.  It is perfect.  The stickers are in great shape.  There is not a scratch on it.

This is not the WB licensed mego Daisy's Jeep.  It is a rip-off made by Gay Toys.  But it is very similar to the  licensed version.  The figures fit in it very nicely.  It is also nearly perfect.  I already have each of these vehicles, but I couldn't pass these up because of their condition.  The patrol car I have is quite dinged up and the stickers are applied crooked.  The Jeep I have is very beat up and faded.  And I have at least six Mego Generals and none of them are as nice as these two.

All of these vehicles are so nice, they still have their steering wheels.  Each of the ones I had before no longer have the wheels.

The Boss Hogg and Rosco P. Coltrane figures are equally perfect.  My loose Rosco I had before did not have the hat.  I have a few Boss Hoggs and they have some yellowing to them and the hat is a little rough.  These new ones are the best I have ever seen loose.  I do have all eight figures mint on card.  These look like they just came out of the card.

The Bo and Luke figures aren't in as good shape.  The colors are vibrant and they are not beat up, but the rubber band based bodies on all four are a little loose.  Only Bo and Luke are made like this in the series.  They are similar to G. I. Joe figures in their construction.  All of the other figures in the series are solid plastic torso based.

These two Luke figures are the two different versions; the Luke and the Vance.  The figures came out during Tom Wopat's and John Schneider's strike when the replacement Dukes were on the show--- also known as "the dark times."  Mego made new head sculpts for the figures but released them labeled as Bo and Luke.  The Coy and Vance versions are a little more rare.  Vance is on the left and Luke is on the right.

Both of the Bos are the standard Bo version.  I just wanted to add a pic of them so Bo got as much love as Luke.

I promised before that I would play with my new toys while taking pictures for the blog.  Just for the heck of it, here are some action shots.  Luke does his classic hood slide while Bo jumps in the driver side window.  Boss and Rosco will never catch them Dukes.

Hot pursuit!! I love it, I love it!! Kew kew kew!!!

2 SDCC KITTS available at Hazzard Homecoming

If you've read this blog at all in the past month, you know a few things.  I went to San Diego Comic-Con last month and I'm heading to Hazzard Homecoming.  You also know that I had all kinds of Knight Rider fun at SDCC.  I got myself three different versions of the exclusive Hot Wheels KITT: standard, autographed, and KARR.  I also picked up a couple extra standard KITTs. 

Anyone want one?

eBay is so impersonal.  I would like to sell mine to fellow Dukes fans.  Here is the deal.  If anyone is planning on attending Homecoming, and would like to buy one of these bad boys, I got the hook up.  The price would be $60 which in a little less than what they are going for on eBay.  Plus there would be no shipping costs involved.  Of course there is a small catch.  I gotta build the DukesCollector brand. 

If you want to get one of these beautiful light and sound KITTs you have to follow this blog, post a comment, join the DukesCollector message board, and contribute to a conversation.  That is not to much to ask, is it?  I shouldn't be too hard to find at Homecoming.  And should anyone actually take me up on this offer, we will talk before Homecoming, so I'll be looking for you.  So anyone up for it?  Comment to this post to get started.

Hazzard Homecoming 2011

Hazzard Homecoming 2012 is right around the corner.  What better way to gear up for it than to reminisce about last year's event.  Last year at Homecoming, this blog didn't exist.  I just got the DukesCollector site up and tried to get the message board going from the hotel in Luray, VA, but that didn't pick up like I'd hoped.  Now that the blog is picking up steam, its a perfect place to share these pics from last year. 

The host hotel, Days Inn Luray, let me put my DukesCollector card right beside the official flyer.  They were all gone by the end of the weekend.  At the event, I handed out hundreds.  I got a fresh batch printed up for this year.

This was one of the first things I saw as I entered the grounds.  Who made this thing?  And where can I get one?

Jeff's and my job was working Ben Cooter Jones booth.  We were stationed between the General and the Tow Truck. 

This was the line to meet Ben.  It was this long all weekend.  

When you finally got up there, you were greeted by this happy face.  I sold so many of those 1/18 General Lees.  

People were really happy when they made it to the front of the line.  In my head it was because they got to meet the biggest Dukes of Hazzard collector around.  Then I remembered that was the case because Cooter has way more Dukes stuff in his museums than I have in my collection.  We made a good pair, Ben and I.  

I pretty surreal moment.  People were asking Ben to sign my DukesCollector card.  It pretty much blew my mind.  Looking back now, I want a DukesCollector card signed by Ben.  

Then it happened again.

Ben was really busy on stage and running the show, so he wasn't always at the booth.  Me and Jeff hung out there most of the day.  Jeff had a blast.  

The Cooter's Tow Truck that was parked near us was nearly perfect.  

If you know a nicer man than Ben Jones, consider yourself lucky.  I sure don't.  You put on a heck of a show, Ben. 

But we all know he didn't do it alone.  Alma Viator is one of my favorite people in the world.  All of us Dukes fans owe her a lot for keeping the show alive.  

Me and a couple of my best friends.  

Jeff and the General.

They had a great fireworks show Saturday night.  

There were just so many General Lees there.  

It's me and the Hazzard County Deputies.  Rich Hurst and Sonny Shroyer.  

We even hung out with Daisy Duke herself.  Catherine Bach sure is great.  

Did I mention there were a ton of General Lees there?

When the cast of the Dukes of Hazzard is on stage, magic things happen.  James Best even sang Flash.

Here are all the stars of Hazzard Homecoming.  Even Cathy's daughters got in on the fun.  

Oh and one more pic.  ME AND BO DUKE!  John Schneider is my hero.  Always great to see him.  Stupid sunglasses.  

Hazzard Homecoming 2011 was they first "big" Dukes event in some time.  This year its going to be even bigger.  The entire cast will be there, including a rare appearance by Tom Wopat.  I wouldn't miss it for the world.  If you are reading this blog, you must at least like the Dukes of Hazzard.  You should try hard to make it to Washington, VA on August 11 and 12, 2012.  You will have a blast.