iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

It’s The Star Fox™️ game for the Nintendo Switch 2™️ system. You say the whole thing, like A Tribe Called Quest.

A Nintendo music notification on a phone screen, it reads:

Nintendo Music
Sixty-two tracks from the Star Fox™ game for the Nintendo Switch™ 2 system have been added, plus a playlist featuring tracks from each...

The titling of Star Fox grows more cumbersome by the day. This never happened to Lylat Wars.

Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This was made more fun by approaching this as games that would have lasting impacts rather than games that ended up being all time favorites. These are all games I’d list in my overall favorites, but perhaps not top 10. These games lead me to what would become my favorites.

A three by three grid of nine game titles, starting left to right from the top:

Shenmue
Outrun
Incredible Crisis
No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!
Spy Hunter
Cosmic Conflict
Final Fantasy Legend II
Astro Warrior
Mechwarrior 2

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

As a kid I’d love reading about in game details like this, even if they may have been largely made up by some Nintendo staffer. When I first got an N64, the only two games I had were Star Fox 64 and Mario Kart 64. A strategy guide made replays feel rewarding instead of tedious.

An image from Nintendo’s official Star Fox 64 strategy guide. It’s a small blurb about an enemy type, and offers an in-universe explanation for its color scheme.

The text reads:

Invader II

Venom's Invader II Assault Fighters suffer from numerous design flaws and are vastly inferior to Corneria Fighters. To overcome their shortcomings, Andross has ordered all Invader Ils to be painted with Corneria markings to confuse the Star Fox team.

Next to the text we have an image of the enemy in all of its low polygon glory. This specifically is from the Katina level of Star Fox 64, and provides further explanation for why it’s hard to differentiate between enemy and friendly fighters in that level.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

A local game shop is selling these TCG card storage bins. The real blast from the past is the product photo featuring the Marvel (and DC) Overpower card game, something I hadn’t encountered in the wild since about 1998.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Stumbled across this while at B&N for the Criterion sale, and I’m psyched to read it. I was unfamiliar, but it seems up my alley. Plus, we could always use more magazines based on regionally specific vernacular.

The Summer 2026 issue of Movie Jawn, a movie magazine for film lovers. The cover features Barbara Streisand and Ryan O’Neal as seen in What’s Up, Doc.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

My word, there’s a Saturn version. Call me deranged, but the PlayStation version has a real charm to it.

The Saturn version of the Super Joypad Explorer, a third party Sega Saturn controller. It features all the usual Saturn face buttons, as well as ten different toggle switches for things like turbo fire or slow motion, all button specific. It’s yellow in color, akin to a No. 2 pencil. The ergonomics don’t look amazing, but I can’t speak from personal experience.

The first party Sega Saturn controller is considered one of the greatest controller designs of all time.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The Famicom bootleg parade continues with Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble. Dare I say it, the pale mauve coloring looks better than the official cart! It is kind of weird seeing a Bandai release in a standard Famicom style cartridge, though.

An unofficial (bootleg) release of Mobile Suit Z Gundam: Hot Scramble for the Nintendo Famicom. The label features the Zeta Gundam amidst a space battle, as well as the title. Beneath the Japanese lettering, the English words HOT SCRAMBLE are written. The cart’s color brings to mind taro bubble tea.

Normally, this cart would be in a Bandai Famicom cart, black in color and with rounded edges. However, I love the look of this thing. Odd carts and colors are among the key reasons why o love bootleg games.

As for the game itself? It’s decent. Think of it as a sort of proto rail shooter/Space Harrier imitation, but with a few side scrolling levels added in for variety. That being said, the game would be far better without said scrolling levels. Worth a look if you’re exploring Famicom games, or just love Gundam.

Zeta Gundam is my favorite of the Gundam series.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Excuse me, Crocodile Dundee, would you mind naming your favorite Japanese arcade game manufacturer?

The back of a bootleg Famicom cartridge. Its unofficial status is made noticeable by the molded “Toito Corparatian” above the back label, which is written in Japanese and is probably about not freezing your Nintendo games in blocks of ice. The accepted spelling of the aforementioned company is Taito. You know, the Zoo Keeper people.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The screws on most of these larger carts were pretty tough, so I’ll have to find a better screwdriver than the cheap one I had nearby. I was able to open up Trojan, however. A key reason I picked up these boots was the fact that they’re mostly from before the glob top era.

The board from a bootleg copy of Trojan for Famicom, note how the board isn’t as efficiently designed as a typical Famicom cartridge. Imagine going through all this work and ending up with the Famicom port of Trojan, of all things.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

I bought a box of bootleg Famicom games, and I think my favorite so far has been this extra tall, brilliant yellow Makaimura/Ghosts ‘N Goblins cart. That’s just the regular Famicom label if you’re looking for a sense of scale.

A video game cartridge compatible with the Nintendo Famicom, but not made in any official capacity. Specifically, this is Makaimura/Ghosts ‘N Goblins, the Capcom published and Micronix made port of the arcade game. It’s a shade lighter than banana yellow, and is roughly double the height of the average Famicom cartridge. It’s also pretty heavy, owing to the higher than average number of chips needed to replicate the official cart.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I picked up this paperback Robotech book at a used bookstore yesterday. There’s something charming about seeing Macross characters in the 1980s sci fi paperback style. More info in alt text.

A paperback copy of the fourth entry in Del Rey’s adaptation of Robotech from the late 1980s. Robotech is written vertically on the left side, and the cover notes that this is volume four of the first generation. (More on that in a second for those unfamiliar).

The title is Battlehymn, with the description reading “Two years of fighting…and Gloval knew that it had just begun…”. The author is Jack McKinney, who I’ll have to look up later.

The cover features Rick about to take off in his VF-1 while Zentradi forces make their attack. Front and center is the image of Breetai, making an expression as if he thinks he may manage a hole in one on a mini golf course. Miriya is also here, fresh from the local SDF-1 video arcade. The scene is brimming with protoculture.

The “first generation” tag at the top refers to the Macross saga, which was the first of three separate animated series cobbled together to make Robotech in the US. Liberties were taken, and as such, things aren’t a 1:1 march to Super Dimension Fortress Macross. This makes things occasionally confusing for newcomers, in no small part due to the the licensing nightmare of watching this stuff in the west. Alas, all that glitters is not Harmony Gold.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

I defend golf video games for all these years, and the sport itself betrays me? How rude. Whoever did this was no Fernando Almeida. Thank goodness for insurance!

A freshly made indentation on a car windshield made by an errant golf ball that went wildly and literally off course. The impact crater is surrounded by small shards of once a large sheet of fully intact glass.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Still thinking about this mounted collection of Bobby’s World trading cards I saw at an antique mall yesterday.

Twenty trading cards from the 1995 Fleer Ultra Fox Kids Network trading set, all featuring characters from the 1990-1998 animated series Bobby’s World. The cards have been placed in protective cases, then mounted in some sort of faux brass display frame. Entries include Cool Bobby, Uncle Ted, and Heeere’s Bobby!. Time was put into this, and I really wish I had even some idea of what the backstory of this set is. I assume it was at one point made for some sort of Bobby’s World enthusiast, but the study of Bobby’s World fandom is sadly still in its infancy. This set is currently on sale for $95, and is a bit too rich for my blood. However, it would act as a great statement piece for any living room, Captain Squash fan club, or Howie Mandel centered place of worship.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

Psyched to get a chance to wear this Zeta Gundam pin I picked up a few weeks ago. I rarely run into official Zeta stuff to wear out and about, so this pin gets a solid Quattro/5.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Before I turn in, here’s a mystery controller I picked up at Hard Off for ¥800. It’s an elongated SNES style controller with a 15 Pin connector and a switch like you’d see on a turbo controller. The controller itself feels like new plastic, but the buttons seem worn. More info in alt text as usual.

A SNES esque controller that is black with super Famicom colored buttons to the right, and buttons labeled C and D that would normally be start and select. The classic A/B/X/Y buttons are indeed A/B/TA/TB. If I had to guess, those mean turbo A/B. The shoulder buttons are labeled C. And D. There is a small switch to the right of the D Pad that is labeled C.D. with options for off and on. It’s all kind of baffling.

The back of the controller. The label looks to say EI Games, an SEO nightmare. There’s also a QC pass label and a serial number. The controller seems to be made in the Philippines. It looks like the back panel can be removed, but I’m not currently near a small enough screwdriver to investigate. We can also see that the controller uses a male DB-15 pin connector. More info on the feel of the thing in the next photo.

So two things: 1) This controller is unused, no doubt in my mind. The cord is wrapped in plastic, and the controller itself has that fresh plastic feel. However, weirdly enough, the buttons seem to be used? They have the release sign of being in a drawer with other plastics for years on end. Again, I won’t have a screwdriver small enough to open this thing up until I get home, so who knows what’s the deal with all of these quirks.

The obvious answer is famiclone or something of the like, but the wild thing is how quality this plastic is. This isn’t famiclone quality, it’s legit as good as you’d find on an SNES. It feels like one of those Lodgenet controllers.

I realize this is probably a whole lot of nothing, but isn’t this odd? I can’t wait to be corrected about how worthless this thing is. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’s a Neo Geo controller in an SNES form factor. If so, I’m about to straight up conquer Magician Lord.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Famicom centric update: found a few titles that I haven’t had a chance to pick up before, and pulled the trigger on some kusoge and novelties. My two main Famicom kusoge still elude me. Also, check out this weird Famitsu anniversary disk. More info in alt text!

Several games for the Nintendo Famicom, freshly purchased from a few used game stores in Chiba, Japan. Moving left to right and starting at the top we have Famitsu 1st Anniversary Disk, Fantasy Zone II, Transformers: Mystery of Comvoy, Pooyan, Tokoro-San no Mamorumo Semerumo, FC Genjin (Bonk), Flying Hero, and Attack Animal Gakuen.

There’s a bit to go into here, but I’ll be brief.

No clue what’s the deal with this Famitsu Disk. I imagine it’s some sort of promo thing for the magazine’s first anniversary, and I bought it because it’s wild to think of something as established as Famitsu being only a year old and celebrating that in a very of the time way.

Fantasy Zone II on a Nintendo system is simply odd to me, and is one of those titles I’ve wanted just because it’s an unexpected interpretation of a game that didn’t get justice until the Sega Ages collection.

Transformers is Kusoge. I am always working on my expanded Kusoge library. The price was low enough to say hey why not.

Pooyan is just a fun arcade game that I don’t get to play very often. I love early efforts by major companies.

Tokoro-San was something like ¥1100 or so, and again seemed interesting enough to be worth the money, especially given it’s developed by HAL.

Bonk Rules, and I’ve got a small yet nearly complete representation of his work across systems in some form. No way I can ever justify the cost of the NES game.

Flying Hero is the standout here: it seems a bit old hat for when it was released, but it plays well enough from what I recall to warrant a purchase. This is a game I haven’t come across in any Japan game hunting, so that combined with wanting to play this more made the purchase a sure thing.

Lastly, Attack Animal Gakuen is another curiosity. A photocopy of a photocopy, it’s another one I thought would be fun to add to the collection. It’s lousy Space Harrier. I absolutely love the art style on the label.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Last year I found a copy of New Roomania for PS2 at a small Hard Off. Heartbreakingly, the staff wasn’t able to find the disc. Someday.

A copy of New Roommania: Porori Seishun for reference. This isn’t a copy I have, it’s merely a picture from a YHJ listing. I may weep similar tears of joy when I find a copy someday.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I’m both astounded and psyched that there’s a Tomica Hummer H2 Limo. It’s an absurdity tied to such an incredibly specific time. It’s like coming across Pimp My Ride gacha figures or a Uniqlo/MTV Room Raiders collab.

A Tomica toy car modeled after the Hummer H2, but in a limo form.

I promise you these existed. I saw them. One showed up at my senior prom. Nobody liked the couple that emerged from it. There is no greater consumer symbol of American hubris in the early 2000s than the Hummer H2, and perhaps there was no greater foretelling of our descent into absurdity than the fact that someone looked at a vehicle that made around 11 miles per gallon and said “you know what, let’s make it bigger.”.

Here it is, folks. A tiny monument to an America that could only be defined accurately in a mad libs.

And it’s pink. They often were. No clue why. A+.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

You know, I’ll always associate Reebok Pumps with the classic blue/white/orange Patrick Ewing color scheme, but I have to admit they kind of work with a Gundam theme.

Two pairs of Reebok sneakers, insta pump style. On the left we have one colored to bring to mind The Principality of Zeon from Mobile Suit Gundam, and on the left we have ones colored to more match the associated colors of the Earth Federation.

Here’s the thing though. That’s too deep a red to match Char’s colors, and the use black as an accent also doesn’t fit his style nearly as much. As so, I posit that these shoes are -actually- an homage to Johnny Ridden, the Crimson Lightning. He was often confused on the battlefield for Char, and I like to think getting his own shoes acts as a great first step to him getting more credit as one of Zeon’s more talented and sympathetic pilots. He’s got that misguided sense of honor you’d hear about in the First World War.

Weird that he was always so loyal to Kycilia though. Rule number one? Never be loyal to a Zabi. Then again, I imagine someone taking up arms on behalf of the principality probably wouldn’t heed that advice on the regular.

Patrick Ewing would’ve made a good mobile suit pilot.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Intentional or not, this ad features several opponents from Mahjong Cop Ryuu.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

The MSX port of hang on is one of my favorite looking cartridges ever, the red on red is gorgeous. Don’t let that Pony Canyon logo fool you, it’s actually a solid take on the the game. (Further info in alt text!)

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Ge-Sen Love: Plus Pengo! Is probably one of the best non shoot ‘em up Xbox 360 imports out there, and is also available on Switch! More info in alt text.

A picture of Ge Sen Love: Plus Pengo! for the Xbox 360. the cover features a large pixelated penguin from Pengo.

This is an Xbox 360 port of the Arcade game by Triangle Service, both released in 2012. Ge Sen Love is a sort of arcade skill test set of minigames designed to help you improve your overall arcade skills. It’s charming in the way the somewhat low budget occasionally shows through via the legally distinct non power rangers that function as the player during some of the minigames, and the 360 era Muzak.

Pengo, however, is the real star of the show. This is an updated multi player version of the arcade game from 1982 presented in wide screen and with a giant playfield à la Saturn Bombernan. It gets hectic quickly, and has a bit of a learning curve in order to stay aware of the chaos on screen. Once everyone gets a sense of the gameplay, it’s a really good time, though.

This got a release on the Xbox 360 back in 2012, near the end of the console’s life, and practically post death in Japan. Triangle service put out a good few games on the 360, several region free. If you end up importing this one, make sure you get the non special edition. For whatever reason, the special edition is region locked, but the regular isn’t. Who knows why.

If you want to play it presently, it also got a Switch port in 2019, which should be both far easier to find and far more affordable. If you like stuff like Game Tengoku or Warrior Ware, you’ll get a kick out of this. Check it out!

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

An import store at the mall had this Raspberry Pepsi Zero Sugar that was surprisingly great. The raspberry flavor matches with cola nicely and isn’t overpowering (or unsettling like last year’s Coke with orange). Check it out if you encounter it, or are in China.

A can of raspberry flavored Pepsi Zero Sugar. The text is in mandarin, and the writing reads from top to bottom: Refreshing and sugar free, Pepsi cola, and raspberry flavor.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Get in loser, we’re going to Edmond Honda’s house.

A boxed, Street Fighter branded toy three wheeler called the Karate Chopper. The box’s illustration features Guile and Ryu on said chopper. Guile fires a missile from some sort of cannon on the back, while Ryu drives. The scene is intense. The box proclaims that this is an official movie vehicle, but I’m currently blanking on this moment in the movie, but that may just be my age. Also, Ryu has more of a Jin Satome look than anything. I would prefer not to be the target of the mutual intensity of these two, even in 1994. I remember Capcom putting out a lot of Street Fighter II adjacent merch, but missed out on this. I was probably too distracted by Spin Fighters.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

It’s never too early to teach your children that he cannot be stopped.

A domino set named Mr. Domino. While made for children, it also serves as a friendly reminder that No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

The obvious option. The 2 makes it even better.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

I have no idea why the European box art for Game & Watch Gallery 3 looks like it does. It’s as if the official art emerged from the uncanny valley.

The North American box art for Game & Watch Gallery 3 for Nintendo Game Boy Color. It features a variety of Nintendo characters performing the actions of their various games. When humans look at this, they experience feelings of curiosity and amusement.

The box art for the European release of Game & Watch Gallery 3. The characters all look just off model enough to be vaguely unsettling. Donkey Kong Junior holds a key with his wrist, implying some sort of adhesive. The Mario brothers stare at each other as if to say “Since we flavored this cake with almonds, no one will taste the arsenic!”. Humans look at this and get feelings of unease, wondering what horrors have taken place to fit five games in one.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

I scrolled past a Spelunker screenshot too fast and this happened.

The Netscape navigator broken image link icon from the late 1990s. It has a circle, square, and triangle atop a recreation of a ripped piece of paper. Kind of an interesting piece of skeuomorphism.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

It’s also worth noting how Majong Cop Ryu has some of the best box art on the Megadrive. Robocop should be in more Mahjong games.

The box for Mahjong Cop Ryu for Sega Megadrive, which features Ryu himself as well as several characters clearly designed after well known members of popular culture. Robocop looks pensive, the Terminator looks icy, and the Kamen Rider homage looks more like a bumble bee than anything.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

While digging through my Game Boy carts last night I found what might be my favorite bootleg find. The title and label really capture what I love about unofficial releases.

A bootleg Game Boy cartridge of The Blues Brothers (1992, Titus). Despite being a black and white Game Boy game, it’s in a Game Boy Color style cart (albeit with a notch in the back so it can still physically fit in an original DMG-01) that’s molded in yellow, and says “Game Color” where an official cart would read Game Boy Color.

Despite being a copy of The Blues Brothers, the cartridge label has a picture of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith as seen on the poster for Men in Black. According to the cartridge label, the game is simply called “The Blues Brother”. Rest assured, you can indeed still play as both Jake and Elwood.

I purchased this at a GameCrazy in 2005, where it sat among the other Game Boy/Color games as if nothing was amiss.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Look out honey, cause I’m using technology!

An Analogue 3D sits atop a colorful blanket. In its cartridge slot is a GB Hunter adaptor, which itself contains a copy of Infogenius Spell Checker and Calculator. In the controller port is Nuby’s Boomerang 64 controller. The Boomerang 64 controller is surprisingly usable, and is a decent alternative to the usual N64 trident. The only frustrating thing about fun packages is the fact that sometimes they arrive just before you have to leave for a three day work trip. This was the case today, and as such, I only had time for this brief photo shoot. From what I hear, this system can really enhance the Nintendo 64 experience, and I’m looking forward to revisiting the library.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Goodwill may not be what it once was, but for $2 I’m about to quintuple the versions of Culture Beat’s Mr. Vain that I’m currently familiar with. Over 26 minutes of knowing not only what Mr. Vain knows (what he wants), but also when he wants it (now).

The back cover to the CD single of Culture Beat’s 1993 dance hit “Mr Vain”. Five versions of the song are listed:

Radio Edit (4:17)
Intense Radio Edit (3:52)
Vain Mix (6:35)
Mr. Intense (5:28)
Mr. Hardcore (6:38)

90s dance music is great, and I refuse to pretend I’m too cool to admit that. If I was, people would probably call me something like “Mr. Egotistical” or something.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

Absolute missed opportunity by Magic here. Do they realize how many of us would buy into a game with Urkelbot, Waldo Faldo, Stevil, or Stefan Urquelle? I’d build an entire Waldo Faldo deck.

A stack of Magic: The Gathering boxes labeled
"Family Matters"On a shelf at a game store.
Disappointingly, they are not named for or themed after the beloved 1990s sitcom of the same name. Reginald VelJohnson is an underutilized actor.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

It never dawned on me until now that Capcom’s Fighters Edge logo was possibly just using some slightly modified clip art.

An advertisement for Capcom’s Fighters Edge releases of PS1 fighting games. Image credit to retromags.com.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 25/09/2025

I ended up looking up copycat recipes after posting that because I want to give it a shot as an adult. Then I was advertised this pin as if the internet itself wanted me to try and recreate the burger in question.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

“Very unpopular RPG” brings to mind phrases like “detested sandwich”.

A portion of an ad for McDonalds Arch Deluxe, a hamburger from the 1990s that was very poorly received.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Let’s give more candy bars sequels.

A candy bar labeled Milky Way 2. At first I thought it was just because it was a double pack of smaller candy bars. After opening and eating it, however, it’s a variant on the classic milk way that doesn’t have caramel. Light research leads me to believe this is just what Milky Way bars are in Europe, but I could be mistaken. Either way, pretty good.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

I think we’re about due for a new Samba De Amigo spinoff.

The cover of a book called Sega with the subtitle The Mauritian Folk Dance, by Jacques K Lee. The cover features two people presumably performing said dance.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Genuinely psyched to have found a copy of Gorby’s Pipeline (Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen) for Famicom at a reasonable price. It’s probably one of the only Pipe Dream type games I actually enjoy. Now to find the Game Gear version.

The box art for Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen, a Nintendo Famicom game. Two children ride through the sky atop a disassembled pipeline. The large yet unthreatening figure of Mikhail Gorbachev looks at us in the distance with an expression of great hope and expectation. Less than a year after this game’s release, the Soviet Union would collapse. Don’t worry, I’m sure everything will be fine and Dendy.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Picked up the G Fans Lawson diorama. It’s really well done, and it’s nice to have a diorama that isn’t a showroom or parking garage. Once I figure out some secondary lighting. I’ll add some more scenery to complete the space.

A small illuminated model of a Lawson convenience store, like one would see in Asia. It’s at 1:64 scale, and parked outside is a Toyota Crown Comfort taxi, and a Suzuki Hustler kei car. The background is dark, as if to recreate a nighttime scene.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

The great things about antique malls is how you can find a really cool set of drinking glasses, and then be completely blindsided by a Billy Ray Cyrus commemorative 18 Wheeler.

A toy 18 wheeler tractor trailer adorned with both the colors of the American flag, and Billy Ray Cyrus. Billy is featured on the trailer, looking towards its rear. His name is written in gold, and just below it are the words “Ain’t Your Dog No More”, the name of a single from his sophomore album, It Won’t Be The Last.

I can’t help but find myself fascinated with Billy Ray Cyrus. When I was a kid, Achy Breaky Heart came out, and absolutely dominated country music for a solid six months. Then he was considered largely to be a joke, but then had some sort of syndicated drama show that I recall showing up in the late 90s. He was also in Mullholland Drive, which is absolutely nuts.

Then there was that whole Hannah Montana thing, which was an odd late career renaissance for the guy. In 2010 he was in this pretty forgettable Jackie Chan movie called The Spy Next Door. My friends and I saw it and the four of us were the only people in the theater.

Then the dude was quiet again, until he teams up with Little Nas X and Old Town Road becomes a massive hit.

Just an absolute bonkers career trajectory.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

Here’s more pics of Matchbox’s 1:64 1985 Nissan Pathfinder with some added weathering and spare tire detail. I’ve also added a screenshot from the YouTube channel SmallModelCar to give an idea of what it looks like out of the packaging. The temptation to look into interior detailing is strong.

A 1:64 scale diecast model of a 1985 Nissan Pathfinder in a man’s hand. It has been weathered to look more realistic.

A rear view of a die cast 1:64 Nissan Pathfinder made my Matchbox. It’s being held in a man’s hand, and has been weathered to look like it’s seen a lot of use.

A screenshot from the YouTube channel Small Model Car, who did an overview of the same model. It’s included here for comparison to the final weathered product.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

The Giygas duckpin bowling ball paired nicely with the vaguely SNES color scheme of the plastic chairs at the bowling alley.

A molded plastic chair. It is light grey with light purple accents, reminiscent of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System’s color scheme. Only time will tell if the bromine within the plastic will result in the chair eventually taking on a jaundiced tone.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

“I feel…g…o…o…d…” You can not comprehend the true form of the Giygas duckpin bowling ball!

A man’s hand holds a red and black duckpin bowling ball. Its swirl pattern resembles the background of the Giygas boss battle in Earthbound. Duckpin bowling is a regional variant of 10-pin bowling that’s popular in the north and central east coast of the United States. The balls are much smaller, and you get three rolls instead of two. It’s a good time, and has physics that will throw those used to regular bowling for a bit of a loop.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

I’ve been trying my hand at some die cast weathering lately. It’s been fun, especially since the fact that you’re only spending $1.19 to experiment with making a car look old encourages trying out new ideas. 85 Pathfinders are not meant to look pristine, which adds to the fun.

A matchbox model 1985 Nissan Pathfinder, weathered to look a bit more realistic. The whole thing has been lightly buffed with a nail file to reduce shine, then washed with gunpla panel liner. The hood has been scraped to recreate the look of paint chipping. The next step is to black out the side mirrors and handle for accuracy.

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Earl Gray III @earlthird.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

It’s Hoagiefest time at Wawa, which means that summertime, and by extension, legally distinct Sandwich John Lennon is here.

A bespectacled, mustachioed man who appears to be from the late 1960s. Although his mustache is almost zappaesque in its inclusion of a soul patch, it’s pretty clear this is supposed to be a caricature of John Lennon. He appears during Hoagiefest, which is the summertime sandwich sale at American convenience store chain Wawa. Imagine a better convenience store. I wonder if you can.

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