So here I am, plugging away at various new products that’ll hopefully raise a couple nickels, when I decide to surf the net for a moment to distract me a bit, and I come across this:

Finally, A Hulkbuster Toy That Can Fit An Iron Man Figure Inside Itself

I have no particular interest in the Hulkbuster toy as such, but I do recognize the magnificence of the manufacturing of it. It’s a beautiful little replica. And by “little” I mean 1/9 scale, or 16 inches tall. And by “replica,” I mean “the price tag for this thing is $840.”

Boggle.

Is a superhero toy worth $840? I dunno… it’s worth what people will pay for it, I suppose. And, sure, there’ve got to be collectors and die-hard fans who’ll cough up that kind of money from time to time. The thing that saddens me… on a planetary scale is there really that much of a bigger market for *insanely* expensive toys than there is for obscure aerospace history? Just a few dozen of these toys would be worth more than I make in a year. And I do mean *few.* And yet I fully expect that the manufacturers will sell far more of these things than there are APR Patrons.

And thus, I’m saddened once again by my own relative lameness.