Terrific TV Toys: A look at Jim's awesome "Magnum, PI" collection

The latest episode of the Terrific TV Toys series is a quick hit, a delightful romp through the "Magnum, PI" memorabilia collection at the home of BRBTV's friend Jim Wilson of Canada. You've seen Jim's fabuloso art on this blog and in the BRBTV books, and you'll see it in this episode, as well. Jim is a fan of various TV shows and movies, and he paints scenes inspired by those, as well as by his love of trains and maybe just a bird outside his window! Lots of his paintings are listed in his Facebook shop, and you can see more of his art at the Facebook page Jim's Creations.

A couple items from Jim's "Magnum" collection: A Ki'i replica statue from the "Simon and Simon" crossover episode, and a jar of sand from the Robin's Nest sent to him by his friend Kimo, who worked on the TV series back in the day.

Canadian artist Jim Wilson crafts Mr. Dressup's treehouse for a good friend

For any of the Canadian readers out there (like you, Wendy! :) ), you might have grown up with "Mr. Dressup," a Canadian children's television series that originally ran on CBC from 1967 to 1996. As Mr. Dressup, actor Ernie Coombs would lead children through a series of songs, stories, arts, crafts and imagination games, with the help of his puppet friends Casey and Finnegan, Wikipedia says. This author's good friend Jim Wilson of Canada, whose fine art you've seen on this blog before -- art of "The Dukes of Hazzard," "Green Hornet" and more -- has now turned his creative eye to the beloved TV icon of his youth. He has crafted a replica of the treehouse featured on "Mr. Dressup" for his friend, Rob. 

This is the treehouse where those puppets Casey and Finnegan lived, on the show. How fun! If you're sensing some "Mr. Rogers" vibes, those of you in the U.S., it might be because Coombs and Fred Rogers once knew each other as colleagues, and yes, they took very similar career paths.

Here's the real thing as seen on the show:

And here are shots of Jim's work on the replica:

 

 

Thanks, Jim, for sharing these photos with us! And congratulations, Rob (that's him below), on a one-of-a-kind piece! By the way, be sure to like Jim's new Facebook page to see more of his work!

 

Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson; please do not copy without permission.

Canadian artist Jim Wilson gets creative again, this time on the Starship Enterprise

Well, our buddy Jim Wilson of the Great White North is at it again. You've seen Jim's clever "Dukes of Hazzard" art on this blog, and it was featured in the BRBTV books "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" and "Let's Roll, Kato: A Guide to TV's Green Hornet." Jim is also a fan of "Star Trek," both the original series and various other incarnations. One of his latest garage projects (and he has many, believe me!) was the command chair of Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise. This turned out pretty nice! And Jim completed this very quickly, in only a couple days.

I had to wonder about that snazzy NCC 1701 nameplate. Jim says it's a piece of brass plate with plastic letters he glued on and painted in hammer finish paint. Then he dusted it with gold and brass paint.

This talented guy has got to take commissions, I say!!! Geesh. And Jim jokes that he added the beer because it's a Canadian chair (for a Canadian captain, actually).

Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson; do not copy without permission.

Maximum "Magnum": A look at one fan's collection

Yesterday you saw the highly creative "Magnum, P.I." helicopter scene diorama by Canadian artist Jim Wilson. Today, he shares photos of his collection of "Magnum" memorabilia. The classic TV series starring Tom Selleck was one of Jim's favorite shows back in the '80s.

Photos courtesy of Jim Wilson; please do not copy without permission.

"Magnum, P.I." soars again in this clever diorama

You've seen the artistry of Jim Wilson of Canada on this blog before, as he has painted images inspired by "The Dukes of Hazzard." See the November 26, 2013 and March 27, 2017 posts. Well, Jim is a fan of other great classic TV shows -- for instance, "Magnum, P.I." This incredibly creative artist most recently set about creating a diorama inspired by Tom Selleck's 1980s TV show, more specifically, T.C.'s helicopter.

Nice:

"Believe it or not, the water is plaster of Paris I made ridgey and painted with white caps," Jim says.

"I watched 'Magnum' three times a day after school on three different channels," he says. "I so wanted to live that life."

(And Jim's not the only inspired "Magnum" fan -- check out this blog post.)

Tomorrow: Part 2, with a look at Jim's "Magnum" memorabilia collection!

Images by Jim Wilson;

Please do not copy without permission.

Another "Dukes of Hazzard" masterpiece from the Great White North

Canadian artist and avid "Dukes of Hazzard" fan Jim Wilson is at it again, this time crafting a rather clever work combining two important elements of our beloved classic TV series ... the orange "01" of the General Lee and a moonshine jug!!!!

You saw lots of Jim's work in previous posts on this blog, and in the BRBTV guide, "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" We really like this one ... so artsy and cool ...

Image courtesy of Jim Wilson; please do not copy without permission.

Fleetwood Country Cruize-in gets all "Dukes"-y again this summer

Thanks to our "Dukes of Hazzard" buddy Jim Wilson (whose amazing "Dukes" art you've seen on this blog) for passing along this screenshot with all the details of this summer's Fleetwood Country Cruize-In at the Steve Plunkett estate in London, Ontario, Canada. It happens June 3-4, and again our beloved "Dukes" will be well-represented. This time it's Catherine ("Daisy Duke") Bach, Sonny ("Enos Strate") Shroyer and Rick ("Cletus Hogg") Hurst signing autographs for fans, as well as original "Dukes" show mechanic Tom Sarmento, whom we got the pleasure of chatting with at last summer's event, as well.

Some more "Dukes" art to fascinate fans

We told you about the fabulous "Dukes of Hazzard"-themed paintings by Jim Wilson of Ontario, Canada, in not only our May 29, 2013 and January 28, 2015 blog posts but also in the newest edition of the "Them Dukes! Them Dukes!" reference guide to the show. Well, Jim is at it again, just painting another beauty last week ...

It's a General he painted from his 1:18 model car. We asked if this was inspired by an episode, like several of Jim's other paintings, and he said no, and that he painted it with a nighttime scene "because u never see dukes at night." Yea ... might have a point there! Anyhow, here's another painting Jim has done this year ...

AND ... as if that's not enough!!!! Check out this truly special specialty item ... a stool fashioned like a guitar fashioned like a General Lee! When have ya'all ever seen one of those before? Jim made this by hand for his friend, Jason Darling, a fellow artist we've profiled on this blog and in the book! That's Jim and Jason in the photo below.

The stool is made of wood and took Jim about a week to craft. Did he use any kind of model for it? Nope, Jim says, it's all in his head. And aren't we glad it is!!!

Images courtesy of Jim Wilson and Wilson Estate Photography; please do not copy without permission.