Powerhouse Museum: The 80s Are Back

I went to the Powerhouse Museum today and saw their exhibit entitled "The 80s Are Back."

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/the80sareback/

Made me feel _real_ old to see the decade of my childhood in a museum. :(

Anyway, there's a MISB G1 1984 Optimus Prime on display there and the box is in absolutely flawless pristine condition, which makes me suspect it could be a knock off. I took some photos of the toy, and sometime soon I'll compare it with archived images of known G1 OP KOs and see if I can verify its authenticity.

Has anyone else seen this exhibit? If so what do you think of that Optimus Prime toy?

Also, there are some playable arcade game machines from the early 80s -- like those ones where you sit down and the screen is horizontal not vertical! :) I wanted to play one, but there were lots of dudes (older than me - I guess they were in their teens or 20s during the 80s) who were hogging them. :p

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

Also, there are some playable arcade game machines from the early 80s -- like those ones where you sit down and the screen is horizontal not vertical! :) I wanted to play one, but there were lots of dudes (older than me - I guess they were in their teens or 20s during the 80s) who were hogging them. :p

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I think you mean flat as opposed to widescreen horizontal. Sounds like cocktail cabinets.

I'm toying with the idea on building an upright and stuffing my spare computer into it to play MAME. :)

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Originally Posted by MV75

I think you mean flat as opposed to widescreen horizontal. Sounds like cocktail cabinets.

I'm toying with the idea on building an upright and stuffing my spare computer into it to play MAME. :)

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I was thinking of doing that some time back.

I don't know what the actual name for them are, but they look similar to this.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I don't know what the actual name for them are, but they look similar to this.

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Yea, I already told you what they are. ;)

Now, what else did they have? Dish dish dish.

Things like atari st, amiga, nes, deloreans, laserdiscs, etc?

Oh right, I get you now.

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Originally Posted by MV75

Now, what else did they have? Dish dish dish.

Things like atari st, amiga, nes, deloreans, laserdiscs, etc?

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Lots of stuff about music, fashion and politics -- stuff I was too young to be aware of at the time. No Laserdiscs! I still have a Laserdisc player that I never use... maybe I should sell it to the museum. :p They did have quite a few 8-bit consoles like the NES, Sega Masterdrive etc. Check out the link - if you hover your mouse cursor over "80s memories and essays" a drop down menu appears and you can select things like "Video Games of 80s" and "Toys and Fads" etc.

I just made a quick comparison between my photos of the G1 1984 Optimus Prime toy at the PH museum and with archived comparison images between the knock off and original, and so far it seems that the toy in the museum appears to be an original!

Things that match up include:
+ No extra gray border
+ The positioning of "Formers" is correct.
+ Factory applied trailer side stickers are present
+ Fade to black is high

Unfortunately I didn't have a good look at the back of the box or take any photos of the back, so I can't confirm if the Ravages are chopped or if it has a factory made crease.

So far, as far as I can tell, it appears to be an original, not a counterfeit. If so, then this is a damn GOOD conditioning MISB G1 1984 Optimus Prime and it might be worth recommending for others to consider visiting the museum to have a first hand look at it! :)

Will it still be open as a display in late September?
I can't make heads or tails of the websiute. I think it said late 2009 to late 2010...

Awesome. Thanks for letting us know Goki.

Apparently the exhibition runs from 13 December 2009 until late 2010 (top left on the site).

I was there not that long ago for the Star Wars exhibition, but this is worth going back there.

Is the Optimus Prime just sitting there or is it behind glass? Just wanna know if I need to bring a glass cutter :D

T'is behind glass. :p ;)

Ive never been to the powerhouse museum, I should schedule a visit:) sounds like an interesting place.

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Originally Posted by liegeprime

Ive never been to the powerhouse museum, I should schedule a visit:) sounds like an interesting place.

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I went with Zed for the Star Wars exhibit some months ago. It was my first visit since I was a little kid which I attended in a school excursion.

It's not a bad idea for a meet.

Well Its gonna be there for long while so we prolly should sched this, after Parramatta Fair. There's just a lot of Sydney to see and not enough days off to have a look around.... not to mention that I have no ideas what to look for in Sydney anyways:D:o

Looks like you had a great time.

When I saw Powerhouse Museum I thought great - its in Brisbane....

Then I found out they have one in Sydney too :(:(:(

hey gok, yeah i went there a several weeks ago.. i saw the prime toy. not sure if it's knock off though ... it was placed too far up for me to look at the details.
probably a knock off.

actually, as I said in post #7, I don't think it is a KO. It looks to be legit and in near C10 MISB. Hence why it might actually be worth checking out. :)