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Zombie's Ultimate X-COM Collection


Zombie

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Today I added pics of a X-COM Interceptor 2-sided poster to the Interceptor Promo Item page. It's the only 2-sided X-COM poster I've seen which is cool, and this is probably a UK-only release which makes it even rarer. It was hard getting decent photos of it as there are some pretty resilient creases, but I'm going to try pressing the worst one first to see if that works. ;)

 

- Zombie

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  • 2 weeks later...

My most recent purchase was a XCOM 2 Boy Scouts of America patch created in collaboration with the Marin Council of scouts and 2K games. The thing is gigantic, really well made and super cool! Check out my entry in the XCOM 2 promo item page. smile.png

 

It was purchased for $30 including shipping which wasn't too bad (I thought). I did some more research into the patch and found out it was a part of a set which can still be purchased for $60. A little disappointing, but what would I do with the other patches? :P

 

- Zombie

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How can a game jamboree patch even come to exist? Who comes up with such an idea? teehee.gif

 

I have no idea, and I even used to be in the scouts program. tongue.png

 

Well, I didn't have much time this last week to do anything due to work, so today was the day to change that. Since all the X-COM/XCOM promotional item pages are up, I was finally able to create a proper menu at the top of each page to make it easier navigating between game items. So go check out every promo item page - I think it turned out fantastic! smile.png

 

I removed the last of the XCOM items from the main promotional item page, and moved the Bureau sticker set to it's proper page. I even added three (technically four) items to the MicroProse (Other) section today: a David Leadbetter's Greens golf kit, a Medalist International patch and two MicroProse software patches - one is new, while the other is identical except it was off of "Wild" Bill Stealey's flight suit. (Bill Stealey was the co-founder of MicroProse Software). While I couldn't find any pictures of him wearing this specific patch there are a few pics of him wearing a blue patch of similar design and size on the net. All of these items are super rare, so you can join me in drooling. woot.gif

 

Tomorrow I'll be adding some XCOM 2 items and building on some existing XCOM entries with more pics. Stay tuned! hi.gif

 

- Zombie

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You've been keeping busy alright. Nicely done, Zombie! :)

 

I see how you've paired UFO:Enemy Unknown and UFO Defense on the same page whilst also having individual menu entries for each (the same for the Microprose stuff). All easily accessible and neatly organized.

 

I have to say, that golf kit is amongst the most unusual items one could possibly imagine belonging to such a collection. :P

 

X-Gum still takes the cake - thematically fitting, psychedelic colours, made in Mexico. :D

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I see how you've paired UFO:Enemy Unknown and UFO Defense on the same page whilst also having individual menu entries for each (the same for the Microprose stuff). All easily accessible and neatly organized.

 

Yup, though it was like that for a few weeks already. wink.png I didn't really know what I was going to do with UFO:EU & X-COM: UFO initially as they are technically the same game. Thing is, they have different promo items, so that's when I decided to split them up, leave them on the same page, but give them separate menu entries. It just makes it easier to link to certain sections.

 

I have to say, that golf kit is amongst the most unusual items one could possibly imagine belonging to such a collection. tongue.png

 

Very true. It was one of the "freebies" Quentin threw into my purchase which makes it even more special. smile.png

 

I was looking at the different items today trying to decide what I think is the most unusual for me. The gum is certainly different but it's not officially licensed and I don't have one. Maybe if I owned one I'd give it a nod. Out of everything I have up so far, I think I'd have to go with the Apocalypse Popper figurine as the most unusual for the X-COM category. You would never imagine they would put out such an item and it's really cool. A close second for X-COM would probably be the double sided Interceptor poster (for the simple fact that up until that point - and even after that - all the X-COM posters were single sided). For the MicroProse stuff, I think the letter opener ranks high on the list for unusual. Close runners-up would be the MPS Duke jean jacket or the Across The Rhine jacket. With that said, I have more items in the MPS category to go up yet and some of them rank really high on the unusual list for me. sarcastic.gif

 

X-Gum still takes the cake - thematically fitting, psychedelic colours, made in Mexico. grin.gif

 

That last part scares me though. Especially since it was produced decades ago when food safety was a little more lax.sick.gif

 

- Zombie

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Yup, though it was like that for a few weeks already. wink.png

 

That's what happens when you skim through too many promotional items - it all starts to blend together. tongue.png

 

I kid, Zombie, but browsing with some haste may be the prime culprit of my oversight in this particular as I likely didn't scroll down enough to catch the paired arrangement previously.

 

I have more items in the MPS category to go up yet and some of them rank really high on the unusual list for me. sarcastic.gif

 

Strangeness rests on the positive side of the spectrum when it comes to collections, so you can only succeed in further impressing the unbelieving masses. cool.png

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I kid, Zombie, but browsing with some haste may be the prime culprit of my oversight in this particular as I likely didn't scroll down enough to catch the paired arrangement previously.

 

No worries! It's easy enough to miss unless you scroll. smile.png

 

Today I added descriptions and measurements to the remaining items on the XCOM Promo Item page (the patch & 2 stickers). On top of that I added back pictures for the Sectoid sticker, the XCOM pins and the XCOM pen, plus a new entry: an XCOM keychain. As I mentioned in the description, it's heavy, something I wouldn't want to be lugging around and wearing a hole in my pocket. About the only thing it's good for is a promotional item. Win! grin.gif

 

- Zombie

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  • 2 weeks later...

Today I took some scans of various X-COM magazine compilations and added them to the appropriate page. So I added sleeve scans for the June 1995 PC Gamer, plus full scans of the sleeve & disc for the PCGames.exe July/August 1997 (which I just purchased) and PCGames.exe July/August 1998 (purchased a while ago). I also removed the Tour de Force entry (it's in the Game Compilations page) and did a little research into some of the magazine compilations which did not have a date yet. For the most part, everything now has a date except for the PC PowerPlay XCOM: Enemy Unknown (probably 2012 -2013 or so) and the X-COM Terran Defense Force CD (Bullet Vol.40). For the X-COM Terran Defense Force CD, I found a singular entry here, but no date and nothing else on the net either. If any of you find any info about this (specifically the date), I'd be very appreciative. Right now the page is kinda sorted by game release, but in the near future I'll probably change that to disc date. wink.png

 

Late edit: I found the X-COM Terran Defense Force CD this morning and took a look at the date stamps on the disc and found it was December 19, 1995 (probably for a Christmas release though). Oh, and while I was looking for the disc I found 3 more magazine compilation discs (all Interceptor) which I purchased ages ago but forgot about. Will try to get those up today yet. I also reordered the magazine compilation page by date. smile.png

 

- Zombie

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Late edit: I found the X-COM Terran Defense Force CD this morning and took a look at the date stamps on the disc and found it was December 19, 1995 (probably for a Christmas release though). Oh, and while I was looking for the disc I found 3 more magazine compilation discs (all Interceptor) which I purchased ages ago but forgot about. Will try to get those up today yet. I also reordered the magazine compilation page by date. smile.png

 

Well, all three of those magazine compilations are up now: Computer Games (April 1998), Games Machine (June 1998) (ITALIAN to boot!) & PC Zone (July 1998). Those are all grouped together on the page as they just happened to be sequentially date-wise. Some pretty nice graphics on those for Interceptor (at least I thought so). Sorry, no sleeve scans for the Games Machine CD - I was lucky to snag an Italian magazine compilation disc, but it was missing the sleeve (or perhaps it didn't come with one). Anyway the page is now very colorful. ;)

 

I didn't really do anything else today as I had to work, but I did manage to do some research into magazine compilations (a great resource for finding X-COM related articles, magazines and discs is looking at reference sections at the end of wiki pages). Invariably, you are going to miss stuff this way as there's only so much you can quote in an article without retracing your footsteps with nearly the same material. One important website is the CGW Museum even if it's for only one magazine. Between this and the X-COM articles contained within plus the release dates of the X-COM games you can guesstimate which months you should be looking into. sweat.gif

 

- Zombie

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Today I added a picture of an XCOM Enemy Within poster to the XCOM promotional item page. I didn't think something like this existed, but hey, it was a nice surprise. :)

 

While I was at it I added some pics of an XCOM 2 key lanyard and a Chinese poster to the XCOM 2 promotional item page. I purchased the Chinese poster back in Sept 2016 but couldn't find it. I was kicking myself for not taking a pic of it sooner, but when looking at my poster tubes this evening I ran across it again. Crisis averted! happy.png

 

These are some pretty rare items, so it's unlikely you'll see them anywhere else but here. A StrategyCore exclusive if you will.hi.gif

 

- Zombie

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I agree. I'm not sure if it came that way or it was folded by someone, but my feeling is that they are that way on purpose. My guess is that they were folded to be given away at events (which makes it easier to travel with than a rolled up version in a tube). The seller probably got the posters after the event. My eyes are still open for unfolded posters though. Maybe I'll get lucky. :)

 

- Zombie

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I added a couple more stragglers to the Magazine Compilations page today: that Italian Il Mio cd-rom featuring Apocalypse and a PC Zone July 1998 "Making Of" disc (this is that mini-magazine insert I talked about previously which has the making of X-COM: Interceptor on one half and Mech Commander on the other). I might split this off the PC Zone entry and make a separate one for it as I can't scan the mini-magazine because it's too big so pictures will have to do. And if I'm going to be taking a picture of the back for the sleeve (which is attached to the magazine) then I might as well take pictures of the article inside too. ;)

 

- Zombie

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Seems I overlooked another magazine compilation: the Official UK PlayStation Magazine CD. There wasn't a date on it, but the game files indicate it was December 5, 1995 which was just before the Terran Defense Force. So I took some scans of the sleeve and disc and added that to the page along with a link to our files section which now contains the video sequence contained on the disc. :)

 

I think that's it for the magazine compilations though. Had a look around and didn't find anything else I stashed away. Of course, I'm still looking to purchase compilations I don't have yet. If any of you have a compilation disc or know someone who does, I'm interested! sorcerer.gif

 

- Zombie

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Seems I overlooked another magazine compilation: the Official UK PlayStation Magazine CD. There wasn't a date on it, but the game files indicate it was December 5, 1995 which was just before the Terran Defense Force. So I took some scans of the sleeve and disc and added that to the page along with a link to our files section which now contains the video sequence contained on the disc. smile.png

 

I was looking through my X-COM magazines last night and found the issue where the disc originated from. Turns out it was March 1996, so I edited the page to reflect that. wink.png

 

Not much time to do anything this week, but I did manage to get up that gigantic poster from the Bureau on the promo item page. It actually has metal grommets used to hang this monster and it's made of a vinyl material instead of paper or poster board. Quite unusual, and impressive! If time permits, tomorrow I'll be adding some more pictures, not sure what yet, but I still have plenty to choose from lol. biggrin.png

 

- Zombie

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Even the item from the first X-COMs seem to be endlessly trickling in

 

Well, it's not endless. I might have a few more items to add yet, but not many. And there's nothing in the pipeline either. There's always more out there if you look hard enough and are patient enough though. ;)

 

and new games didn't really help with completing the collection! grin.gif

 

Very, very true. excl.png Plus 2K occasionally has contests with one-of-a-kind items like the Vigilo pendant a year ago and the Sectoid bust last week. It's horrifying sometimes to realize that I'll just never have a complete collection, but overall, nobody has the breadth of items like I do. :)

 

Well, I had a little time to add a couple more items today: that Action Man figurine which you can find on the MicroProse (Other) section and a hand made High-Explosive Pencil Case in the X-COM: UFO Defense section. Don't have one yet? No problem! Check out my description for the price and details. happy.png

 

- Zombie

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Good commanders always prime the High-Explosive for 0 turns only to find out the soldier is too weak to throw it, then drop it out of desperation and get caught in the blast anyway. If that isn't one of Murphy's Laws of X-COM, it should be. biggrin.png

 

Oh, I added some pics of a Medalist International Floppy Disc Folder to the MicroProse (Other) portion of the page just now. Medalist International was a division of MicroProse Software, in case any of you are wondering how that ties in. The folder can fit 4 floppies (mine was preloaded with MPS demos), but it also has a vinyl pocket which is barely wide enough to fit a fifth, though I doubt that's what the intended use of it is for. (Possibly for a business card)? An interesting piece, that's for sure. ok.gif

 

- Zombie

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I just added an entry to the UFO/X-COM Promo item page for a companion disc which Bomb Bloke found at a local second-hand store in Australia and sent to me last year (thanks again)! I'll try to get up the contents to our files section tomorrow. It's surprising he found something this old (circa Nov 1995) floating around in 2010 yet but he guesses that the store purchased a bulk lot and then sold this on it's own (he probably got it for free since he does business with them often). A great find, and I'm happy to have it! :)

 

- Zombie

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"Australian Made!!" - such enthusiasm! grin.gif

 

Fun choice of font face for the big headlines too.

 

The detail that stands out the most to me though is that bar code. Boomerang Software took this stuff seriously enough to tag individual copies like this. tongue.png

 

Kudos to Bomb Bloke for spotting and sharing this rarity!

 

::

 

Just goes to show you truly have friends all over the world, Zombie. smile.png

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I didn't know you owned the DOS versions of the games. I just recently updated my BaseFixer in DOSBox guide and added TFTD support with the help of NFK but additional testing would be sweet. Want to try it out? Also I sent you a PM.

 

BTW sweet collection.

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I didn't know you owned the DOS versions of the games.

 

Sure, I own quite a few DOS versions of UFO & TFTD. (And Windows, and Amiga and PSX and, you get the idea). wink.png

 

I just recently updated my BaseFixer in DOSBox guide and added TFTD support with the help of NFK but additional testing would be sweet. Want to try it out? Also I sent you a PM.

 

I just sprained my wrist so any type of testing is out of the picture as well as a lot of typing. Sorry!

 

BTW sweet collection.

 

Thanks! smile.png

 

Ok I managed to add a few more pics to the XCOM 2 promo item page yesterday and today. Yesterday I added pics of the iam8bit 2xLP vinyl soundtrack of XCOM 2, and today I added the outer packaging pics for the Vigilo Confido pin (I only had the raw pin before, but was able to pick it up packaged which arrived today). I also received another magazine with a mention of X-COM in the mail today (I purchased quite a few over the last couple weeks) which prompted me to take a group pic of all the magazines I own so far.

 

X-COM+XCOM Magazines.jpg

 

Say Cheese! grin.gif The top row contains issues with X-COM featured on the front cover. Two of them are Italian and super-duper rare. Enjoy! happy.png

 

- Zombie

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