First up this month is this Powell Peralta “Beamer” complete from 1979. This one is interesting, because even though it’s definitely a beamer, the Powell Peralta logos appear to be stickers applied later, because the color on them is far different than the rest of the deck. Also, it doesn’t appear to have the regular Beamer top logo, instead having some rainbow “Miami’s for me” sticker! The griptape job can best be described as “minimal”. It has what are probably first gen Indys and Kryptonics, so that adds to the value, but overall it’s a very strange complete. It sold for $810.

Now here’s another strange one. It’s a Dogtown Wes Humpston “Bulldog” from 1978, complete with all of the original parts, but it’s been completely disassembled for some reason. This one has some kind of clear ceramic base ply because it’s still shiny, glossy and smooth after 32 years. The yellow dip is a really nice colorway, and is highlighted by the clear wheel wells. There are some scratches and marks on the tail, but overall it’s very clean. The package comes with Indy stage ones and G&S Yoyo conicals, along with all the vintage plastics. Overall it’s a really nice 70s complete, and sold for $875.

Here we have a G&S Doug “Pineapple” Saladino “Pine Design” deck from 1979. It’s been setup and ridden, but is very clean. The seller rates it as an 8.5/10, so there you go. It ahs a little tail wear, but overall looks really, really solid. The ACS and Yoyo stickers can be removed, or you could leave them because they do add a vintage look. The rails appear to be natural wood too which is very unusual, and the griptape is even in great condition. It sold for $881 on 21 bids, which speaks to the overall condition.

Here’s a Dogtown Shogo Kubo Airbeam complete from 1979. The top of the deck is interesting because the grip doesn’t go to the edge on the sides for some reason, revealing the true colors under the clear grip. What appears to be black is actually silver! I’m not sure why the grip is like that, but the cut is clean and looks like it was done on purpose. It comes complete with the mega rare Variflex “reverse” trucks, in the design that is now popular with longboard trucks. The wheels are Kryptonics. The complete is very clean overall, and all of the rare parts really pushed up the price: it sold for $1,225.

So you want rare? Well try this Sims “Outrageous 8 Wheeler” from 1978 on for size! It’s totally classic in every way, and is loaded with goodness! It has 4 sets of Tracker Half tracks, eight Sims Snakes in yellow and green, Madrid rails, two Woody space plates, two nose guards, and a multitude of 70s stickers, both bottom and top under the pizza grip! My personal favorites are the Tunnel sticker and the Cadillac Wheels stickers. This thing is a fucking time machine! It’s total grailage, and sold for $1,600, but is probably worth twice that, easily.

So let’s start off the 80s section this month with something unusual, and something to get you freestyle guys all excited about! It’s a Vision Don Brown “Pigstick” from 1988ish. It’s NOS< never been setup, and the graphics are super loud and vibrant. I guess that the graphic is a take-off on the Porky Pig ending to some cartoons from the 40s, but instead of saying “That’s all folks”, this one is saying “That’s all jerks!” which might be a last insult thrown at Vision, or it may just be a general insult aimed at all of us. It went for $178.

So here’s a Concrete Jungle DRI band deck from 1987. It comes complete with old Thunders (swords on the baseplates) and Powell Rat Bones. It was a very limited run of decks, so limited apparently that the band only received one deck! It’s tough to tell, but it looks like the dog got into the guy’s beer, so he’s beating it with a newspaper? Weird. The top graphic is the classic DRI running guy logo. It also has lots of good vintage stickers from back in the day: a Schmitt Stix Joe Lopes, a PP Mullen, plus an Agression sticker and a DRI sticker on the tail for good measure. You know the deal: yank the stickers and this will be good. It went for $450.

So here’s another in the long line of cool Vision Gator colorways. This one is in a very classic lilac and black colorway, with orange highlights around the type. It’s very simple, and yet very effective. A lot of folks looked down on Vision, but their screen-printing department really had this shit on lockdown, because some of these colorways are pure brilliance. It comes complete with Trackers and Tracker Lester wheels. Underneath those silly stickers you have almost an NOS condition deck, so the buyer got a hell of a deal for $216.

And sticking with the bad sticker theme we have this Powell Peralta Allan Gelfand “Ollie Tank” complete from 1980. Again, remove the completely ridiculous yellow Gotcha sticker across the middle of the deck, and the Skull and Sword sticker, and you’ve got a great condition original Gelfand deck for a very reasonable $516. If you were in the market for one and don’t remember seeing this, it’s because the seller didn’t realize what he had. The auction merely states “Powell Peralta 1980s skateboard”. I guess the pro name wasn’t visible enough so the words Ollie or Gelfand didn’t appear anywhere in the auction. It’s complete with Trackers and PP Rat Bones wheels. It probably went for around $300 less than it should have, but don’t feel bad for the seller though because he bought it at a garage sale, and I’m betting paid around $10 for it.

Here’s a Blockhead Jim Gray ‘Stretch” from 1987. Why Stretch? Because it was longer than his regular model, more a cruiser than a longboard, coming in at around 35” long. The deep red stain is nice, and the graphic is classic early blockhead. It’s a very nice deck at a very nice price: $110.

Now this Santa Cruz Jeff Grosso “demon” from 1987 was recently featured on Sean Cliver’s excellent Disposable blog. The most unusual thing here is the horribly garish colorway; Cliver compares it to a “prostitute way past her prime”, but I think it’s so loud and 80s that it goes the other way, and is excellent. The screaming blue and orange of the demon is grounded by the excellent, sparing use of color in the banner, and the smooth black dip. If they were going for a blacklight poster look, then consider it job done! It comes complete with Indys, white and green wheels, and completely mismatched plastics: neon green tailbone, black rails and brown nosebone. It's hideously excellent, and a bargain for $355.

Now this is a beautiful deck. It’s a World Industries Jef Hartsel “Bodhi Tree” from 1990. It had been setup and ridden, but was restored back to unskated condition, which was clearly stated in the auction. The rail holes were filled in, the tail was reconstructed and it had some touch-ups to the paint. They did an excellent job, because this deck looks new. Even the topside is almost flawless. The deep green stain is beautiful, and overall this is probably one of my favorite full-bleed graphics if all time. It sold for $700.

So here’s a H-Street Matt Hensley “Pole Spin” (Vista) from 1989. It’s mint, still in shrink, and although the colorway is pretty vanilla, being on the natural woodstain, it still looks really good. The nose is double drilled, suggesting that this specimen was maybe from a later run of the deck. In June 2006 a deck with this exact same colorway sold for over $1,200, so the fact that this one sold for only $620 shows where our economy has gone in the last 4 years.

Now this is a deck that you would see all the time at online shops that still had 1980s stock. It’s a Smith Lonnie Hiramoto “Samurai”, and because neither the company or the skater were well known, it seemed destined to remain forever in the bargain rack of 80s decks, always the last one picked. Times might have changed however, because this gold model went for $140, which is about twice what it used to go for! Admittedly this one is mint and in an unusual gold dip, but still, I think all signs are pointing up for this underrated deck!

So here’s a Dogtown Tim Jackson “Rat” from 1990. I believe that it was Tim’s only pro model, and I assume that he was a local Santa Monica street skater. This deck is NOS and on a purple woodstain. The graphic is typical 1980s Dogtown, with the main graphic element surrounding and interacting with the classic Dogtown cross logo. It was very clever branding. The deck sold for $249.

As you are probably well aware, this is a Santa Cruz Jason Jessee “Racing Flames” deck from 1989. It’s mint, and in the classic natural colorway. There’s not much else to say about this one really. It’s obvious and clichéd, but still strangely effective. I must have something for flames I guess. On my first blue plastic skateboard (Sitco Rocket, bitches) I bought 2 long flame stickers for underneath. I’m not quite sure why really. I sure wasn’t going fast, and nothing could have made a polyprop look cool, but there you go. This sold for $1,000.

This deck doesn’t need any explanation either, but I’ll do it anyway for the noobs. It’s a Sims Lester Kasai “splat” from 1983. Often imitated, never duplicated. It’s a true classic. This one must have looked exceptional when the seller purchased it at the skateshop originally. The white was probably super bright, and the fluorescent greens and blues probably screamed ‘BUY ME!!” Even after all these years the deck is still bright and attractive, much like Tina Fey. The white ahs yellowed a little, but it’s still a very solid deck. The plastics and stickers almost add something here, so I might leave them, but I’d probably clean up the grime. It sold for $213.

Here we have two outstanding Powell Peralta Lance Mountain decks. They both feature the more common Future Primitive 2 graphic from 1986, but in two very distinct and different colorways. The top one is the classic Powell black dip, with red graphics and gold lettering. Very simple, and yet totally effective and timeless. It’s mint, full size, 7-ply, and has the winged ripper top graphic. It sold for $980. Below that we have a very different colorway. It’s bright pink with the blue shadowy stain all over, giving it a depth that a plain dip couldn’t. It looks older and special somehow, although I must say that I don’t think that the orange lettering works. It’s too weak. It is full size, 7-ply, and has the classic Powell dragon top logo. It sold for $1,287.

Here’s a Schmitt Stix John Lucero “X2” from 1986. This is one of those completes that simply works all assembled like this. Without the trucks and plastics it might look kind of plain if you know what I mean, maybe because the colorway isn’t the best. The neon green rails and risers actually frame the graphic really well here, and give the rather dull colors in the graphic an added pop. I really like the Thunderbolts sticker on the nose too. Don’t know what those are? Then you’re not old school, so stop pretending that you are! It’s complete with Indys and OJs, and has both black and clear griptape on top. I’m guessing that this weighed in at around 40 metric tons. It sold for $246.

Holy shit this is nice!!! It’s a Powell Peralta Mike McGill “Jet Fighter” complete. It’s the first run 6-ply model, and of course is McGill’s first graphic. The rounded wheel wells are the telltale sign of the early 6-ply models. This is totally classic, from the bright green stain, to the Trackers (with copers of course), to the Powell 64x64 Bones wheels. It has a classic Bones sticker on the nose and an old skateshop sticker on the tail. It’s not mint clearly, but is super clean, and would be the centerpiece of any collection. It has the classic old clear pizza grip up top, and it’s yellowed with age giving it a classic look. Ah shit, this whole package is awesome. $899 was nowhere near enough damnit!

Here’s one that I don’t think I’ve shown before. It’s an Alva Skates Jim Murphy “Mini Murf” from 1988. As it says, it’s a mini model, and the Alva decks actually featured completely different graphics than their big brothers. The graphic here is a confusing mess or dragons and wings in a horrible combination of colors, but the classic Alva fade scheme makes any crap look good, so it’s all good. The deck is signed on tail, and not just signed, but personalized in a charming manner: “To Brian, skate tough eat muff”. Great stuff. It sold for $153.

Here’s an excellent example of where a colorway helps boost the price of a pretty common deck. It’s a SMA Natas Kaupas “drunk cat” from 1990. It’s mint, and although the graphic isn’t up to the standard of his earlier models, it still fits in with the whole “black cat/triangle” motif of his classic run. But the colorway is stunning here. The black to purple vertical fade is beautiful, and lifts the deck from everyday to exceptional. It would look great on any wall. It sold for $550, which is awesome for this model, which normally has a hard time breaking the $300 barrier.

Here’s a Powell Peralta Ratbones (Vato Rat) team deck from 1983ish. It’s been set up and used, but is in pretty fine condition considering. It has some nose flattening and some tail wear, but nothing much really. The red dip is still bright and clean, and the main graphic is all there. If you can’t afford a mint one (and who can), this would be a fine wall hanger, once you’ve ripped off the pink rails that is! Come on man! The top has clear griptape that covers some fantastic generic mid 80s stickers that include a “Stop! Locals Only” and a “No Wimps”. Both are particular favorites of mine. It sold for $799.

So here’s the big money deck of the month. It’s a Santa Cruz Rob Roskopp “Target 1” from 1985 in a very tasty hot pink dip. It’s factory gripped but has never been set up, and is about as clean as you will see. Sure there are some storage marks and chips etc, but I’m not sure you’ll ever find a better one. Looking at the graphic 25 years later, it is simple and effective, and the monster arm pointing to the name is a nice graphic touch. The tail cutaway was a mark of genius too, differentiating it from all the other pig decks on the rack at the time. I’ve used the word “Classic” a lot this month, but this one is, and the price showed it. It sold for $2,706 on 23 bids.

This is an Alva Skates John Thomas “Ankh” from 1986. It’s NOS, but not mint, with some storage marks, scuffs etc. It has the front wheel wells and the classic diamond (dolphin) tail that was guaranteed to wear down in about 30 minutes. It’s in a very appealing yellow stain, and features graphics in green and red, keeping the whole thing in the rasta vibe that the Alva team all reveled in back then. That’s a nice looking deck for $112.

Here we have a super-warped Powell Peralta Per Welinder “Nordic Skull” from 1987. I feature it because of the outstanding lime green colorway. I can’t tell if it’s the seven-ply model or the boneite because the photos are so small, but I’m leaning towards boneite. It has a super severe warp, which might or might not have affected the price. It’s not NOS clearly, but is in really nice condition, and the colorway is very appealing. It sold for $300.

Here’s one of those rare occasions when the plastics, trucks and wheels actually add to the value of the complete! It’s a Powell Peralta Skull and Sword team model from 1984, and is attractive enough in a silver dip and red colorway. But the seller has really upped the ante with bright red tail, nose and rails, red risers, red and black Gullwing trucks and red Kryptonics wheels! The whole package is fabulous; well done sir! The only drawback is the ugly Tony Magnusson and Steve Steadham autographs scrawled on there. It probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but now they just look out of place. It sold for $367.

And let’s wind up the 80s section this month with this Zorlac “Double Cut” team model from 1985. This one has front and rear wheels wells, and has the “Skate Tough” top graphic, not the “Shut up and Skate” one that came on later models. This one has some scratching, gouging and general age marks, but is very clean overall, and the flat black dip and green and red shrunken head graphic makes this one a real winner. It sold for $662, but would have gone far higher had the condition been better.

Ha, here’s one that I haven’t featured before! It’s a Focus Christian Hosoi “Fokkoman” from 1995. Clearly it’s a take off on the Kikkoman soy sauce label, but this time it’s “Hosoi Sauce”. It’s NOS, never been mounted. Some scuffs but basically mint. It’s a pretty routine graphic, but is still pretty funny, and rare too. I’m shooting from the hip here, so bear with me. After Santa Cruz, he was on Tuff Skates, then Sk8 Kulture, then Milk, then Focus. I think that was it until his release from jail in 2003. This sold for $338.

Now this one’s a beauty, not so much for the graphic, but for that flat black dip of the deck. It’s a G&S Mark Heintzmann “Broken Bottle” from 1992. Most of his early graphics were based around the Heinz ketchup bottle, which gets old really fast, but this one I don’t mind at all, but again, I think it’s because of the amazing flat black dip. I don’t now why this wasn’t used more often, because the graphic is almost 3D when viewed on this background. It’s totally awesome. Congrats G&S for doing something so simple and yet so completely effective. $178.

OK, so here’s a New Deal Andrew Morrison “Handbird” from 1992. The graphic is typically minimalist New Deal, but is very effective, as you would expect from Andy Howell. It’s complete with Venture trucks and Nude Eel wheels, and although it’s been ridden a bit, remove the trucks and rails and the graphic almost looks perfect. The wood stain isn’t too exciting, but still, it allows the graphic to pop. Clean it up with some olive oil and this would look a ton better.

Well this ugly ass deck is a Think Eric Ricks “Trippy kid” slick from 1993. I show it just to show how fucking crap a lot of graphics were in the mid 90s. Yes it’s a slick, so yes it’s mega rare in NOS condition, but really, who cares? It’s butt-fucking-ugly. $405? Really? Wow. Big pants, small wheels, crap graphics.

So I seem to show at least one Blockhead deck every month, but here’s one I bet you’ve never seen before, and probably wouldn’t even have known it was a Blockhead at first glance. It’s a Blockhead Dan Rogers slick from 1992. Clearly Ron Cameron wasn’t doing the artwork anymore, because this one must have been thrown together in about 30 seconds. Crap, crap, fooking crap. It’s sad when a company with such a strong visual flair just throws in the towel and pumps out shit. I do like the red strip on the logo though. That’s my favorite part of the deck. $199.

Hmm. So here’s more thrown together crap from the early 90s. This time it’s a TV Mike Vallely “Taxi Driver” slick from 1992. Actually, it’s not that bad, at least it makes some sense. It’s a collage graphic combining all kinds of stuff that Mike was into at the time, from the movie Taxi Driver to pics of his dog and brother. It has a hockey fight on there, and even pays homage to fellow New Jersey skater Tom Groholski somewhere. It’s a real mess, but at least it’s a mess that somewhat makes sense, much like any collage brought home by a 6 year old. My daughter made me a collage deck for xmas when she was 6. It has pictures of our animals on it, along with my old Mini and birds and butterflies. It’s far better than this, but this one sold for $717 so there you go.

I’ve featured a few sets of decks recently, but I can’t remember a finer looking set than this one. It’s the Chocolate “Day of the Dead” set from 2007. A lot of modern companies do stuff like this, having a common graphic thread tying together all of the different pro models, but few have done it better than Chocolate in this set. Each of the decks feature a tail to nose skeleton playing an instrument on a different color dip, and they look stunning by themselves. But put all nine decks together, and you’ve got an instant wall of awesomeness. Seriously, this is a real head turner. All of the decks are mint in shrink, and all together they sold for $1,050. Niiiiiice.

Now by “crap” I don’t mean crap obviously, I just mean stuff, because this set of Bennett Vector truks (that’s how they spell it) and Bennett SuperGator wheels are not crap by any means. Nope, they are just the opposite. They were the apex of 70s skate technology. The trucks supposedly turn on a dime and the wheels were sticky but fast. This set is mint and unused, and very, very rare. They sold for $1,300, and have made some 70s collector very, very happy.

Aah, yes, the famous Powell Bones skeleton pool ripper sticker from 1978! As old stickers go, this one is a beauty. It’s Powell only because it predates Stacy joining up, and the skeleton appears to be riding a beamer. I’m assuming this is where the ripper logo came from, and all of the other Powell skull and skeleton graphics that subsequently started. This is the daddy! So looking at it like that, this is a rare piece of skate history that was very instrumental in where graphics were going to go. The sticker sold for $155, but I’m guessing that this one will go up and up in value. Note, this is a large version of the sticker, being almost 5” across.

Well, we haven’t seen one of these for a while! A few years ago we’d see one of these Bones Brigade World Tour 80 team jackets come up every month, but those days are long gone. It seemed though that every jacket sold appeared to be a size small, so either the members of the Powell team were all munchkins, or they made a bunch in the wrong size and decided to sell them or raffle them off. It’s a nice looking jacket, with the big logo on the back and the small pro graphics down the sleeve. As per normal it’s a size small and was won at a contest raffle. It sold for $1,000, so it’s keeping a rich midget warm right about now.

Oooh, here is a minty fresh set of Road Rider 2s from 1976. They have the rad, red translucent color, and would be the prefect wheels for that old Hobie deck that you’ve been meaning to set up as an era-correct complete! They are a thing of beauty, and sold for $148 on 13 bids.

So you’re an old skater from the 80s who got out of it for decades, grew up, got a job and a family, but now want to relive your youth. You got rid of all your old stuff in the 90s including all your old music, so what to do? Well here you go! It’s a collection of 7 of the original Thrasher Skate Rock cassettes, even though number 7 appears to be missing. So now for $42 you can sit on your porch and annoy the neighbors with both your music and your tales of how good you were “back in the day”! From what I remember though, the only decent one was the first one because that had a nice selection of differing styles on it. The later ones became all thrash, and bad thrash at that. But I digress. Now if only you still had a cassette player…

So you busted your ass while skating outside your house while listening to the Skate Rock tapes above. You’re never gonna skate again! So what to do with your skate stuff, including the one pair of high top Vans that you kept? Throw it away? NEVER! Throw it on eBay of course! This pair of well used, made in the USA Vans features the oh-so popular skull and crossbones motif. You couldn’t move in 1988 without seeing this graphic on shoes, shorts, clamdiggers, fanny packs, caps etc. Seriously though, if you skated in the 80s this graphic will be an instant time machine back to a simpler time of big decks and simple fun. So if you have an old pair of Vans, don’t throw them out, put them up for auction and earn $129!

Starting off the Bargains section we have this Allan Losi Skates (ALS) “No Skate Talk” team model from 1988. It’s got some storage marks but is NOS, never setup or skated. I’ve only ever seen this deck in red dip, but the color of the skater and type can change. It’s a stereotypical 80s graphic, but that’s not a bad thing for lots of us here, especially for the very cheap price of $74.

So I had a Walker Reggie Barnes street model in the Bargains section last month, and this month it’s the turn of it’s little brother, the Reggie Barnes “Hieroglyphics” freestyle model. It’s been setup and used, but most of the wear is around the edges, and the graphic is mostly OK. The lavender dip colorway is exquisite, and the main part of the graphic has a blue to orange fade. It comes complete with Trackers and OJIIs, and a ridiculous Buckwheat sticker on the tail. It sold for $100.

So this deck is the G&S Street Chomp 2 from 1991. The graphic is interesting, with the skater figure being made up of different objects and shapes, and on the background of an ingredients label. That doesn’t attract me though. What made me feature this deck is the stunning flat-black dip. The deck is out of shrink but basically flawless, and is a fascinating piece of skate art. The colorway makes what could be a total mess of a graphic into something very collectible. $72.

So let’s stick with G&S, and look at this Neil Blender “Scorpion” from 1989. It’s used and abused, but the graphic is all there, and it would look good on any wall. It has enough wear to make it look interesting: it’s obviously been enjoyed through the years, and that counts for something. It’s complete with first gen black Thunders and Powell Rat Bones. It sold for $53.

But this complete on the other hand is in fantastic condition. It’s a Santa Cruz Claus Grabke “Holding Back Time” from 1988, complete with red Trackers. The deck is basically NOS, and the trucks and wheels look basically unused. The natural colorway is superb, and the reds, greens and yellows in the woodcut graphic really stand out. The red trucks even match the graphic. It’s a great looking complete and yet it only sold for $61. Now, there is something a little fishy about this one, because the seller appeared to have listed the same setup numerous times, but I can’t find hard evidence that it is a scam.

Now here’s another that should have gone far higher than it did. It’s a Vision “hippie stick” team deck from 1985. It’s in fine shape; some cracks and signs of wear, but overall the trippy hippie graphic is all there. Plus I really dig the colorway here. The predominantly green deck is set off by the yellows and oranges, and the blue type completes the look. Very nice indeed. Yes, it’s not the most desirable deck out there, but it certainly has its place, so $37 is absurdly low.

So here’s a Tracker GSD “eyeball” from 1986. It’s an unusual deck this. GSD is credited as being the first street pro, and the inventor of the boneless, but he became a pro just before the rise of the street ollie, so he was rapidly thrown into obscurity by the Gonz, Natas etc. His deck is an oddity too. It is small, bomb shaped, and has very little concave or tail. It’s still a pretty rare one though, so this highly stickered but not abused model should have fetched far more than the $92 that it did. Remove those stickers (given away at a Powell demo I’d guess?) and you’ll be left with a very nice looking GSD deck, which will confuse most folks, including most skaters.

And staying with the Tracker theme, we have this Tracker Lester Kasai “oak leaf” from 1986. The colorway isn’t the best, pink and blue on white being rather weak, but still, it’s an oak leaf and it looks to be in nice condition overall. Some nose and tail wear but the graphic itself is flawless. The deck does have some delam issues on the top side, but you won’t see those hanging on the wall. It sold for $87, which seems very reasonable to me, and it’s exactly the kind of deck that gives a collection some variety!

And finally this month, and sticking with the Tracker love, we have this set of four Tracker Man team decks from 1986. It’s an almost identical shape to the GSD eyeball deck, so I’m guessing that GSD wanted his shape changed after the first one, and they were stuck with a ton of blanks in that shapes, so they screened something generic on there instead. This set of four have all been set up and ridden, so all have some scratching and gouges, but aren’t bad overall. The blue and green are the best, but the two purple ones are in the best shape. You could have bought this set for $61, kept one and become the instant hero of your collecting friends by giving the others away and kick starting their collections. Yes, $61.

See ya next month.

-Neil

eBay Watch - June 2010: Posted 7-26-10 By House of Neil
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