I love seeing craftsmen restore old stuff, it's relaxing!
Giving Old 'Toys' New Life!
Now, I'm being a bit facetious here as my channel selections here don't just include the restoration of vintage kid's toys, but also guns as well. So, I suppose you might say that they are 'big boy's toys'! 😏
Anyway, I find restorations absolutely fascinating, not just because of the technical expertise involved but also, in some cases because the basic operation - which demands a lot of concentration - is very relaxing. In fact, I have noticed that some restoration channels tag their projects as being 'AMSR' - which is something akin to audio sensory 'meditation', when the viewer or listener can experience of low level euphoria triggered by specific auditory or visual stimuli.
Interestingly, this sensation can be brought about by, among other things (quoting Wikipedia here):
- Listening to quiet, repetitive sounds resulting from someone engaging in a mundane task(s)...
- Watching somebody attentively execute a mundane task such as preparing food [or other activities]
I personally find these sort of detailed and focuses 'micro-activities' almost hypnotic in nature and can even nod off to sleep while watching them (especially if I turn off any narration and watch the activity while playing soft ambient music).
(For this, can I take the opportunity to recommend my favourite ambient music station, SOMA FM and in particular the 'Drone Zone' cast.)
1. Marty's Matchbox Makeovers
This was one of the first channels that got me into watching toy restoration. Matchbox toy vehicles are very close to my heart as when I was a boy, in the 1960s, these little die-cast models where a big part of my play time. I think it's because they were so affordable and if you couldn't get your parents to by you the bigger (and more costly) Dinky, Corgi or Britain's toys then Matchbox were for you.
2. Chip Channel Restorations
Moving onto something a bit bigger, Chip Channel covers the restoration of what I would call 'tin plate' toys. These are mostly vintage TONKA vehicles but also other makes from the 1940 to the 1960s.
What I like about the most about the Chip Channel is that there's no commentary at all, it's all visual demonstrations of the techniques with a small smattering of subtitles here and there. Thus, it pretty my ASMR gold!
One other thing I like is that whoever runs the Chip Channel is not short of a bob or two as he seems to have every conceivable specialist tool out there! There are some of the big tools that I hadn't even seen before...
3. Backyard Ballistics
Moving from toys to guns, this channel really goes in depth in it's techniques for getting old rusty lumps of metal back into working firearms.
I've was never a good student of science when at school, but I love some of the detailed demonstrations of how some of the damage and neglect on old weapons can be removed. I am often amazed that Backyard Ballistics manage to get some of their projects working again at all...
This isn't one of the worst subjects, but I loved the background story to these and they are STENs...
4. Junkyard Digs
Not military related - in fact, apart from the last channel, none of my restoration favourites are specifically military history channels - but I do love big 1970s American cars and enjoy watching with bated breath to see if this clever guy can actually get the darn things to run!
5. Jimmy's World
I only discovered this channel very recently and it's had me pretty much hooked. So, let's go BIG and see if Jimmy can get some of these vintage aircraft running again!
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