My Rainbow Room/Color Cave: Update 03

Hey Color Kids.
I started working more on the "Color Cave" this weekend.
First thing I did was paint the shelves. That is going to take a while to finish that project. I live in Florida and it's summer. During the summer in Florida it rains nearly every day at 3 - 4pm. The humidity is so bad that it takes a long time for the paint to dry between coats.

Paint and rollers ready!

This is boarding...

I did buy some items in hopes that they would make the painting time better. They are little painters pyramids. You paint both sides of the boards and they hold them off the ground so they can dry underneath too. I didn't have enough for all my boards, so a lot of the boards only got painted on one side today. I'm hoping the rest of this weekend will be milder outside and I can paint the rest. I need to keep up the painting because the sap from the boards was starting to flow again...didn't know it would do that, so I'm hoping to get them all painted soon to stop that and continue putting my room together. All my collection is still boxed up until I do.

Until then though I am still prepping my collection for display once I can get the display finished. All of my dolls are loose, not boxed, etcetera. So I risk exposure to dust. Any collector knows you really want to keep dust away as much as possible so I hatched a plan. Display boxes!

Okay, so before you say "Hey, you can just buy clear cases to put your dolls in. Why 'make' one?" 
I know they make clear acrylic doll display cases. These cases cost a lot of money. Especially if you want to use them for multiple dolls.

For example:
you can buy a 9.5" x 5" x 13" to 9.5" x 5" x 19" case from $10 - $14 each. There are several different styles and thicknesses for many different prices. You would need to get those for each doll, which is over 13 if you get one for every color kid and dress-up doll. If that were the case it would be $130 - $182.

You can even get "multi doll" displays that cost hundreds. You can get large curio cabinets with mirrors and glass that can cost hundreds or even thousands.

Some collectors have dolls in boxes already, so I thought it would be neat to make doll boxes in the style of the old/classic/original boxes for my collection. That way if put next to an original box it would be the same size and still protect the doll from dust.
All this and I think I can make all my boxes by hand and the cost be under $10 a box.

Anyway, the box is a "Trapezoid" shape when together.

All the small dolls that were in boxes were in these same boxes. That's Rainbow Brite, the Color Kids, Murky Dismal and the Dress Up Dolls.

I do have a couple of doll boxes but they are in bad condition. I figured I could use the bad boxes to make templates to make my own boxes. I did search for companies to "Die Cut" them for me, but they wanted over $1000, and I seriously can't afford that. LOL

 I did a lot of trial and error over the last few years with this theory. I have been to many hobby stores searching for materials as close to the original doll box as possible. None of the hobby stores really had the right paper. I tried the Office Supply stores too, and they didn't have much either. I ordered board samples from companies, but the boards were too thick. Very much a "Goldilocks & the three bears" situation. "This is too big" or "Too Small" finally I found some that were nearly "Just right".

I will give the details to the "Box" construction in the next blog entry, once I have everything I need.

In the mean time I am still recording the Brite Cast episodes! We are currently up to Episode 4! Yay! And, we have a special "Mini cast" coming soon, so keep an eye out for it!

I hope to have more news for you soon, so until then!

Have a Rainbow Day!

My Rainbow Room/Color Cave: Update 02

Hey Rainbow Brite Fans

Here is what I have begun so far.

The "Color Cave" Doors

The inside of the doors.

The closet space is about 6 ft by 2 and 1/2 feet. It already had  a wire shelf and rod installed. I decided not to remove it as I can use the upper space for storage. The bottom space needed work. I decided I needed shelves about 6 inches deep and 2 feet wide. These type of board aren't available ready made, so I decided to make them. I bought 6 inch board and had the store cut them for me into 2 ft boards.

I decided on adjustable shelving so I bought 8 upright double track for brackets.

Here is a picture of the closet without the rail mounted.
It took me some trying to get good screws to mount them with. The first ones I bought were far too long. I decided to go with one about and inch and a half deep. I don't plan on these shelves holding anything but collectibles, not including books.
Each rail is about 2 feet separated so that the brackets can overlap some if I want to overlap them.

 Once mounted I made sure each was level with a leveler and tested the brackets.

The following is a photo of the brackets with the unpainted wooden shelves.

Here are the corners of each, which also have brackets and smaller shelves.

I haven't been able to paint the shelves yet because of the weather. It rains nearly everyday here, which would make the paint unable to dry. It will take several coats to make them like I want, so they are currently waiting.
I also found out I need more brackets then pictured because I have more closet to fill and shelves cut.

The current cost of the shelf is $168

$6 per track rack X 8 =$48
$3 per bracket X 24 = $72
$6 per board. (I get 3 shelves per board, 4 small boards) X 8 = $48

Not bad considering I get to customize the shelf system and move it around I would like.

I still have to buy more brackets and paint. I will cover the painting in the next update!

Until then, what do you think so far?

My Rainbow Room/Color Cave: Update 01

Hey Rainbow Brite Fans!
Life events have got me behind with updates yet again. However I think I may be to the point where I can tell you about one of them. I am designing my own "Rainbow Room/Color Cave"!

I have recently moved into a new home and in one of the rooms I am designing a display area JUST for my Rainbow Brite items!

Will I have all my items all over the room? 

No. One of the most sought after features of Rainbow Brite collectibles is the preservation of the colors themselves. I fear having all my collectibles out would drain them of their color! However the room has a closet that is flat against the wall and a few feet deep. This should be a great place for me to display my collection and still keep it safe from light!

Also, I'm a person of many interests. I have lots of things I collect. Rainbow Brite is the most, but other things I collect are video game systems. I own many vintage gaming systems, all original and in working order and a few select games for each.

Luckily I live with a man who shares my appreciation of my old systems, so I intend on sharing my space with him and our love for video games. Hopefully I can design a nice place where I can be nerdy, geeky, and live in harmony with all my nerdy-ness.

How do I plan on displaying my figures and still keeping them safe from light?

The closet has two folding doors. Inside the door I am hanging two black curtain panels designed to block light. When the closet is closed the curtains will be pulled to keep out to keep the light out. There is a large window right across from the closet too, and while it doesn't get direct light, it will keep the exposure to a minimum.

How do I plan to display my collection?

Oh, well that took a lot of thinking. I want to display everything, which is mostly dolls and books. Of the dolls I have so many different kinds, and those are different colors. The original dolls where primary rainbow colors, while the newer items are more pastel rainbow colors. I haven't decided how exactly I want to place them, but I do know I wanted options so I tried to think of a way to be able to customize my space so small, and use it to the most of my advantage.

I am custom cutting my own shelves at  a shallow depth with brackets I can adjust as I like. If done correctly I will line the inside of the closet with over 20 adjustable shelves, each 6 inches deep so I can utilize the most space and not crowd the shelves. I bought most of my equipment today, and hope to give you some small updates as I continue in case any one else wants to try their own.

The hardest part will be the painting. I bought real hard wood boards for the shelves. I am painting the shelves white, so they match the brackets and the walls in the room. (Yes, I'm keeping the walls white.) I'm allergic to wood, so I am painting each shelf a semi-gloss white so that should harden keeping most of the wood scent low. I was told the paint would be a faster solution then having to stain each board and then varnish it. The paint will do both. I'm also hoping the surface should clean easier too.

Anyway, I hope the decorating will go well, and hope to take pictures and keep you guys updated on the way.

In between this I am still recording Brite Cast episodes! You can expect some new "Mini" casts soon, as well more reviews!

Until then, Have a Rainbow Day!

Gimmie!

Hey Rainbow Brite Fans!
I got the "Bamboo" Tablet accessories I needed to start sketching again. yay!

Let's get digital....drawing, that is.

Also, this week Hallmark released photos of the new Rainbow Brite Christmas ornament they will be selling. The ornament is due out in July and will be $14.95 each. I am wanting this so badly! *Grabby hands* gimmie gimmie!

Is there anything you are looking forward to? Character sketch you would like to see? Let us know!

Until later!
Have a Rainbow Day!

Yay for updates and art!

Hey Color Kids,
The second episode of the Brite Cast was posted this week. I hope you all are enjoying it. In the meantime I am trying to complete some life milestones. I am still in the process of moving, so things are still slow. However we don't want your waiting to be for naught. In addition to the Brite Cast episode 2 we also posted a NEW press kit to the Rainbow Brite archive.

This press kit is from the FIRST TV specials and features information about Peril in the Pits and the Mighty Monstromurk Menace! Enjoy!

We are still updating Wiki*Brite with new information as well that we discovered from our library research.

Sadly I seem to have miss placed by tablet pen while packing and I need to get some new character drawings done. I've ordered a new pen just in case, which should be delivered in a few days and then perhaps I can work on some more sketches. I hope you like the drawings I've done so far for the site. Here are some samples of what I have done:

Wizard from "Murky's Comet"

The King of Shadows from Beginning of Rainbow Land

Fun fact: The Wizard in Murky's Comet looks like Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice, am I right?!

Don't forget to tune in to Brite Cast, and if there are any thing you would like to share or anything you think would make the website fun, please feel free to contact me. Leave me a comment here or use the comment page on the website!
Take care and Have a Rainbow Day!!!

Rainbow Research Advice 101: The Library

Hey Color Kids!
When I decided to help with the Rainbow Brite website, I knew that what I wanted was the find out all the Rainbow Brite mysteries and create a reliable source of information fans could depend on. From writing to individuals involved with tiny details about the products, the television show and more I knew it would be worth it to uncover and find new rainbows to share with others.

The websites most recent acquisition of information has uncovered so many  new rainbows we are in a virtual color cave of color crystals about the burst! But if you are going to create a website about a subject it DOES take a lot of work. But in the end it is worth it for everyone who is helped or made happy by the information that is found.

I want to give anyone who is thinking about researching their own subjects a new resource they probably didn't know was there. This resource is the Library. At your own local library you can use their newspaper archive to find original advertisements and announcements to tons of 80's properties. However one library is very important and special. That would be the Margaret Herrick Library, which is a part of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. You  may have heard of them. They do the Oscars.

The Margaret Herrick Library is located in Beverly Hills, California and archives nearly anything in movies and tv. It was here we learned of the "Howard R Cohen Papers".  Howard R Cohen is the writer of many of the later Rainbow Brite specials, tv show and film. Many of his papers were given to the library and are in the "Special" Collections section of the library. Being part of the "Special" collections, we had to ask permission to review their resources. The notes from the collection included details such as dates and character descriptions and story outlines. We cannot reproduce the information exactly due to copyrights, but the information will be summarized,  listed and the source cited on articles where the information is used.

For example: Some of the information we uncovered was a cast list for one of the Rainbow Brite Episodes which uncovered the actress chosen to play Moonglow and Tickled Pink. This ended up being Rhonda Aldrich who played the Evil Princess in the feature film.

Your local library will have a section for their news papers on film. I recommend holiday papers (November/December) for those researching toys or other kids properties. For those who want to more in depth research in to film or TV Media please check out the Margaret Herrick Library. Please be sure to review their hours and on site rules when requesting or visiting to assure a pleasant and productive visit.

A special thanks to the Margaret Herrick Library and their wonderful staff for allowing us to research the Rainbow Brite information. The information disclosed in this article is part of the Howard R Cohen Papers Special Collection located at the Margaret Herrick Library.

Note: Special Collections access is given for research purposes only, copies of the information is not permitted for private collections. Full copies of scripts are not permitted due to copyrights and all of the information was researched from the above mentioned collection but was not quoted or copied directly from it.

Chasing Rainbows

Hey Color Kids,
I've had a few people ask how it is I got involved with RainbowBrite.Co.Uk since I'm not British. I hadn't realized I hadn't really spoken about it, so I thought I would now in case there were others who wanted to know.

It starts back to when I was like everyone else. I was a fan just on the Internet looking to find out as much as I could about Rainbow Brite. Back then I only knew what I had as a child and I didn't know the details. I discovered there was so much I didn't know about the stories and with every question I found an answer to I had even more. I used to even write Fan Fiction! But in my fiction my details were wrong.

I didn't think much of it at first. I had planned on making my own "Rainbow" themed site a long time ago but didn't. I gathered all my research and let it sit on old hard floppy discs for years.

I did get involved with the Rainbow Brite audio tape project a while back, voicing Twink Sprite, but didn't get involved beyond that since I moved and didn't have Internet from 2006 - 2008.

Then I got the urge to find the Rainbow again in 2008. I started to talk to old friends online and wanted to discuss Rainbow Brite, and decided if we were going to find out more about the brand we loved we should just do it ourselves.

We started with a basic layout and we each had different tasks. Some worked on the forums, others on website, and research. Over the years others have dropped out but of those of us who are around still, we try to keep things fun.

I took much of the website and research a little while back, being in the United States and having access to a lot of facts others didn't. That and I LOVE research. I love chasing rainbows and it seems that is all I do these days! Who voiced Twink on the records? Who voiced Tickled Pink and Moonglow in the show? What is the real spelling of Moonglow's and other character's names? When was Rainbow Brite a Special Guest on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Found all of that out and more.

It takes a lot of patience. Some letters I send out don't get replies for YEARS, but when they do, the site is the first to know! And when the site knows, that means YOU know!

For everyone who loves Rainbow Brite and finds the website, the Wiki, and videos fun...you are what make the job worth while. We don't get paid for what we do, and any donations we get go straight to research and facts for YOU!

We hope you enjoy and tune in for more! If  you have anything you would like to contribute, or are curious about just let us know! Send us your messages on the "contact" page of the website.

Until the next entry we hope you Have a Rainbow Day!