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Monday, December 20, 2010

Damn You RARE COLECO TELSTAR COMBAT COMPLETE IN BOX

When I was a little kid - after my Mom and Dad got Pong for the family but before the old Atari 2600 - my little brother and I put in some serious time on an awesome little dedicated console by Coleco called the Telstar Combat!.  Does anyone else remember this thing?




This beauty of a system had two separate sets of dual grip tank controls that allowed one player to pilot a white tank and one to pilot a black tank. Every time you shot your opponent you got a point. Also, on at least one of the 4 switchable options there were mines strewn about and when the opposing tank ran over one of your mines you got points for his foolhardiness. It was a predecessor to the classic Atari 2600 title Combat - which remains one of my favorites for that system .

I found a tiny little video clip of the game on YouTube below:



Well every so often I check eBay for this long lost system of my youth in hopes of snagging it but in a few years I've only seen it come up once before for a broken one. Well today I FOUND IT!  And apparently I'm not the only middle-aged bastard with fond memories of this thing because with an hour left there are 11 bids and the cost is up to $410!  I'm nostalgic, but not THAT nostalgic.  It hurts not to bid too because it is complete with the box and manuals and everything - you can check out the auction HERE.  But $410?  C'mon man, my Mom said she paid like $15 for the thing way back when. Damn. Guess the search continues...

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23 comments:

  1. gnomeDecember 21, 2010 at 4:41 AM

    Ouch. Don't think I'll be bidding on it. Blasted dire straits.

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  2. MadPlanetDecember 21, 2010 at 10:10 AM

    Nor I. $400 is WAY more than I ever thought it would cost.

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  3. Fallguy40December 21, 2010 at 6:11 PM

    Especially considering your recent Commodore 64 buy for $12.

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  4. MadPlanetDecember 21, 2010 at 6:17 PM

    Good point. What kind of slap in the face would that be to my C64? I can't do it. I WON'T! Telstar Combat be damned! (Unless of course I find it for $15 at a garage sale at which point I will fall madly back in love with it).

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  5. PungentOnionDecember 22, 2010 at 6:55 AM

    This is a cool little system and I didn't know about it. I'm starting to really get into the early consoles that started the trends or established a new benchmark for gaming; this is one of them. But, I agree with the various "Damn", "Ouch", and "No WAY" comments; a bit too pricey to hold that memory in your hands. Sometimes the memory you hold in your head is better anyway!

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  6. MadPlanetDecember 22, 2010 at 10:50 AM

    Yep, definitely too pricey. I was semi-prepared to possibly approach the 1 Benjamin territory but would never consider 4.

    Glad to hear you are getting into exploring the old games that maybe you hadn't played or heard of. This one was basically a home version of the various Tank arcade games that were out in the mid-70's. Good stuff.

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  7. AnonymousApril 4, 2011 at 1:42 PM

    ..and here's another :)

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320679517720&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_500wt_1156

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  8. MadPlanetApril 4, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    hey - thanks a ton for the heads-up Anonymous! I'm going to keep an eye on that one to see if it stays in my price range.

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  9. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    And another...not a crazy priced one but not brand new. Are these really so hard to find?

    http://cgi.ebay.com/RARE-Telstar-Coleco-Combat-Game-Unit-Nice-Shape-/300544240226?pt=Video_Games_Games&hash=item45f9d52a62

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  10. MadPlanetApril 5, 2011 at 6:25 PM

    Well historically they have been - now they're coming out of the woodwork! I hope the glut on the market will serve to drop the prices a little - I see that one you (same anonymous I presume?) mentioned before is already up to $310 with 6 days left so I'm officially out of the running on that puppy. Too rich!

    I like the title description on this new one - "Nice Shape!" then below - unsure if it works, missing 2 of the 4 joystick handles, missing AC adapter. That's nice shape? I'm surprised he didn't say it was "Mint" - a word that has essentially lost all meaning on eBay.

    Apparently if I want to own a good working one of these again I am just going to have to be prepared to pony up 3 or 4 hundy - and I don't see that happening. sigh....

    On a different note Anonymous - can you find me a boxed copy of Space Taxi for the Commodore 64? Been looking for that for a long time too! :)

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  11. AnonymousApril 5, 2011 at 9:52 PM

    Odd that you would mention that because I do have a ton of C64/128 games. Sadly dont have that one.

    I wonder how those things are to fix. I would think the sticks might be hard to find but it does look good. I remember there is one that shoots and one that moves so I dont think the moving one would be that important to have the stick. Button missing for fire might be bad unless you can rig it.

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  12. MadPlanetApril 5, 2011 at 11:09 PM

    It's a good thought and I took another look and aside from the missing handles it DOES look to be in really good shape so if I was a little handier with electronics I would go for it. Unfortunately I've always been more of a software guy than a hardware guy.

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  13. thedevilyoudontJanuary 22, 2012 at 9:00 AM

    Hey man. just wondering if you ever got that telstar combat console? what condition where you looking for (would you take one that worked but looked a bit used?) drop me a line at chainbraeker@gmail.com I might have some nice classic stuff that may interest you :)

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  14. MadPlanetJanuary 22, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    Hi thedevilyoudont. Nope, I never did pick up a Telstar Combat. I am still interested and would take one that was a bit used, but I don't know if I'll ever get one because I'm looking for one at garage sale prices and I don't know if those are out there anymore. I might just shoot you an e-mail though. I do love the classic stuff! Thanks!

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  15. thedevilyoudontJanuary 22, 2012 at 11:58 PM

    ok I am going on a trip to Ontario soon (where the consoles are located) and bringing them back I'll send you a few pics when I get them here. (might be a month or so yet though) keep in touch

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  16. MadPlanetJanuary 23, 2012 at 1:52 AM

    cool - thanks!

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  17. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2012 at 4:45 PM

    Yes, I remember this game. I remember it being very engaging with good game play. One day my cousins came over to play it and broke it. A trace of resentment flickers to this day.

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  18. MadPlanetFebruary 7, 2012 at 5:08 PM

    Dang clumsy-thumbed cousins! My resentment would more than flicker - it would continue to rage inside me like an inferno!

    OK well maybe that's a bit strong, but I would definitely have been rather put off by the whole thing. And they could just forget about playing on the Atari!

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  19. AnonymousFebruary 7, 2012 at 8:25 PM

    Thanks again for posting the images of the box and the short video clip. It matches my faded recollections. By the way, my friend has started a nice blog on retro games...recommend linking with each other....
    http://powerpakblog.com/

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  20. MadPlanetFebruary 7, 2012 at 9:19 PM

    My pleasure Anonymous. Thanks for taking the time to leave the comments and for the link to your friend's blog - I'll check it out.

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  21. UnknownOctober 18, 2012 at 4:33 PM

    I played this game at my Grand dads back in 1980 or so... what fond memories!!!

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  22. MadPlanetOctober 22, 2012 at 12:01 AM

    Yep fond memories here as well. Thanks for commenting Jay in Flames.

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  23. DHroxMay 30, 2013 at 9:39 PM

    If anyone is still hunting for this magical piece of awesomeness, I have one complete in box that I'm looking to part with. I'll send pics upon request. I also need to test it and make sure it's still up and running. Shoot me a message at hlee1213umd@gmail.com if you want. Thanks!

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