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| Playmaxx/ProYo Nucleus - Crow'd Fusion |
| Exhibit #3950 |
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| Type | Special Release |
| Shape | Concave )-( |
| Axle | Bearing |
| Finish | Anodized |
| Color | Red/Blue |
| Packaging | Poly Bagged with Card |
| Construction | Multi-piece aluminum |
| Response | Brake Pad |
| Gap | Fixed |
| Condition | Mint |
| Date | 2001 |
| Owner | Rick Brough |
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The Playmaxx Nucleus - Crow'd Fusion edition was a limited edition version of the Playmaxx Nucleus. The edition was made to pay homage to Matt Carter. Matt -- whose online screen name was Scarecrow -- was a yo-yo community influencer, and a player/artist in the late 90s and early twenty aughts. Matt designed side caps (aka pogs) for numerous editions of the Playmaxx Turbo Bumblebee and created artwork for the following laser-engraved wooden Tom Kuhn models:
• Celtic Rings Mandala
• Celtic Rings Mandala Concave
• Celtic Star Mandala
• Celtic Star Mandala Concave
• Quatle Mandala
• Quatle Mandala Concave
On the Crow'd Fusion, note the letters SC (ScareCrow) at the end of the laser engraved word Fusion.
Made from aluminum with a size A ball bearing axle and BPT (Brake Pad Technology). Came with extra strings, one extra set of BPT pads, and a yo-yo carrier. This model was released in 2001 shortly before (or about the same time) Duncan acquired Playmaxx sometime between May 2001 and May 2002. The exact number of Crow'd Fusions that were made is unknown. Depending on who you talk to or what you read on the Web or in this museum, the "guesstimates" vary widely, from 10 to 50 and everything in-between. Bottomline: no one really knows the final amount or can backup their claimed quantity with a verified, primary source (such as Playmaxx production records or the former owner of Playmaxx). Still, it is an interesting piece of Playmaxx history from their final days. Today, the model is quite hard to find, though not impossible.
Matt Carter described the release of the Cold Fusion Nucleus - Crow'd Fusion edition:
"Playmaxx finally decided to make a lightweight flywheel shaped aluminum yo-yo, after being constantly bugged by me and a few others. It started with the [Cold Fusion] Isotope-1. Shortly afterward, the design was refined into the [Cold Fusion] Isotope-2 and a heavier [Cold Fusion] Isotope D2O. They played well enough, but the gap was a bit thin for the progressive style of play at the time. [Playmaxx/]ProYo interestingly decided to manufacture the Isotope-2 and the D2O [that had] an odd antique brass anodizing. Then the final version, the Nucleus came out. It retained the light weight and flywheel shape, but had a wider string gap. The reason for the Crow'd Fusion version was pretty simple. I was one of the driving forces behind the design, and my stuff sold well on [David Hall's] Skilltoys.com. Mostly it was just marketing and economics, which trumped everything during the yo-yo boom.
If I remember correctly, Duncan may have signed the papers for the Playmaxx business already, when these yo-yos came out, but had not assumed control of inventory. All stuff designed after the signing was considered by Tom Van Dan Elzen [owner of Playmaxx] to be his own stuff, but sold under the ProYo name. Consequently, none of these designs made it over to Duncan, which is too bad. The Nucleus rocked. I could be wrong though [about the designs]. There was a lot of controversy and chest beating at this time, so it's tough to tell exactly what was going on."
Original retail price: $ US | |
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