I couldn't wait for the first Toy Fest back in early April. I saved for months, selling stuff on eBay so I'd have extra cash for the show. Then, herniated disc, couldn't walk or even sit for months, which meant the two and a half hour trip down to Portland wasn't happening. We tried anyway, my wife was willing to drive but I couldn't sit in the car for more than ten minutes. So I missed out on the toy show. It was such a success, they immediately announced a second one for November. And I was finally able to go.
Jaime left work early and we headed down in the pouring rain, stressful drive but it was supposed to clear up before our trip back. Got some Arby's, all the ones in northern Maine closed a few years ago so any chance we get, we eat some Arby's. Stopped at Mardens but didn't get anything, they did have that dope Transformers Generations Trypticon though for $60 and some TMNT Out Of The Shadows figures. Hit up Red Robin for lunch, another place we don't have up here so we go whenever we get the chance. Then it was on to the mall for the toy show.
Honestly, I wasn't that impressed. Between the two center courts, there were really only two good toy dealers, Mann-Lee Toys and Maine Vintage Toys. Most of the others were comics, video games, a sports dealer, and couple randoms who had some McDonalds toys and overpriced modern junk. Lots of Star Wars, MOTU, GI Joe, WWF Hasbros, TMNT, bunch of stuff I love, but also own already. I expected a lot more toy dealers but it's still cool to have that much vintage goodness in one place. Sounds like it was super busy in the morning, should have gone first thing I guess, probably missed out on some good stuff.
I did manage to pick up a few items I was looking for, both from the show and from a couple stores in the mall. I was just there earlier in the week and picked up the MOTU Super 7 retro figures, so I wasn't planning on going to Newbury Comics. But, then I remembered the new Masters Of The Multiverse comic came out on Wednesday so I checked to see if they happened to have the variant cover with Skeletor, knowing they wouldn't but it was worth a shot. And they did!
I couldn't be so near MOTU figures and not look at them so I went back by that section, such a thing of beauty. I wanted to look at He-Ro because someone was selling him at the show for $55 and I just wanted to see him, and drool a little, not wanting to spend the $30 he retails at, let alone the $55 the dealers wanted for him. But to my surprise, he was down to $20, so I grabbed He-Ro for my collection, the figure that should have been but never was. His package is starting to peel open but I planned on opening him anyway so it's all good. And look at that, $35 cheaper.
At Go Calendars Toys & Games, they had the giant MOTU figures but no one I wanted in this set, if there was a Skeletor I woulda been all over it. But they did have a box of MOTU Loyal Subjects, only $12 a piece, which is less than most places, I think I paid $15 for the ones I got a year ago. I've been looking for the Sorceress ever since then, so I decided to pop open the mystery boxes in search of her and what do you know, first one I opened. Sweet! My god is she sexy, love the Sorceress. (A couple days later I swung through the electronics sections of Walmart and noticed they had MOTU Loyal Subjects too, they also had a Sorceress, $10, dammit.)
From the actual toy show, I picked up Gripper from the Rambo figure line, made by Coleco in 1986. I had him as a kid but got rid of him during the poor college years. He had been a hand me down from my cousins, I never actually watched the cartoon but I always loved the commercials for the those toys. I've been wanting him back, along with the few other Rambo figures I had, but Gripper was always my favorite. He was $3, no accessories, which is fine by me, I actually still have some of his guns.
Speaking of hand me downs from my cousins, I also got their Star Wars collection when they were too old for them, I still remember that day. Hold on, let me daydream for a minute here... Okay I'm back. I recently went through my Star Wars figures to sell, only keeping my favorites characters. But there were a few that I didn't have as a kid always wanted, one being Obi Wan Kenobi. I picked him up for like $5, incomplete but I don't mind, he was one of the last figures I needed for my collection. As a kid, I pretended Anakin was Obi Wan, and now I finally have him. Yes, I still have my ghost of Anakin figure which I think was some sort of special mail in figure.
I also picked up Skulkur from the Conan line of the early 1990s. I didn't have this figure, or any of the Conan figures from that time period, but only because I never could found him as a kid. He just looked so cool, I had to have him, but never did. So he's been on my list for quite some time. He's missing the horns on his helmet but for something like $5, not a big deal, this is my first time ever even seeing the figure in person.
I grabbed a vintage TMNT Shredder without his cape for $3, but good condition with all of his spikes. I've regretted getting rid of my Turtles collection for years now, and the prices have only gone up since then. Shredder was always my favorite, and this figure was always my least favorite, that pose, my god. Why? But still, it's Shredder so I wants. I actually got him in the bag of figures that came with the Technodrome playset I found at Salvation Army back in January, still nutting over that one eleven months later, but he was quite beat up and missing most of his paint. He's missing his cape but I'll get that eventually, and also try to find a way to make him stand up.
In Maine you typically see the same figure lines over and over again, with very few exceptions. Today was one of those exceptions. I spotted a handful of Army Ants, another collection that I had as a kid and sold off during the poor college years, another big mistake. For $3 a piece, I only picked up one, one of my all time favorites, Stalker. He's missing his little handgun but I think mine was too. I'll probably only get a few more of these guys, just my favorites, but it's not often I find these little treasures in the wild.
While we're on the subject of reacquiring my old collections, there were a few Thundercats at the show. Unfortunately, I had most of them already, but I did pick up a Hachiman. He didn't have any of his weapons but it's cool because I actually still have his original helmet, must have found it in a random box after selling all my figures. I'll get his sword at some point, should've never gotten rid of my Thundercats, another collection that's only gone up in value.
One figure I did not have was the miniature Thundercats Slithe, and no, I'm not typing out the extra S's at the beginning of his name. Honestly, I didn't realize such a thing existed. For some reason, I don't recall the miniatures, despite the set being quite extensive, going so far as including the Cat's Lair and Mumm-Ra's Tomb. I've had the miniature Mumm-Ra in my collection since I was a kid but never knew where he came from, I just assumed he was from a gumball machine or something. It wasn't until getting back into action figures that I even realized these were a thing, and now I want them all.
Oh and as an added little bonus, I spotted a purple cape in the $3 bucket at Maine Vintage and he was kind enough to toss it into my purchase for free. It took me a little while to figure out who it belonged to, not Shredder, not New Adventures Skeletor, it's Lord Dread's cape from Captain Power. Yet another figure I sold off that I later regretted, stupid stupid stupid. I loved the Captain Power toys, I only had a few but they got a lot of use. A few years ago, at a flea market in CT, the woman who runs a toy booth had a little baggy of weapons and accessories she was getting rid of so I took it off her hands, not knowing what most of the pieces were but knowing they looked familiar. Turns out they were Captain Power. I now have all of Lord Dread's accessories, and no Lord Dread.
Overall, not a very impressive toy show, but I had a great time nonetheless. Picked up some more Arby's to take home with us, hit up Five Below and Goodwill but didn't find anything, and had a nice relaxing drive home with no rain. My new figures are watching over me from their current location on my coffee table beneath the Christmas tree. And it's only about four months until Toy Fest 3. Am I going back despite not finding much? You're damn right I am. Wooo, go toys!
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