2014 Urban Safari Hunting Hauls (Garage Sale, Thrift Stores, Craigs, Rummage...)

[Mr.Marion]

Surprisingly I haven't found anything in the wild this year. Went to an antique festival last weekend only mego there was one eagle force figure. I went to a comic con a few weeks ago and there was a few megos there but not for any less than what they are online. I'm amazed people can gems like a mint Thor or Aquaman in the wild. Probably at dirt cheap prices as well.

[RickD]

fun day today. Garage sales and antique malls

[apes3978]

@ 80stoyman: That KING KONG model is great...

[Rallygirl]

My sister took me out for a day of relaxing shopping after a very stressful few weeks. It was a good day for games at thrift shops!
In the Dark, Square Off, Tip Over, Angle Mania, Take 5, Hexed, Digits in a Box, Hot Wheels Speed Demon Game, A Mirrokal Puzzle, a nice little dice puzzle, and a wooden puzzle.
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She got an awesome jumpsuit for Halloween!
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[4NDR01D]

Thrift shops finds:
1982 Gi Joe Flash straight arm
1982(?) Pink demon from Blackstarr
Monster in my Pocket "series 3" Centaur Canadian exclusive Nabisco Shreddies premium.
Centaur toy marked Bado or Bapo?
Lucha Libre mask
Frankenstein mask
generic rubber monster mask

That was for $2.75

[Splitty]

Man, I've been neglecting this thread! Mostly because I didn't think anybody was reading it anymore.
I'm sure that's not true though.
Well, I read it anyway.

Here's Aug, then Sept and Oct (very small, too rainy!!).
I have one very specific amazing item to take a pic of still, one that renews your hope in dusty ol' Craigs List!... but the floor where it goes still isn't clean yet.


Prices are in the pics links. I'm lazy.

[nazgul]

Cool stuff...I especially like the 2 Creatures of Delight...they are pretty tough to find

[SentientApe]

Catching up on unfinished 2014 finds...

If you have been keeping track, you will know that the first weekend in August brings: the Kane County Flea Market.

Of particular relevance to this group... I acquired a Mego Lizard, a naked Mego Batman whose body bears the scars of a vicious dog attack, a Lion Rock U-Boat Commander, and a Mego Tarzan. After posting a photo on Facebook, my wife made a "Y.M.C.A." reference, so I naturally has to re-pose them for a follow-up photo --



Additional treasures included some more miniature POTUS figures for my growing collection...



... A high-quality Jaw Harp (the one muical instrument I have truly mastered)...



...And a Watney's Red Barrel beer tap pull --



I also picked up an antique wooden needle container --



And several Rankin-Bass "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" action figures --

[PHOTO TO BE POSTED]

[SentientApe]

The nearby "Reed's General Auctions" are always a great time, and my wife and I always make every effort to attend. The second Saturday of August was another of these entertaining evenings, filled with great values -- a majority of the items we picked up were $5 or less...

I acquired a flat of MAD pulp books --



Two out of a choice of three toy trunks/chests (not the ammo crate) --



My wife picked up an extremely interesting lot of paper dolls, most of which are suitable for framing --



I acquired an old Bullfrog model. I built this model once before (a very long time ago!) and look forward to making it again --





Two Kraft Cheese boxes from this photo of the choice lot --



A Buddy-L truck --



A Tonka Crane at the incredible price of only $5, because no one else would bid on the choice lot --



...and don't ask me why, but I simply could not pass up a Donald Trump talking action figure --



Additional items we won, which I seem to not have taken photos, include a set of drafting tools, a pair of Red Glass Canisters, a small glass terrarium, a decorative ceramic Santa boot, and a WWII-dated men's magazine.

[SentientApe]

Further in August 2014, we did a two-fer in one day, starting with the gigantic Elkhorn Flea Market, and afterwards hitting a second nearby antique store.

At Elkhorn, I picked up several loose coins, including: 1939 France 2 francs, 1984 Australia $1, 1985 Soviet Union 5 kopecks, and a 2006 Canada commemorative breast cancer awareness 25c piece, which I didn't even know existed.



As far as 1:9 scale ("Mego-sized') items, I also picked up a total of five Breyer horses and a single Breyer girl figure. I also grabbed a loose 1982 Knickerbocker Little Orphan Annie figure and a loose Charlie's Angels Sabrina (Kate Jackson was always my favorite!). My limited funds made me pass on another loose Kate Jackson, and a Farrah, as well as a MOC Kate Jackson.

There was no lack of "Traditional" (1:9 scale) Breyer horses at this flea market, and I previously posted a photo elsewhere in the Mego Museum Forum about this --



I picked up a Pogo Possum figure as well as a 1955 Popeye Wonder Book, both of which were intended for upcoming Christmas presents, and neither of which I seem to have photographed.

The big scores of the day, however, have to be my acquisition of a boxed Planet of the Apes Catapult ...



... and a Fantastic Four lunchbox --



The lunchbox somehow enhanced my lunch of a flea market cheeseburger --



The later antique store had behind the front counter three separate 1:9 scale Harley Davidson motorcycles, each priced at $10. However, they were already held for another customer and not available for purchase. So I got nothing, other than frustration.

[SentientApe]

Half-way through August 2014 was DuPage County's semi-annual All-Night Flea Market. This event starts at 4 PM on Friday afternoon, and goes until 4 AM Saturday morning. I don't know whose brainchild was this concept, but the event is extremely popular, draws tremendous crowds, features several pop culture celebrities, and is filled with amazing bargains. Flashlights are essential.

This time, my wife and I drove separately, because I got myself free admission by volunteering to stay until the end ... More about that at the end of this post.

I may as well start with the Mego / Mego-like action figures... I picked up a Voice Raiders Talking Pirates Evil Eye McGrub, and Bif Bang Pow Dean Venture, along with several Mego figures: Batman, Mr. Mxyxptlk, Leonard McCoy, an extremely damaged Montgomery Scott (that's what he gets for wearing a red shirt), what I can only assume is Captain James T. Marvel(?) and a heavily stained Doctor Zaius. Damage and stains aside, when someone asks only $15 for four Mego figures, YOU SAY 'YES'.



I also found a couple Prometheus action figures, which my son later received as a birthday present...



...And some Disneykins. I had a whole set of these when I was a kid, and swore I'd never bother trying to try to collect them again, but the price was right...



However, the biggest score of the evening would have to be an Airfix Space:1999 Eagle Transporter plastic model kit --



The reason I got in for free was to volunteer my time covering a shift in support of celebrity guest Ernie Hudson, along with several of my Ghostbuster colleagues. After my wife went home, I spent the remainder of the night hanging out with other nerds, and chatting up Ernie Hudson -- not a bad way to spend the night.

[SentientApe]

Continuing with August, my next event was another of those weekly Wednesday evening auctions... except this one was actually a MONDAY auction, which they sometimes hold when they are overwhelmed with more merchandise than they can typically move on a Wednesday night. This proved a pretty good haul for me, as I was preparing to set up a vendor's table at an upcoming comic book / pop culture convention, where I ended up unloading many of these items for profit.

While many of these items were part of larger lots, I later spread out most items for photos. So, most of what I picked up were: larger sci-fi ships...



...smaller sci-fi ships...



...one of which is a Corgi Klingon Cruiser; the blister was barely attached to the card, allowing extraction of the toy, but it is what it is.



I also picked up more Trek collectibles (or disposables, depending on your point of view) --



However, with every auction lot, you often have to accept the random unwanted junk...



I was able to grab the best pick (IMHO) of the choice lot of framed items: Bob Kane artwork



I also picked up some random electronic items from a larger lot. There were only two of us bidding on this, and the high bidder wanted only the Louis Vitton purse. The video camera works, so, good deal --



I also won some random resin models; all I wanted were the 1:48 scale kits, so this was also a good buy --



I obtained some 1936 German Olympics cards...



...and some old (as yet undated) German automobile cards --



I also got a large collection of WWII coins; mostly zinc German Reichspfennigs (91 x 10₰, 2 x 1₰), but there are a couple French (1942 20+50 centimes) and one from Belgium (1941 5 francs). There's also a 1932 Canadian (copper) one cent piece in there.



...and French paper currency...



...some German paper currency...



...And more paper currency from Belgium, Japan, Netherlands and England. Also a curious wartime French card and an undated train ticket...



...as well as WWII Allied currency from Occupied Germany and France --



I went to this auction for the toys -- however, a bunch of other toy collectors/resellers showed up with larger wallets. A couple of items I won were this pair of Daisy rifles...



...as well as this full-scale knock-off Glamdring --



There were actually two other boxes (one filled with comic books; the other an old Star Trek board game) that I absent-mindedly left behind, and had to go back and pick up the following day. Oops!

[SentientApe]

So, if you have been following along, you know that I had just attended a Monday night auction, and the next regular Wednesday night event was only two days later. I had accidentally left behind a box of comic books from the Monday auction, so when I went to pick them up on Tuesday, I was able to peruse the items being laid out for the upcoming auction the very next evening. This marked my first trial at absentee bidding, where I left my high bid along with the specific lots in which I was interested.

There were three lots that caught my eye: a box of very interesting action figures, another box of random horses, and a box of random dolls, which included two Megos. These next three photos are from the online auction listing --







There was an interesting bidding strategy involved, and which I had not considered until after winning one of the lots. As I mentioned previously, this weekly auction has both "regular" bidding, followed by the "back wall" items, where the highest bidder gets their pick of what they want. In the case of absentee bidding, you want to leave your HIGHEST bid for the "regular items, as your bid will be recognized in increasing increments until you win, or until after attendees outbid you...

However, in the case of the "back wall" items, you instead want to lowball-bid, because the items are picked off starting from highest bid first. If you leave a bid of $20, then you automatically get the item (unless purchased at a higher price) when they reach the $20 level... even though you might have gotten it for $15, or even $10, had you been there in person.

As I said, I only won one of the lots -- the box I got consisted of random dolls, a couple Pez dispensers, several sealed wax packs of Topps 1988 Football cards, and very-used Mego figures of a battle-damaged Spock (with Thor pants and odd boots on a non-Star Trek T1 body) and a quite literally unarmed Penguin.

[SentientApe]

On August 29th, my wife and I decided to make a whole day of it. In the final assessment, it turns out we visited at least a dozen different stores. Admittedly, a couple of these were a restaurant and a Starbucks, but that's a lots to accomplish in one day when it isn't all within one mall.

We started the day in DeKalb, Illinois, where we had briefly visited a year before and where we had long meant to return. The main downtown streets were streets closed down for the local "Corn Festival," but that didn't slow us down.

Our first stop was "Antiques, Vintage Collectibles & Gifts". As the store was only just opening for the day, we encountered a very interesting collection of chatty locals who were all sharing gossip. The store had a very large collection of Breyer horses for sale --

[PHOTO TO BE POSTED -- IS ON PHONE]

My wife picked up a silver loving cup, and a few dollhouse items including three mini-baskets, a birdcage and a steamer trunk. I also picked up a tiny suitcase from the same collection, which is modeled here by Cornelius --



Our second stop was "Poppy Seed Primitives", where my wife got some bracelets and "fabric cats" (according to my notes). Hey -- I'm not taking photos of EVERYTHING.

Down the street was "Decades", where we didn't find anything interesting... until we were leaving. Walking past the cash register, I spotted a miniature Breyer Horse, which I figured was the perfect size for a different sort of "Mego-sized Breyer Horse". Naturally, I had to pick it up to post a photo in the "Mego-sized Horse" thread on this Forum. Again, Cornelius will model it for size --



Our next stop in DeKalb was a place called "My Favorite Things", a place we had visited that last time we were in town. This place was filled with antiques, and I ended up purchasing a Star Trek Viewmaster disc and a 1966 Jimmy Olson comic --



We also made a repeat visit to "Cracker Jax," which is literally filled with stuff. Seriously, the place is so jam-packed with items (jewelry, bling, novelties and kitsch) that it is difficult to pass someone in an aisle. My wife picked up a couple items as birthday presents, while I jumped on a couple partial cards of tiny buttons, which will go in my Mego Repair Box --



After a quick lunch in DeKalb, we moved on to nearby Creston where we stopped at "Roadhouse Antiques" where we had scored many treasures on our last visit. This time, my wife picked up several old pins and broaches, while I picked up three Mattel horses...



...a Wolverine action figure --



...an incredibly awesome DVD collection of old Popeye cartoons and commercials (intended and given away later as a Christmas present)...



...and what I consider to be my big score of the day: an old Talking Batman Alarm Clock --



Our next town was Sycamore, where we stopped at the aptly-named "Sycamore Antiques" which was run by a sweet elderly couple. My wife picked up a doll suitcase and another toy telephone for her collection, while I picked up a Frito Bandito Eraser, a Pogo button, and a Little Orphan Annie pin to add to my collection of decoders.



We made a few additional stops in Sycamore at stores that were still open before heading back home, but nothing particularly worth mentioning here.

[SentientApe]

Another Sunday, another day of antiquing and flea marketing...

On the last day of August, we hit the "Wolff's Flea Market" held in Allstate Arena. My acquisitions for the day were mostly action figures, including:

"The Tick" --



...another "Applause Rocketeer" (fodder for a custom Mego) and a curiously buff Frodo --



... three more copies of "Classics Illustrated" for my collection --



... a Star Wars Dewback and Bantha --

PHOTO TO BE POSTED

...and three Mego-Like Ghostbusters. (I recovered the cost of all three when I sold off Egon in November) --

PHOTO TO BE POSTED

A few miles away from Allstate Arena is another antique store, which was our next stop. While this place is always worth browsing, the only item I picked up was a Rankin Bass "Bumble" figure --



There was still time to drive out to Geneva and hit two antique stores before they closed. From one, all I picked up was an "I Go Pogo" book, which ended up being a Christmas present for a family member --