TOY HUNTER Returns April 10th. SEASON TWO STARTS WITH A BANG!

[Den82]

I can see what a good job everyone is doing at keeping it real as possible. I mean, the Flagg always selling for $6,000 and GEE what a surprise! Right as the con was ending, somebody comes and forks over the cash! Just like the overpriced (oops, did I say that?) Tomahawk in the last episode. Which was pretty much the same as this one, only with a different premises and items.

[VintageMike]

Decent episode, I definitely remember the Hot Wheels center or something a lot like it. At least Mego is getting cameo love, this week it was mentioned and he definitely had one the 12 Wonder Woman line at this booth. The Droids Fett thing is insane. I guess if you a strictly a Fett collector, but there's a reason the Droids line didn't sell and those ugly cards didn't help matters.

[vulcan2074]

Great episode.
Sammy

[megoguy]

Really enjoyed last night's episode. LOVED that Hot Wheels Service Center, and normally i'm not a die-cast car fan at all. There were two toys that one of my childhood school classrooms had (that I didn't have at home) that I was obsessed with playing with. One was the service center (the cars rolling down the whole thing really was a crowd pleaser) and the other was the 1974 Playskool McDonalds playset. I've found i'm not the only one. It's very difficult to find complete but i got one without the figures and my wife was ecstatic, it was a favorite of hers also. Then...our daughter found it. She's 2 and has been obsessed with it ever since. I think it might be the little tray return that everyone likes so much? I can't believe there was a missed opportunity to talk about the Jetfire/Macross/Takara history though! I agree with everyone else, it needs to be an hour. Here's a question for you though Jordan: I grew up the son of a collectables dealer so I started working shows at the age of 10 (so i've seen a ton). How on Glob's green earth do you get that much inventory all the way out to the west coast etc. for cons without losing your shirt in costs? I've seen plenty of large setups but yours is gargantuan for a non-corporate type, do you truck it out? Get an employee to truck it out? Coastal inventory depots?? I'm very curious to hear how you tackle it since everyone does it differently.

[mightyquinn]

A friend of mine had one as a kid and it took up his whole floor! Only one I've ever seen. Wish we could have seen some more of his massive collection. Loved seeing the Tomlands in the case.

[B-Lister]

Some people spend YEARS trying to assemble a complete USS Flagg. It is a neat toy, and a total status symbol. I wanted one as a kid. Not so much now. For what it cost, I could've had a NES (Which I eventually got, and which brought me immense joy). And two games.

[monitor_ep]

I would have loved to seen the Flagg on tonights episode. That was a great find, and to think he had TWO of them! I would love to have seen more of his "museum".

[Iron Mego]

Good episode! Glad to get away from the "celebrity" clients for a bit.

[JWLJN]

Loved finally seeing the Flagg make it to the show! The one toy I was not allowed to have as a child. My parents said that I'd have to give up my bed. My answer of "OKAY!" didn't go over well.

-J\/\/

[Mr. Hollywood]

Jordan will you be making it out to mid ohio con this year?

[hollywoodheroes]

I loved Overhauling! I am a huge vintage car freak, and I still have people coming up to me asking if I'm Chip Foose!

In any event, Dave Hill was an interesting guy. He really did have the money to purchase the stuff, and it surprised me that he actually went for the GI Joe doll.

I think I heard later the producer saying that he really wanted it, because it would make a great story for his act and one-man show. ( Tax write off!)

Stay tuned for Wednesday where you will see more Mego, Tomland figures, and some more surprises as we head off to C2E2 in Chicago.

Jordan

[Saroyan]

It is a tv show. Producers tend to believe every "reality" show needs drama to keep it interesting- even if toy collectors don't.

Much like Pro-wrestling, not everything we see in a "reality" tv show is completely organic.

When Overhauling was on tv, I recalled reading that the cars may have been tv finished- but often times it was just barely and they certainly weren't without a lot of bugs to sort out before they were really complete and roadworthy.

[drquest]

That GiJoe was wearing about a $75 outfit, the actual French Resistance fighter came with many other parts that wasn't with that box. The big deal with that one was that piece of paper, and the box, which looked nice, but as a combination it's not worth that much. Now if this was a boxed Negro Adventurer with the Sears note, they can approach that money. The box is actually the same exact box, but the difference there is that there is a large sticker on the front that says Negro Adventurer. Sears actually substituted on the Negro Adventurer as well with the French sweater/pants/beret.

I found it odd that the buyer didn't even know what it was. He's buying Pee Wee Herman and Frogger stuff on minute then pays 10X that for something he's not familiar with, that seemed strange.

[ZMOQ]

Yeah, that was quite a bit of fascinating trivia about Sears GI Joe figure substitutions. I had no idea that sort of thing happened! And the value is not in the figure, or the box, but in the little sheet of paper explaining the reason for the switch! Just...wow! I kind of agree with Dave Hill (this week's celebrity on the show). In 1969, if a kid got a Fantastic Freefall box and then got a figure of a French dude in a beret, the kid would be disappointed and think "Mom and Dad don't LOVE me!"

Now here's the question... I was surprised to see that he was convinced to BUY the thing for $1,500. That's a lot of money for an obscure collectable. Based on the puzzled look in Hill's face, the significance and collectability of the figure was completely lost on him. He wanted toys that were out of box, and could be played with. He wasn't in the market for an ultra-scarce Gi Joe with rare paperwork.. A French resistance Fighter can be had (on ebay) for about $300. And the playability is the same. Besides, what good is a French Resistance Fighter without some Germans to knock out? $1,500 could buy a French Resistance Fighter and some Germans (vintage or no) and a Barbie Cafe set so he could re-enact some favorite scenes from "The Great Escape". That would actually be fun. A solo French fighter? Maybe not.

I really don't get it. It's pretty much selling a rare collectable item for a novice who just wants to have something to play with and have some fun. Sure he had the bucks, but I think there was an obvious mismatch between the product offered and the market for it.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Fun episode. Seeing Mile High Comics was a treat, as I've seen the comic ads for years and have ordered from their store from time to time.

The "fire sale" made me almost cry...especially those Super Powers figures. Those poor mangled cards!!! I think the figures were salvageable as loose mint however...of course they aren't quirky, so they didn't fit in with this episode's theme.

As far as what I'd like to see personally, some more prototypes or design concepts would be great. I really enjoy the history behind what got made and what did not, or how toys changed on their way from the drawing table to the store.

Chris