Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

Toys

Pinterest, this one’s for you!

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Okay, so I may not be very active on Pinterest — it’s probably been a couple of years since I pinned anything, but that’s about to change! After a slightly insulting Twitter exchange last week, I was told that Pinterest was where the action was, and I was crazy to ignore it.

Honestly, I like Pinterest. It’s a way to collect photos, and I’m all about collecting stuff, so maybe I should take it more seriously as a way to promote this site. So, I took some photos of the cave this morning and will pin these on my Pinterest page. I know Pinterest images show up all over my Google search results, but finding the source of the images is rarely an easy task, so I’m making sure to get the name and URL of the site out there, by plastering the images with some obnoxious branding.

Now, I just sit in my lawn chair and watch all that traffic roll by, right?

If you arrived at this page as a result of clicking through an image you saw on Pinterest, Welcome! If you like this sort of thing, that’s what Cool & Collected is all about. Pull up another lawn chair and stay awhile!

cool and collected vintage toy collection on display cool and collected vintage toy collection on display cool and collected vintage toy collection on display cool and collected vintage toy collection on display cool and collected vintage toy collection on display

Toy Show Report: Dave Hart Show in Timonium, MD

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The Washington, DC area is severely lacking in toy and collectible shows, so when the Timonium show takes place, it’s always worth considering. For whatever reason, this show is always around July 4 or Thanksgiving, which makes it hit or miss for me — family obligations tend to get in the way — but this past weekend was free and clear, and I made the trek up to northern Maryland.

There were 100 vendors selling everything from vintage tin toys to modern action figures. There weren’t many items that made my draw drop, but there were plenty of filler items for toy collectors. There seemed to be a whole lot more G.I. joe toys this time around, and plenty of WWF and TMNT figures. Of course, I was looking for vintage super hero items, and found a few items, but not much was there to be found, which is typically the way it goes for me. Still, there’s no better way to spend a day than looking through booths full of vintage toys!

Here’s what I brought home with me from the show.

The first purchase I made was an unexpected carded GI Joe Stalker figure. I snagged the figure at the first table I visited as soon as the doors opened — this figure was priced really well and was not going to last long. Believe it or not, this is the first pre-1985 carded GI Joe figure I have bought since before 1985. I remember buying this exact figure off the rack in the PX on the military base where we were living at the time — this was one of the very first toys I ever remember buying off the shelf, and I loved this figure as a kid! That summer was followed by many more trips to the store, where my brother and I always got another figure or vehicle to add to our toy box.

I also picked up a few old magazines and a Flash Gordon movie book, along with a few more spacemen to add to the collection. The Batman Colorforms set only has a few of the pieces but the box is in okay shape and the folded brochure insert is in there, so it was worth the five bucks I dropped on it.

The Green Hornet board game was a fun find for me. It has a beater box, but it’s a game that I have never owned before. The game board and parts are in great shape, so now the hunt is on for a nice box. I love that art!

I’ve been hunting for old pinbacks and rings lately, so these three Batman flicker rings were a great find, along with the Superman Pep pin.

Overall, it was another great show, and hopefully, I’ll be free on Thanksgiving weekend for the next show!

Top 10 most expensive action figures recently sold on eBay

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Hasbro Jurassic Park Chaos Effect Pachycephalosaurus & Ajay

Okay, this auction has been deleted but it is still listed in the auction results. This Jurassic Park two-pack sold for an astounding $12,100.00 after 71 bids! Who can fill me in on the story behind this toy? I tried to find some more info to explain this out-of-this-world price, but came up empty.

WWE Jeff Hardy Elite collection Series 1 Mattel Legends

Here’s another figure to keep an eye out for — sold for $10,000.00 with Buy It Now. There are a few other samples of this figure up for sale on eBay, which makes you wonder just how rare these really are to find. From the auction listing: “Considered to be one of, if not the, rarest wrestling figure of all time, Hasbro’s Greg Valentine decked in “Rhythm and Blues” gear was first seen in a Toys’R’Us ad for the WWF Hasbro line in the March 1991 edition of WWF Magazine. The figure was never released, apparently because the Rhythm and Blues tag team of Honky Tonk Man and Greg “The Hammer” Valentine broke up just months before the ad went out. The Honky Tonk Man figure was eventually released, but Greg Valentine no longer had the same gimmick, so this particular version of his figure was scrapped. While various other unreleased wrestling figure prototypes spanning from LJN to the current Mattel line have eventually found their way into collectors’ collections, this figure never even made its existence known to the public outside of that 1991 ad, until recently when a single Greg Valentine “Rhythm and Blues” Hasbro prototype was put up for sale. Current WWE superstar, and wrestling memorabilia collector himself, Zack Ryder bid $12,000 for the figure, though the figure currently remains unsold with a $55,000 asking price.”

Transformers Takara Vintage VSX OP Megatron Giftset

Despite the fact that one side of this box was dented, this Transformers gift set netted an impressive $8,000.00.

 

heman indian leo fakerVintage He-Man & the Masters of the Universe Indian Leo Faker

This MOC Indian Leo Faker figure was a UK auction that sold for $7,507.56 — yes, every penny counts — remember that next time you place your high bid for an Indian Leo Faker!

boba fett kenner moc 21 back figureStar Wars Boba Fett Kenner 21 Back B AFA 85

Surprisingly, this is the first AFA graded action figure on the list. Boba Fett is always a strong seller, and this AFA 85 example sold for $6,900.00 after a spirited 20 bids.

vinyl cape jaws action figureStar Wars Vinyl Cape Jawa 12 Back AFA 80

This elusive vinyl cape Jawa had an AFA 80 grade and sold for $6,500.00. Star Wars collectors are always on the lookout for one of these little guys, and finding one the card is truly a rarity.

el imperio lando calrissian figurePBP/Poch Lando Calrissian “El Imperio Contraataca” 37 Back AFA 75

Once Star Wars collectors complete their U.S. collections, they seek out gems like this Spanish Lando Calrissian figure. Graded AFA 75, this figure brought in $5,300.00.

super amigos riddler figureSuper Powers / Super Amigos Pacipa Argentina Release The Riddler AFA 85

The Super Amigos Riddler figure is one of the rarest of all the Super Powers figures, and this AFA 85 example sold for a whopping $4,999.99.

stormtrooper salesman sample figureStormtrooper white figure stand salesman sample 12 A back AFA 75

This is an interesting figure in that it is a salesman’s sample. “The 12 A back figures with the white footer or figure stand underneath the figure’s feet inside the plastic bubble indicates this is an early Kenner salesman sample used to promote the line to toy stores.” This one sold for $4,850.00 after 26 bids.

transformers megatron g1 figure

Transformers Megatron G1

The first generation Megatron figure is a holy grail for any Transformers collector, and this boxed example sold for an impressive $4,171.23.

All of these items recently sold on eBay. Items purchased with “Best Offers” were not included in this list.

Some Eye-popping Results at Hakes Auction #220

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Some wallets were emptied at the recent Hake’s auction. Hake’s does a great job of only listing the rarest and the best pop culture collectibles, and the prices their auctions realize is a testament to that. Here are a few of the results that caught my eye.

This Adventures of Superman syndication promotional kit sold for $4,283.30, well over the $400-700 estimate. This was the first one of these kits that Hake’s has ever seen, so you know it’s a rare item!

Speaking of the Man of Steel, this 1967 Superman lunchbox with thermos soared to $2,596.00 — certainly better than the $1.99 price sticker still attached to the front!

Oh man, I spent hours staring at this one — a Justice League of America Wonder Woman board game still sealed. I honestly don’t know what the record is for the most expensive board game ever sold, but this one sold for $2,153.38. Worth. Every. Penny.

I go crazy for Crazy Foam, and this lot had bidders going crazy. You can typically find these cans individually for $30-50, which is why the ending bid of $475.46 was so surprising. Granted, these cans are in great condition, and it’s always nice when you can get all three at once, but wow, I’m glad I own a set!

Carded Secret Wars figures don’t typically break the bank, but this Brazilian Gulliver Spider-Man figure sure did, shattering the $400-700 estimate by raking in $2,950.00!

The original production art for the SilverHawks Rub ‘n Play kit sold for $1,835.55. This is surprising to me because it’s for the SilverHawks, a fairly short-lived 80’s property. True story: I once bought the similar art files for Hulk Rub n’ Play kit, clearly a more collectible character, on eBay uncontested for just $39.99. This SilverHawks auction is making my head hurt, knowing that I traded the Hulk art away last year because I could never figure out a good way to display it.

Here’s a great example of how crazy we collectors can be — this plastic Palmer King Kong with Fay Wray sold for $390.11. If it didn’t have the Fay Wray figure, it probably would go for $35. Yep, that 1.25″ piece of plastic crudely molded to look like a woman is worth hundreds of dollars to collectors. I have three of these Kongs in my collection, but I don’t think I’ll be adding a Fay Wray anytime soon.

Once you’ve collected all the action figures and vehicles, your interests move to the more esoteric items, and eventually to the items that were never even meant to be sold. This header card for Star Wars die cast metal toys is a great example. Not many of these things can possibly exist, which means big bucks for the collector — $1,534.00 in this case!

Once again, Hake’s put on an amazing show and delivered some rare and incredible items to us collectors, and also made some tidy sums for the consigners. One day, I hope to be on the side making the money!

Note: All of the prices shown on this page include the buyer’s premium.