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Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

November 8, 2011 By 6 Comments

The ToyMan Toy Show in St. Louis, Missouri

Guest post by Chris, from the stuffwelikecast.com.

I lived in a small town in Missouri for 33 years. I moved to Orlando a year ago with my lovely wife and have not missed living in the Midwest except of course my family and the ToyMan toy show, for which I have not yet found a local replacement.

toy man toy show - St. louis, Missouri

The ToyMan toy show has been around for 21 years and I have attended 18 of those years. What a show! I have made friends, enemies, hit the jackpot, and have been taken to the cleaners. Sounds like a trip to Vegas, right? Well if you have been collecting toys  for any amount of time, the two are very close in nature. You take a gamble at every table. Maybe they have just what you are looking for or they may have a table full of overpriced Hot Wheels.

Star Wars toys at the toy man toy show - St. louis, Missouri

One of my earliest memories of the toy show was in ‘92-‘93. Back then it was original Kenner or nothing when it came to Star Wars. My mom had taken me and we talked to a dealer who was willing to make us the deal of a lifetime- the complete 12-inch line of figures including hard to find IG-88 mint in box for $400. My young teenage mind was thinking about how to display them. My mom’s mind was spinning on how to pay for them. It was a great deal but we had to pass. Even though we passed on them it showed me the power of the show. You could find anything there; from the ‘30s to the present, all toys are well represented.  I once bought Star Wars wallpaper (yes, they made Star Wars wallpaper) and I bought 3 rolls of it at one show.

Wrestling toys at the toy man toy show - St. louis, Missouri

Later in life like, all collectors have to do from time to time, I set up and sold at the show. Some of the dealers and I would joke that they had sold me the item they were buying back. I would walk away a few boxes lighter and a few hundred richer. Even the slow shows were fun because grown adults that collect toys are fun to hang out with.

I planned my most recent trip back home to coincide with a toy show. It was great to talk to friends I had made over the years and look at all the fun items. Having only a small carry-on bag helped curb my toy buying. I did manage to find a small LEGO set for $5.

I hope the show stays around for another 21 years. I sure want to take my kids to them, even if we have to get on a plane to do so.

—

You can follow Chris on Twitter @drquest and also check out his website at stuffwelikecast.com . If you visit a toy show in your neck of the woods, or make an amazing pop culture find, drop me an email and I’d love to put up a post like this one!

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brian says

    November 8, 2011 at 5:01 pm

    This looks like a great show! I really wish they had something like this around here, but the closest one is a 3-hour drive. Thanks for the great article, Chris!

    Reply
    • Chris says

      November 8, 2011 at 5:06 pm

      Thank you for posting it. Yeah it is a rare show I would love to find one around Orlando but I have yet to find it.

      Reply
  2. jboypacman says

    November 8, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    I so want to go to this show because here in Michigan we have nothing like it at all sadly.

    Reply
  3. kngfu says

    November 9, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    The guys from the IT FIGURES podcast go to them and usually review them. Worth a listen.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      November 9, 2011 at 12:23 pm

      Thanks kngfu, I’ll give them a listen!

      Reply
  4. Sherri says

    October 6, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    Just curious a friend of mine has luke skywalkers mother in a barbie style doll anda yoda from the 80s what are they worth? Also just curious do you know anyone who is intersted in barbie dolls.

    Reply

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