In this episode of Toy Hunter, Jordan Hembrough is looking for toy gold in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. His first stop is at Christine’s house which is filled (and I do mean FILLED) with toys and collectibles that she and her husband have bought at yard sales. There’s old mixed with new and it would take months to dig through everything, and Jordan finds a set of vintage Battlestar Galactica collector glasses for $18. He also finds some cool Marx Universal Monsters figures and buys them for $8 each.
Christine’s husband, Rennie, enters the scene, looking like the long lost ZZ-Top member–and he has a twin brother too! He takes Jordan upstairs where Jordan finds an Electronic Detective game by Ideal with Get Smart’s Don Adams on the cover. Jordan explains that items with celebrities on them are always collectible. While this might be obvious to many of us, I enjoy these little tidbits of information. He buys the game for $20.
After more digging, Jordan finds a box of old Transformers, which includes a small Bumblebee figure that he doesn’t recognize. He thinks it might be a prototype. The Twitterverse absolutely lit up at this moment, with countless people yelling “It’s Cliffjumper!” thinking Jordan should know better. I have two theories on this: 1. Jordan knew exactly what it was but needed to ramp up some drama, or 2. He really didn’t know–and if he didn’t, so what! I know NOTHING about Transformers and even less about most other things. Just because you’re a toy collector or dealer doesn’t mean you have to know everything about every toy line that ever existed. Personally, I didn’t know what the figure was, and I enjoyed the little mystery.
Jordan’s next stop is a consignment store called “Flat Creek Pickers” which is owned by Marne. There are no toys in sight until Marne shows Jordan the back room, and even then it’s not too exciting–lots of Barbies and recent toys. There’s a Howdy Doody doll in excellent condition which Marne thinks is worth $100, but Jordan tellsher the truth of the matter is that there aren’t many collectors left out there, so he leaves it behind.
At this point in the show, Jordan does something that I love to do–he’s digging through boxes and boxes of junk toys. Amid all the Happy Meal toys, he unearths one of the coolest action figures ever made– a Lord of the Rings Knickerbocker Ringwraith! Marnie thinks $4 would be a fair price, but Jordan steps up, and gives her $40, so he can sleep that night without too much guilt.
Jordan heads down to Charlotte to meet Trenton, a collector with a baby on the way. Trenton needs to clear out some space and raise some diaper money. There are boxes of toys stacked to the ceiling, and one box holds a Blue Thunder helicopter which Jordan buys for $20.
After some more digging, Jordan strikes gold, literally–a Gold Rodimus Prime! This figure was a Lucky Draw figure from 2004 that was given away in contests. Trenton explains that it is extremely rare and wants $1,000 for it. Jordan can’t come close to that price but offers to broker it for a commission.
Jordan and his friend Rob Meyer visit Pete Sinclair, who has a HUGE collection of Transformers. Pete tells Jordan about the mystery Transformer he found in that north carolina attic. It’s a Bumblejumper and Pete buys it for $150. Then, Jordan shows him the gold lucky Draw figure and Pete informs Jordan that there are probably only 10-50 of those in existence and buys it on the spot for $1,050.
I particularly enjoyed this part of the show because it showed a true collector getting something new for his shelves. Rarely do we get to see a great toy collection on TV–usually we only get to see the hoarders–and seeing a museum-worthy collection is a nice treat.
Overall, another great episode of Toy Hunter, and I’m already looking forward to the next episode!
Jon says
August 17, 2012 at 8:05 pmThat Lord of the Rings toy is pretty cool. Never seen them before.
BTW, Jordan is growing on me a little bit. I didn’t like him at all at first. Maybe they did some market research to make him seem like less of a jerk. The way he offered her more for that LOTR figure illustrated this to me.
Anyway, I am excited about the next episode!
The Goodwill Geek says
August 18, 2012 at 3:26 pmI hate seeing people get fleeced. It was nice to see Jordan actually helping her price some of the items that would be going into the shop.
It’s weird that something like a Howdy Doody doll would bee “too old” to be collectible any more. It’s a weird idea that some antiques (toys, or anything else, really) might actually age to the point where no one wants them any more. You always just assume that this stuff will get more and more priceless with time.
The Goodwill Geek says
August 18, 2012 at 3:29 pmI also would have loved it if more time had been spent in that Transformer room. I am not an avid Transformer collector, but seeing the set-up was nice. At that point I turned to my wife and said “THAT is how my collection will look in my new cave. I will not turn into a hoarder.” She just smiled and nodded.
Brian says
August 18, 2012 at 9:39 pmHa! I’m with you. Seeing collections on shows like this is absolutely one of the high points for me.
Brian says
August 18, 2012 at 9:38 pmIt happens. The sweet spot for toy collecting is around 30 years, meaning items are the most collectible once they reach 30 years old, since that is when people want to recapture their youth and buy the toys the had (or never had) as kids. Think about the average age of Howdy Doody’s generation and it’s not too surprising that Jordan passed it by.
John says
August 19, 2012 at 8:34 pmLove this show. Those Battlestar Galctica promo glasses are awesome. I have quite a few promo glasses in my own collection. They remind so much of growing up in the 70’s and 80’s.
Brian says
August 20, 2012 at 2:42 pmEvery child of the 70’s and even the 80’s had promo glasses in the cupboard. I try not to collect them because I couldn’t bear to have them break! 😉
TOY HUNTER PRODUCER says
August 20, 2012 at 2:31 pmHi Guys,
I am one of the producers of Toy Hunter on the Travel Channel. We are currently casting for more collectors to be on the show. Let me know if you are interested?
Looking forward to hearing from all my TOY BOYS!!!..:-)
toyhunterscasting@sharpentertainment.com
Brian says
August 20, 2012 at 2:41 pmAwesome! I think a few folks who visit my site would have plenty of toys that Jordan could pick through. Thanks for letting us know!
John says
August 20, 2012 at 11:07 pmThanks for the heads up. I would be interested. I’ll definitely be dropping them a line.
Brian says
August 21, 2012 at 9:06 amIf you make it on the show John, I want the inside scoop! Good Luck! 🙂
John says
August 22, 2012 at 2:13 amOf course sir. You’ll get the exclusive. 😉
Jason says
August 20, 2012 at 3:56 pmLoving the show thus far! I just can’t believe Jordan didn’t know about Bumblejumper! As soon as I saw it, I was like, “Nice! Bumblejumper.” Maybe Transformers isn’t one of his top interests. While being on the show would be cool, I don’t think I have too much I’d be willing to part with, or much of anything that has hefty price tags(the stuff that has that value is not leaving my collection). 🙂
TOY HUNTER PRODUCER says
August 20, 2012 at 5:42 pmHi Jason,
That is perfectly okay! We want the viewers to see great items and if you don’t want to sell that is totally on you. We want the public to know that Jordan doesn’t always walk away with what he wants. That’s the realness of the show we want to portray …..some collectors will sale and some will not.
Can you send me your email address so we can chat some more. I would love to hear about your collection!
Email me at natalya@sharpentertainment.com
Nicole says
August 20, 2012 at 11:08 pmAt the end of this episode they show several toys/figures that were purchased during this trip. There is a figure that is wrapped up like a mummy, but his head is battered and bruised with one eye shut. I have been trying to identify this figure for a few months now and it’s making me nuts! I only have the head. ANYONE – PLEASE HELP – TELL ME WHO HE IS! Thanks in advance! : )
Brian says
August 21, 2012 at 9:05 amI’m not sure but it might have been an AHI Mummy. Here’s one on eBay:
bit.ly/MIZaDq
TOY HUNTER PRODUCER says
August 21, 2012 at 11:41 amIt’s a Universal Monsters Plastic Figures from the Lou Marx Corporation!
Thanks for watching guys! 🙂
Brian says
August 21, 2012 at 11:45 amThanks for letting us know!
Kyd says
August 22, 2012 at 11:41 amLove the show. Just started watching it. It’s great getting reminded I had some of these toys when I was little. I had the Ring Wraith and matching horse. I just hope I can find it all complete in the old toy boxes in the shed now.
Brian says
August 22, 2012 at 11:45 amI’ll be right over to help you dig. 😉
Luis says
August 26, 2012 at 9:09 pmi really want to know what other GI Joe Figures Trenton from Charlotte North Carolina had to sell.
Trenton says
September 4, 2012 at 12:41 pmHi there. I have 25th ann. 20th ann. some more AFA’s Chinese Joes, a 1984 Cobra Commander and a Snake Eyes that were both AFA’d. If there is something youa re looking for, drop me a line
Kal says
August 28, 2012 at 4:27 amI enjoy this show but Collection Intervention is better. It gives a totally different perspective on collecting and the woman who host the show is a collector herself so she knows what she is talking about. I live in Canada so when I see a table full of great toys at some yard sale, my heart starts to hurt. We have nothing like that up here. If you are lucky you find a nice piece at a garage sale but that is rare.
Brian says
August 28, 2012 at 9:31 amI enjoy watching both shows, but I’m probably more tuned in to what is sitting on the shelves and hiding in the boxes than the story being told about the collector or collection. I just like seeing all the stuff. 😉