All Toys Now for Adults Only

14 Responses to All Toys Now for Adults Only

1. Don Perkins says:

   December 24, 2013 at 3:10 PM

   Yea, every time I handle an otherwise perfectly good figure that has been broken or has a chewed rifle tip I know that some little punk has misplayed with it or, worse, had it in his mouth. So, I agree with the article. Ha Ha Ha! Even though I know the author was being facetious. But I can assure you, from kindergarten through 6th grade, I never once destroyed one of my beloved Marx toy soldiers by putting them in my mouth and chewing on them.

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   • Ed Borris says:

     December 24, 2013 at 9:38 PM

     So, you waited until you were in 7th grade to chew on them? Now that’s self controll.

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2. Don Perkins says:

   December 25, 2013 at 7:41 AM

   By 7th grade my thoughts had temporarily turned to other things. My mother had thrown out my plastic toy soldiers, and the golden age of Marx playsets was rapidly coming to an end. I still had fleeting interests in massed toy soldier armies, but I wasn’t tuned in to the world of plastic toy soldiers available at shows or yard sales, and it seemed as though the only things on the retail market in stores like Woolworth were the Airfix HO scale, which I did find interesting and bought several. The Sears catalog had become devoid of its playset section. And I really had no contact with anyone else who thought toy soldiers were neat.

   It seemed like I was the only one in the world who found toy soldiers interesting (I was now married and my interest in toy soldiers had returned). Only when I reached my 30s, and accidently encountered Stone Castle’s range of Marx reissues, as well as Bill Lango’s Toy Soldier Magazine, did I realize there were other people out there who were still interested in toy soldiers, and slowly but surely started involving myself in our now adult hobby. My first actual show was OTSN. All I got to that first time was the Sunday show itself, and I walked in at about 12:00 noon, not knowing all that I had missed. But I was amazed, fascinated, and absolutely lusting over all the lost treasures and the memories that came roaring back from my childhood. I had flown into Chicago that Sunday morning for a business trip that Monday morning, and wasn’t even staying at the Hyatt-Regency. That’s how out of the loop I was for that first show. I also didn’t bring enough cash, and in those days, they didn’t have ATMs all over the place. I was truly in a world of hurt, but was there bright and early (on Friday) the next year, and was now a registered guest at the Hyatt. They still didn’t have ATMs, but in lieu of that, if you were a guest, the hotel would cash a personal check for you if you underestimated how much money you needed for the show. Those were the glory years of the revitalized hobby, now for adults.

   Like Stad, I now see what has happened on ebay, and I too am a little surprised that the shows are even still as big as they are, and that so many dealers still haul in all their stuff from other states, hours away. Being in the Midwest, I really have appreciated that Bill Murray and John Stangel always come all the way out here from the east coast. But as many observers have pointed out, despite the ease of ordering through ebay, a big part of the fun at shows is seeing so much merchandise in one location, on one specific weekend, and running into all your friends and acquaintances from the hobby once again.

   Merry Christmas, Ed, and I expect I will see you in Indy in about three and a half months.

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   • Ed Borris says:

     December 25, 2013 at 9:30 AM

     God willing I will be there , I plan to anyway.

     I started to get back into the hobby in 1973 but then that stopped and I got into other things,m aybe not such good things, then although I always had an interest I didn’t get back into full siwng until 1999. Now I guess you could say I’m a regular at certain shows.

     Merry Christmas Don, all the best to you and yours.

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   • admin says:

     December 25, 2013 at 9:39 AM

     Don
     When you went to OTSN for the first time, you had what I call your magical moment. You remember how much you enjoy these figures or toys and you could enjoy them again. You found other people with similar interests and realize that you had you were not alone.
     I would say my first magical moment in United States was when I got to MFCA when it was in Chester. I only got less than an hour that time. The next year I was back with some friends. The second magical moment was Plastic Warrior Show when they were at museum. It was a great show and I made many new friends plus finally me Paul Morehead, who I had corresponded. The third magical moment was German Plastic Show run by my very good friend Peter Bergner. I was able to share that magical moment with Laurie.
     I hope to get to France and Spain for two more possible magical moments.

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3. Don Perkins says:

   December 26, 2013 at 1:25 PM

   Yes, at that first OTSN (somewhere between 1986 and 1988, I think), when I arrived from the airport at about 12:00 noon at the Hyatt, I was really excited about walking around what seemed like never-ending tables of toy soldiers. I was disappointed that around 2:00 PM, while I was still looking (and buying), some of the dealers were packing up their tables before the 3:00 closing time. Now that I’ve manned a few tables myself for an all-day show (starting at 7:00 AM for set-up), I’m much more sympathetic to the dealers that get tired of sitting at their tables just to accommodate a few people strolling around looking. When I’m playing the role of dealer, I’m usually ready to start shutting down by 1:00 pm, even though when I’ve stayed set up to the actual end of the show at 3:00 pm, I usually have a few more sales during the last hour. Usually, however, I find myself thinking, “Everybody who’s going to actually buy something has already bought it, and left.”

   At the last Michigan Show (July 2013) John Stangle (aka Marxman) mentioned to me that he always stays fully set up right to the very end of the show, because he says he always makes sales during the last hour, quite often from other dealers who have been thinking it over all day, but also from a few late arrivals who aren’t overly concerned about getting into the show in the first 5 minutes.

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4. Ed Borris says:

   December 26, 2013 at 2:29 PM

   You know I often wondered how much the location of your table has on the amount of sales. I figure that people that get in the ballroom at OTSN have the worst location because it’s the furthest from the entrance and I don’t think people take a lap and than decide what they are going to buy, I think they buy as soon as they see what they think they want, that may be different at OTSN than say Indy, because Indy is much smaller and it doesn’t take that long to take a lap.

   Stengel is right at least this last year, I had another dealer buy $400.00 worth of stuff from me as I was packing up.

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   • admin says:

     December 26, 2013 at 7:44 PM

     Ed
     When I go to a show, I will buy an item when I see it because if I wait until later chances it will be gone. If I have a question on an item I will wait until I have walked around. If it is there yet then I will make my decision.
     As to location at show unless you are stuck in a out of way place any place good. I always wonder about the people who had the lower floor location at OTSN if they felt it was good or bad.

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     • Ed Borris says:

       December 27, 2013 at 7:03 AM

       All the big hitters are on the lower level, or a least most of them, Eber, TSSD, Stengel, George Guerriero are all on the lower level. Hobby Bunker and the big metal dealers are on the main floor sort of in the hall in prominent spots. I figure I’m in the location that is the last one they get to on their stroll.

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5. Don Perkins says:

   December 27, 2013 at 8:34 AM

   I’ve learned through sad experience to buy an item that I badly want when I first see it, rather than to assume it will still be there after I’ve made the complete tour of tables, and then start returning to the ones I was really interested in. On the other hand, I always doubted how great it was for a dealer to be the very first table you hit when you walk into the hall. At that point, I don’t want to spend all my money at the very first table, because I’m thinking of all the rest of the tables which may have stuff I want even more.

   At OTSN, I tend to go first to that downstairs annex, because it’s a more manageable size before I tackle the huge main hall. I always feel I’ll get the downstairs annex out of the way and then go back up and enter the main hall. Once I enter the main hall, my personal habit is to turn left and start going through the circumference of the outer ring of tables until I complete the outer circle. Only then to I start going through the tables in the middle of the main hall.

   Last year, I was satisfied with my two days of room buying, and actually checked out Saturday afternoon with my roommate (Bill Skinner of Niles, Michigan), and didn’t stay for the show itself. The previous year, however, on Sunday morning I entered the main hall, did my normal left turn, went to the end of that wall and then made my first right turn. Within just a few tables my recollection is that I encountered Ed Borris at his own table. Basically, that meant Ed Borris was approximately the 10th – 15th dealer I encountered in the main hall, which actually seems like a pretty good position to be in. I actually think most people really do turn left upon entering halls, because it means you’re moving clockwise, and it gives you a logical plan of action to systematically get to every table without missing anyone. Of course, in the case of Ed Borris, I had already purchased what I wanted from him during the Friday and Saturday room trading, where I had hit his room 2 – 3 times.

   At Indy, upon entering the hall, I do the same initial left turn. Of course, Indy isn’t as expansive as OTSN. There’s just the one big rooml, without all the add-on segmented areas you find at OTSN. The Michigan shows are more on the order of Indy, although a little smaller, and without the Friday and Saturday room trading you find at Indy. Of course, the Michigan summer show organized by Joseph Saine has the great big toy soldier auction on the Saturday preceding the Sunday show. It’s always attended by many of the major dealers (both Hobby Bunker and Marxman are heavy bidders, along with a number of other well-known personalities). Their presence has never stopped me from getting the auction items I really want. I know they will always stop bidding when the price goes above what they can make money on. But for me (since I’m not planning on reselling my acquisitions in the immediate future), I can go safely past their last bid, and still get a good deal which would be less than what I would have to pay a dealer at the show.

   Of course the real secret of selling at the shows is to underprice the going rate. Everybody likes to feel they’re getting a bargain. Many of the show attendees are highly familiar with the going rates on various figures and sets, and only buy when they recognize a low price.

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6. Ed Borris says:

   December 27, 2013 at 9:43 AM

   You know actually the show itself is usually anti-climatic for me, because most of my sales come from the room trading period. I rarely if ever make any large sales to the general public during shows. I have never sold a playset to someone from the general public duirng the show other than 1 Gibbs Custer. Fortunately for me the two big shows I do have a room trading period.

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   • admin says:

     December 27, 2013 at 9:06 PM

     Ed
     I agree that the show is anti-climatic if you do the room trading. When I did the show as a dealer, what I sold on Sunday was extra. A few dealers were new so I found a few items for resell.

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7. Don Perkins says:

   December 27, 2013 at 2:19 PM

   For lack of a better place to post this, I notice that John Stengel’s popular Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show, which has been the object of a few complaints that the venue was a little too small to accommodate the crowds (and that the waiting list for dealer tables was getting too long — some dealers were unable to get tables) now has a new, more specious venue for April 2014 in the Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center, still in Gettysburg itself. I haven’t made it to this show yet, but every year I’m tempted.

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   • admin says:

     December 27, 2013 at 9:02 PM

     Don
     Glad to hear move the show has been moved. We did not like the old location as it was too cramped. I am not claustrophobic, but I felt uncomfortable for safety reasons. We may go in the new location.

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