This past weekend I attended the Columbus Toy Show for the first time in my decade of living in Central Ohio.
Back in San Jose we had the Humdinger, which was an awesome toy show held at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. Well, it started off awesome…in the late 90s it started to go downhill a bit. But, heck, it was still a great venue to see a ton of vintage toys…even if you couldn’t afford to buy them.
Although I’ve been to a bunch of comic conventions in the past ten years, not to mention flea markets and garage sales, I hadn’t been to a good old fashioned toy show. So, I was excited to finally make my way downtown to the Veteran’s Memorial Building for this semi-annual event.
The Columbus Toy Show probably seemed like heaven to Star Wars and vintage GI Joe collectors. There was a ton of stuff from both lines, including a boxed USS Flagg!
The show wasn’t huge, and ultimately I didn’t buy a thing. I was mighty tempted by an SDCC Sgt Slaughter. But, I had promised myself to not spend more than the cash I brought…and he was more. I heard the nearby ATM calling to me, but I stayed strong. I hope Hasbro’s loose plans to reissue him in some form to retail next year come to fruition. Maybe with a new Warthog, perhaps? A collector can dream, can’t he?
The highlight of the show for me was seeing a few of the original Outer Space Men figures. They were missing their accessories, and were pretty beat up (as was the Sgt. Storm from the Major Matt Mason line) but still commanding a hefty price. I hadn’t seen these toys since I was very little, so it was exciting to me to see them again.
The next show is in April 2011, and I’m either going to attend or get a table myself and try and pare down the collection a bit. Either way, I’m planning on being there.
We haven’t had a toy show here in Rochester in the last 5 years or so. The last one was god awful, it was basically a big garage sale of used toys that were all beaten up, missing parts, and generally not of any interest to anyone.
They didn’t even have any dealers with tables, just some collectors that had gotten together to see who could dump more stuff on an unsuspecting crowd. Probably why it died.
Columbus ain’t that far of a drive for me, plus I still have friends in Cleveland, Dayton, and Cincinnati so maybe … possibly … I’ll join you in ’11
aw man… I always miss these shows!
Rats!
Remember April..remember April…
Awesome. I miss little shows like this. They hardly ever exist in so cal because of Frank and Sons.
Thanks for the report!
Thanks for keepin’ the scene ALIIIIIVE!
Seriously, though, looks like a nice show. I don’t think i’ve ever seen any of the original Outer Space Men. Shame they were so dinged up.
Pittsburgh’s not a bad drive from where you’re at. Come check out the Steel City Con. They’ve started billing it as a “Pop Culture” show, but the focus is on toys. I believe the next one is in December, and I highly recommend it!
Thanks for the report Jeff! I used to go to local shows in RI every so often. I miss them. I plan on trying to get to a show this fall (Boston or NYC), but things have not come together yet.
I live 2 hours north of C-bus and had no idea that this show was going on….. Is there a mailing list or something?
Yup! You can sign up here: http://www.ctspromotions.com/
Crap! I live about an hour and a half north of Columbus and totally forgot this show was going on. Man I would be kicking myself right now if not for the fact that I am a paraplegic. CRap on a stick!
The Pittsburgh show has improved greatly with the new location and new management- it had started to go down hill,
With my relocation– Pittsburg is out– however I think Columbus will now be on my radar.