The Return of The Village Gate Toy Show
It’s been just a little over 2 years since I (and many other collectors) have the had the pleasure of attending the famous Village Gate Toy Show here in Rochester, NY. But after some tragedy, trials and tribulations, it was finally time to head back, set up the tables, dig through those dusty bins and search for gold!
Sadly, this show would be the very first without the longtime promoter, Tom, who ran it for many many years and maintained the Yankee Clipper collectibles store. Tom had sadly passed away last December, the day before what would’ve been his first show in 2 years. He was a great guy who took care of all his customers and this show, which was handled by a new promoter, wasn’t the same without him. That said, it was a fun show and a great time had by all and I hope Tom is proud that his great legacy is living on.
If you’ve been following me long enough, you know that I’ve been a vendor since 2014. This was my first show strictly as a buyer since then. While I love the hustle and bustle of selling toys, it was nice to walk around with no real agenda (other than ya know…TOYS) and catching up with friends who I haven’t seen since the last toy show in 2019. That and I didn’t have to worry about lugging bins back and forth to my car. That’s a nice bonus!
The amount of vendors that were in attendance was pretty light compared to previous years and I think it was due to a lot of people not even knowing if it was taking place, but that didn’t stop me from hunting and hoping for gold. Lots of dusty bins and old stock that many had been probably sitting on for years and eager to get rid of. And I was more than happy to help them lighten the load! So enough with the buildup, let’s take a look at what I grabbed today!
Wrestling Figures:
Compared to Star Wars, GI Joe and HeMan, the amount of wrestling figures is fairly light so it’s always good to score some good figures (despite Brodus Clay and Austin Aries being included) at a decent deal. The guy who sold these to me knew nothing about wrestling and tried to sell me a busted up Kane figure by insisting it was Sting. Bless his heart. He tried.
GI Joe FileCards:
Croc Master and Raptor were two of the WEIRDEST characters ever created for the G.I. Joe line and that’s saying a lot consider they’d have weird worm-gods and giant bats later on. Thankfully, these filecards reflect that weirdness and just how crazy Hasbro was willing to get with the kind. Raptor is a former taxman and Croc Master just wrestling alligators. How those skills translate into being members of Cobra, I’ll never know but these file cards were a must own and will look great on display with the figures themselves on my shelf!
Mr. Freeze Primal Age:
DC’s Primal Age was Funko’s tribute Masters of the Universe line. Lots of fun figures obviously inspired by the 5.5 sword and sorcery lines of the 80s mixed with our favorite heroes and villains and even a BatCave playset! But of all the figures that stood out, the “ice mode” Mr Freeze is the most memorable and coolest figure. Yes pun intended. I’m being biased though. I love transparent action figures. They just look so great and this guy will look fantastic on the shelf next to Skeletor, Hordak and Thrashor!
American Gladiators Lunchbox and Figure:
I will never turn down AG merchandise. I’m a diehard Gladiators fanatic and finding old merch is always a big thrill. There’s not a lot of it out there, but when you do find it, it’s always a must buy. Now, I’m not as big on collecting lunchbox but this obviously caught my eye when I saw it. For 5 bucks too? Whew buddy. Sign me up. But when I opened it up…
Some Oreville-Ida stickers, directly from 1991!!! Orville Ida was the mascot from the Ore-Ida company around that time and…well, not gonna lie, I vaguely remember him and if a lazy Google search tells me anything, not many others remember him either. That said, I’m never turning down a lunchbox from that era with very clearly dated stickers all over it!
Super Mario Brothers party supplies and Ninja Turtles plate:
Vintage Nintendo memorabilia is not something I particularly wish to dive into it. Not out of lack of interest but mainly due to how expensive they usually are Nintendo collectors are crazy and will not hesitate to drop big bucks on old items but thankfully I didn’t have to spend too much on this nice lot! I thought was just buying a few Mario Brothers plates and napkins for display with my wife’s already amazing vintage Mario collection but…somehow a vintage Ninja Turtles plate also made it into the bag!!! This is amazing and somewhat emotional because I had a Ninja Turtles themed birthday party in 1991 and had these exact plates!!! A pleasant surprise for sure that immediately took me back 31 years to a much simpler time and a great birthday!
Demolition Smash Elite:
There’s always that one find during a toy show that blows you away. So while you’d think the lunchbox or the plates were my favorite from the show )and I’d normally agree with you) this was THE find, imo. A Mattel Demolition Smash figure can normally go for a LOT of money, due to being so in demand and produced so early in the Mattel-WWE relationship, so when I found him in a dusty 2 dollar bin, I nearly lost my mind. I was shocked beyond belief! And he’s in great shape too! Demolition has always been my favorite tag team of all time so there’s no way I could leave him behind!
It was a great show, a nice quiet way to get back to normal. Definitely a nice change of pace from my usual Sundays where I just lay on the couch watching old WWF PPV’s and doing laundry. The next show will be in December and I WILL be vending again! So stop by, talk toys and…well…hopefully buy some as well!
-Chad
