My road trips continued today with a trip to Toy-Exchange, a fantastic vintage shop in Mt. Airy, Maryland. I'd never been to this store before, but I promise you, after today's visit, I will be back.
The shop doesn't look all that exciting from the outside, but looks can be deceiving, now can't they? Walk through the glass door and you'll step back in awe as you take in...
EVERYTHING!
Seriously, this store is packed from floor to ceiling, and though it doesn't necessarily have something from every toy line out there, I dare say there's something for everyone. Take a tour around with me, won't you?
Tons of Hot Wheels, and toy cars in general. This entire wall from the front of the store all the way to the back, including the display cases were toy cars. You'll see more photos below.
The left wall on the front side of the store seemed to be dedicated to modern style figures, including an abundance of Power of the Force II carded figures. I didn't ask how much they were selling them for, but I would be surprised if it was more than $5.00 a figure.
Of course there was vintage Star Wars as well.
Transformers too...
This massive Godzilla stood watch atop the case to the vintage Star Wars figures.
Because I was bouncing all over the store in excitement, these photos aren't necessarily in any particular order...Sorry.
The G.I. Joe case was where I spent the majority of my time. Well, that and the two bins which the owner's son pulled out from behind the case for me to also dig through.
Of course any vintage toy store worth its salt has a USS Flagg which makes for a nice display piece, but rarely sells. Personally, I've never been a fan. Since its inception in the 80's it was never really a toy, but more so a status quo piece. My opinion on this hasn't changed. Most collectors who own one do so for the attention it garners.
I could easily buy one, I just don't want it. Nor would I know what to do with it when I got it. It takes up too much space. Glorified platform.
I could have easily put a dent in this case of Thundercats / He-Man figures if the Thundercats figures were complete that is. I saw plenty that were on my list of wants.
This case was a mash up of several toy lines; Super Powers, DC Super Heroes, The Real Ghostbusters, Megos and more.
The very far back of the store, on the left side, had all kinds of stuff, but mostly super hero related. I have to admit, that Mr. T doll was intriguing.
The back wall had a ton of prim-o vintage looking stuff. Not my cup of tea, but interesting nonetheless.
There was also a pretty nice collection of vintage 60's Joe's to be found.
The center shelves of the store didn't interest me all that much. A random mixture of current looking stuff mixed in with odds and ends vintage stuff.
Those DC Super Heroes begged me to come home, but at $20 to $30 for figures I would rip off the card, I opted to leave them there for now. I'll make them a point on my next visit to the store and make a bulk buy offer or them...If they're still there.
There were also several vintage Star Wars and G.I. Joe vehicles hanging from the ceiling. All of them for sale of course.
This is a big one on my list that I've been holding off on. A vintage Millennium Falcon.
Several video games from various consoles were also for sale.
The last bit of the store was dedicated to model cities and trains. There's plenty more photos below, but that about covers it for the store.
Isn't this a great store?
Naturally I wasn't walking out of here empty handed. Not by any means. As I said above, I spent quite a bit of time at the G.I. Joe counter. Though the store didn't have many Cobra's that I needed, they certainly had several Joe's which were on my list. As such, I took the opportunity to start my Joe collection, since I'm towards the tail end of my Cobra wants anyway (less than ten figures I'm still looking for).
No, don't panic, this figure didn't come likes this.
One of the things I've said in the past, and will continue to say into the future, is that it's imperative if you want to collect vintage toys that you verse yourself in repairing them. You'll find so many salvageable figures out there that can be restored to almost brand new condition just with a simple fix. G.I. Joe is no exception to this.
The o-rings are notorious for wearing out - Hey, that will happen over the course of thirty years. However, this doesn't make for a bad figure.
Simply pop it open and give it a brand new one.
Snap it all back together and reinsert that teeny tiny screw, and wallah!
Sci-Fi is ready to return to active duty, and probably in better condition than he's been in years.
I fleshed out my Joe team, which until this day only consisted of Duke, Commando (1983) and Snake-Eyes (1985), rather nicely with eight new members.
General Hawk, Torpedo, Doc, Junkyard and Mutt, Lifeline, Spirit and Freedom, Sci-Fi and Gung-Ho
Speaking of Cobra, I did manage to find and add one to my collection that I had been wanting - The Drednok, Buzzer!
About four or five of the G.I. Joe figures I bought ended up needing surgery. In fact, as I was packing up my med kit, I noticed out of the corner of my eye one which was still on the operating table.
How I forgot about him, I have no clue. However, a new o-ring, a snap back together and a tightening of the screw, and Bazooka was ready to join his team members...Making it effectively nine Joe figures I bought.
I'm a firm believer, for paint's sake, that those helmets simply can't stay on the heads. You're just asking to destroy the paint.
Joe's weren't the only thing I walked away with.
I spent a little time thumbing through the carded vintage DC stuff and pulled three figures I never expected to see, but definitely wanted to add to my Toy Biz Batman line.
Look at these three beautifully carded figures from the Batman Returns line...
...But I don't have any use for cardboard, so let's rip those suckers open!
I love those penguins. They're so cool! The Penguin himself...meh...This mold has been used to death, and quite honestly if it wasn't for the film, I wouldn't have even bothered. Catwoman on the other hand is awesome, but her whip is definitely fragile.
As I was walking up to the counter with my newly acquired Batman Returns figures I asked, "Do you have any Kenner Robocop? I'm looking for Robocop himself and ED-260.
Well, my mistake for not checking on the spot, but it appears this is actually the 1994 Toy Island version. Not a bad figure, but honestly not what I wanted. I guess I could pitch a fit that I asked the guy specifically for the Kenner version, but hey, the onus is on the buyer too to ensure you're getting what you asked for.
I do love all that fantastic detail in the gun, and the additional battle damaged pieces are so much fun. This is also the figure where I back peddle and say, "Sometimes it's okay to leave the helmet on."
This figure will honestly end up in my trade pile since it's not actually what I was looking for.
There you have it. That was my trip to Toy-Exchange. I'm very happy with what I found today, and will definitely be making a trip back in the near future. This may even become a place I stop at once a month.
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