Toy Bender

One of the few local events I look forward to in my adopted Northern California home is theSan Jose toy show. It occurs twice a year and is a great place to find a lot of toys that are hard to find or at a discount (and there’s no shipping costs involved). The event is also a comics and records show, but the main attraction is the many toy dealer booths.

While the event takes place in a fairgrounds that 1953 has forgotten, it’s not like it’s in an unsafe, just kind of ugly looking. It’s interesting to note that while we were there there was an announcement over the intercom saying that the city is putting it up to a vote to demolish the fairgrounds to make way for new development. Hopefully the event will find a new venue if it does get paved over, because the fairgrounds are a pretty big eyesore.

Anyway, I thought I’d share my purchases with you in two installments mostly because I know you have short attention spans and will be bored reading a giant list of things someone else bought. I also love to unreasonably stretch my updates. Yay!

Robocop Bubble Bath Container - $1.00

I’ve been on a bit of a Robocop kick after my latest article dealing with him, so this was an immediate must have. Sadly, this did not contain bubble bath, but the dollar purchase was well worth it in terms of kitschy value. It doesn’t hurt that it looks like an Academy Award either. Seriously though, how did an hard R rated icon get turned into a bubble bath? This is like having a Scarface electric toothbrush.

H.E.A.T. Viper - $5.00

The H.E.A.T. Viper (as ugly yellow as he is) is a neat looking figure. While there’s not a lot of older Joes I’m buying, the H.E.A.T. Viper was a good find because he has so many freaking parts that can be lost that it’s hard to find one that’s complete. The one I purchased at the show was missing one of his missiles and I think one more part, yet his joints were incredibly stiff. It wasn’t that bad of a purchase for the condition of the figure and the price.

Toxo-Viper: - $5.00

While not one of my most favorite Cobra figures of all time, the Toxo-Viper had a unique look and is a figure that stands out for me a bit more than others. This is due to the fact that when I wanted him my mother put him with a lay-away purchase at K-Mart (remember lay-away?), so I had to wait what seemed like an eternity to get my hands on him. Of course, I lost a couple of his parts through the years, so five bucks for a complete version with file card was pretty well worth it in my opinion.

Lord Dread - $4.00

I was one of the four kids that was obsessed with Captain Power and I amassed a nice selection of toys from the line. The only figure I’m really looking for is a mint on ultra mint card Soaron, but I won’t turn down the offer of getting a cheap figure or two that I don’t already own. The Lord Dread I picked up was on a pretty crappy card, but had a three dollar price tag. I hate opening toys that are more than three or four years old unless the packaging is in bad shape, so I figured I wouldn’t have much of a problem with this one. When I went to give the dealer the money, he looked pretty distraught saying that the items had come out of storage and the price tag was old. Being the nice guy that I am, I gave him four dollars instead of the higher amount he had waned to charge at that moment. I can honestly say it’s the only time a dealer has managed to squeeze more money out of me. At least it was only a buck.

*Thanks to me for the worst pictures ever. Thanks to the internet for the rest.