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Antique Store Super Fun Run
By: Hoju Koolander
Lots of people have a happy place, mine just happens to be filled with decades old "junk" that brings out a flood of wonderful memories. Of course I'm talking about Antique Stores and I recently had a chance to make a Super Toy Run style dash through one while running errands. I can't wait to show you what I found.
Cabbage Patch Kids Novelty Phone
If you've read any of my past articles, you know I'm a sucker for character shaped novelty phones, but this is one of the weirdest. Let's think of the target audience for this thing at the time, young girls between the ages of 4 and 8, right? So the question is, what 8 year old has their own private phone line? Since the answer is not a single one, what parent would let this thing be prominently displayed on a the kitchen counter as the family phone? Still it's a beautiful likeness of the classic dolls that once had parents trampling each other at the local Toys R Us (R.I.P.) to win their children's affection.
New Kids On The Block Books
You're looking at 5 junior books featuring the New Kids On The Block and you want to know the crazy thing? There were 5 more I didn't take a picture of! None of them were doubles and it blew my mind. Having been caught up in the New Kids mania myself from 1989-1991 I knew there were thousands of pictures in Teen Beat or Bop that could fill a book, but these were filled with text! How many ways can you explain that they're all from Boston and Donny has a younger brother named Mark who thinks he's a rapper? I don't envy the authors who had to crank these things out, especially because they probably had 12 manuscripts being ignored in favor of telling 11 year old girls that Jordan likes Batman. Speaking of the Dark Knight...
Batman Play-Doh Set
This was the most amazing find of my trip, mainly because I had never considered that it even existed. As much as I was into the NKOTB in 1989, I was 10 times more invested in the mass merchandising of Tim Burton's Batman. I had action figures, die cast cars, even candy dispensers, but Play-Doh? Not even on my radar. Just look at that killer box design and tell me you're not ready to play. You can't! The back of the box is even more amazing!
With claims of molds that could create Batman with "batarang and Ninja Wheel" (huh?!), Joker with "hats and spraying orchid" and even Commissioner Gordon with...mustache, I guess, how could kids resist this thing? It even came with a Batmobile and "Joker Trike" which brings to mind play sessions involving a toddler Joker that crack me up. It's just a beautiful set I now really regret passing up.
Bootleg Hulk Hogan Puppet
The Hulkster is ready to punch your lights out in his iconic black turtleneck, so you better watch out, brother. Why did I even bother with this obviously non-licensed by the WWF item? Well, it reminded me of a trip my family took to Tijuana when I was 7 years old and seeing similar pop culture puppets on a vendor cart. Only the puppets I came across that day had the heads of Darth Vader and Superman wearing plaid. Wrestling fans know that two more appropriate subjects would have been Rowdy Roddy Piper and Mr. T from Wrestlemania 2.
Style Magic Barbie
I have always had a fascination with Barbie, especially since she has had more variants than a 90's Toy Biz Wolverine action figure and that's saying something! This particular doll has 2 amazing features. First of all, girls could remove her skirt and wear it as a scrunchie, which is hilarious. But Barbie was also rockin' WondraCurl hair that could actually hold up to any style your little sister inflicted on her. Imagine Barbie going from a Miss Yvonne style bouffant to a Madonna cone beehive (pointy metal cone bra not included).
Star Wars Return of the Jedi Mirr-A-Kits
I had zero idea what these bizarre Star Wars tie-in items were when I saw them on the shelf. At first glance I assumed they were decals you could put on the side mirrors of your car to make it look like an imperial speeder bike or AT-ST was always in hot pursuit of your Chevy Nova. But upon closer inspection the box says "Scale Model Kit" and further online research reveals that they are in fact one half of a model that you attach to a mirrored display base that creates the illusion of a full model. Weird, huh?
Nickelodeon Finders Keepers Board Game
Do you remember that weird phenomenon of the late 80s when board games were getting turned into TV game shows? Scrabble, Yahtzee and even Win, Lose or Draw, which was basically Pictionary all got beamed into our homes. But here's the reverse where Nickelodeon game show Finders Keepers got made into a board game.
Kind of odd since the appeal of the show was climbing through the rooms of a wacky house set and in this case you were supposed to be stationary inside your house to play a boring version at a card table. Still, the graphics on the box are so of the time with that bright orange Nickelodeon key. Plus that kid with his collared shirt under a sweater, how many classmates did you have rocking that look in 1987?
AT&T Mickey Mouse Novelty Phone
As my antique store fun run came to a close I did run into another item that I wish I had the disposable income to obtain. At $100 this still in box Mickey Mouse phone was a thing of beauty. What makes this model unique is that is has a phone cradle in the base, whereas Mickey's white gloved hand is the usual resting place for the receiver. Adding to the effectiveness of the packaging is the Epcot like grid lines behind the phone image, which make it feel like Mickey is inviting you to make a call at sunset for a night on the town with your favorite Disney characters. So fun!
Well, that's it for this round of Antique Store Finds, unless you want to dig through this bin of Masters of the Universe figures headed by Man-E-Faces and Scareglow. Now is he Skeletor's disembodied ghost or a ghost that works for Skeletor? That always confused me. See you next time!
Superman Posted on Apr 18, 2018 at 08:08 PM
I love that Mickey Mouse phone. It's something I would totally buy if I had the disposable income, too.
OldSchool80s Posted on Apr 16, 2018 at 01:45 AM
Always enjoy living vicariously through your Antique Store finds! Thanks for sharing.
Vaporman87 Posted on Mar 30, 2018 at 08:55 PM
Whoa. Those Mirra-Kits are wild. I've never heard of those. Seems like something that some company would try to cash in on in today's toy market.
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