5 Antique Store Finds Part 2

By: Hoju Koolander

Here we are again, ready to wander the aisles of a massive Antique Mall in search of childhood treasures from decades gone by. Part 1 brought us everything from 80's lunchboxes, to Dick Tracy movie merchandise and California Raisins novelty banks, so let's see what's in store this time around.

WWF Action Figures

Though the giant rubber WWF "non-action" figures by LJN are the most fondly remembered by aging wrestling fans, these smaller scale toys from Hasbro were a nice continuation throughout the early 90's. What they lacked in size, they made up for in actual action moves (who can forget Ultimate Warrior's "Ultimate Slam"?). I had a Hulkster and Jake "The Snake" Roberts back in the day, but this collector obviously had a thing for tag teams. The Rockers, The Bushwackers and The Steiner Brothers are all represented, along with one half of Demolition and lonely Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. They all look to be in pretty good condition so $3.75 per figure is actually pretty good deal.

Novelty Phones

I have to admit that it took all my willpower not to send my wife over to the Calico Critters section while I secretly purchased that Mickey Mouse phone. If there is one item I simply must own at some point in my life, it's that piece of molded plastic. To my warped brain it is the ultimate 80's telecommunications device, just look at that rotary dial! The Superman and Batman themed phones are nothing to sneeze at either. It should be no surprise that I prefer the Batman '89 phone over the Batman Forever style (those fins look dangerous), but that Superman phone looks like something that definitely belonged in Jerry's apartment on Seinfeld.

McDonalds Signs

Have you ever wanted to re-live the fun of climbing on greasy playground equipment shaped like humanoid Burger Cops and Fry Guys right in your own backyard? Well this place made it possible with vintage signs from the McDonald's restaurant Playland of the late 70's. Nostalgia Traveler Dr. Timewarp himself had to rig-up a time machine to re-live the days before generic plastic tubes became the norm for the Playland experience in this article, but for a few hundred dollars, you can bring it home today. Of course any children in the house will be too afraid to go outside for fear of the "scary clown" staring them down, but at least you'll feel like a kid again.

Spider-Man Find-Ems

This one is kind of obscure, but Find-Em's were a toy that most likely found their way into your life via a distant Aunt or family friend who could barely remember your name, let a lone your interests and grabbed the first toy looking item at the local drug store before showing up for a random holiday visit. This 1992 contraption by Galoob was actually a cross between the Where's Waldo? book series and View-Master. This Spider-Man version is one of 3 super hero themed characters hunts which featured other "surprise characters" from the Marvel Universe such as Silver Surfer and Apocalypse. Other editions included Wolverine in Los Angeles (better than Poughkeepsie, I guess) and The Hulk in Jake's Junkyard. Which begs the question, what does Jake have stockpiled that's big enough to hide the Jade Giant?

Fireball Island

On my way out of the store, I took one last wistful look at this retro-wonderland and spotted a behemoth mounted above the aisle closest to the Exit. Yep, it was Fireball Island! Seemingly chained up for our protection, I was instantly taken back to the day when my neighbor Alex pulled this monster out of their family's downstairs closet. The board seemed as big as a card table, with gorgeous plastic mountains and rivers carved into it and even thought there were actual rules, we just set-up the bridges and adventurer game pieces to be knocked down at random by the runaway fireball marble. It was glorious and truly lived up the the hype. It was a great note to depart on.

Future trips to the The Brass Armadillo antique mall will surely inspire more rambling from yours truly, but for now, we'll bring this series to a close. What got your attention in this batch? Any epic stories to share about your encounter with these retro toys?

Looking for more from Hoju Koolander?

READ 63452 TIMES

There are no comments yet.

What Pop Culture Means to Me

I was at work today and I really started thinking about why I wanted to start writing again. When I was younger I always loved to read, write, a...

The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977)

As time goes on, medicine and technology are becoming more and more advanced. Think of all the advancements we've made in disease research, exte...

Doctor Ryan Presents: The Hobbit (1977)

With all the hype surrounding the all new Hobbit movies, I thought it might be a good idea to remember this classic animated movie from 1977. De...

Retro Read: The Stepsister

Retro Read: The Stepsister! It is time for us to take a peek into the wonderful world of young adult fiction from the nineties. I have...

Farewell Bob Hoskins

On April 29th 2014 actor and director Bob Hoskins passed away. I do not usually write about the passing of movie stars as I feel that there are othe...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: