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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?
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