Antique Store Finds Part 2

By: Hoju Koolander

Here we are again, ready to wander the aisles of massive Antiques Mall in search of childhood treasures of decades gone bye. 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 in my collection, but this seller 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 a lonely Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. They all look to be in nice 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 this 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.This sculpted work of art is simply the ultimate 80's telecommunications device in my eyes, 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.

Nostalgic dimensional traveler Dr. Timewarp had to rig-up a time machine to re-live the days before generic plastic crawling 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 actual children 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 only barely remembered your name and grabbed the first toy looking item at the local drug store. 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 "surprise characters" from the Marvel Universe. 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, a took one last wistful look at this retro-wonderland and spotted a behemoth looming 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. Even thought there were actual rules,we just set-up the bridges or adventurer game pieces to be knocked down at random by a runaway fireball marble. It was a glorious plaything that truly lived up the the hype. Really a great note to depart on.

Future trips The Brass Armadillo antique mall will surely inspire more rambling from yours truly, so stay tuned. What got your attention in this batch? Any epic stories to share about your encounter with these great toys?

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