toys toys toys

Well, took a trip down the 407 to Richmond Hill, where the 80's Toy Expo was being held. Driving though a winter storm that included rain and hail!, I was happy to head underground in the hotels free (when does that ever happen - thanks Sheraton Hotel!) parking lot.

After paying my 10 bucks, I headed into the large room to a sea of toys!

The majority of the show was dedicated to Transformers, with nearly everyone having some item that related to the toy/tvshow/movie jugernaut!





A close second was the sci fi land of Star Wars and Star Trek.



Some of the other varity toys (or Hobbies as Arthur Carlson would say) included Marvel Action Figures;



The famous Stay Puff Marshmallow Man from Ghost Busters;



He-Man, Masters of the Universe (Cringer the battle cat!);



WWE wrestling figures;



"ordinary" toys like this collection of motorcycles;



and various Super Heroes!



One guy even did these hand made statues which were pretty impressive.



And what toy show would be compete without an appearance from the 501st(CDN) Legion. A good collection of stormtroopers, bike scouts and Tie Fighter pilots.
My personal favourite was the Shadow Trooper, who was receiving a holographic message from the Emporer!



A couple of the stormtroopers were forced to deal with a Ninja who was on hand. A quick blaster shot would have taken care of him!



And one of those attending the show brought these 2/3 scale version of Star Wars characters!

80's Toy Show

As part of TFCon, the 80's Toy Show filled the halls of the Delta Meadowvale Hotel. As part of the show, there was a costme contest, with visitors able to show up with any costume they could think of. Special consideration was given to those created by the contestents, rather than store bought versions.
There was an entire group of batman characters, including Batman, Two Face, the Riddler, Cat Woman and Harley Quinn





Also, a person was done up as The Scoceress from Castle Grey Skull, the power behind He Man, was on hand with her hand done costume.



The eventual winner was Batman, followed by Scarlett(from GI Joe), and Harley in third.



During the contest, someone said there should have been a "best car" costume, as somone brought there own, home built Batmobile!





Also at the show was Smith Hart, a westler from a very famous canadian wrestling family.



The Ghostbuster's were also around to check for any spirit problems!



And what toy show would be complete without an appearance from the 501st Legion from Star Wars!

Toys...I mean Hobbies!

Sunday found me in Burlington, for the Canadian Collectible Toy Expo, which is held in a convention room in a local hotel.
This version was mostly about Star Wars and Transformers, but other shows are a little more general.

It was a very busy show, with lots of people taking the opportunity to find that one toy (I mean hobby*) that they are missing in their collection.





I was looking for some diecast cars, but had no luck. But on the way back from Burlington, I stopped into a local hobby store, Care Free Hobbies, and did find one car.

For info on more upcoming shows, check out this web site. The big show coming up is the Canadian Toy Collectors Society Spring Show on April 17, held at Downsview Park.

One of the great things about this show is the participation of the 501st Legion, which is a Star Wars group. These guys do an incredible job with their uniforms, and are required to meet rigid details to have their uniforms approved.









I was totally impressed with this little stormtrooper, who joined a clone trooper and scout trooper at the show!



The members are constantly attending events in Canada, and you can check their web site to see if they are doing anything in your neighbourhood!

*anyone old enough to have watched WKRP in Cincinnati know that Arthur Carlson, the boss of the radio station, loved to play with "toys", but was concerned that people would make fun of him for that. But Jennifer was able to tell him that "he didn't play with toys, he had Hobbies"!!