I just got back home yesterday from the Midwest Toy Solider Show. If you are serous plastic collector this was the show not to miss. There were tons of plastic there. I had a blast. This was the first time I did any room trading and it was a great experience.

 

Me and my girlfriend left our house in Pennsylvania early Friday. About 12 hours later we got to Lafayette, Indiana. The first night we stayed in a different hotel than the one that the show was at. After we ate, I ran over to the Courtyard by Marriott to do some room trading. It was around 8pm.

 

They had a room list display with the different vendors. I looked around to see who was still up. The first room I went to was of Ed Borris. We had a good talk and exchanged gifts.

I didn’t bring my camera the first day. I just wanted to talk and see what toys I could find. I visited a few rooms and talked to some of the different vendors. I bumped in Stephen Connell, Rick Keller, Cal Luckett, David & Kim Cook and others. 

The next day I got up early and headed to the hotel around 9am. I saw Ed again and then went to Todd Nace’s room. I met Todd last year and we talked a bit. I picked up a few vintage Marx figures from him.

Todd was selling manly vintage items. He had some sets and loose figures available. I am not a big Marx collector but I like to pick up some of the loose figures here and there.

The next place I went to was of Volk’s Designs. Mike Luteran makes some excellent products. They are fantastic. One of a kind. These items look great with 1/32 & 1/30 scaled figures.

The next room I went to was of Rich Egan. After we had talked for a little bit I purchased a couple of things. I also bumped into a fellow collector Eddie White. It was nice to meet some of my fellow collectors.

I picked up a Barzso’s “Braddock’s Defeat” playset and about 45 Barzso Redcoats. I paid a fair price for the playset. It had a few figures missing. But Rich added another wagon and cannon. He gave me a good deal on the Redcoats. The playset was on my wishlist and it made the trip worth it for me. Besides the Barzso items, Rich had plenty of Conte figures and some sets. He also had a nice selection of vintage Marx figures and other toys. He is a wonderful person to deal with. Send him a message, he might have what you are looking for.

After I got the items from Rich Egan, I left the hotel to check out of the other one and then took my girlfriend shopping a little bit. We were able to check in the Courtyard by Marriott. I then started the room trading again. It was around 1pm. I met up with Don Perkins and gave him gift that I had for him. We talked a bit about how he was doing. Then he filled me in about room trading and on the show.

After I left Don. I went to see David & Kim Cook of MicShaun’s closet. They are the new owners of Toy Soldiers of San Diego. In case you did not know they have a new website, you can click on this highlight link to visit, https://micshaunscloset.com/. It was finally nice to be able to meet them in person. I had a great time talking to them and so did my girlfriend. We busted each others chops and had a bunch of laughs. They came to the show to mainly introduced themselves to the collectors.

They also did some room trading. They had a bunch of foam pieces and bagged sets.

Here are some of the items that Gerry Wendeln available. I picked up a Airfix set and some Atlantic Gladiators.

The next room I visited was of Rick Eber. As usual had a horde of vintage plastic figures and playsets. The pictures about speak volumes.

I think the last place I went before we headed out to eat was the room of Rod Roberts and his son Tera Roberts. We talked for a bit and I picked up a Ultimate Soldier set from them. They only sell at the shows.

The Roberts had some good deals with painted plastic figures and some old new stock sets of Ultimate Soldier.

By the end of the day I was exhausted. I ran around to different places and rooms. I did make some rookie mistakes. I missed a bunch of rooms because I didn’t realize that there was another section to the hotel. What I should have done was written down all the room numbers from the list and then crossed them out after I had visited that room. Also I could have written some foot notes of items that I was interested in. I do apologize to all the people that I did miss.

I also bumped into John Stengel Jr a few times through out the day. After busting his chops we talked a bit about how things were going and some hobby related issues. After a few setbacks with the production of his sets he says that he should have his World War II German Paratroopers available ready for the Chicago Toy Soldier Show in September.

I can’t wait until next year for the room trading and the show. I will be better prepared.

I found some nice things the first two days of room trading. But this was only part of the fun. The next day was even more amazing. Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story. Thank you for reading.

Don’t forget about these fine shows coming up. MFCA is this weekend outside of Philadelphia, PA. The Gettysburg show is May 5th.