IN CHICAGO
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By Rick Medved AFTER A BRUTAL Mid - western winter with many below zero days and record setting snowfalls, Spring was a welcome site. It is also the time when serious toy collectors make their journey to Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois. This year the show was on April 26, 2009 and the weather was in the 70’s. I was invited to come down the day before the show as an early shopper. With this option, toy buyers can pay $50.00 to get in at the same time as the dealers and |
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browse the aisles while the dealers are setting up. This is a good chance to purchase a favorite toy before the large crowd the following day. My brother also came with me as he was anxious to search for some of the toys he had many years ago. As we waited in the parking lot we happened to notice many license plates from other states. A few minutes before 10:00 A.M., cars and trucks started to honk their horns. The dealers were ready to go and anxious to get started. After a few minutes the vehicles started moving and we were on our way. TOP: 1933 Packard pedal carasking price $10,000. LEFT: Assortment of toys. |
| We picked up our show badges and found a parking spot. We made our way to the new building and as we walked, there were people unloading their cars and trucks and hauling boxes into the building. Dealers were quickly setting up in their designated spaces and many others were walking around to see what other sellers were pulling out of their boxes. As we walked the aisles, we pointed out vintage toys that we thought were really cool. That is one thing we enjoy about this show; it always has such a good selection of toys, figurines, games, pressed steel, boxed toys, mint in the box, and so much more. I always see something at this show that I have never seen before. The dealers are friendly and very knowl- |
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and love to talk about the toys they are selling. As we finished viewing the tables, we decided to go to the outside buildings and check on their progress. Soon we strolled into the doll building where you can see just about every kind of doll imaginable. I soon spotted a few boxes of Wizard of Oz toddler dolls. Being an Oz collector, they caught my attention right TOP: Assortment of toys in boxes. CENTER: Close-up of Rockets Away Game. BOTTOM: Phil looking at Rockets Away Game. |
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away. These dolls are very cute and any young child would love to have them. It was now about noon and we decid- ed to go back into the new building to check for more items that were con- stantly being put out on tables. Under a table were some boxes that looked familiar to me. There were about 10 model kits made by the Hawk Model |
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Co. from Chicago, IL. At first I thought they were re-issues, but upon closer inspection, I could see the copyright date of 1963. These are the Weird-Ohs Car- Icky- Tures kits that had zanylooking characters in wild, wacky wheels. I had a few of these kits when I was growing up and have fond memories of building and painting them. The great thing about these kits is that they were mint in the boxes. Actually some of the kits were still sealed in their original plastic. I purchased two of these kits, “Endsville Eddie” for $50.00 and “Drag Hag” for $75.00 still sealed. I am happy to add these classic kits to my collection, and they will not be getting built. The dealer was Jim Okrucky from Warren, Ohio and this was TOP, left: Advertising for Whitman’s Chocolates priced at $125.00. TOP, right: Robot Toys. CENTER: Marx Zeppelin offered by dealer Jim Okrucky priced at $550.00. LEFT: Marx Mars Mobile priced at $125.00 |
 his first show in Chicago. He also had many other wonderful toys and some nice vintage pieces such as the large metal zeppelin made by Marx Co. and it was priced at $550.00. I found his prices very reasonable. Moving along, I soon spotted a pedal car and many people gathering around it, almost like they discovered a new found friend. As I got closer, I could see why. This was no ordinary pedal car. This was a 1933 Packard that was in excellent condition for its age. The asking price was $10,000. |
 operated toys and it was drawing a good-sized crowd. A lot of the toys had their original boxes, which many collectors seem to prefer. The lithography on some of these toys and their many actions make for a good collector toy. This dealer supplied his own batteries to demonstrate that the toys do work, which is always a good selling point. After talking to a few dealers, I |
| As I looked around, my brother was at a table that just had about every type of cap pistol you could imagine. He was holding one in his hand and he had that serious look on his face. After about 10 minutes of looking at all the models and squeezing the triggers on some, a purchase was made. He found a nice Mattel Fanner 50 cap pistol for $70.00 and a Mattel shooting shell gun for $55.00. The two ladies that were running the booth were so friendly and they answered all of his questions. They even let me sit down in their chair to rest a bit. I noticed a booth with many battery TOP, left: Phil looking at Shooting Gallery-dealer Richard from Muskegon, Michigan priced at $125.00. TOP, right: Close-up Shooting Gallery. RIGHT: Phil examining cap pistol for purchase. |
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 found out that some were selling their own personal toys from their collections. Could this be because of the hard times we are in or did they simply want to purchase another item? As I glanced at my watch, it was approaching 4:00 p.m. and it was time to wrap up our toy shopping for the day. It was truly an enjoyable experience and if you have never been to this toy show I highly recommend making the trip. You will not be disappointed. Their next show is on October 25, 2009 and I hope to see you there. You can also visit their website at: www.chicagotoyshow.com |
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TOP, left: Phil looking at Shooting Gallery TOP, right and BELOW: Booth of nice advertising items.
