Vintage toys are a time capsule to the past

 

Joe Southern with Mego Robin and Superman figures.

Hey, I used to have one of those!

Every once and a while I’ll come across an object, usually a toy, at an antique shop or thrift store that takes me charging down memory lane.

Much to my father’s chagrin, I loved playing with action figures as a kid. I think he would have preferred his boys be more interested in he-man, manly pursuits like sports, hunting, fishing, and cars. Although I did enjoy sports, hunting and fishing, I was never a car guy. I liked playing with action figures. I had a lot of them and even now in my late 50s I’d still rather dote over the plastic figures than turn a wrench under the hood of my car any day.

Vintage toy collecting has become a huge industry over the years, especially as baby boomers and Gen Xers move into their retirement years. And it’s not just toys but all kinds of contraptions, albums, appliances and other things we had back in the day.

For me, “back in the day” meant the late 1960s to the early 1980s. That’s really when the golden age of action figures took place. The first action figure was G.I. Joe, who came out in 1946, just after World War II. With the arrival of G.I. Joe came the ongoing debate about whether or not action figures are dolls. Technically they are, but not if you want to market them to boys. Girls were not going to play with toy soldiers and boys certainly were not going to play with dolls, thus the creation of the term “action figures.”

The first action figures I remember owning (and still own) are my Lone Ranger figures. I loved the television show and watched reruns every weekday morning with my figures by my side. Among the many figures I had were Stretch Armstrong, Johnny West, the Bionic Man, and Evel Knievel and his stunt bike.

I really loved comic books and the original “Star Trek” TV show (and yes, I am a first-run viewer and lifelong fan). When Mego came out with their 8-inch action figures of various superheroes, villains, and “Star Trek” characters, I gobbled them up. I was obsessed with them.

I don’t know how many of those figures my brothers and I went through. Whenever they got wet, the elastic band inside would break. We got to be pretty good at rewiring them with rubber bands.

Mark, my friend who used to live in the house behind us, also liked playing with the action figures and we hauled our collections back and forth. We had many grand and wildly creative adventures with them. Unfortunately, my collection was left behind at his house when his family up and moved to Oklahoma. I never saw them again. I was crushed.

Fortunately, this new movie came out called “Star Wars” and my focus shifted to that. I initially resisted getting the cheesy 3 ¾-inch figures because I was waiting for Mego to make them.

Mego missed out on the “Star Wars” deal, and I relented and started collecting the mini figures. I had all of the original figures, including the mail order Boba Fett, but I later let them go at a garage sale for 50 cents each. Ugh! In good condition today they can be worth upwards of $200.

Mego went out of business in the early 1980s but was reborn in 2018 and began making the beloved figures again. The original figures sold for about $2 each and these new ones are over $20. I don’t have a budget for that, but I usually put them on my Christmas wish list each year. My daughter, Heather, came through and I now have Batman, Robin and Superman again. It was Christmas deja vu!

Now I have a dilemma. Do I open the boxes and take out the action figures or do I leave them mint in the box where they will hold a higher value? Actually, it’s not much of a dilemma at all. I got them for the sentimental value, not as an investment. So open them I will.

Looking back, it has become clear to me that I am a very nostalgic person. I have an affinity for things from my childhood – actually, from throughout my life – as I have plastic tubs in storage full of things from action figures to stuffed animals, old press credentials, and sports memorabilia. They’re kind of like time capsules of my life.

Whenever my wife Sandy and I go into antique stores, I am usually drawn to things that I used to have (or still have). It seems weird seeing things that I grew up with being old enough to be antique. My kids will gladly tell you that I am an antique. Apparently, I’m supposed to remember what it was like when the dinosaurs were around. To answer that question, I’ll have to ask my dad.

Still, as we go antiquing, it’s not unusual for me to say to Sandy, “hey, I used to have one of those!” She is younger than I am, so inevitably the mention of dinosaurs comes up again and we move on.