In the quiet town of Greenville, South Carolina, something strange descended on the Embassy Suites: monsters, ghosts and, perhaps most terrifying of all, collectors. They were all there for Retro Horror Con, a weekend packed with vintage toys, tapes and spooky memorabilia. One collector walked in with a wish list and a plan to pace himself, because one booth alone had enough to empty a wallet.

That collector is the creator behind the YouTube channel Weekend Warrior, and he spent the show hunting for toys from the 1980s and 1990s. The booth that stopped him in his tracks belonged to the Toy Federation, which he said was on a completely different level from everything else.

A Booth Full Of Childhood

The shelves were crammed. He spotted a Blurp ball, a Dukes of Hazzard Big Wheel, a Skull Dungeon still in the card, Fantasy Glow Warriors and a bootleg He-Man alongside an Orko. There were Darkwing Duck figures, a Kit Cloudkicker, Battle Trolls, sealed Goblin Goblins and a pile of Ghostbusters items. He kept reminding himself to look around the backs of shelves, since you never know what is hiding there.

Then came the horror side of the room: a talking Freddy Krueger, a Max Effects Freddy, a Freddy squishy, Remco monsters, Puppet Master figures, Toxic Crusaders, and a Skull Force and Humanoid figure that was complete, which he said he had never seen. Most examples he finds are beaten up or missing a helmet.

And then he saw the price tag that took his breath away. A Biggie in the box was marked at $700. His reaction was that it would be his entire weekend right there, and he walked on. The Biggie stayed in the booth. Two other figures made the trip home with him.

The Two Figures He Refused To Leave Behind

The first was Capture Swamp Thing. Over the past two years he has been casually collecting Swamp Thing figures, and this one had been on his list for a while. In typical Kenner fashion, he explained, the toy reused an existing mold, but the paint job is what sold him. He says the figure looks like it actually lives in the bayou, and it is now one of his favorites.

The second was pure nostalgia: Rufio from the movie Hook. Hook is one of his all-time favorite films, and he owned most of the Hook figures as a kid, though he has no idea where they ended up. When he saw Rufio on the shelf, he decided this one was coming home with him.

More Treasures From The Weekend

He also brought home Paul Atreides from the LJN Dune line, one of several LJN toys he has picked up this year. The figure wears his House Atreides uniform and comes with a crysknife and the sound gun the film calls the weirding module. The package has the yellow bubble these figures often show, though this one is in decent shape. His one wish is that LJN had made Paul in his stillsuit.

Prices around the show gave a sense of what the market looks like. A Wolfman figure with glow-in-the-dark claw hands was marked at 225, another monster was 275, a set of air-blaster toys was 475, and a Zelda 2 item with its poster was 65. He also grabbed two VHS tapes from a booth he called insane, and picked up Care Bear Cousins for his wife. On top of that, he has been on a kick for vintage coloring books and activity books, and the show had plenty.

Other items he admired included the Twisted Fairy Tales line from McFarlane, Rugrats Chatback watches and playsets, Sky Commanders, Monster in My Pocket figures, Creepy Crawlers, and a Casper candy pail. Retro Horror Con, he said, did not disappoint, and he gave credit to Ryan and the crew at Toy Federation for an incredible show with a great guest list.

How To Hunt Toys At A Convention

Whether your hobby is horror figures or just old Saturday morning favorites, a toy show can be overwhelming. This collector offers a handy example of how to handle it.

• Pace yourself. He told himself to pace himself in a booth with this much stock, and he left with just the two figures he had decided on.
• Know your list. He had Capture Swamp Thing on his want list for a while, so the decision was easy when it appeared.
• Check the packaging and the details. Missing helmets, weapons and yellowed bubbles all change what a figure is worth.
• Look at the backs of shelves and in the corners. Good finds hide there.
• Buy what you loved as a kid. His Rufio purchase was driven by memory, and that is often the best reason of all.

The hunt was not over when the booth tour ended. His next plan was to work the lobby swap and the room sales to see what else he could find. For collectors in the Carolinas, a hotel full of dealers, hallways of tables and a few unexpected bargains make for a very good weekend, even if the boxed Biggie stays in the case.

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