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LAST
SECOND ASSIGNMENT
SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERIES
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LAST
SECOND ASSIGNMENT
SUMMARY PHOTO GALLERIES
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Hey
troopers, it was another successful mission for your
second-in-command here, and it was an assignment that was brought to
my attention at the very last second. Every Sunday morning my
wife, son and I have breakfast with our best friends, and my buddy
Jeff (aka Darth Berger in the forums) mentioned to me that there was
going to be a toy show out in Bridgeview today at some VFW hall.
It didn't sound like it was going to be anything to write home
about, but as I had nothing planned for the morning I thought it
would be fun to go out to.
We
saddled up his dewback for the trip, as mine is still exhausted from
the trek out to downtown Chicago
As
soon as we paid our $3 admission fee, it was time to see what this
show had to offer us. We walked around a corner and there they
were, several vendors with what looked like tons of Star Wars toys
as far as the eye could see. There were probably 30-40 dealers
there, and I would have to say that more than 70% of them had some
type of Star Wars toys for sale. First thing we saw were some
Star Wars cardboard stand-up displays, but there was no way we could
have brought them home with us since the dewback wouldn't be able to
handle such big items. They looked great and would have looked
even better in my basement, but these babies were not going to be
coming home with us.
We
moved forward and started search for some great deals. Some of
the dealers had really good deals while others had scalper-like
prices ($20 for a TSC Scorch figure!?). At the very first
dealer table I stopped at I spotted an OTC Wedge Antilles carded
figure, one that was a recent exclusive from StarWarsShop.com, and
it was on sale for only $10. I couldn't believe that's all the
guy was asking for, especially since it was something like $15 on
their website, and to have it shipped to me it would have been
around $21. I picked that bad boy up and told the dealer,
"I'll take it!" Right away, I knew that there were going to be
more deals to encounter ahead.
We
continued our journey and I stopped at another dealer who had some
army-building figures, quite a large amount of them to be exact.
He had all of these POTF2 and Episode I carded figures on sale for
only $3 each, which was a really good deal. I spent a good
amount of time going through for large boxes of these figures, and
was able to buy the following from him: two Sandtroopers, one Death
Star Gunner, one TIE Fighter Pilot and Biggs Darklighter. Most
of the time you find these carded figures in real crappy conditions,
as they are usually caked in dirt and dust from sitting out at flea
markets and outside toy shows. However, these were in super
minty condition, but that didn't matter to me as I would be opening
them up to add to my ever-growing armies!
It
took us about forty minutes to make our way around the entire room,
and one of the last things that caught my eye was this 12" AOTC
Ki-Adi-Mundi figure. This thing stuck out like a neon sign in
a snowstorm on Hoth, and that's because the damn thing was on sale
for only $10! I have seen this hard-to-find figure go for more
than $100 on eBay, but this guy had it for only $10. I asked
him if it was supposed to be $10, and he told me that's what he
wanted for it. I couldn't believe how this guy couldn't know
the true value of this figure. Either this guy was a really
honest and reliable dealer, or he was just a complete idiot for
giving it away. This same guy had an Episode I Darth Maul
figure, mint on its card with it being signed by Ray Parks, for only
$10. I thought about getting that, but I really didn't need it
and thought some other trooper could enjoy it more than me.
What
was going to be a simple Sunday morning turned out to be a very
exciting one, as I walked away with some really great deals!
My friend Jeff picked up three vintage Ewok figures, all complete
with their weapons and accessories, for something like $20 total.
I thought that was a pretty good deal, especially since they were in
mint condition. The turnout at the place was more than what I
was expecting, and it was nice to meet such great dealers there who
had very reasonable pricing on their Star Wars items. I really
hope that the next toy show that I attend, wherever that may be,
turns out to be as successful and entertaining as this one was.
United We Find!