Y and I took the evening off to drive South toward Canton to check out a toy store that I found through google called The Toys Time Forgot. Located at 137 E Cherry St in Canal Fulton, Ohio, it is housed in an unformidable building in Canal Fulton’s historic downtown area, but I realized after walking in the front door that The Toys Time Forgot is a Tardis-like vintage toy store that is overflowing with amazing finds. Ignoring the dozens and dozens of MOC original Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, and Power of the Force, they have armies of loose figures complete with weapons.
I was particularly interested in the Action Display Stand behind the counter with a full set of the original 12 Star Wars action figures including a Luke Skywalker with telescoping lightsaber. There are also many boxed vintage vehicles, minirigs, and playsets including an Ewok Village and Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer Action Playset.
Y was interested in the very large Jabba Throne cast statue in the front case near the back of the store, because she thinks Jabba is cute. Needless to say, she hasn’t seen Return of the Jedi yet. I do plan to correct this oversight in her Star Wars viewing as soon as possible. However, it may be best that she never seen ROTJ so that she always thinks of Jabba as cute rather than gross.
There are many other vintage toy lines from the 1950s to the present. I cannot name the earlier lines, but I did see many science fiction and fantasy themed series including: The Six Million Dollar Man, Star Trek TOS to the most recent movie, Transformers, GI Joe, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, MacFarlane Toys, Atari, board games, The Real Ghostbusters, and much, much more. You can only appreciate the breadth of toy lines and the depth of holdings in each line by going into the store yourself. The owner Daniel Hare and his staff were very friendly and happy to show items to me. Unfortunately, I am a poor graduate student and I could not buy anything (at least for now–I will have to save my lunch money).
Before dragging myself out of the store this evening, Mr. Hare told me that they are having a special sale on Black Friday on many of the toys in the store. I found their prices on Star Wars action figures to be reasonable and comparable to ebay, so I believe the after-Thanksgiving sale on Friday will be a very good deal for collectors. I have never recommended a toy store before on the basis of a perfect trifecta: friendliness, selection, and price, but I am doing so now for The Toys Time Forgot. You should check them out, and I hope to make it back there very soon.
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