Classic Toy Gallery offers chance to relive childhood fantasies

Arranging "Batman Beyond" action figures into fighting stances. Taking one's Transformers and converting them from their vehicular to their robotic warrior form. Carefully snapping together Legos to make a town filled with stores, homes and hard plastic yellow-faced citizens. \nThis is a day at work for Rick Randolph, owner of Classic Toy Gallery, a store dedicated to selling vintage toys from decades ago and one of many toy collectors in the Bloomington area who seeks out childhood favorites such as Thundercats, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and G. I. Joes for fun and business.\n"I like to tell people, 'I don't play with my toys. I display with my toys,'" Randolph says. \nUpon entering into Randolph's upstairs shop, located at 111 E. Kirkwood Ave, across from the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre, one notices a plethora of toys arranged by their brand. In one corner, on top of a high shelf there is a row of Marvel Comic action figures, ranging from Spiderman to the Fantastic Four. In another corner, lesser known toys such as Food Fighters (anthropomorphic hamburgers and french fries poised for war) and Battle Toads (amphibians with crude expressions) adorn the atmosphere. Almost any kind of toy from the past can be found here, and it is only a partial collection of Randolph's thousands of action figures.\n"I have more toys than I know what to do with," he says. "I have a warehouse filled with toys. People just keep giving them to me."\nRandolph says he began his extensive collection 20 years ago when he began building his "earthquake detectors," sculptures made out of ordinary objects which are put together by balancing them. He would compile the playthings from his five children and three step-kids in order to construct his artwork. Eventually, he grew an affection for them and has appreciated toys ever since. \n"I love watching grown women come in here and squat on the ground and begin playing like a six year old," he says. \nRandolph says it was his dream to make a place where people could just enjoy toys. \n"What I wanted to do was to create a play center where kids could come and play with toys," he says as he dusts off a red castle made of Lock-Blocks, a cheaper version of Legos. "It would give people a chance to play with all the toys they couldn't afford."\nRandolph's original plan involved creating an outdoor area for each brand of action figure and customers would trek along trails to travel from "G. I. Joe World" to "He-Man Land."\nYet, Randolph's store isn't all about fun. It's a legitimate business as well. Currently, he is in the process of cataloging all of his valuable items on Ebay, which he says is the marketplace for toy collectors. \n"The trick is finding the collector that is willing to pay your price," he says. "The pricing guides can be helpful but sometimes it's worth way more or less than the book says. Sometimes people put something on Ebay for a dollar and end up getting $300 for it. It's a tricky market."\nItems in his store range in price value from $1 to over $500 for items such as the G. I. Joe Jet Plane. Randolph says he believes people should hold onto their toys, instead of chucking them. \n"I'm sure a lot of mothers throw away valuable stuff," he says. "I think sometimes people don't see their toys as ever becoming classic, but today they are."\nChris Joslin, manager of PC Guru Comics, which also sells valuable toys, says he sees customers who have discarded priceless items all the time. \n"I get guys who come in and remember how their mom threw away their Amazing Spiderman #1, which is worth $20,000 now," Joslin says. "I mean that could buy you a car. But it happens all the time. I remember just taking a B.B. gun to my action figures because I was bored and I bet they would've been worth something today."\nJoslin says buying vintage toys appeals to adults because it is a great way for them to relive their past for a few dollars.\n"It's buying back your childhood," Joslin says. "You get to hold the same toy you held when you were a kid. A lot of people start to feel old and find it's a great way to remember your past."\nRandolph agrees, saying he sees customers coming in to pass along their childhood favorites for their kids, or to finally purchase items they either could not afford or were forbidden to own as a youth. \n"One guy came in here and told me that his mom only let him buy the good guys when he bought toys," Randolph says. "Now, he likes to come in and buy the villains since he never could have them as a kid."\nBeginning a toy collection can be an arduous journey, Randolph says, but advised that one must reflect on their reasons for collecting before starting.\n"People should start collecting because they like the things," he says. "Don't do it for the money, because there isn't much. Do it for your own enjoyment."\nJoslin notes the best way to locate a childhood treasure can be for pennies at a local flea market or yard sale. \n"I'd tell people to just go to garage sales if they want to find these things," Joslin says. "But if they want to have it in their original box, have the opportunity to open a new toy, like they did as a kid, they need to go to Ebay or to a collectible store."\nBut for those who are already established toy connoisseurs, the hobby can easily lead into an obsession. Randolph says he knows many committed toy aficionados who are in denial about their excessiveness. \n"People don't like to admit it, because they get hassled about it," he says as he ran his hands through a box of plastic green army men. "The difference is that I know my collection is excessive."\nEven those who claim they aren't big toy fans, like Randolph's 16-year-old son Miles, can still find something they enjoy in his massive collection. \n"I never really played with toys," Miles says. "I only remember seeing some of these toys when I was a kid."\nYet, Randolph says he knows better. \n"What about G. I. Joes?" Randolph asks. "You liked those."\n"Yeah, I guess those were pretty cool," Miles admits.