Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show April 2018 Reports we are waiting for a report from Mike Pedergast on the show. We have seen a report from Paul Knapp on Facebook. He reported the show was great until 10:45AM when the power went out. Power had not still come back at 1:30PM when he left.
As we get more reports we will let you know.
Update 8:16PM Mike Pendergast emailed me someone hit a pole causing the outage. He said he got some deals before the power went.
Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show April 2018 Reports Photos
The entrance to the Gettysburg show
A look at the tables
A collector looking over a table
A close look at one of the tables with metal and plastic figures
While this dealer had mostly metal the there are plastic figures mixed in
One of George Guerrio of Minuteman Miniatures displays
A nice mix of figures and vehices to look through to find your potential treasure
Another look at George’s tabbles and his displays
A beachead scene at George’s tables
George’s displays are the hit of the show.
Marx character figures, Aurora knights and Game of Thrones
Marx Heritage Fort Apache Playset for Sale
Marx Fort Dearborn and Castle Fort playsets with a Captain Gallant building in the back
A Marx Battleground playset and Prehistoric Playset.
Marx loose GI’s and Germans a $1.00 each
Loose Barzso and Austin figures for sale
A couple of dealers and collectors looking over a table
Another look at the room
When the lights went out in Gettysburg. Mike said a vehicle hit a pole effected the area.
Gettysburg Toy Soldier Show April 2018 Reports What Mike Got
Mike picked up over 200 Conte figures(Saxons, Vikings, Normans, WWII British and Germans), some Barzso Indians and a few painted W. Britain Indians. I got most of these before the lights went off. He did a second search after the lights went out and found a few deals. It was a good show until the lights went out. There were a bunch of guys using the light on their phones searching throughout the place. There was about 150 people there at the time the lights went out. I think another 50 came after the lights had went out. The power outage affected not just the hotel, but the surrounding area there. A vehicle hit a pole. It was a mixture of plastic and painted metal.
Lost power, huh? I was thinking of trying to make the trip. Glad I didn’t try, I’da probably got there in the middle of the outage. Too bad for all the folks who attended.
It was one of those days, lol. It started out nice, I hit not traffic and got to the show about 45 minutes early. I found some WWII British and German figures right away. I then bumped into the Conte medieval mix and Barzso Indians. I then took a quick trip around the show and picked up a magazine and some W. Britain Woodland Indians. I put those items in my car and got my camera. About 5 minutes later, then the lights went out. The guys with the painted metal sets had it worse than the plastic guys. I got stuck in traffic on Rt. 78 for about an hour too because of road work and accidents.
Michael, was the show able to go on — that is, was there enough natural light to continue buying & selling, even if things were a little dimmer?
And how was it that the guys with painted metal sets had it worse than the plastic guys? Do you just mean the painting detail wasn’t as visible?
Did John Stengel Jr. have any show specials?
Do you know if the power ever came back on before the show was scheduled to close?
There was little light in the room, the backup lighting was not good. But it was still possible to continue to search, just a little harder. It was easier to find plastic sets that I already knew what they were. I kept digging. Sometimes I would have to take so items to a window to get a closer look. The reason I say it was worse was because of the repacking with little light. George had hundreds of figures that he had to repack into their boxes. It was also hard to take pictures afterwards too. I didn’t look at too many painted sets afterwards.
John Jr didn’t have any of his Action Casting figures at the show.
Sorry, I don’t know when the power came back.
It’s too bad it happened, but it sounds like it didn’t become much more than a minor inconvenience. Even at OTSN, some of the interior rooms seem a little too dark because there’s not quite enough overhead light.
My wife and I have visited Gettysburg twice, although I’ve never been able to make the toy soldier show there.
But I think the Stengels’ development of an on-going show at a great historic site like Gettysburg — similar to Nick VerSteeg’s creation of a toy soldier show at the Alamo — are great, brilliant marketing decisions. I can’t think of two better locations. And unfortunately, despite all the toy soldier shows I’ve attended, I’ve never made it to either of these two.
A few other sites in the past have also been pretty good. Soldier & Sailor Shop in Annapolis, Maryland years ago sponsored a pretty good show, right next to the U.S. Naval Academy, which offered tours where you could see the big John Paul Jones memorial burial site, and the well-preserved colonial capital building & grounds in Maryland. The Pennsylvania show (MFC something — can’t quite remember the letters) always had it’s show near historic Philadelphia, with Independance Hall, Liberty Bell, and Valley Forge right there. And of course any show in London, England always has a wealth of things to see & do in conjunction with the show.
But the only other great historical site (which would be comparable to Gettysburg or the Alamo) would be Little Big Horn National Park, but the location is a little too isolated and out-of-the-way to make it a suitable site to host a toy soldier show.
So Gettysburg and San Antonio are the two perfect spots.
I should add that Norm Rodriguez’ show in Virginia Beach is, I think, at a big WWII Naval Museum Center, and also just outside Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg, Virginia — which in my opinion makes it an excellent show site.
Now that I think about it, Bill & Matt Murphy’s Northeastern Toy Soldier Show is just outside of Boston — another great place to visit for historical reasons (Bunker Hill, U.S.S. Constitution, Paul Revere’s house, Lexington & Concord) — but that show hasn’t yet taken off as a big national show like Gettysburg and San Antonio.
You are right Don, it didn’t stop me from searching. I actually had fun. It was something different and I will remember it. For me the shows is not all about finding things, it also is being able to talk to fellow collectors, dealers and owners of the companies. I was able to talk to some regular people I talk to and some new ones.
When I retire I plan to visit most of the different shows around the country.
That sounds like a fun plan for retirement.
I looked at your last photo showing the appearance of the show room after the lights went out. It doesn’t look like total blackness. I think, if I had traveled to the show as an annual event, I would have done the same thing you and the rest did — stay on the show floor and continue to search!
I did all my buying after the power went out…suddenly there was a room full of highly motivated sellers.