Floyd Wilson’s OTS 2012 Report

Here is Floyd’s report on OTS

With this being our third year of attending the show, my want list was shorter, composed of more difficult, and less expected items. As in the past, I printed up a photo list of what I was looking for…at the top of the list, Benbros Maid Marian, Little John, Will Scarlet, Bishop of Hereford and Man at Arms, the Cherilea Maid Marian, the Steadfast Maid Marian, Britain’s Lionel Gareth & Bedivere Knights of the Round Table set, the ‘Casualties of War’ Maid Marian, the Lineol Elastolin mounted Robin Hood and Maid Marian, some Lone Star Robin Hood figures and a few Marx western character figures. Mostly European stuff and I was not too comfortable that I would find much of it. This year, I just wanted to take in everything I could see and enjoy the show.

Again I drove to the show, arriving on Thursday and my wife flew into O’Hare, on the same day. After check-in, the first thing I did was get the room maps from the fourth floor lobby, the dealers listings were not available on either fourth or fifth floor, at the time. I began on the fourth floor. One of the first rooms (Len Hardt’s ?) I entered had a great jungle diorama…it was a conglomeration of many different figures…and was very well done. Unfortunately by the time my wife came and I wanted pictures, I could not remember where I saw it. In one of the first rooms I looked at, I was able to purchase two unique (to me) metal figures, of a man in Lincoln green and a seated medieval lady. I then went up to fifth floor to look at some plastic dealers rooms. It appeared to me, throughout the show, that there were many more Marx playsets than in the past couple years. As usual Rick Eber’s room was very well stocked. Mr. Eber is always very gracious in answering questions and usually has some of the cleanest and close to mint Marx figures at the show. Ron Barzso’s Battle of Lexington Green is quite a nice set. The variety of sets he has produced has been amazing. He and his wife are among the nicest people at the show. Unfortunately what I wanted to buy from him, this year, he is out of…he may have it later. So I only purchased one of his accessory items. In a couple rooms on the fifth floor I saw a Marx Zorro Playset. One seller was asking $700.00 and the other $900.00. Both sets had the cave, although one of the boxes was not in good condition. On Friday we were showed one that had been purchased from Allen Ford that was a beautiful set. Steve Weston’s room, for me, is a must visit place. He is always a gentleman. I purchased eight painted Replicants from Steve, and his set of four Replicants archers. After my wife arrived around 7:30 PM, we visited the displays by Aeroart and Hobby Bunker on the main floor and then went up to fourth and I purchased a discontinued Britain’s knight jousting set.

On Friday we returned to the fourth floor going from room to room, checking off each room as we went, it took us all day. On Saturday we did the fifth floor. The reception held on the third floor was well attended.

TSSD had a nice display of their Tombstone and Boot Hill set. The cutest part (excluding boot hill itself) was a funnel they had put in the train’s steam engine’s smoke stack. TSSD had their Roman castle on display. Although I did not see them until Sunday, TSSD also had painted Barbarians for sale this year. The painting was very well done. John Stengel and his son had two full rooms again. Alan Ford had more playsets than I remember in the past. Alan and his wife are very friendly people. Ted Deddens, with Ted Toy was so busy on Sunday, selling and packing for customers that I do not believe he ever got everything displayed. I purchased several Black Hawk Templar figures from him. King and Country’s room had some very nice displays. While Britain’s and Crown Miniatures, showed their new figures well. I was able to purchase a number of Robin Hood and knight figures from Don Ducotte this year, although he sold out of his new Vikings. I was also able to meet Ed Boris, a real gentleman. Nikki and Thor Johnson spent a lot of time with us, explaining St. Petersburg Miniatures, and we talked a lot about our favourite historical periods. We did purchase one figure from them. Michael Jones and his father were so friendly and helpful. Hudson & Allen had their wonderful diorama products, including a Fall Woodland scene with a single Mohawk warrior that was an exquisite demonstration of how much a diorama can say with few figures.

Last year we spent some time with Rick O’Brien, “The Flag Dude”, admiring the flags he had for sale. This year he was also equipped to print flags at the show. We purchased a couple of really nice Henry VII flags from him.

The Ron Lizorty’s “Outlaw Josey Wales” Playset box signed by Clint Eastwood, raffle was well attended. I heard one comment that based upon who won it, and the following auction, it may not have been “unscripted”…it is for a good cause however.

On Sunday we attended the show, going in at around 7:30 AM there were many more items on display including some wonderful dioramas and vignettes, The Figarti Vietnam Helicopters, with their rotating blades, were the hit of the hallway. We purchased a few items. It is difficult to judge the number of people who attend; the line on Sunday morning seemed shorter than previous years.

Observations:

This was the third time we have attended the show. The first year was “overwhelming”; the last two years were more enjoyable. I cannot get over how friendly most of the dealers are, and willing to spend time with you. It cost some money to attend, but we really enjoy ourselves. As expected, we did not get much from my want lists, but we bought some items I did not expect to see. My wife is much better at finding things, for me, than I am. She even picked up a foot tall Godzilla figure this year.

I asked a number of dealers how the show went for them. It seemed that they did not do as well as expected. I ‘overheard’ a ‘very’ long-time seller tell someone; “I had had the slowest Saturday, I have had in thirty years…. the best Wednesday, but the worst Saturday”. A number of sellers, my wife talked to, indicated that although customers were down, they were happy with their sales.

International sellers seemed to be down.

We did eat some good meals away from the hotel, including The Weber Grill, which was excellent.

We enjoyed the show very much.