Plastic Warrior Show Less Than a Month Away

7 Responses to Plastic Warrior Show Less Than a Month Away

1. TDBarnecut says:

   April 3, 2018 at 10:58 AM

   Thanks for posting the PW toy show flier. I like that they don’t permit early entry. The first toy shows I attended in the 80’s were real eye openers because there was such a variety of items to see and buy. Soon the operators started selling ‘early entry’ to put more quick money in their pockets, and we found the toy show to be ‘cherry picked’ by the time the doors opened. Realizing this and finding few items of interest, we just stopped attending. Good on you, Plastic Warrior!

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2. Don Perkins says:

   April 3, 2018 at 2:10 PM

   Admin, we’ve got Plastic Warrior beat —- at least timewise —- since Rick Keller, Steve Connell, and Rod Chapman are putting on The Midwest Toy Soldier Show in Lafayette, Indiana THIS VERY WEEKEND — a 3-day event starting Friday evening and going to 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon!

   Seriously, I wish I could attend both.

   Mr. Barnecutt, don’t worry about the shows that permit early entry. For the shows that don’t permit early entry, you will find all the dealers are actively buying & selling with each other, picking and cherry-picking away with each other for all the best bargains, hours before the gates open to the general public.

   And each dealer at the shows is always permitted an “assistant” — often a collector friend — who is also merrily “cherry-picking” to his heart’s content, well before the general public gets in.

   It’s just a fact of life.

   The Chicago, Indiana, and Michigan shows all permit early entry, and I’ve always found it worthwhile to pay a few extra dollars to get in early.

   If someone chooses to wait in line until 10:00 a.m. in order to save a few bucks, that’s up to them. But don’t delude yourself that the dealers and assistants themselves have not already cherry-picked the merchandise, even if the show promoter doesn’t permit early entry. In this hobby, all the dealers are themselves collectors, and they know what to look for and what the bargains are.

   But regardless of what time you go in, there’s still plenty of great toy soldier bargains to be had. So don’t deprive yourself of the show experience just on the basis of a misunderstanding of how these shows really work, or whether they do or do not permit early entry. The “cherry-picking” you’re worried about is taking place on a very wide scale, regardless.

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   • TDBarnecut says:

     April 3, 2018 at 7:28 PM

     Hi Don, Thanks for expressing a different view than mine. Why would you suppose the Plastic Warrior show does not permit early entries?

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   • admin says:

     April 3, 2018 at 11:04 PM

     I have come to a point where there are very few shows I have to be in early. I love finding the mistakes i.e. the figures the early birds missed. Sometimes items come out later. Laurie and I got to a flea market once at 10:00PM hours after it opened and I scored a Timmee AA Gun complete. The market had been opened since 5:00 AM.

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3. Erwin says:

   April 3, 2018 at 4:02 PM

   Many of the the things seen and found at PW will never ever be seen at any shows here.
   Neither amount of all over Europe collectors dealers going too..
   I thinks that is the big more miss beat fact in that show.
   My thoughts.
   Best.

   Reply
4. ed borris says:

   April 4, 2018 at 7:29 AM

   Well, at OTSN and Lafayette you don’t have to really pay the early entry fee, since there are opens rooms prior to the show and you can show up on Friday or Saturday , wander the halls and buy things before the show and pay no fee. There are a few dealers that only open for the show itself, but there is plenty of quality dealers who get there early and open up prior to the show.

   If the opportunity ever presented itslef I’d like to go to a Euro show, not so much for the items as I generally don’t care for the European figures, but just for the experience. I think it would be fun to just look around and soak up the different culture.

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   • Don Perkins says:

     April 4, 2018 at 9:56 AM

     Yes, I would agree with Ed to an extent, since at both OTSN and at Indiana dealer rooms are open to anyone who cares to purchase things from dealers, with no admission fee whatsoever. It’s great fun.

     Nevertheless, at the Sunday shows themselves, there is definitely an admission charge, as well as a higher admission charge for early admission, which I myself have personally paid, at both shows, on several occasions.

     I should also clarify that I myself do not think the term “cherry-picking” is really accurate. Nobody, whether dealer or buyer, can afford to buy everything they want, or even every bargain or low-priced deal at a specific show. But some items are simply one of a kind at a show, and if someone is looking for something specific, they’re willing to pay extra to get onto the show floor for an opportunity to look for things in a more leisurely environment, before the aisles get too crowded.

     And Admin is certainly right — there is no shortage of deals, bargains, great selections, great choices, etc., available at these events, no matter what time you get in, regardless of whether a show allows early admission. I have made many purchases I was happy with in the last half of various shows. Sometimes, the best deals can even be found at the very end of the shows, as everyone who has every been to a show all the way through well knows.

     The “great deal” I thought I obtained from Rick Keller at the Columbus, Ohio Show last October which I referenced in an earlier post — where I obtained a bag of approx. 120 Marx 54mm 7th Cavalry for right around 35 cents per figure — was actually purchased during the last hour of the show, even though it had sat there on one of Rick’s tables and been available to all the dealers & their assistants both before the show opened, and then to everyone else for the entire duration of the show.

     My point is simply that some of the best toy soldier shows around (like OTSN) offer early admission. Don’t let that deter you from attending. In the total equation of things, it means very little in terms of finding great things for your collection.

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