Famed Toy Collector Reveals How He Survived on a Deserted Island

We once again take a break from our 31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge to complete this weeks homework assignment from The League of Extraordinary Bloggers.

This weeks assignment:

You are stranded for 10 years on a deserted island. You can take with you the following:
One food item (in a never-ending supply), one movie, one game, and one pop culture character.

31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge: How to Satisify a Toy Collector's Display Compulsion - Day 6

 

If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right.

I thought I would start showing what I felt was right with the Batcave Toy Room versus what I felt needed work for a change.

I always drive myself nuts when it comes to displaying my toys and pop culture collectibles, but when it comes to this set up I am completely satisfied.

A Toy Hunting We May Go

It's been a hard days night and I've been working like a dog. So, I am taking a moment to be one with the force and take a break. I have been  trying to get The Batcave Toy Room in shape for a quite a while now and just have not been happy about it. I attempted to fit the majority of my toy collection into one room and it always ends up looking like a cluttered mess. So, I've decided to follow the lead of toy collectors like Ron R. and Brian Adams and rotate displaying my toys and collectibles.

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times, When It Comes to Displaying My Toy Collection

It's been a lot of fun freeing my toys from their plastic tombs over the past few months. I often wonder if they feel like Jessie from Toy Story 2 and being scared to death to be put back in their shroud (I really don't think my toys are alive, it's that my oldest is really into Toy Story right now) Unfortunately, that may be what has to happen.

I really had hopes of being able to display all of my toys, but really, a lot of it is just looking like a cluttered mess. There is far too many toys and pop culture memorabilia to display in the space I have. That doesn't mean the Batcave Toy Room is no more, it means I have to re-think my plan for now.

I do have some ideas however. For one, Ron from Ron's Random Stuff, has been showing us what he has in his toy bins and I may have to do something similar as I pack stuff back up. You'll get to see what is going in the bins as I put the toys away. Secondly, Brian from Cool and Collected, rotates his toy display and I really like that idea. I will most likely will pick my favorites to display and maybe switch it up every now and then, but I really want the collection clean and organized and not have everything crammed together.

I've been picking up boxes for my loose vehicles and playsets lately. For me, displaying boxed items is easier and gives a better presentation than loose items do. Right now the loose items are taking up a good third of the room.

If anyone has any ideas, let me know what you think.

About the author: John Sholtz is an avid toy collector and the interim editor of the Batcave Toy Room due to the abrupt death of Bruce Wayne. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter at, Facebook, Google+ and Linkedin.

My Excuse For Not Posting Many Toys Lately

My life isn't quite has hectic as Wonder Woman and The Flash's appears above, but pretty close. At the moment, family is coming first for me right now and I haven't been able to post much about my toy collection. The good news is, The Batcave Toy Room, the actual toy room, not the blog, is almost finished. Pics and more toy articles are coming soon.

About the author: John Sholtz is an avid toy collector and the interim editor of the Batcave Toy Room due to the abrupt death of Bruce Wayne. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter at, Facebook, Google+ and Linkedin.

Bins, Bins, and More Bins...Bins Full of Toys

Above you can see my office full of bins with my vintage carded Star Wars action figures in the cabinet in the foreground. I've been pulling out my bins full of toys as part of my toy collection purge. Not only to weed out what I am going to sell in the purge, but to put the toys I am keeping in their right full place in the Batcave Toy Room.

The above bins are full of toy parts for toys that I had intended to restore, but most of those are going up for sale on eBay. Still have some original mego Penguin and Mr. Mxyzptlk boxes on sale until Sunday BTW. Looks like I have some work cut out for me.

Let the Purging Begin! Original Mego Penguin and Mr. Mxyzptlk Boxes for Sale on eBay

The cleaning up of the toy collection begins as I start to sell off items that I had either picked up as a filler until I could get a better specimen, part lots that I won on eBay to get other parts I needed to restore a toy, or toys from my original collection that I had hoped to restore, but just could never find what I needed to complete.

I am going to start out slow and pick up speed as I go long. It is my intention to put items up for sale probably every Sunday until I am done.

First up are two original vintage Mego World's Greatest Super Heroes, or in this case Foes, boxes from the Penguin and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Also, included are 3 repro boxes. One Batman and one Robin solid box repro and one Batman repro window box.

If anyone is interested in these items you can bid HERE.

How Do I Insure My Toy Collection?



Pic Via MasterCollector.com


If you are are like me and most toy collectors, you probably keep your toy collection and collectibles in your home. Not only is this an inexpensive manner in which to store your bulging collection, it is also advantageous for insuring your memorabilia against such disasters as fire, flood, earthquakes, Death Star Super Lasers, Acts of God, etc.

Under the terms and policies of most types of homeowners insurance policies, private toy collections are covered along with all other personal possessions such as furniture, clothing, appliances, etc. that comprise insurable properties. However, just as it is wise to photograph and inventory items in your house that may be damaged due to unforeseen events, it is prudent that you inventory your toy collection as well.

The best way to do this is to keep a running log of the type of item, the date of purchase and its relative retail value and condition. Conscientious toy collectors may desire to take individual photos of their collection for safe keeping, but group shots are perfectly acceptable for insurance purposes. Such a collectibles log is also an invaluable reminder about what items you have and don't have in toy collection when you have your doubts. Having a toy blog like The Batcave Toy Room is a great way to do just that.

If you are renting, I would suggest having renters insurance to protect the contents of your home and toy collection. A renters policy works the same way as the homeowners policy for contents and possessions.

So, whether you have a toy blog or not, start taking pics of your childhood treasures and keep them in safe place like a safe deposit box. However, before you put your pics in a secure place, send them to The Batcave Toy Room, we'd love to share your toy collection,

(photo Master Collector)