The Legend of the Hernando Toy and Comic Show

 
My strange, Addams-type family - who, much like me, are toy-obsessed nightmare creatures - held their local toy convention, the Hernando Toy and Comic Show, once again this year; complete with food trucks.

Naturally, I shambled my way in bright and early, serving my country as I either guarded the constantly flooding restrooms, babbled with all reaches of Nerdkind, or entertained my little siblings and their gang of miscreants by sneaking through various nearby abandoned buildings. As one does. 

Buildings 1 and 2

The vendors cannibalizing their own kind

I was really surprised just how many people piled into our little con - it was like an army of He-Man collecting ants scurrying singlefile the moment the gates dropped, desperate for those sweet, sweet MOTU. Even before open, the aisles were fairly packed, vendors themselves seemingly pretty interested in what each other had. I won't lie, even I nabbed a couple items before the masses.

Some of the coolest stuff I remember across the con are the absolutely wicked life-size droids displayed by the mystic Star Wars Guys of Lecanto, Jonathan Zelaya's "Grubsport" merchandise (including a sick "Deatharoni" prototype figure), and... Gangrel! I'm not much of an old-school WWE - ahem, F - guy, but I 100% recognized him from my family's toy collection; which totally made him laugh. 

Some more cool and weird stuff I spotted; I really wanted those wicked Rankin-Bass sets, especially the Year Without A Santa Claus pair. So sick. Lots of amazing original customs, books, and art pieces, too. Try to spot the awesome massive Jakks Pacific Godzilla 2014. And, whether you like 'em or not, it's not a convention if there ain't a few Funkos. 

The most special part of the con was an unassuming, empty booth; reserved for the talented artist, and family friend, Chris Schubarth, who very sadly just passed away. I knew Chris indirectly, but it's crazy to think, he's the guy that sold me my super rare KidRobot Gorillaz sets as a teen, among all sorts of fun little odds and ends over the years. Sure, it's all just toys, but he gave me some truly great memories. You'll be missed.

So, where's the winnings? Shocker - it's mostly Godzilla. First thing I snatched up was Bandai Creations' Godzilla 2014, a growingly rare figure who I've been after for a while; fresh in the box, too! You know I jumped all over that. Not sure what happened to the one I bought as a kid... probably eBay. 

Next, I picked up the MMS King Ghidorah 2019, who's one of many MMS figures that have been directly imported for US retailers such as Books A Million, FYE, etc - another one I've really wanted, but was basically holding off on buying until I inevitably ran into him in real life, since it's not uncommon. Finally, I've got an MMS Ghidorah for each Godzilla era. 

Last, and also least, I grabbed the Playmates Shin Godzilla - the actually somewhat good version, too! (atrocious version for comparison) He's a cute little guy, and I quite like his sculpt, janky as it may be, certainly having more personality to it than pretty much any other comparable Shin - even if the overall quality isn't there. What can I say, I like Shinny, and I'm sort of a sucker for Playmates' stuff lately - they did just win the Circana Toy Performance Award for their wildly successful GxK line, so clearly they're doing something right.

... Oh, and I got GTA5 for $5. Neat!

Pretty wicked convention, if I do say so myself - and I do. Word's that there's another round coming up in October. Thanks to anybody who might've shown up, and thanks to all the killer vendors, celebrities, security-types and food truck magicians, too. Shout-out to Donnely's Dockside - and, of course, Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Obi-Wan and Spider-Man. The OGs.