Tank’s Toy Chest: Raiders of the Lost Childhood

Hello UnderScoopers! Tank here to bring to you a new recurring column for the site. These articles wont set the internet on fire, but damn it we need content! No better way to do this than to talk about my vastly growing toy collection.

For each edition of the column I will single out certain items in my collection and maybe tell a story behind them. As much as I saved the toys from my youth, there are still a lot of itema I let go either through neglect or throwing them out. A few examples of toys that have lost their way are The Dukes of Hazzard Mego toys, the original Tron toys and some of the Raiders of the Lost Ark toys AKA The Adventures of Indiana Jones.

I was able to salvage some of the figures and playsets but for the most part it was incomplete and unimpressive. How could I take what is quite possibly my all-time favorite movie and just reduce the toys to bath tub fodder? Fast forward many years later and my interest in toys is growing. Slowly but surely I am recapturing the toys of my past thanks to toy shows and eBay. I was also able to procure a job at Media Play. For those who aren’t familiar with Media Play, it was a a glorious building that sold everything from Movies, Music, Books and Computer wares. They would also sell toys… er, collectibles. Oh man, how I miss Media Play!

I worked in the Movie Department (duh!). I worked the floor but I also worked the backroom stock and handled most of the incoming product. This meant I got first dibs on all the incoming collectibles, and did I mention I got 45% off all collectible items. Woo Hoo! My collection was growing more and more with each paycheck. Seeing my love for collectible… ah, hell with it – TOYS! I LOVE TOYS!!! Seeing my love of toys one my bosses asked me if I would be interested in buying some of her old Indiana Jones toys. She was saving up for a cruise. Words could not express my reaction but suffice it to say it was an immediate YES!

I bought her entire collection for 75 dollars. To those in the know that is a steal for old vintage Indiana Jones toys. She knew it too but she need to make some money. The only down thing about the score was she didn’t have the Convoy Truck. The Convoy Truck was probably my favorite of the collection as it had the “drag Indy from behind” feature that replicated the scene from the film. Though I had obtained these lost toys from childhood, I was still a little crestfallen that I didn’t have the truck. GOD BLESS eBay.

What would life have been like if eBay existed back in the 80’s? Hell if the internet itself existed. Dare to dream. Anyways, I went to eBay and bought the convoy truck and boom my collection was completed… Did I mention back then I was married and that I was afraid of the repercussions of buying a toy for 75 dollars, when I should been buying food and diapers? Yep, I was a huge coward and would hide purchases from my wife. She eventually would find out and just give me the disappointed look. I was so dumb.

Anywho, I had the Indiana Jones convoy truck mailed to my job. Yes, my job. Just for the record I don’t hide purchases anymore and my relationship is stronger than it ever has been. Ok time to get off the couch, sorry Dr. Phil. Back to cool shit. The toy was mint in box and it sits upon a shelf in my Nerdatorium with all my other Indiana Jones toys I have collected over the years.

If anything good came from that abomination of a new movie it was that I got a plethora (cue el Guapo from Three Amigos!) of new items and I have never looked back. It’s funny- I had a lot of growing up to do, and did that by collecting toys. Funny how the world works. By the way, there’s a USS Flagg that I’ve got my eye on, anybody have a big enough garage I could hide it in?

KIDDING!

Chris Tanski lives in Rochester, NY & manages a movie theater. During his free time (when he isn’t hanging with his wife & 2 kids) he wines & dines on pop culture. Being a child of the 80s, nothing gets him going more than a daily dose of movies from his childhood. They are his muse & inspire him to be a better human.