The Duke of Toys

JORDAN: Buckle up because I'm heading to England... Let me show you what I've got. ...to make big sales for my first international comic-con. And I don't make my goal -- I don't know if I'm coming back. I'm looking for pop-culture hits you'd never find in the states. You've got three hits here. This is actually a little different. This says "Mutant Hero." Because "ninja" was not appropriate for children here, really. Action Man -- This was the European version of G.I. Joe. What's that? Jordan, this can make our whole trip. JORDAN: I'm Jordan Hembrough. For over 25 years, toys have been my life. Found something I want. My mission is to explore the globe... Do you know how much I can get for this? ...finding fortunes buried in your toy chests, at flea markets, auctions, and mega conventions. I just touched a $17,000 toy? [ Laughing ] They call me the Toy Hunter. -- Captions by VITAC -- Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC. I'm interested in this. I'm a big RoboCop fan. And I'm in law enforcement. You get the law-enforcement discount. $400. The toughest thing about managing a store and being on the road is keeping everything in order. Why are there, like, random stools all around the store? Well, I was sitting on one. Were you working while you were sitting on it? Well, I was spinning around looking at stuff. And with a team like mine, it's even harder. [ Bell jingles ] Hey. How are you? Hey. Hi, Jason. Got something I brought up. JOSH: It's kind of big, so I don't know if I should go out and get it. Yeah, bring it in. JORDAN: Big and possibly valuable -- [ Laughs ] You guys -- Yeah, sit it right there. It's the He-Man ride-on toy. Battle Cat was He-Man's, like, trusted sidekick. When he turned into He-Man, you know, he turned into this Battle Cat with armor and stuff like that. In the 1983 "Masters of the Universe" cartoon, playboy Prince Adam turns into muscle-bound He-Man with the help of a magic sword. Like his master, Battle Cat is also fierce and brave and also has a secret identity, Cringer, a cowardly kitty that would rather nap than save the world. You want to sell it? What do you think it's worth? $250 retail. [ Sighs ] I mean, I wanted somewhere closer to $1,000 for it. Just 'cause it's rare doesn't mean it's always worth more. Yeah. You have to look at the piece, though. It's huge. It's a piece of furniture. What would you think about maybe doing, like, a brokering of it? I want to help you out. I take 20% commission. Let's put it at $400. Okay? We're gonna clean it up and everything. Come on. Let's get your numbers. JORDAN: Battle Cat should be a nice piece for the store, but it's too big for my next comic-con. You keep buying Megos that are falling apart. I wanted to bring these to England. In a few days, I'm flying to England for my first international show, MCM Birmingham Comic Con. MCM runs some of the biggest comic-cons in the United Kingdom, and Birmingham is special because it focuses on collectibles and memorabilia. I want to bring a lot of American TV and movie stuff. I don't want to be, like, the only guy that has all American toys, so I want to get some English stuff, too. Before I look for English toys, I need to stock up on American pieces that are international hits. So, I'm meeting a collector in New York City with my friend Travis. Oh, he's gonna have everything you want for the U.K. Really? It gets the Travis stamp of approval. Travis is a young collector who specializes in Japanese toys. Yeah. It's like a giant meat locker here. Except you're not looking at meat. You're looking at toys. What's going on, Sean? Hey, what's up, Travis? What's up, man? This is Jordan. Nice to meet you. SEAN: I'm Sean, and I study toy design and toy manufacturing process. At a pretty young age, I was very fascinated by art and design. And toys were a natural part of that. So, as I aged, I studied toy design more and more and more. We'll take this shelf out, and then we can kind of dive in. Now there's more space in here. JORDAN: Sean must study a lot because he's got every inch of this locker filled with toy goodness. Ohh. Turtles! 1988, Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Yeah, there's a Krang in there. Oh, my God, he's horrible. Horrible in the best way. Krang was created just for the 1987 cartoon. An exiled warlord from Dimension X, Krang is literally the brains behind all of Shredder's plans to conquer the world. Although Turtles are considered a '90s-era toy line, they are already very collectible. With the new movie coming out starring Megan Fox as April O'Neil, I bet these will sell well at Birmingham, so I can go as high as $150 for the lot. You got 10 figures that go for $15 to $20, and you got Krang, which goes for $40. All right, $125. All right, great. [ Chuckling ] Chicken Man. TRAVIS: SilverHawks. All right. I got the same thing over here. Do you remember this line, Travis? It's like "Thundercats" in space. Sort of. Started in 1987, done by Kenner Corporation. These are like bird people, and Thundercats -- you know, cat people. It's the same animation company and voice actors, right, the SilverHawks and the Thundercats? "Thundercats" and "SilverHawks" were created in 1986 by the same company, Rankin/Bass, who also made the holiday classic "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town." I don't think SilverHawks toys were released in England, so these should be pretty rare at Birmingham Comic Con. As a lot, they're worth about $600, so I don't want to pay more than $350. What if I take all 17 figures? $450? Nowhere near it. I think I can live with it. I think it's a good amount. Let's see. I'll take that. Super Sentai stuff. Oh! Yeah. This is the Robotech Veritech Fighter -- 1986. This is done by Matchbox. Producers took three Japanese animated series, tied them together and made 85 episodes of what we know as "Robotech." Released in 1985, "Robotech" tells the story of aliens invading Earth and the brave Veritech pilots who fought them. The series' cliffhanger wasn't resolved until "Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles" was released two decades later. All right, 80 bucks. I think $80 is good. 80 bucks. Thank you. Sean's studies paid off. He had a lot of great '80s collectibles for Birmingham. I bought a case of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for $125 and will hang them up for $240 total. I flew off with 17 SilverHawks for $350, and all together, they should bring me $600. And I bought the Robotech Veritech Fighter for 80 bucks. It should sell for $120. Along with some other American classics, I found a lot of inventory that should dazzle the English collectors in Birmingham. It's a seven-hour flight to London, England, and, despite the jet lag, I'm excited. Since this is my first time digging overseas, I brought Dave with me. Dave is an expert on international toys. Bringing him to England was a no-brainer. Look, Dave -- Big Ben. Big Ben is the symbol of London. Jackie Chan hung from it in "Shanghai Knights," it was abandoned in "28 Days Later," and the Griswold family got stuck driving 'round and 'round in traffic in "European Vacation." I am so stoked about coming in here. Ooh, this looks good. There are so many little shops in England that hide amazing treasures. I'm hoping to find a little treasure myself in a small toy shop in Warwick, two hours northwest of London. You don't know what century you're in walking down this street, do you? This is it. All right. Hello. Hello, Jordan. All right. How are you? CHRIS: My name's Chris, and I own Metropolis Vintage Toys. What do I love so much about toys? The money. Let me show you what I've got. Even in the U.K., all the good stuff is in the back room. [ Laughter ] JORDAN: Dealers like Chris are tough hagglers. When you meet a dealer and the first thing they say is... [ Laughs ] Ohh. That's old. This looks like a big hodgepodge of stuff. There's a lot of clutter to dig through in this back room. What the hell is that? [ Laughter ] I didn't fly over 3,000 miles to find a broken chair. There's got to be something in here for Birmingham. Did you see these? Yeah, I saw them. They're broken. Nothing in here. More soldiers. More soldiers. What's that? DAVE: Never seen that in my life. CHRIS: This is a unique English piece. This is what I've been looking for. JORDAN: I'm in Warwick, England, uncovering British collectibles for my booth at Birmingham Comic Con, and I may have found the perfect piece. What is this? Lyons Maid used to make some really nice ice cream -- still do. You would see this, and you'd think, "I really need a 'Star Wars' lolly. It says right here 1977. This is a unique piece to the English market. Lyons Maid began making ice cream in 1894, but it wasn't until the '70s that the company began using tie-ins to popular TV and films to appeal to children. £750. Advertising pieces like this can go for big bucks if I can find the right buyer at Birmingham Comic Con. To be safe, I can't spend more than £850, which is almost $1,300 American. What do you want on it? I need £1,100. £900. £950. Oh. What did you get? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This is Rocksteady's Pogocopter. 1991. Playmates. Oh, you know what? This says "Mutant Hero." Look at that. Yeah, that's the English version. That would have been because "ninja" was not appropriate for children here, really. So, "ninja" was banned? JORDAN: The United Kingdom has a ban on violence in film and TV, and so the word "ninja" was replaced with "hero" overseas. Even Bruce Lee's famous nunchuk scene in "Enter the Dragon" was removed for the U.K. release. I actually brought the American version of this. I can have them next to each other. I could do £30. Cheers. I usually do that with a drink in my hand. [ Laughter ] "The gun you wear on your wrist." There's no gun in there, though. Well, that's why it's in there. [ Laughter ] Here you go. This is the Action Man Talking Commander doll. These were done by Palitoy Corporation. This was the European version of G.I. Joe. It was always the rumor that I heard is one of the Palitoy people saw what Hasbro had, asked them for a sample, brought it over for his kid. Kid loved it, and they're like, "We have to get a piece of this action." The very first dolls that came over were G.I. Joes in an English box. Then, they completely revamped the body. A little *** in the back. He's like [British accent] "Uh, what's going on? I know something's going on over there." He's looking straight into your soul. JORDAN: Action Man not only introduced the Eagle Eyes feature but also fuzzy hair known as flocking and a bendable neck to assume a sniper position. These improvements quickly found their way into the American G.I. Joe line. Vintage Action Man toys in the U.S. typically go for $400 mint-in-box. So, I'm willing to go as high as £150. What about £125? £145. £145? I'm absolutely sound with that. Chris drove some hard bargains, but I still managed to get some great pieces. I got a Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles copter for £30. I'll put it out for £60, which should make us $45. I found a vintage Action Man for £140. It should resell for £250 at a profit of $165. And I got three Lyons Maid ice lolly ads for £950. I'm going to put it out for £2,500, and if it sells, I'll make over $2,300. These British collectibles should sell great at Birmingham Comic Con. But none of them have the wide appeal I need for a showpiece item, so I have to keep searching. See you, Chris! I'm heading to my last stop in the village of Reading. I get confused. I know. I just look both ways. This next dealer's shelves are stuffed with collectibles, so I'm hoping to find something great for Birmingham. JIM: Jordan. Welcome to the shop that time forgot. I'm Jim. I started collecting records first. Toys didn't actually come until the 1980s. I still deejay with only vinyl. I started my deejay career in the mod clubs in the 1960s. JORDAN: Mod was a cultural movement in England. Bands like The Who mixed R&B music with flashy clothes. Today, most people know mod through spoofs like "Austin Powers," but mod collectibles still retain a cross-generation appeal. Ooh. I'd forgotten all about that. These are Give-A-Show projector slides. And you found a viewer. What's going on? Oh, the Batman ones. Nice. This is the Chad Valley Give-A-Show made in England in 1966. The light came out the top. It was almost like a flashlight. And you pull your strip, and then it would project it on the wall. Noddy. Chad Valley and Kenner both made Give-A-Show projectors, but Chad Valley offered unique slides just for the U.K. They would swap out American characters like The Three Stooges for English classics like Robin Hood. Even Dennis The Menace was renamed "The Pickle." Because the Chad Valley slides are harder to find, a set like this could go as high as $250 in the U.S. So I can't pay more than $175. So, what do you want on them? £100. All right. All right. Jim has a lot of stuff in here crammed from floor to ceiling. [ Toy buzzing ] I've got a feeling the showpiece toy I've been looking for is hidden in here somewhere. DAVE: Yeah? Get me a ladder. What did you find? Jordan, this can make our whole trip. JORDAN: I'm in jolly old England looking for British collectibles for Birmingham Comic Con. I've been trying to find a showpiece for my booth, and I think I finally did. JORDAN: This is the Batman utility belt -- 1966 by Ideal Corporation. This let children become Batman. Batman's utility belt has many amazing gadgets, like batarangs and smoke bombs. But he also keeps some odder items in there like kryptonite -- should Superman ever go rogue -- and Bat-shark repellent in case he's ever attacked by a shark while dangling from a helicopter. Hey, it happens! Here's the cowl. And there's the cape. JIM: And there's the cape. That's incredible. These were sold separately. Together -- Never seen them. This is an impossible-to-find piece and what I need for Birmingham. In the U.S., I could get over $14,000 for this equipment set, which is around £9,300. So I can't pay more than £6,000. What do you want on it? I'd let you have it for £5,000. Yes. Thank you so much. Jim was the perfect stop before Birmingham, and I'm leaving with some amazing English collectibles. I bought a Give-A-Show with Batman slides for £100. I should resell the lot for £200, which will earn me about $150. And I found the Batman equipment set for £5,000. I'll price it at £9,300, which would make over $6,000, but it could go for much, much more. Cheerio, cheerio. All right, Jordan. Here we are. Birmingham, buddy. You ready? As part of the MCM network of comic-cons, Birmingham is one of several conventions throughout the U.K. Birmingham focuses on merchandise and collectibles, which works for me because I got toys to sell. I put it at £9,300. That's roughly $15,000 American. Selling the Batman equipment set's gonna help me pay for the show... ...make my goal. To cover my costs, I set a sales goal of £15,000, which would be just over $22,000. Dave, how do I write a pound? It's like a cursive "L." Like Laverne DeFazio from "Laverne and Shirley"? Yeah. DAVE: Okay. Here's "Hero." We got to get a price on these guys. This gentleman's interested in your SilverHawks. They said they never had the toys here. Well, then, you need to get a set. Well, that's what I'm thinking. So, £300 for one, two, three, four, five, six. Thank you. What else would you suggest that I start bringing over? We were asking £350. Will you take £70 on that one? 'Cause that's the one I want. I don't want that one. JORDAN: The American toys I bought are selling great. The British toys -- not so much. Bigfoot. £275. I bought all these great British toys when I was over here. They're not selling. I wanted to get all the British toys to sell here in Birmingham. So, what do we do? We're running out of show time. I want to lower prices on the British toys. I don't want to lower prices on the American toys. This way, we can still make money. Can I suggest we put the belt with all those accessories in the case? Belt only. Putting something as rare as the Batman belt in the case makes me a little nervous. Don't lose that. That's like $1,000 right there. But if customers can see just how amazing this belt looks, I'll still have a chance to sell it here in Birmingham. That does look really kick-***. I hope I figured this out in time to turn this show around. I'm gonna puke. But I already may be too late. I want to lower prices on the British toys. I don't want to lower prices on the American toys. This way, we can still make money. JORDAN: I brought American and British toys to the Birmingham Comic Con. But only the American collectibles are selling. I've changed my prices and moved my big showpiece, the Bat belt, into the front case. I just hope there's still time to hit my sales goal of £15,000. Can I have a look at that? People are really noticing the Bat belt in the front case. Can I have a look at that Robot there, please? Obviously, I prefer to pay in cash. Even if they don't buy the belt, they're buying something. Hi. I got an important customer. Hang on. Hey, Catwoman. Where did you find this? It's pretty awesome. Let me see if it'll fit you. It's a good excuse to wrap my arms around Catwoman. [ Laughs ] Holy mackerel. Hang on. I got to take a photo. Isn't Catwoman known for stealing things? Don't worry. I got my eye on her. The British toys still aren't moving well. But the American collectibles are making up for the difference. There was a big furor about "ninja" being violent where they took scenes out of the cartoon. Michelangelo would end up with some sort of firing grappling hook. So, I'm definitely kind of interested in these guys. Good. Please, dig through. This guy didn't actually come out at all in the U.K., Zak the Neutrino. So, you didn't get the later stuff that we had. That is probably what I'm looking at right now. What's up? I have a gentleman that wants to buy Turtles. All of them. All of them? What about an even 4 ton? Yes? [ Laughs ] I love this country. Thank you. It's the end of the Birmingham Comic Con, and I survived my first international show. First show. Not exactly what I thought. I didn't quite hit my sales goal, but I came close, and I'll be heading home with some great inventory. We've got to take those British toys home and bring them back to the U.S. Let's see what else we're gonna sell. We're gonna get this going, too. JORDAN: The Batman equipment set alone should still sell for $14,000, if not more, back in the U.S., which will cover my cost of the trip. Along with the British toys I picked up, my visit to England should end up very profitable. I think I've earned a spot of tea or even a whole cup. Do you have a toy that you think should be featured on our show? Go to "Toy Hunter" at travelchannel.com to submit your toy today. You never know. We might take the hunt to you.