St Tammany Collectors Con Haul

 https://www.sttammanycollectorscon.com/

Twice a year, the St Tammany Collector's Convention in Mandeville, LA is worth the trip out. Often times, you can find some great deals, and it's where I found some Kenner Holy Grails the last few years. I had no such luck this year, but there was an Ewok Village nearly complete for $150, and an incomplete Death Star playset for $95. With this weekend falling on May 4th, there were several Star Wars related guests. To check out the Convention guests and learn a little more about the St Tammany Collector's Convention, try the link above (copy and paste to browser if it won't work). So, I set aside a budget of $300...and for a change I came in under budget. No Kenner hauls this time, but I got some great custom fodder, some 3.75 Star Wars hauls that didn't break the bank. Plus, I got to meet and talk to an actress who is just incredibly beautiful. More on her later, but first the hauls! 

GI JOE HAUL NUMBER 1

Haul price: $40

The Scarlett vs Stormshadow pack was something I didn't know existed as I was aware of only a Scarlett vs Zartan from that 2 pack line. The box was damaged, so this was the free purchase. The Retro Destro was a Wally World exclusive, and I really like the head sculpt, so in the future this will be a custom dark side figure. I had no idea there was a GI Joe Trooper from the Retaliation movie line, so I picked him up since his helmet looks cool, and I may use the unhelmeted head for another custom I've had in mind. 

GI JOE HAUL NUMBER 2

Total Haul price: $50

As soon as I saw Lady Jaye, I grabbed her off the rack. I had hoped to find a Flint figure, but instead settled for Duke, who I'll use to make a custom of a former Stormtrooper turned Jedi. The weapons from both hauls will go to my other 3.75 inch Joe's. This vendor tends to be pricier, and he had some other great figures but at very high prices. 

LOOSE GI JOE/MARVEL HAUL

Total haul: $27

I have no clue who the GI Joe figures are. And I don't care. At all. I saw these figures loose and felt they could be great figures to use for dark side user customs. Now I do know the female figure, it's a 5 POA Marvel Scarlett Witch figure. I plan on using the head for a custom down the road. 

BLACK SERIES PICKUP

Haul price: $5

This figure can be found at Ollie's for about $10. Getting him loose, and complete for $5 is why I love going to this convention. I did pass on some other Sixers, like a complete loose Darth Nihilis for $10, and a 4th Sister figure for $15. But, I needed a Sixer Grief. Mission accomplished. 

TYCHO CELCHU A-WING PILOT

Haul price: $10

 I had seen this at one of my local comic stores for $15. But I passed and then when I came back, he was gone. At the same comic store I got a POTF2 A-Wing for $15, and the pilot was missing. Since I have a spare Leia figure I want to make into Winter, she needs her future husband, and I need an A-Wing pilot. Double win. 

EMBO 

Haul price: $10

Hardcore Collector's know who this is. Embo is one of the coolest bounty hunters from the Clone Wars series. Plus, he's going up against Din Djarin in The Mandalorian & Grogu movie (reportedly). I didn't have this figure, and for $10 it was an easy impulse decision. And this is a figure from the Animated super articulated line, but since he's an alien, I'm okay with the animated look. Until he gets a proper Vintage Collection figure. 

SPACETROOPER HAUL

Total haul: $20

This was tricky as 2 different vendors had 1 Spacetrooper each. I quickly got them, and thankfully they were $10 apiece. This is the version that appeared in the Heir To The Empire comic adaptation, and with some more articulation than their POTF2 counterpart got. Once I open them, I hope the blasters still fit in their hands as the ties that hold them have long rotted and broke. This is one reason why I always look over every vendor before buying because of finds like this. 

AAYLA SECURA AUTOGRAPHED FIGURE

The Republic comics from Dark Horse introduced Aayla Secura to the Star Wars universe, and she quickly became one of my favorite characters in that series. George Lucas was so taken by a drawing of her for an issue cover, he decided to put her in both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. The actress who played her, Amy Allen was a guest at the Con. Since they don't allow toys to be brought into the convention (at least this was what someone told me, I can't confirm that, but check in advance before getting a ticket go any Convention), I made finding an Aayla figure, to see if Ms Allen would autograph it. At one of my $10 figure hauls, I ended up getting this figure for free since he knocked off $10 for being the 1st customer of the day. Amy's line was busy, as was the line for Oola actress Femi Taylor, who still looked incredibly fit, and was friendly while chatting to fans. Finally, Amy's line settled down and as the only one there, I found my courage to talk to a very attractive woman and asked if she would sign an action figure, which she enthusiastically said yes too. I opted for something personal on the card because there is no chance in Hell am I ever parting with this. EVER! And yes, Amy Allen is an incredibly beautiful woman who is friendly and deep down a fan at heart. If she's at a convention, get her autograph! 

Total haul: -$10 figure, $40 autograph. 

CANTINA PATRON HAUL

Total haul: $30

The middle figure, Dannik Jerriko, has been on my must acquire list once I backed the Cantina HasLab. Finding him today was exciting. Nowhere near as exciting as meeting Amy Allen! These were my 1st purchases of the day, and to get a couple others to fill out the Cantina? Icing on the cake. Myo is the cyclops seen briefly in the Cantina, and he just looks good. The third alien, Feltipern Trevagg, is what every bar needs: a drunk and romantic patron. He schmoozes with M'iiyoom Onith in a booth, and low and behold, I have her action figure! So finding her drunken love connection comes as a very good find, and more importantly one of great value! 

Budget: $300

Total spent: 40 + 50 + 27 + 5 + 10 + 10 + 40 + 30 = $212

So I have some money left over, and that doesn't include my gas and coffee because I had money set aside for that before this trip got planned. So this was what I got. I gave a couple examples of what I passed on, but here are a few other things I passed up: 

1. Secret Wars Spider-Man. In his alien costume, he was priced at $40. I don't really collect Marvel Legends, but the black suit Spidey has been a long favorite of mine. Although I wished it was more accurate to the 1984 version and not the Todd McFarlane version from Amazing Spider-Man issue 300. 

2. Sabine/Chopper 2 pack. I really wanted to get an extra one to open because the Sabine figure is what we should have gotten first: this one has a swappable helmeted head, and a jetpack. The vendor that had it wanted $70 for it. I had hoped to get it down a bit since the box was ripped, but the lowest he would go was $60. I thanked him for his time and moved on. 

3. Original You Only Live Twice paperback novel. I'm a huge James Bond fan, and this was the original paperback of Ian Fleming's next to last James Bond novel, and the sequel to the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The price? $5. If I didn't have this novel already, I would have bought it. And if the last Bond "movie" had chosen the ending this book had for Bond, I'd be a lot more excited over the next James Bond movie. 

All in all, there are great deals at the St Tammany Collector's Convention. This event has become much larger as word has gotten out about finding good deals, and with more celebrities appearing, this small Convention is going to become bigger. I don't know when the one this fall will take place, but football season makes it hard to go there. If you go once a year, or to both shows, it's well worth your time, and you won't go broke. 

Now to finish counting votes...

Thanks for reading! Please visit the St Tammany Collector's Convention website to learn more about it, and if you're in Louisiana, or near the Gulf Coast, make a trip out there once the Convention is on, you'll be glad you did.