Chicago Toy Show Finds!

Of a Mesozoic Mind had the opportunity to attend the Chicago Toy Show on April 24th at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, IL. We were on the lookout for some great dinosaur toy finds...and we had some excellent luck!

First and foremost, the toy show - in its 43rd year of existence - is a sight to behold. Spanning across all of the events centers and livestock houses at the Fairgrounds, you are treated to hundreds of toy and collectible vendors ranging from early 1900's die-cast cars to Star Wars action figures to vintage porcelain dolls to Masters of the Universe Castle Grayskull and TMNT Sewer playsets. It's a good mix of flea market chic and stuffy antique store artifacts. If you want to go full Dr. Alan Grant and dig...you can. If you want to study big ticket items safely barricaded behind a wall of bulletproof glass...you can.

Though Star Wars dominated many of the booths, we were able to find a few hidden dinosaur gems for the collection. Our favorite finds were:

-1988 Dino-Riders Tyrannosaurus Rex with Krulos, Cobrus, and Bitor - used but fully operational. Our pièce de résistance! It's only missing the purple rubber leg bands and the individual accessories for the figures. All armor and guns (including those little red bulbs) are present. No box. We paid $180. Valued at $350.

-1988 Dino-Riders Adventure Set Colorforms - unopened. We paid $24. Valued at WHO THE HELL KNOWS?. If you believe eBay, then it's worth $150. My best guess is that, for the right collector, it could fetch $50 since it's unopened and sealed.

-1987 Dizzy, Dizzy Dinosaur Board Game (complete) - used. This is the Pressman version, not the 90's MB version. We paid $5. Valued at $30.

The next show is on October 23, 2016. You can visit their site for more information at ChicagoToyShow.com.