Mike Sandoval found what he was looking for at the Manchild Toys store in Davenport – a Transformer action figure that he had the store owner bring down from a top shelf at the new store.
“This has been a nice trip down memory lane. … I’m a Transformer guy, so that’s what I was looking for today, and I got it,” Mr. Sandoval, of Davenport, said shortly after the store opened for its first day of business Friday, Oct. 4, in the Old Town Mall at 903 E. Kimberly Road, unit 20.
Manchild Toys is the brainchild of store owner Randy Hildebrant, a longtime collector, buyer and seller of vintage toys and many other collectible items.
His new store – located in the same shopping center that housed the former Chuck E. Cheese restaurant – isn’t a smaller version of Toys R’ Us that offers contemporary toys and games to kids. Manchild Toys offers a unique blend of the old and new.
It has toys that today’s kids will enjoy. But it also offers a wide selection of toys, games and merchandise that are meant for serious collectors and adults who want to take that trip down memory lane and revisit the toys from their younger days.
When Mr. Hildebrant was putting the finishing touches on his toy store a few days ago, he told the QCBJ this about his desire to collect toys and open Manchild Toys: “I started collecting my youth back,” said the 50-year-old Davenport man.
Mr. Hildebrant added that he was the youngest child in a family of 12 kids growing up in Davenport. Even though his parents did get him toys and he had a great childhood, money was always tight. There were some birthdays and Christmas mornings that he didn’t get toys on his wish lists.
“We never got what we wanted. Santa never brought it,” he said with a laugh.
During Friday’s store opening, even Santa would have been proud of the number of toys on display and sold to kids and adults.
“It’s been awesome. … On Friday, we just had a wave of people coming in. I sold a ton of glasses during the first day,” Mr. Hildebrant added.
One of the rooms in his store is devoted to vintage drinking glasses with a wide variety of themes and designs. Some of those designs include glasses from McDonald’s, Muppets, Porky Pig, the Flintstones and many others.
The store owner added that some of the other big-selling items during the opening weekend included “Star Wars” toys and figures, and many vintage toys, especially those with a “Wizard of Oz” theme.
Some of the other items for sale included:
- A Pee-wee Herman doll was on a display case near the front door.
- A photo of Batman and Robin, signed by Adam West and Burt Ward.
- Many Beatles themed toys and items.
- Many lunchboxes. Some of the themes included “Ghostbusters,” “Pigs in Space,” “Dukes of Hazzard” and many others.
- A book of Popeye comics.
- A large collection of Smurf toys and figures.
But the item that caught the eye of one of the first customers was a G.I. Joe motorcycle and action figure collection called the “Baroness with Cobra C.O.I.L.” The kit had a $75 price tag on it and was bought by Bill Butler, of Moline, just a few minutes after the store’s Friday afternoon opening.
“I love this place. … We don’t have anything like this in the Quad Cities,” Mr. Butler said.
Shortly after he made his purchase, Kelly Wade of Clinton, Iowa, left Manchild Toys with a bag of his favorite vintage toys.
“I like it here. Some of these toys I haven’t seen in 30 years. … I especially like the ‘Ghostbusters’ car they had,” Mr. Wade said.
Mr. Hildebrant said he hopes those first-day customers – and many others – return to the store because he’s always getting more toys in the store. “Check us out on Facebook. I have new inventory all the time,” he told one of his first customers.
He added that he hopes customers will return and take those trips down memory lane. One of the themes he has pushed on the Manchild Toys Facebook page has been: “Come shop and be a kid again.”
Manchild Toys is open 3-7 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays. It is closed Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays. It can be reached at (563) 265-7303.
Mr. Hildebrant has scheduled the store hours around his other job. In addition to collecting toys, he has been doing residential flooring work in the community for about 30 years.
