On 26.8.2023 Castrop-Rauxel became the new capital of vintage toys and collectible figures for a weekend - The Toyplosion celebrates its premiere.
The venue sounds completely unspectacular at first, but the demand for tickets and the pre-sales already suggested in advance that this would not be just another toy fair.
The team around the organizers stirred the advertising drum properly and lured the collecting passion with various fair exclusives.
In addition, there were several live auctions with great items from the world of toys. The proceeds went to the Runden-Tisch Marxloh e.V. to make the work with the children for the next time a little easier from a financial point of view. Great action and many thanks to the numerous donors and bidders - the children and young people will thank you.
As mentioned at the beginning, the pre-sales went so well that the contingent for the box office was actually only obligatory and the queue before the official opening of the doors was simply imposing for a first-time event. Fortunately, those waiting did not have to stand in the rain and a good mood quickly spread.
There was also a good mood everywhere in the Europahalle - no wonder with the many tempting offers from the dealers. Besides new goods, there were mainly items with nostalgic value - even a few heo Media employees couldn't resist the charm.
And while we are on the subject of nostalgia:
Our visit was of course mainly of professional nature and so we could show the products of Mattel - Jurassic Park and MOTU - and answer many questions. The absolute star was not, as we thought, He-Man, but the imposing Brachiosaurus.
Besides dinosaurs and inhabitants from Eternia, we also had our friends from Nerdistan at the start. Here you could let off steam at the arcade machine, chill out in the photo corner or, with a bit of luck, win prizes from Mattel at the gripping machine. You guys really cleaned us out!
Thank you very much for your patience and interest - it was really fun and we enjoyed every single conversation. And no, we're still not giving Vykron away.
So the day actually went by much too quickly and at the end it was still a little chat and review pass at the after-show party. Here also directly again a praise to the Caterina service, which has called absolutely pleasant prices for food and drink. Unfortunately, we know this from comparable events differently.
All in all, the organizing team did an almost perfect job and we are happy to have been part of the first edition.
A big thank you also to the numerous visitors and dealers who trusted in the event and made the Toyplosion a highlight of this year's fairs.
We are sure that the second edition will be even bigger and more colorful - you have laid the foundation for something really big here!
See you next year! In Castrop-Rauxel.