Convention Recap: ToyConNJ

Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos

The summer convention scene is heating up along with the weather. Fans and collectors can look forward to major shows almost every weekend, covering a wide area of pop culture interests. For toy lovers Joe Veteri’s latest edition of ToyConNJ took place on Saturday and Sunday, June 10-11, 2023. The show returned to its original location at the PAL in Parsippany, NJ for the first time since 2019. There were over 180 vendor tables packed with a wide variety of vintage and current pop culture collectibles.

We got there early and the early admittance line was stretched around the side of the venue, and I am not exaggerating when I say the people in line were very excited to get inside. Attendance was good while we were there on Saturday.

So what was there to buy at ToyCon you ask? Well there were two full rooms of dealers with others in the room dedicated to the F&M Hobby center’s race track, which took up a good chunk of the room. As such there were thousands of current and vintage hard to find toys, comics, movie memorabilia, transformers, model kits, superheroes, playsets, character toys, small antiques, anime, DVDs, posters, military, action figures, sports and non-sport cards, dolls, trains, advertising, vintage Disney, gumball and vending, dime store, books and magazines, autographs, cap guns, die-cast, records, stamps and coins, toy soldiers, Barbie, G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Lego, original art, Hot Wheels, Funko Pops, Matchbox, PEZ, tin toys, battery op, board games, monster collectibles, and even comic artists. I am happy to report that Allie and I found a few things for our collections while we were there.

With 30,000 square feet of dealer space available there were too many dealers to possibly list here, many of the top local dealers were there.

As Allie and I navigated the aisles of the two dealer rooms, we felt very much at home as we knew many of the dealers and got to meet some new ones too. Allie talked to the artist DenzelDraws and really liked the quality of his work. She was very impressed by Valarie Mateo-Siebenaler who runs Collectors Crate’s display and who had some really cool figures in package for sale. I was glad to see that Alan Fariello who runs Digital Realm Models and Toys and who is a regular at the monthly Wayne PAL show was at ToyConNJ with some nice vintage pieces focusing on the ‘70s and ‘80s. The Between Two Sentinel’s booth had a nice variety of items and the owner was a lot of fun to talk to. There were several comic book dealers with some nice key books as well. 

Veteri Production’s head Joe Veteri has said he wants to make ToyCon a multimedia experience beyond the goodies offered for sale and the show did just that. There was free family-friendly entertainment, including gaming entertainment by Wedoca which provides Japanese arcade cabinets and retro consoles to events along the East Coast. The focus was on ‘90s arcade games that include fighters, puzzle, beat’em ups, and shooters. They provided a large number of free video games, including Gundam Extreme MBON (four-player linked up cabs) Fate Unlimited/Codes Alien vs. Predator, Magical Drop 3, Nam 75, King of Fighters 98, Blazing Star (4-in-1 NeoGeo can), Elevator Action Returns, Puzzle Fighter Viper Phase 1, DoDonPachi BL, Marvel vs. Capcom 2, and Metal Slug X Kinnikuman 2 uBeat Festo.

Then there was the New Jersey Diecast Club (NJDCC), which has a 26-year history supporting collectors, conduct racing, raffles, auctions, and buy/sell/trade events throughout the year. NJDCC brought a 25-foot 4-lane race track and provided free racing for attendees.

F&M hobbies, a full line hobby shop located in Flanders, NJ, hosted a radio control race track with vintage car demonstrations from the ‘80s as well as new cars, all of which were available for show patrons to try for free. For their sixth ToyCon appearance KingJaay brought the “2023 AmeroGamer RoadTour Edition” with quite the impressive gaming arena. Attendees had a choice of the “blast from the past” with Retro-Esports Tournaments and Challenges, or with the Bubble Hockey Tournament.

Show specials included Battletoads Zitz which was a ToyConNJ exclusive based on the Battletoads video game. In addition to the 15 tables of diecast vendors surrounding the F&M racetrack, one could find rare convention items including vintage boxed Matchboxes, Hot Wheels, Green Lights, and Johnny Lightning.

There was not as much cosplay at ToyConNJ as at earlier shows, but those who were in attendance were happy to pose for pictures. ToyConNJ had a Cosplay-Karaoke Contest hosted by Kelcium Chloride which was sponsored by ECGX otherwise known as the East Coast Gaming Expo.

The show gave us the chance to meet up with a bunch of our collecting pals. It started even before the show opened as we were greeted by Joseph and Sonja Garcia (who go by “Cosplay Couple”), who we see at almost every show and have become friends with them. This time they came as Green Lanterns and as always, their costumes were done very well. We were very happy to see both our very good buddy and my fellow Batman collector Stuart Greenberg, our longtime friend Andrew Heller, my very good pal Pat Dunne, and Vincent Delvecchio, a Wayne PAL regular.

As has become the norm at many of the bigger cons, there was a variety of admission options including a VIP unlimited access weekend pass for $25 and an early admission option for both days of the show. Cosplayers were offered a special rate if they came in costume, and kids 10 and under got in for free. Veterans were also offered a special admittance rate for both days of the show.

Parking was free onsite and in additional parking lots nearby.

Food options were available from two food trucks, and there are restaurants and diners within a short drive, such as Eccola, a very nice Italian Bistro. If you plan to make the show part of an overnight weekend both the Holiday Inn and the Days Inn are a short drive from the show. 

The next edition of ToyConNJ will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 11-12, at the Parsippany PAL Building located at 33 Baldwin Road in Parsippany, NJ. More details are available on their Facebook page. If you have questions about the next show, you can contact Joe Veteri at joe@veteriproductions.com or call him at (973) 768-6649.

For more photos from ToyConNJ, jump to our In the Limelight section.