Toy collectors converge on Marietta for convention
Mar. 19—MARIETTA — Toy collectors from around the country are descending on the Gem City this weekend. Toylanta, an annual convention for people that collect action figures and other vintage toys, is taking place Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Hilton Atlanta Marietta Hotel and Conference Center.
The hotel's ballrooms were bustling Friday afternoon as boxes carrying thousands of collectible toys were rolled in and unpacked.
In addition to buying, trading and selling, the hobbyists will have music, panels and competitions.
Marietta's Buddy Finethy, owner of Hawg and Ale Smokehouse, helped found Joelanta, a convention of "G.I. Joe" enthusiasts, some 20 years ago. Over the years, the festival has grown and merged with other toy shows to become Toylanta, which calls itself the largest convention of its kind in the Southeast.
"Tonight is going to be a madhouse out there with dealers from all across the country who barely know each other," Finethy said, describing the "lobby swap" planned for Friday. "We let them get together, get to know each other. It's the power of the community building. Because we don't want to be just a place where people come to get an artifact, and then we never see him again ... It's not about that, it's about sharing the feeling of community you had as a kid."
The toy show is run by the Cody Lane Foundation, which is named after the late son of David Lane, another Georgia resident who helped found Joelanta.
The show collects revenue from ticket sales, and from fees vendors pay to have a booth. Proceeds benefit the foundation — the ultimate goal of the foundation is to create a Cody Lane Memorial Toy and Diorama Museum. Finethy envisions the museum as a kind of mecca to the toy collecting and diorama building.
"This stuff is a therapy, early on it's a therapy, then it becomes a storytelling medium," Finethy said.
Mike Gardner of Cumming, a friend of Finethy's, has also been involved with the show since its inception. Now retired, Gardner uses his skills from working in construction to construct dioramas.
Other vendors, such as Chris Neal of Ohio, build and paint their own toys using parts from other action figures. And some use new technologies such as 3D printing to build their own models.
"To me it's like a giant family reunion," Gardner said. "I look forward to this every year. ... it's become a giant community, community of love."
