Toy Hunter Jordan Hembrough Is Still on the Hunt
You might recognize Jordan Hembrough from the TV show he once had on Travel Channel, from his frequent appearances at conventions across the country, or heck, even from that time you bought a vintage Kenner Star Wars playset from him.
And if you don’t know him by name, then maybe you know him by his alias: the Toy Hunter.
Since 1995, Hembrough has collected toys through his company, Hollywood Heroes, and before that, he worked as a buyer for the now-defunct Starlog. After the chain went out of business, he bought out the stock at auction-much like he still does today-and put Hollywood Heroes on its way to success.
In 2012, Toy Hunter debuted on Travel Channel, which followed Hembrough on quests to find rare collectibles and offered an inside look at the deluge of deals he makes. If collectors were selling hot-commodity toys, Hembrough was there to scoop them up and help them find a new home. While Toy Hunter left the air in 2014, Hembrough is still plenty active in the chase; he’s just busier than ever with other pursuits these days.
“Right now, toys have taken a back seat slightly to developing and producing TV projects,” Hembrough tells Popular Mechanics. “I’m still very much active in the collectible market, but I do see myself working toward another medium at some point. I want to be able to tell these incredible stories about people and their personal experiences with the toys and genres they love.”
Every item Hembrough encounters has a unique story, he says. During the three seasons of his show, he tracked down memorabilia for clients like Gene Simmons (KISS gear), Vanilla Ice (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys), and the late Stan Lee (superhero relics).
Lee’s seal of approval turned into an ongoing working relationship with Marvel. Last year, Hembrough performed a Marvel-themed live version of Toy Hunter at New York Comic Con, and more recently, he appeared on Earth’s Mightiest Show on Marvel’s YouTube channel, where he discussed the brand’s most treasured toys upon its 80th anniversary.
“It’s an amazing experience to work with so many talented people who share your love for comics, toys, and pop culture,” Hembrough said. “Most recently, I’ve been working with Marvel celebrating the greatest toys from the past decades. These are the toys we grew up with as children, but it’s so much more than just toys. It’s about the stories from our youth that unite us. It’s our common ground.”
Hembrough is also a mainstay at Star Wars Celebration, the official fan festival that celebrated its 20th anniversary last month. For the event, Hembrough worked with Lucasfilm to ask fans around the country about their personal connections to the space saga.
“The entire team at Lucasfilm was incredible,” Hembrough says. “They really believed in this idea of telling stories from a fan’s point of view. It’s these incredible and emotional stories that resonated with people who watched the series. It was just a total pleasure to work on this project.”
As for Hembrough’s own Star Wars story, he was seven years old when A New Hope came out, which leaves no question as to his allegiance. He had bedsheets, posters, and, of course, the Early Bird Kit. And he’ll never part with his original figures, he says.
Elsewhere in the Hollywood Heroes basement, in Westwood, New Jersey, you’ll find other rare relics, like an outrageous amount of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pizza Throwers. But there’s something a little different about these vehicles. They’re in German (called “Pizza Werfers”), and they’re not regular Ninja Turtles-they’re “Hero Turtles.” (Back in TMNT’s heyday, in Germany the word “ninja” was deemed too violent for children’s programming.)
But Hembrough says his store’s inventory comes and goes so quickly that it’s tough to keep all the products cycling into it store straight.
Upstairs, amid the shelves of Jurassic Park, Star Trek, Funko Pop!, and current stock, you’ll find Star Wars Micro Machines, which hit a sweet spot for adults looking to purchase something for their children. With a price point in the $20 range, they’re more approachable than the AFA-graded items displayed in cases-not to mention they’re each an all-inclusive playset.
These ’90s Galoob toys were much more successful than their Kenner Micro Collection predecessors, so it’s only fitting they champion a resurgence in popularity.
Aside from Hembrough’s storefront, he also sells online through eBay, social media, and at conventions throughout the year. His advice for navigating comic cons? “You need to make yourself stand out,” he says. “Everyone is there, selling pretty much the same thing. I try to bring very high-end and rare collectibles, such as one-of-a-kind prototypes or artwork-stuff I know nobody else will have.”
Hembrough is already planning for his booth at New York Comic Con 2019 (October 3–6). And if you’re looking to visit his store, make sure to go on Saturdays (provided he isn’t on an epic toy hunt somewhere in middle America). Meanwhile, catch him online and fire up Toy Hunter reruns on Amazon Prime.
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