The PopCult Toybox

Last weekend your humble blogger and his lovely wife took a low-pressure trip to the Cinncinnati/Dayton area just to get away for a bit after a few weeks of intense work and various medical tests.

And part of our journey took us to an extremely cool toy store that I’ve been hearing about almost since they opened, back in 2018.

They’ve actually expanded and moved twice since then, so you can now find The Toy Department at 5960 Dixie Hwy in Fairfield, Ohio…maybe half an hour North of Downtown Cinncinnati. It’s very easy to find, and it’s a very special store.

For one thing, it’s a destination store. They do no online selling, not even on eBay. You either have to go to the store in person, or if you’re lucky, check out a selection of their vast inventory at one of the many toy shows they attend throughout the year. And they do a pretty healthy number of toy shows. One recent weekend saw them set up at Xenia, ToyLanta and The Lexington Comic Con, all at the same time, while keeping their store open!

However, if you don’t go to the store, you’re missing the big attraction. The store is pretty sizable, and it’s filled from floor to ceiling with an amazing assortment of toys. There’s plenty of vintage stuff, going back to the 1980s (and I saw a few pieces that dated back to the 1960s, which warmed the aging heart of this longtime toy collector), but they also have an outstanding selection of current action figures from major toy companies as well as the more interesting smaller upstarts. If you collect 1/12 scale figures, which are currently dominating the hobby, then this place is your Mecca.

The store is loaded with GI Joe: Classified figures, but they also have Marvel Legends, Star Wars, and several incredible and compatible new lines like Warriors of the Animal Kingdom, Crimson Moon, Operation Monster Force, Soldiers of Fortune and tons of others.

You’ll see those below, along with just a sliver of their other offerings. Seriously, this photo essay doesn’t really do them justice. You might want to follow them on Instagram until you have time to plan your own trip.

Let’s just let the photos do the talking, shall we?

It’s a wide storefront, right off the highway.

This is just part of their GI Joe: Classified stock

They have other scales of Joes, and related lines, too.

They even have toys from somebody I know…Strike Force Alpha  is made by White Elephant Toyz. I know Jason from Kentuckiana!

These cool figures, in the same scale as GI Joe: Classified, made my wallet breath of sigh of relief that I don’t collect that scale.

This is some seriously cool-looking 1/12 scale stuff.

I’ve been really impressed with this line since I first saw it at PowerCon a couple of years ago in Columbus.

This is really a Golden Age for 1/12 scale collectors.

However, the store is packed with toys in all other scales.

Don’t for one minute think that this is a tiny store with only a limited amount of stuff. This is just one corner, and look at it!

This is part of the table filled with big stuff.

I have to admit to being just old enough to have missed out on Transformers, but they had a ton of them, too. This is a tiny portion of it.

Unlike many collectible toy stores, The Toy Department does not ignore Barbie. They have a healthy selection of Pink boxes (this is not all) and Mrs. PopCulteer found a couple of gems for her own collection.

I had to stop and pay my respects to the 1980s Super Powers figures, although it looks like The Flash has trouble standing up. I thought Green Lantern and Iron Man were the guys with drinking problems.

Part of their selection of non sport trading cards. Made me a little misty-eyed, remembering my days with Non Sport Update.

Of course there was Star Wars stuff all over the store. This is a concentrated grouping of the expensive stuff.

Not to be outdone, Star Trek had a sizable presence, too.

Even more Trekly goodness, with Spawn figures in the background.

I don’t want the TMNT collectors to feel left out. This is just a small part of what they have.

Shelves filled with dinosaurs and other cool stuff. I wonder why that sauropod looks so lonely?

Oh…that’s right…his big brother came home with us. Sucker took up most of the back seat, too!

And that is just a taste of what’s in store for you if you make it to The Toy Department. I highly recommend it.

Also, bring money. They gots lots of stuff.