Artist: Osamu Tezuka
Series: Uran (Astro Girl) Large Vinyl figure
Date Purchased: 2002-2003
Price purchased: $90
Story: I have no idea who made this and when it was built, and it probably hasn’t appreciated much, but this was one of my first big toy buys and to this day, for the money, I think it was one of my best. Uran stands over a foot and a half tall and is made beautifully. At the time, I never collected anything related to Astroboy and and I don’t think I started collecting expensive “art toys” at that time. I was at a local comic shop, Silver Snail, and just saw this large toy behind the upstairs counter that looked great and thought it was a fair price. It was a plus that my wife approved and I dropped the hammer! Tot this day, I haven’t seen anything similar since in person.
Silver Snail has been a local staple in the comic book scene in Toronto. When I was in my teens collecting comics, I would head there every month (I lived outside the city so it was hard to get there more frequently). I then moved on to sports cards and Mcfarlane sports figures and would find myself there again. Buying this Uran figure was sort of my transition to the “art toy” scene. Silver Snails kinda been there throughout my life, guiding me and introducing me to many of my hobbies and interests. For this reason, it was sad to see them move a few years ago from their iconic Queen St location with their ground level storefront and incredible window displays. They’ve since moved and the store is still great, but its much smaller, it’s not on the ground level and it’s lost some of its presence and charm for me. Regardless, this place was a big part of my childhood and continues to be. Check it out if you can!
nicabBY 