One Sixth Xpo 2011

Deep in the valley of City of Industry California, about 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles, lies a little hidden gem named Frank and Son Collectible Show. Essentially an indoor swap meet, the features over 200 collectible and memorabilia dealers all spanning in a 60,000 square foot building. And did we mention that admission and parking are both completely free? No, it's not a fantasy, it's reality.Frank and Son's was the epicenter of California's 1:6th figure community this past weekend, May 28th through the 29th, for the 1:6th Scale Xpo. The event was organized by a company called Q's Toys and Collectibles, and featured many different dealers showing off their best collection pieces and merchandise for sale. All while the usual collectible show took place around the expo.
Drea and I attended the first day, and due to scheduling conflicts didn't attend the second day. We decided to bring along a couple of friends, a cooler full of subway sandwiches and soda, and hit the road. We arrived a couple of hours after opening and gazed in amazement as we looked for a parking spot. The place was packed! We eventually found a parking spot and and soon after entered the building. The sights and smells of fresh plastic and fabric were overwhelming at first, but we soon felt right at home with our fellow collectors. There was much to see, plenty of 1:6th scale figures, accessories, weapons, clothing, vehicles and more. The first thing that caught our attention was the giant display cabinet showcasing custom 12" figures entered in Sunday's contest. Each figure was finely detailed and definitely showed each creator payed close attention to detail.
After checking out all the awesome custom 12" figures, we walked through the expo. The farther around the loop we got, the lighter our wallets seemed to get. But that was just fine for us. When we finished checking out the expo, and after a much needed lunch break with our friends and fellow collector Jed Thomas, we started to travel into the rest of the building. Words can not describe how amazed Drea and I were by what we saw. Up until this time we had only seen the collectibles we obsess over at a few places and the internet, so this place was a blessing to us. There were so many different dealers to visit it took us hours just to see everything. We then visited the expo one last time to speak with some fellow collectors and soon after headed home.
In all, we had a wonderful time. There were so many different thing to see and do, and the whole experience renewed our love for collecting. Meeting all these new people that share a love for toys with us was such a pleasant and rewarding feeling. We will definitely be back for next year's expo, and will also return to Frank and Son Collectible Show very soon. Huge thanks to Q's Toys and Collectibles, Jed Thomas, Juan Diaz, Melina Drake, Betomatali, and all the Sideshow Freaks members that we had the pleasure of meeting in person. We hope to see you all next year. Enjoy the pictures of our day.