Dennis Kent just can’t put out that burning desire to collect toy fire trucks.
On Saturday, Kent will join numerous other Pacific Northwest dealers and collectors to display more than 120 tables of model cars, trucks, action figures and other items at The Greater Seattle Toy Show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Kent Commons, 525 Fourth Ave. N. Admission is $5. Children younger than 12 get in for free.
“You’ll see a lot of Hot Wheels,” said Kent, who has participated in the show for about 10 years. “There will be action figures, such as G.I. Joe and some games. There will be a lot of miniature toys.”
Look for the fire-truck displays to find Kent.
“I’ve always liked toy cars and trucks for as long as I can remember,” said Kent during a Tuesday interview at his home in Kent. “I could name off the makes. As I grew old, I also started to like the full-size cars.”
The full-size vehicles Kent owns include a 1950 Ford pickup, a 1949 Buick and a Ford Model T. But Kent doesn’t own any full-size fire trucks.
“They take up too much room and you can’t really drive them much,” Kent said.
Kent owns plenty of toy fire trucks, many of them from the 1950s that he finds at garage sales, antique shows or on Craigslist or eBay. Sometimes, Kent has to buy as many as three trucks of the same model just to get the parts needed to restore one truck.
“I do like the fire trucks more than others,” Kent said. “And I am kind of picky about what I buy and sell.”
Kent recently found on eBay a 1951 Doepke fire truck with an extension ladder that he bought and had mailed to him. The truck even has Firestone rubber tires.
“I don’t think it’s ever been played with,” Kent said as he placed the truck on a coffee table.
Doepke, based in Ohio, manufactured toys in the 1950s before going out of business about 1960.
Finding items such as the Doepke fire truck keeps Kent going in his hobby.
“I just like them and I like a lot of stuff,” he said. “It’s fun to search and find something and then fix it up.”
Smith-Miller trucks make up a large portion of Kent’s collection. Some of the toys he remembered having as a kid. He didn’t keep his original toys. But he bought the same items later as an adult.
Smith-Miller still makes toy trucks today at plants in Arizona and California.
Kent owns a Smith-Miller log truck from the early 1950s that he said probably sold for an original price of about $15 to $25.
“That was a high-priced toy for a kid to get to then,” Kent said. “It was the Cadillac of toys.”
Kent restored a Smith-Miller dump truck that he said could be worth more than $400.
“The values really vary,” he said. “It all comes down to supply and demand.”
If you go
What: The Greater Seattle Toy Show
When: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 20
Where: Kent Commons, 525 Fourth Ave. N.
Cost: $5, children younger than 12 get in for free
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