LEISURE: RARE TOY SURFACES AT CAPE TOY ROADSHOW

The Linemar Space Man doesn't frequently surface.

The toy astronaut, finished in silver and red, is an interesting variation of the early windup astronauts, containing some features that set it apart from other windups of the day.

Space Man features remote-controlled action. The astronaut has an enclosed white, tin dome with only the smallest of visors revealing the face beneath. A battery powers a light in the dome and a light at the front.

And those tiny lights in the 1950s toy has a dramatic effect on its price.

Space Man showed up at the International Toy Collectors Association's Toy Roadshow being held this week at the Holiday Inn Convention Center in Cape Girardeau. The show, which continues today and Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., features a team of toy collectors who provide an estimated value of toys with offers to buy.

There are about 300 such shows a year. The Toy Roadshow also is being held in Paducah, Ky., this week.

The toy team purchased the Linemar Space Man in Cape Girardeau Monday. Archie Davis, one of the toy buyers at the show, was ecstatic about the find.

"This one works," he said. "And it has the original box it came in."

The box, said Davis, is of very high quality, showing a youthful astronaut surveying the usual mountainous landscape. His Sputnik-like space ship is in the background, and there are space scenes on all sides of the box.

"The box makes the toy more expensive," said Davis. "We paid a premium price for it." A "Robots & Space Toys" price guide reveals the estimated value at $2,899.99.

Another premium toy at the show Wednesday was a Police Motorcycle, No. 3, by Marx.

"You don't see a lot of those either," said Davis. "We had one on display here, and someone brought one in."

The motorcycle is valued at between $125 and $400.

Old toys can yield some small treasure for their owners.

Those with the International Toy Roadshow like to tell the story of one Missouri woman who brought in a cardboard box of old family toys. One of the toys was a battered truck her father gave her brother during the Depression.

After checking through the box, one of the experts on hand made a couple of calls, then told her he could offer her "about 18" for the box. She said she thought the whole box ought to be worth at least $20. The expert smiled and said he meant $18,000.

"You never know what you will run into," said Davis, who has been with the international association three years. "I've operated shows in small towns of 10,000 to 15,000 people."

Davis admits to being space-toy collector. "But my budget is much smaller than the Space Man budget," he said.

Davis remembers a metropolitan show recently when a couple brought in a pickup truck loaded with toys.

"The truck had a camper bed on it and was full," he said. "We spent a half day going through the toys. There were some so-so toys and some good toys."

The couple left with a big check.

"We've left some shows with a couple of semitrailer trucks full of toys," said Davis. "In others, we may receive only a few boxes."

The organization has about 5,400 collectors around the world. Most are fairly wealthy and looking for specific types or makes of toys, primarily those produced before 1965.

The toys topping most collectors' lists include space and robot toys. Also popular are GI Joe figures, Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, Barbie and other dolls.

The show makes no claims of appraisal for insurance purposes. Instead, the group is more like a collection of major league scouts searching the country for promising new talent, Davis said.