Retro toy collector spends decades on collection thought to be worth £10,000

‘I’ve easily got one of the biggest retro action figures collections in England’ (Picture: William Lailey/Caters News)

Theo Cane, 33, has been collecting retro toys since becoming ‘obsessed’ with action figures when he was a little kid.

Illustrator Theo has spent the last few decades hunting for more toys to add to his collection and has turned his home into a ‘museum’ to display them.

Now, his action figures are estimated to be worth a whopping £10,000.

Theo, who also works as a toy designer and film-maker, said: ‘I was raised around car boots and market stalls, so it was inevitable that I would end up becoming obsessed with toys.

‘I have collected action figures my whole life, and have always had a big collection of them.

‘I’ve easily got one of the biggest retro action figures collections in England – there’s a lot in storage, but I have bought over 10,000 toys.

Theo has been collecting retro toys since he was a child (Picture: William Lailey/Caters News)

‘I don’t live with anyone, so I keep them all in my house at the moment – it’s like a toy museum.

‘It’s all really nicely displayed and every room in the house has a different collection.’

One of Theo’s oldest toys, The Great Garloo by Marx, was made back in 1961.

He said: ‘When I bought my house, the first thing I did was start displaying my toy collection’ (Picture: William Lailey/Caters News)

He bought his first home in Sheffield when he was 19, which helped him have enough space to build his impressive at-home museum, featuring thousands of toys in displays.

He said: ‘When I bought my house, the first thing I did was start displaying my toy collection.

‘I have toys that are impossible to find now and a lot of them are worth a lot more than when I bought them.

‘I’d say there’s at least £10,000 worth of toys, but it’s impossible to say an exact price because there’s so many.

‘I’ve never wanted to have kids – I’ve just surrounded myself with cool art and toys (Picture: Wiilliam Lailey/Caters News)

‘Some of the older lines have become less valuable because people don’t want them anymore.

‘I’ve never wanted to have kids – I’ve just surrounded myself with cool art and toys.

‘I get a lot of them from car boots, Facebook marketplace, and eBay, but I also travel a lot to find some of the rare toys, so I’ve been to Tokyo and America in hunt of new toys.’

Theo’s top ten favourite toys in his collection are:

1. The Great Garloo – 1961
2. Action Man Gargon – 1978
3. Madballs – 1985
4. Battlebeasts – 1986
5. Body Wars – 1994
6. Toxic Crusaders – 1991
7. John Matrix Commando – 1986
8. Playmates Casey Jones – 1989
9. Food Fighters – 1989
10. Coleco Rambo – 1982