The Weirdest Thundercats Accessory Is Also the Rarest & One Just Sold for $2,500

Vintage action figures are well known for bringing high value prices when they become available for sale. However, some of the strangest prices in vintage toy collecting come from items that don’t allow fans to play out iconic scenes from classic shows and movies. Instead, something as simple as a plastic display stand can end up selling for thousands, including one recent example sold on eBay for around $2,500.

The latest example is a ThunderCats Collector’s Showcase, a moulded plastic display stand from 1986 designed to do nothing more glamorous than hold a selection of ThunderCats figures in random vertical positions to show them off rather than play with them. The item was listed for $2,500 by the seller and ended up being sold under a best offer, so the final sale price is unknown but it is safe to assume that this basic plastic stand still sold for more than many obscure and iconic action figures that could be attached to it.

The ThunderCats Collector’s Showcase Stand Is an Accessory No One Really Needed

The Showcase shield is certainly nothing much to look at. While LJN produced the actual ThunderCats figures from 1985 to 1987, the licensed accessories around the line came from other companies, and the Collector’s Showcase arrived as a way for children to show off their ThunderCats figures by clipping six of them into its easily broken holders. It was the type of item that would have been bought by grandma because she knew ThunderCats was a thing and this came with the brand name emblazed across the box like a beacon.

This partly why the item is not commanding thousands. It was a stocking-filler item, and as such many people did not keep the thin box it came it even if they hung onto the stand itself. The recently sold version was listed as being complete with all its parts, instructions for clipping it together, and the box – even if that box was a little tatty due to its age. Irrespective of its state and cheap plastic materials, this nondescript stand is purely worth its current value for having the ThunderCats name attached to it. It really could have had any name attached to it, and it would have instantly become an unexpected collector’s piece of the future.

This is a point that is emphasised by a separate recent auction for a “Battle Shield” Collectors Showcase, which is the same item in grey plastic with different branding that does not sit with any of the big franchises of the decade. This item recently sold for under $350, a huge price downgrade based on nothing more than that single piece of IP recognition.

The collecting logic is exactly the same one that drives up the prices of grail pieces from any nostalgic franchise. Items produced in low volumes and those seen as not worth keeping after the craze was over become must-have purchases for serious collectors who just want to own something that not many other people do. 40 years on, a carded ThunderCats figure is a common sight at toy fairs, but a boxed Collector’s Showcase is a genuine rarity, the kind of item even dedicated collectors may never have seen complete, and that instantly impacts the price when one does come onto the market.

The sale of the Collector’s Stand is another clear piece of “it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it” memorabilia. Take away the ThunderCats branding and the piece of plastic that would be tossed in the bin without a thought becomes a lot less valuable. Instead, that simple addition of a well-known name turned it into a grail item for modern collectors and carries a price tag higher than many of the figures that could be displayed on it.

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