Nostalgia at Nerd Base - A Visit To A UK Collector's Toy Store

14 May 2024 Reading time: 6 minutes

IT'S LITERALLY TOY HEAVEN

The Aladdin’s Cave of all things collectable, new and old. Visting Nerd Base is like a roller coaster of nostalgia and it’s amazing. Craig opened the store in Battlesbridge, Wickford, Essex in March 2017 and then in September 2023 he opened a second store in Canvey Island. He was a toy dealer for several years beforehand and an avid collector of Star Wars figures himself.

nerd base interior photos

LIKE A KID IN A TOY STORE

As you walk through the door, you know you are somewhere special, wall-to-wall toys and collectables spanning many decades. We tried to follow a sensible route around the store so as not to miss anything, but we probably did (any excuse to go back again!). We had a little peek at the myriad of Funko Pops! but we were drawn to the vast amount of NECA figures; Alf, Gremlins, Turtles and so much more. We had to remind ourselves this was only the first aisle and to use an element of self-control. Moving away from NECA we found a nice selection of Super 7 Reaction figures; Roger Rabbit, Turtles and Transformers to name but a few. The glass cabinets contain all manner of vintage toy goodness from Crash Dummies, Bucky O’Hare, Transformers, Masters of The Universe, Star Wars, Rock Lords etc... We could go on listing all the IPs but it would take all day, so the best way to know exactly what there is would be to pop down and have a browse!

nerdbase interior shop photos

Trotting into the larger of the two downstairs rooms we are met with an abundance of Star Wars, Kenner, Black Series, and Hasbro - pick an era of Star Wars and you are sure to find something here. It’s amazing to see so many Star Wars toys in one place and there’s something for everyone’s price range, and for assorted ages too. Plus the life-size Wicket and Jar Jar are sure to make anyone smile.

Turning away (reluctantly) from the Star Wars franchise, we are met with a substantial selection of Loungefly bags, wallets and purses. Conveniently there was 10% off Loungefly on the day we visited, so it was only right that we added a new bag to the collection. Further down the store, we discovered Ghostbusters, Hot Wheels, Pokemon and wrestling figures. It was fun looking through the loose wrestling figures and trying to remember their names.

icons for table top gaming events

Another room at the back is designated for tabletop gaming, and Nerd Base offers a wide variety of D&D products and tabletop games. If you are into card game tournaments, check out the Nerd Base events page for upcoming events, as there are regular Pokemon tournaments and some others too.

As we start to make our way around the other side, we are stopped by the horror section, more beautiful NECA figures, Toony Terrors and Mezco Toyz, to namedrop. Another reminder of self-restraint was needed at this point. Following on from the horror, we found LEGO to the left and Transformers to the right. Nerd Base have recently become an official reseller of LEGO so they have a bunch of the latest sets as well as older ones and preloved sets.

It was now time to head upstairs.

upstairs interior photo of nerd base store

AT THE TOP OF TOY TOWN

With arms laden with goodies we climbed the stairs to take in more plastic joy; DC, GI Joe and Turtles were there to greet us. No level of self-restraint can be had amongst the Turtles. After much deliberating over the important issues on which Last Ronin figure to get, we surveyed the Gundam kits. It’s awesome to see such a great amount of choice with regards to these kits as they come in different levels of ability and some can be quite fiddly to construct.

If Manga and Anime are your vibes then look no further, figures, statues or books, Nerd Base have got the lot. Bleach, One Piece, Naruto, and My Hero Academia are all here and many more in glorious technicolour. Another fantastic thing is they stock preloved Manga books at extremely reasonable prices so it’s the perfect way to get into a new series without having to spend a fortune.

Upstairs is also a trove of video games and consoles; Dreamcast, PlayStation, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Mega Drive whatever is your game station of choice you can bet that there is something here for it. Even delving far back into the realms of cassettes, they have a selection of Spectrum and Commodore games (we know y’all are nostalgic for those loading sounds and too brightly coloured lines).

pictures of lots of comics for sale in a shop

The final area is the comic book room, which is spectacular. The shelves around the edge are stocked with McFarlane DC figures, and the hooks offer up X-Men ’97, Marvel Legends and Spawn. The comic books are aplenty - Star Wars, TMNT, Batman and so on, it's not just the most recent that they stock, there are so many vintage/retro comic books to choose from as well.

Having explored for well over an hour we decided it was time to hand over monies and leave whilst we still had money left to eat with. We fully advocate you visit Nerd Base. Craig is a lovely guy and it’s obvious that he is passionate about toys and collecting. If something is missing from your collection, he may well have it at one of his stores.