Surfing is child’s play

‘Toys in Surfland,’ an exhibit at Surfing Museum, puts a collection of rare items on display.It began 25 years ago as a simple hobby, but through the years it has turned into a valued, calculated collection for Dave Reynolds.

The Huntington Beach resident’s love for anything related to surfing -- in this case, surf-themed toys -- has resulted in the 47-year-old amassing an impressive collection of one-of-a-kind items.

Nearly 100 of Reynolds’ prized possessions are now on display at the Huntington Beach International Surfing Museum, which is celebrating simpler times with an exhibit for Christmas titled “Toys in Surfland.”

There are figurines and action figures, clocks, woodies and jigsaw puzzles included in the exhibit, which Reynolds said is the first of its kind.

“You name it, I’ve collected it,” Reynolds said of his surf-related memorabilia, which he has purchased through stores, antiques malls and online. “There are vintage toys and whimsical items in the collection, and not all of my collection was able to fit into this exhibit.

“A lot of people collect surf-related items, but nobody that I know of collects toys and models. What you see in the exhibit is just a portion of what I own.”

The values of the items in Reynolds’ collection range from 50 cents for a McDonald’s Happy Meal toy to $300 for an antique. Along with his wife, Debbie, Reynolds runs Surf City Décor and Kahuna’s Klassics, a Huntington Beach-based company that has designed and produced surf-related home décor and artwork since 1988.

Kahuna’s Klassics also has been producing trophies for the Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Tour, the OP Pro, the U.S. Open of Surfing and several amateur surfing organizations for the last 17 years, and also produces set dressings for surf-related movies and television shows, such as “The OC” and “Summerland.”

Reynolds, who said that surf trophies are hot collectors items at live auctions and on eBay, said he’s currently working on developing surfing-related prototypes for Disney that could come out next summer.

“With the high-tech toys of today flooding the market, it is refreshing to remember a simpler time when models were glued together and hand-painted,” said Gary Sahagen, chairman of the museum. “The Silver Surfer was a comic book, and Big Daddy Roth’s Rat Fink was a lovable character.

“This amazing collection of vintage surfing collectible toys goes back to the 1960s and earlier, displaying some of the things we grew up with and wish our children could have enjoyed as we did. The display will delight the memories of older surfers and impress the younger surfers with the way the surfing culture has grown into a multibillion dollar toy industry from these early beginnings,” Sahagen said.

The older crowd, will take notice of figurines such as Bob’s Big Boy restaurant mascot, Bob, and Felix the Cat, the lead character from the cartoon classic, riding a surfboard. The younger crowd will relate to a figurine of Buzz Lightyear hanging 10.

Also included in the exhibit are a few collectibles belonging to Kotch Keiser, membership director and board member at the museum.

Among Keiser’s surf treasures on display is Corey, a rare surfer girl doll from the Get Real Girls collection.

“I vicariously lived through my surf dolls while living in Arizona,” said Keiser, who moved back to Southern California a year and a half ago. “They kept me close to the beach, a place I love.”

The “Toys in Surfland” exhibit is running through the New Year. The museum is open from noon to 5 p.m. Monday, Thursday and Friday and from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.20051201iqqyxsknNo Caption20051201iqqyxaknNo Caption20051201iqqywrknPHOTOS BY KENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Kotch Keiser of the Surfing Museum arranges memorabilia for the exhibit “Toys in Surfland.” Below, toys from the collection of Fred Schroder appear in the exhibit.