A lifelong toy collector and tattoo artist, Clifton Boggs has opened a new shop near the Palace Theatre.

CANTON Well-known for his tattoo artistry, Clifton Boggs has a second passion.

He’s been an avid toy collector since childhood and recently opened a toy store, Happy Pappys Action Figure Extravaganza, at 135 Sixth St. NW, just around the corner from the Palace Theatre.

A bright, spacious and inviting place, Happy Pappys has a large selection of vintage toys, housed in large glass display cases, along with current toys, mostly action figures, hung on racks.

It’s kind of a pop-culture museum where everything’s for sale, with plenty of fondly remembered toys from childhood. Fonzie! Flintstones! Dukes of Hazzard! Strawberry Shortcake! Pee Wee Herman! WWF! Care Bears! Texas Chainsaw Massacre!

"Everybody does get super excited to see something they haven’t seen since they were kids," Boggs said. "A friend brought his 8-year-old son in here and out of the whole store he picked out a Han Solo Blaster that his dad had as a kid."

On the more contemporary side of things, Happy Pappys has figures from "Breaking Bad," "Stranger Things" and the recent "It" movies.

About 70% of Boggs’ inventory is "Star Wars" related. Among the "Star Wars" items, old and new, are Nerf guns, Kleenex packets, Lego sets, stickers, card games, plastic cups from Pepperidge Farms, Chewbacca Lipsmacker and several vintage Jabba the Hutt Action Playsets. He also has a selection of rare and sought-after prototype "Star Wars" molded figures.

"‘Star Wars’ always sells," said Boggs, who prior to his store sold toys at collectors shows. There are a wide range of prices in the shop, from $625 for a Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters playset from 1984 in an unopened box to $2.99 for smaller novelty items.

"I’m trying to have things for everybody. I want to see kids in here. They don’t really play with toys anymore," Boggs said, then noted, "My 8-year-old son is into Nerf guns and Army men."

As a kid, Boggs would use the $2 he earned weekly from household chores to buy "G.I. Joe and ‘Star Wars’ action figures that were at a price point I could afford," he recalled. "The one playset I really wanted as a kid was a G.I. Joe aircraft carrier. It was 7 feet long."

Last year, Boggs acquired one of his favorite toys ever.

"I loved ‘Greatest American Hero’ as a kid, and I got a box set with Ralph and Bill and a Volkswagen Beetle."

To keep his shop stocked with vintage treasures, Boggs avidly buys and trades toys from people. "I’m always open to looking at everything," he said, noting that even broken toys can yield reusable parts.

A good starting point is for people take photos of items they’d like to sell, then send them to Boggs at the Happy Pappys Facebook page. For larger collections, "I’ll do house calls," he said.

The shop’s inventory "will grow real fast after people know I’m here. They’ll bring things to get rid of," he said. He finds his toys everywhere, including clearance sales, garage sales, flea markets, auctions and from friends.

This summer, Boggs will relocate his popular Canton tattoo shop, Eulogy Tattoo, to the adjacent storefront next door to Happy Pappys, which also will house more toys.

Hours at Happy Pappys are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

"