Tesco Vee is a Michigan-based musician and founding member and front man of The Meatmen, Tesco Vee’s Hate Police, and Blight. He also happens to be a big fan of Man from UNCLE. Over the past few auctions, Vee has been selling pieces of his collection through Hake’s Americana & Collectibles. Before Auction #220 opened for bidding, Scoop talked to Vee about Man from UNCLE, what else is in his collection, and why he chose to sell them through Hake’s.

Scoop: How long have you been a collector?
Tesco Vee (TV): I’ve been collecting since I started buying records when I was 12, then punk records and indie music memorabilia when punk exploded, toys in 1988 – so toys for almost 30 years. Yikes! I’m old.

Scoop: When did you start collecting Man from UNCLE items?
TV: I have a pal in Cincinnati, Brett Chapman, who had collected UNCLE since the ’80s when we both lived in Northern Virginia. I had a few UNCLE toys prior to the big buy, but always marveled at Brett’s collection. I always told him “if you ever sell give, me first shot.” Well, in January 2007 he told me the time was nigh to let it go. I told him ‘Give me a few months’ which turned into eight months of me selling off various collections to fund this mega chance of a lifetime. I rented a truck and bought his collection which included virtually every U.S. made UNCLE item plus others. I also purchased his collection of Get Smart toys and six showcases. It was the chance of a lifetime and I felt fortunate to have owned these toys for 10 years.

Scoop: What drew you to collecting Man from UNCLE?
TV: I always loved the spy craze stuff – Bond, UNCLE, Honey West, The Topper gun sets. It was a cool, campy time and UNCLE was second only to Batman for sheer volume TV tie-in memorabilia, so it was a target rich environment with many cool things to look for. I was always buying and upgrading and selling as I built the collection.

Scoop: What has been your favorite item from that collection?
TV: I’d have to say the Counterspy store display. Store displays are so unique and rare as most were discarded by the stores. That piece had it all, size, eye popping ’60s graphics, and every piece from the set was displayed. In the ’60s toy realm, it’s as good as it gets!

Scoop: The items that sold at Hake’s Americana & Collectibles have included gadgetry and cool spy stuff, such as the attaché case and the Counterspy outfit. Personally, I always like those kinds of collectibles. Do they have any special draw for you?
TV: Heck yeah, to see all the different ways they would merchandise these spy gadgets the possibilities were limitless. Cashing in on the show’s popularity which gun set after gun set, lighter gun, and the THRUSH gun the biggest, baddest UNCLE toy they made!

Scoop: At its peak, how large was your Man from UNCLE collection?
TV: It was six full showcases and then some. I had almost everything they made. The chalkboard is rumored to exist but I have never seen and UNCLE pajamas eluded me but I did have a bolt of the pajama fabric. 

Scoop: What are some of the other TV shows represented in your collection?
TV: I collected Green Hornet and Get Smart but have sold those collections. Currently, I’m working on my Munsters and Addams Family collections and some various other shows.

Scoop: What are your favorites from those?
TV: I love the Remco ‘Big Head’ Dolls and am trying to find them all sealed. I’m missing the heavy hitters like the paint sets but the thrill is in the hunt and I will keep looking. I had the hard to find Homer The Tarantula Addams Family toy on the card for a while but ended up trading it away to a buddy who made me an offer I couldn't refuse!

Scoop: What do you collect outside of TV-related memorabilia?
TV: Monster toys, robots and space toys, Weird Oh’s Rat Fink model kits, devil items, cartoons magazines, and many other things. Whatever calls to me and says ‘Buy meeeeeee Tesco.’ 

Scoop: What are the rare pieces in your collection?
TV: I have an original show used helmet from the Space Patrol TV show, a lot of carded AHI and Lincoln Monsters, I have some store displays that I would deem rare, some rare Weird Oh’s plush figures and a lot of good robots and boxes. I love finding the original boxes – not a fan of repro anything.

Scoop: Being a musician, I’m sure you travel a lot. Did you hunt for collectibles on road trips?
TV: Always! I had a guy bring me a van of his childhood toys and models to a show in Virginia and I bought them all, had to make them all fit in the trailer. I got into an old house from the late 1800s in Rhode Island and went into some rooms that had been used as storage for decades. Found some robots and other great stuff in there. Sometimes people just bring me stuff to the show and trade me for Meatmen swag. A girl brought me a set of ABBA clogs from the ’70s to a show. I’ve been an ABBA fan and collector since 1974.

Scoop: How did you build your collection – was it purchases in toy shops, conventions, auctions, online?
TV: All of the above. I get a lot of stuff of late through the toy groups on Facebook. In warm weather, I'm always out hitting the flea markets, yard sales, and toy shows in the Midwest. I still buy on eBay as well.

Scoop: What made now the right time to sell things and downsize your collection?
TV: Space mostly and when you get to the point in a category where you have almost everything its gets frustrating. I have a 1,400 square-foot basement full and needed to make a change monsters and robots are my focus now. I just love the ’60s monster toys.

Scoop: Has it been hard to part with your collection?
TV: Really hard! These things become like members of the family and its tough, real tough to part with them sometimes. But once I made my decision I was ok with it. I like the thought that my stuff moved along into someone else’s collection.

Scoop: What led to choosing Hake’s to sell your collectibles?
TV: I did my research and talked to everyone I know as to where would be the best place to sell my UNCLE. I even had people from other auction houses agree that Hake’s was the way to go. Reputation and years in the business and obviously the fact that y’all get some boffo prices for quality examples made my decision quite easy.

Scoop: Do you plan to sell more from your collection in the future?
TV: It’s very possible, and when I do I know where I will take them.

View Tesco Vee's items in Hake's Auction #220 at hakes.com.