Dumb Guy Stuff ?

Our recent visit to Portsmouth, NH, included a visit to a very unusual museum, that was unlike any we'd ever visited. Before I share where we visited, here's a question.

What do boys do with their toys when they've grown up?

How about if they gather them and open a museum.

Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff, Portsmouth, NH

While it's true that not every guy can do that, two men who live in Portsmouth, NH, can and have gathered childhood playthings in a place they call The Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff, more like a man cave for two retired guys.

Not only is it (so) far from a typical museum, it's more like a clubhouse founded by two local guys, Clayton (Clay) Emery and Rodney (Rod) Hildebrand, who met at a local dog park in 2017. They soon found out they shared similar interests, specifically in taking action figures and kits to another level by what's known as conversions. 

Both men collected like to collect and build things and while they have done a lot, they still consider their place as a work in progress as they work on their creations in the basement of Clay's home.

Finding this museum was really accidental after spending a dreary, overcast morning walking in nearby Prescott Park. We saw a sign advertising clam chowder at Genos Chowder & Sandwich Shop and headed there for a warm lunch, which we enjoyed.

Coincidentally, the lunch stop was on Mechanic St and heading there where we saw the a banner for this museum outside the street entrance of a residential home basement (114 Mechanic St). By the way, that’s all the advertising, there is for this place. There's no other sign, no phone, and no website, and also no social media presence.

Before heading to our Portsmouth getaway, I had read about the museum on two websites, Atlas Obscura and Roadside America (which list lots of similar and usually obscure destinations) but I hadn’t made a note to find it, but sometimes, dumb luck works best.

Flag is out when museum is open

An “Open” banner was hung out, but a knock on the door (there's no door bell) went unanswered. Undaunted, I walked up the stairs to the main door and knocked. It was answered by one of the museum’s co-founders and co-curators, Clay Emery, who owns the 200 year-old home. 

He agreed to meet us at the basement door saying that he forgot the museum's Open banner was displayed after his partner and co-curator, Rod, had apparently gone out. We maintained social distancing. At times, it was challenging as the museum is housed in the basement of this older home and there's a lot to see Luckily, we were the only visitors at the time.

What’s in this museum?

An easier answer is what’s not?

Ropes of holiday lights slung from overhead beams gave the basement a warm glow on the dreary afternoon of our visit. They also serve to highlight the dioramas that showcase Clay's conversions and there are a number lot of those to take in during a single visit.

Three Stooges and Cleopatra

The centerpiece of the limited space is a working train set of a 1950s New England town and train yard done to scale. It's historically accurate and built completely by Rod and named, Rodville. The town was modeled after and designed to be Dover, NH, but we read that after some questions about its historical accuracy, it was rechristened as a typical NE town. It includes a cannery, auto repair shop, produce market and lots of small figures including workman, a train yard cop eating a doughnut and a drunk asleep on a bench. Everything is handmade, and that includes many of the rocks, which is ironic since NH is the granite state its own natural rocks. We were told that Rod prefers that they’re handmade, like the rest of the things in this town. 

He's also skilled at kit-bashing conversions — described as converting model kits into custom structures. Many of the buildings in the model train layout had some former beginning.

Rodville is modeled after a "typical" New England town

Clay’s special hobby is conversions — described as customizing action figures and turning them into new characters and creatures. He has made and displays action figures in various handmade settings to depict scenes such as an old west saloon and a World War II bunker. 

G.I. Joe toys in various WW II layouts

Anyone who’s ever played with G.I. Joe toys would be in complete ecstasy here. Many displays feature the popular action figure with a mix of old and newer figures. Clay told us he buys many “distressed” figures online, restores them, then places them in historically accurate settings that he has created. He invites people to bring in old G.I. Joes that to include in the collection, and told us that many do just that.

Some of Clay's western conversions

Surrounding walls are lined with hand-built displays, including a western town with figures such as Wyatt Earp, Billy the Kid, Calamity Jane, and Doc Holliday. Barbie dolls now have a second career with conversions to saloon hall dance girls.

Former Barbie dolls have a new role as saloon hall girls

Another wall is devoted to DC Universe members — The Legion of Superheroes and Marvel Legends. Clay converted old 1960s action figures into models by cutting them apart, setting them in an interesting pose, and dressing them, using materials that include coffee filters and t-shirt material. He’s like a Dr Frankenstein of toys when it comes to dismantling and reassembling action figures. 

Hall of Justice figures

There’s some interesting conversions including one that showcases women dolls that Clay reworked into World War II resistance fighters, equipping them with customized pistols, knives, submachine guns, and even hand grenades. These are some don't-mess-with-them figures.

Conversions of former women dolls to resistance fighters

Their collaborations also have branched out to involved creating dioramas. These are a scenic representation with sculptured figures and details that blend in with a realistic background that is also handmade and gives context to the models and action figure within it. As with everything else in the museum, Rod and Clay paint all the backgrounds.

World War II diorama with handprinted background

Clay and Rod hung an “open” flag in front of the workshop announcing it was a work space that was open for hobbyists to come and visit and perhaps share their passions as well. According to Clay, some have some in to work in the workshop area. However, since the area is packed with displays and there's limited workspace, it's hasn't attracted many new recruits.

 

Visitors streamed in after the flag was out?

Not really were told, even though the basement museum/workshop is located on a populated pedestrian street in a historic district and there's a popular neighborhood eatery (Genos) just down the street.

The friends thought a new banner could help. Clay suggested they name it after what it's supposed
to be, a museum of dumb guy stuff and in 2017 they added the Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff name to the basement flag. It's been that way ever. There's no fancy lettering on this banner. Everything is handwritten.

What happened?

It worked and soon visitors, locals and out-of-towners (like us) started coming in from as far away as Europe curious about what a Museum of Dumb Guy Stuff is all about, asking how things were done. Clay said the name is purposely ambiguous so folks could decide if — it’s a museum of stuff typical of dumb guys or a museum of dumb stuff typical of all guys.

Good to know  . . .

This is not a business and, as such, there are no regular open hours. Often, it's open from 10 am to 4 pm, but sometimes it just requires luck, like what we had that day. If the Open flag is out, you'll most likely get a guided tour by Clay or Rod, whoever happens to be there when you visit. 

As mentioned earlier, this museum isn't on social media there’s no website, no phone number. On the plus side, there’s no charge to visit, it’s completely free and lots fun to explore inside.

Hope you enjoyed this museum visit to a place that was definitely an unusual discovery and one we would re-visit on a return trip to Portsmouth, NH.

Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone

We're in NJ catching up with family & friends (at long last)