How did you store your figures first time round?

£1.49 FIGURES

Padawan
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Nov 26, 2011
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33
Another wave of SW toy collecting nostalgia here but also a genuine interest in how we all stored our figures back in the day.
I started buying figures in early 1981 but about 3 and a bit years later pretty much gave up on Star Wars mid to late 1984 with the exception of a mail-away Anakin in early 85 I think plus a Luke figure as a Xmas present December 1984. Up until 1982 I stored my figures and cardbacks in a shoebox I believe but then moved on to a empty plastic sweets container jar that my Aunt who worked in the local village café at the time brought back for myself and my brother (her nephews who lived next door) and her son, all of us big SW fans.
While the other two used their jars for keeping their Lego in, I opted to store all my SW figures in there and then would seal them off for safety with the lid. Whenever I opened the lid to take out the figures and accompanying weapons and accessories the smell of plastic was so strong that I forever associate it with my childhood and playing outdoors in the sun - sheer nostalgia, I know! The plastic jar is where they remained for the best part of 17 years up until I foolishly sold off my entire vintage toys in the summer of 1999 and then deeply regretted it mere weeks later. Anyway, over the past seven or so years I have bought up all the figures I once owned and chanced upon a few extras along the way but drew the line at the Last 17 for the most part as I don't have any connection to them having never seen them first time around.
Recently I decided to buy a few of the old plastic sweet jars from eBay (my daughter got the extra couple to use as toy storage of a more modern kind!) and transfer the figures that I originally owned back into an almost identical jar for the sheer nostalgia of it. Enclosed is a set of poorly taken pictures that show the stages where I have placed sets of figures into the jar, case by case, figure wave after wave as I pretty much first bought them. I've also photographed next to them the figures that I didn't own at the time of first collecting but now do 30 years on but that can't go into the jar under my 'keeping it true to the first time round' rules.
The question is now - do I keep them in there for another 17 years to build up the vibe again?!
Would love to hear about your own figure storage tales from back in the day.
 

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db94

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Now I'm honestly trying to remember how I stored my figures but I did notice yesterday that as great as it is having loose figures on stands lined up on a shelf nothing beats a lovely big bundle of figures all mixed together - just like we had as kids :D
 

tobedesu

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That's awesome.
The ones I didn't play with so much, like the Ewoks and droids, were stored, and still are, in my Darth Vader case.
All others in a box.
The weapons were put away by mum in a Ferrero Rocher box and I wasn't allowed to play with them when I was a kid in case our little dog picked them up and swallowed them.
Hence the reason I still have almost all of my weapons and accessories.
 

Palifan

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I used to keep my figures and weapons in a Trebor Raspberry and Pineapple Flavour Chew Bar box that I managed to get from my local newsagent. I can't find a picture of it although I'm pretty sure someone has one here. I kept my figures in that box from ESB through to Jedi and I think when I sold them all, (with a VCJ :roll: ), to my mates brother for 5GBP I think I gave him the box as well.

Oh well some you win I guess but I still see my mates brother from time to time and he can't remember what happened to all those figures and as his father is a hoarder it could well still be in the house somewhere. I've made my mate very aware to let me know if those figures ever do turn up as it would be the only way of getting my childhood collection back so you never know.

Here's the wrapper from the chews though - http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=55769

Ian
 

bosk70

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I used to have the old family side board the old g plan type in my bedroom and used to keep all the figs lined up with the weapons in the four middle draws ocd even back then :D still got the little box and top trump card boxes I used to keep the other bits in will dig out and post a pic soon :) the ships used to go on top of the sideboard wish I had taken a pick back then
 

subzero

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If I remember right I think all our families SW figures were kept in one of those large emulsion paint tubs with the metal handle.

There was always a mix of other toys in there like Monster In My Pocket, Muscle Men, and other random figures and weapons from all sorts and bits & pieces.
 

palitoyjunky

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My childhood figures and weapons just about fitted in my DV's Collectors case so they were stored v nicely for many years. I never had many ships etc but mum kept my AT-AT box which was v handy for storage too. The ships I did have and still do have remained on display on shelves etc.
 

Mini99

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Why don't you store the figures in the great vinyl cases you have there.
They would look great when the cases were opened and always be accessible.
 

Titan78

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I used to keep all mine in the ships, I lost so many weapons. If I kept a weapon longer than a week Id be surprised.
 

wrighty

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When I found my loose collection about 5-6 years ago, it was in a cardboard box lines with tissues and half the weapons went missing!! :eek:
 

£1.49 FIGURES

Padawan
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db94 said:
Now I'm honestly trying to remember how I stored my figures but I did notice yesterday that as great as it is having loose figures on stands lined up on a shelf nothing beats a lovely big bundle of figures all mixed together - just like we had as kids :D

I have limited space for displaying them so the possibility of putting them all on stands or a cabinet is a non-starter so they'll probably do some time in the jar then be returned to the cases. I have a soft spot for seeing them all jumbled together as for the best part of 17 years whenever I was looking for my SW figures - and I mainly had the figures as the shops were out of my parents financial means for the most part - that's how they would look. Even after I had given up on the toys and moved on into my teenage years and beyond all I had to do was open up the jar and the smell of the lovely condition figures would bring it all back and return me to my childhood.
Mini99 said:
Why don't you store the figures in the great vinyl cases you have there.
They would look great when the cases were opened and always be accessible.

Yep, that's where I have stored them up to this point and probably where they'll be returned to but I wanted to see what they'd look like back in the jar for old times sake. When I was a kid I never once saw any of the collector cases and only ever saw the Darth Vader collector case in the toy catalogues and, of course, in the background in 'Poltergeist'!

Titan78 said:
I used to keep all mine in the ships, I lost so many weapons. If I kept a weapon longer than a week Id be surprised.

I think that when I first got the Rebel Troop Transporter for my 9th birthday back in 1983 ( I really wanted the Falcon but anything SW would do ) I stored the weapons and accessories in the pull up front cockpit section there for a while. I'm sure I wasn't the only one, maybe someone has lucked out by buying one second hand to find a hoard of vintage weapons in the exact same place?!

Palifan said:
I used to keep my figures and weapons in a Trebor Raspberry and Pineapple Flavour Chew Bar box that I managed to get from my local newsagent. I can't find a picture of it although I'm pretty sure someone has one here. I kept my figures in that box from ESB through to Jedi and I think when I sold them all, (with a VCJ :roll: ), to my mates brother for 5GBP I think I gave him the box as well.

Imagine if that vinyl cape Jawa is still there. But never mind that, what about the fact that you could still have your entire childhood figure collection returned to you?! Perhaps you'll need to refund the guy more than the original £5 you sold them for!
 

StarWarsFan

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When I very fist started collecting I had a small table in my room with them on display. As my collection grew I got a Bookshelf had that until I moved.
 

Mini99

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£1.49 FIGURES said:
Sorry the pictures have all come out upside down, they honestly were right side up when I previewed the post!

Pictures look fine to me. :D
 

Section 8

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One place I never stored them is on the ceiling like you. 8)


I don't really remember but I think I possibly used a Rebel Transport. Although can't imagine myself standing them all up each time so I surely had some kind of plastic box.
 

£1.49 FIGURES

Padawan
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Section 8 said:
One place I never stored them is on the ceiling like you. 8)

:D Now I know the pics are upside down!!


I don't really remember but I think I possibly used a Rebel Transport. Although can't imagine myself standing them all up each time so I surely had some kind of plastic box.

Yeah, they took ages to fix in if I remember rightly. I think a lot of parents were suckered into buying that ship as it would double as a handy storage case. My ever practical parents certainly seemed to buy into that idea rather than getting their son the actual ship that he wanted!
 

Pomse2001

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In the 80s when I was a kid I had all my star wars toy in a plastic box like the one on the picture. My star wars was in such a box until 2001 when I started to collect again. I then bought star wars vinyl cases for my figures until I had about 15 vinyl cases full with figures. Then I said to myself that I do not have room for all those cases and some of the cases is also really expensive and I would be more happy to use the money on figures and vehicles so I began to buy stands and display my figures. When I did not have more stands and room to display more figures then I began to buy zip bags for my figures. I do not know what will be the next :lol: most of my vehicles and playsets is in original boxes so I do not have them in plastic boxes.

149102610.jpg
 

x-pack

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I didn't, which is probably why they all got lost. Certainly never had weapons more than a few weeks. They probably went up the hoover.

So careless with toys as a young kid
 
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