R2-D2 with "La Guerre des Etoiles" instead of Kenner

Well hello everyone! This is my first post here and most assuredly not my last.

I just came into a collection of unopened 1977/1978 Kenner Star Wars toys. Old story short: My Grandmother had bought the toys long ago thinking they may be worth something far in the future. I eventually was given them and have taken photos of every toy. Alas, I do not have any Double-Telescoping figures nor the vinyl cape Jawa. All of them are in really good condition though save for one, C-3P0.

Never-the-less, I have an R2-D2 that sticks-out like a sore thumb. I was told that my grandmother tried to get the entire collection from here-and-there and this one baffles me. You will see on the bottom-right corner of the figure, it says "La Guerre des Etoiles" instead of "Kenner".




I have looked and looked for any reference to this but all I can find are R2-D2 figures where instead of "Star Wars" it says "La Guerre des Etoiles" which is correct, translating to Star Wars.

Any assistance on where this is from and perhaps, the value? I'll probably post-up the entirety of my new-found collection if anyone was interested too?

Cheers!

It's a Canadian "GDE" (Guerre des Etoiles) 12 back. These are pretty sought after and often command a much higher premium than regular Kenner US 12 backs because of that funky logo. Pretty sure Ian C sold a DSC for $4k or so a while back, he might be able to give you some idea of value for the R2.

Some extra info here http://theswca.com/index.php?action=disp_item&item_id=59739 (I know it's a Tusken but the description on this entry is better than the R2 one on the archive and has a bit more info on the reason for the logo change/language laws)

Sounds like your grandma was an amazing person

Fantastic stuff and yes we're interested!

Yes, this is a Canadian 12C back (not the same as a US Kenner 12C).

The differences are seen better in the following two reference sites, from Scott Bradley, and Mike Chomyn.

Essentially, there were four 12 back variants released in Canada. The A and B backs had English and French on the cards, but the SW logo was English only, which violated bilingualism laws. The 12C (yours) corrected this with the pyramid logo, but there were differences in the way R2 and 3PO's names were spelled, and the height measurements were in Imperial only on the English half. The 12D corrected these, leaving the front as is, but correcting the names to spell them out as well as just the short forms, and added the height measurements in both Imperial and metric.

As for value, this is tough. DEFINITELY more than a US card. My DSC sold for just under $4000 US and it was ungraded, but was in near mint shape (the buyer got it graded and it scored AFA80 - but I saw many AFA85's with obvious issues worse than mine had), and I know some characters like Luke and Vader would be worth more. However, I've seen both Stormtrooper and 3PO sell under $2500 US recently. R2 is higher demand, but I don't think it's as rare as a Luke or Leia, and I know I've seen a couple for sale over the last three years or so. My best guess would be somewhere between $2800-$3500 US due to it being punched and what appears to be a stress line in the lower right corner on the back, but in today's marketplace, could go higher. I'd have to check to see what that translates to in GBP.

It's definitely a nice one to have.

Ian

Nice piece mate, I've been after a moc r2 for ages but I'm seeing big money in this card for you!!! Way beyond my limited funds lol good luck with the sale

Nice piece :shock:

Great looking R2 and if you do end up selling it then please be sure to check in with the guys on here about packing it as well as you can before shipping it. We've seen so many vintage items destroyed in the post over the years that it's worth taking a little time to find out the best and safest way of sending these things out.

Ian

Palifan said:

Great looking R2 and if you do end up selling it then please be sure to check in with the guys on here about packing it as well as you can before shipping it. We've seen so many vintage items destroyed in the post over the years that it's worth taking a little time to find out the best and safest way of sending these things out.

Ian

Click to expand...

^^^THIS^^^

Well thank you everyone for the kind works and thank you Ian_C for pointing out what it is!

I am sorry for the long delay. I got hit by some bad cold and it kept me in-bed for a few days.

Alas, the toys were not that well packed when I got them, so their condition is here and there.

I am curious, is it worthwhile to get them graded? I know that I may sell them and put money towards my schooling if I do. Would anyone be able to see what they are? I am bad at evaluations for them it seems!

I'll unload the full monte in this post!

Landspeeder:





Tie Fighter:





X-Wing Fighter:





Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi -- (12B, MIHK):





Chewbacca -- (SW20C, MITW):





Death Squad Commander -- (12B, MIHK):





Princess Leia Organa -- (12C, MIHK):





Luke Skywalker -- (12C, MIHK):





Darth Vader -- (12B, MITW):





Han Solo -- (12C, Large Head, MIHK) [Thanks Stargeezer!]:





Jawa -- (12C, With Cloth Cape, MIHK):





R2-D2 -- (12C, Canadian, MIHK) [Thanks Ian_C!]:





Sand People -- (12C, MIHK):





See-Threepio (C-3P0) -- (12C, MIHK):






Stormtrooper -- (12C, MIHK):




And with that, these are the pictures. I already checked to see if any had white platforms, but nope! They all seem to be basic except the R2-D2.

My grandmother was a wonderful grandmother who was full of life. I am thankful for the time I got with her and I am going to miss her.

Thank you for viewing this post.

You're welcome for the help.

I am against grading myself, but if you are looking to sell, anything above 75 would make them far more valuable, while below that would be wasting your own money. Judging from your pics, most if not all should do well, so reluctantly, I'd say grade them if you wish to sell for maximum profit.

Ian

Ian_C said:

You're welcome for the help.

I am against grading myself, but if you are looking to sell, anything above 75 would make them far more valuable, while below that would be wasting your own money. Judging from your pics, most if not all should do well, so reluctantly, I'd say grade them if you wish to sell for maximum profit.

Ian

Click to expand...

Might I ask why you are against grading?

artdragon said:

Ian_C said:

You're welcome for the help.

I am against grading myself, but if you are looking to sell, anything above 75 would make them far more valuable, while below that would be wasting your own money. Judging from your pics, most if not all should do well, so reluctantly, I'd say grade them if you wish to sell for maximum profit.

Ian

Click to expand...

Might I ask why you are against grading?

Click to expand...

This is a long, long time dispute in the community. In my own personal opinion, grading has a number of negatives in the hobby. Don't let this detract from what you want to do, as from a selling point of view, you'll get more if they're graded. However, here are my own views, that some share and others don't.

• *It artificially inflates pricing. There is zero difference between an AFA85 and an ungraded figure in the exact same shape, but the graded one will always sell higher. But, pro-graders say, the grade removes questions about condition. And that brings me to my next point.

• *Grading is subjective. More and more, people live and die by the grade a figure gets. Unfortunately, there is seemingly no consistency. If you have a loose Lobot, who cares if it gets an AFA80 or AFA85. However, on higher value carded (like your R2), the difference between an AFA80 and AFA85 can mean several hundred dollars. I'll show you pics in a minute to demonstrate this.

• *Because of this wild fluctuation in pricing, some collectors now "collect the grade", and not the figure itself.

• *Because graded figures are valued so much higher, profiteers are buying up as much as they can, grading them, and flipping them for huge profits. What this does is eliminates the availability for collectors on a budget, and turns off new people in the hobby, as they feel they cannot afford the hobby at all.

• *The insane price increases have turned newer collectors to reproductions, as they want carded collections but can't afford the real thing. Unfortunately, reproductions, as fakes, fool many people every year, and newer people lose a lot of money thinking they have bought the real thing. This causes some people to quit the hobby.

• *AFA will not grade reproductions, so many people equate a graded figure with it being authenticated as true vintage. Unfortunately, AFA has made mistakes that have been documented. They also completely missed the Toy Toni issue (you have lots of reading to do if you're not aware of that scandal). Sure, the majority of graded figures are real, but it's not a sure thing, and I'd hate to be the person paying extra for a graded figure to find I had one of those errors.

• *The reliance of graded figures to show authenticity has led to a lack of education on how to spot reproductions. I personally believe strongly in people being educated on what they are spending hundreds/thousands of dollars on, and many people buying graded simply don't put any time into self-education. On a related note, the ability to self-grade has been impacted, as people pay to have the third party do it for them.

• *Many people also rely on graded figures as a way to protect their items. Unfortunately, AFA cases offer no way to protect increasingly fragile bubbles, and there have been many examples over the years of figures breaking out of their bubbles during shipping. On a Klaatu, this is an annoyance. On a Yak Face, a $9000 figure turns into a $350 loose figure. There is NO WAY to protect against this happening. You need to cross your fingers until you receive it. It is far better to buy cases such as the ones Iain on this board sells, as you can remove the figures and protect them better during shipping.

Those reasons are just off the top of my head. AFA offers absolutely nothing more than a better payday for a seller.

I mentioned inconsistencies in grading. Check out these two figures. Exact same subgrades, yet tell me you'd say they are in comparable condition. The DS Commander is mine. Like your R2, that grade means a "value" difference of several hundred dollars. Was the Chewbacca grader being overly generous, or was the guy who did mine having a bad day? A glaring example of inconsistency.





Again, don't let it put you off. You'll make more by grading them. But....you asked, and those are my feelings. Cheers.

Ian

I know everybody has his own opinion about grading, and it has his pro's and con's, but keep in mind that when you sell a graded figure, you cannot protect the bubble for shipping. Which might cause the bubble to come loose from the card or the figure breaking through the plastic bubble.
So not only a moc is destroyed then, but you'll also have to refund the buyer, becuase it went from a valuable moc to a loose figure with cardback...

Another thing i want to point out to you, is that you have a 12 back C large head Han Solo. I know it isn't the most valuable moc of the bunch, but an intresting fact about this is, it is the 4th rarest kenner 12 back, even rarer then a 12 back VC Jawa.

AFA grading reports indicate there are about 87 Large Head Han 12 backs graded vs 223 Vinyl Cape Jawas.

Ian_C said:

artdragon said:

Ian_C said:

You're welcome for the help.

I am against grading myself, but if you are looking to sell, anything above 75 would make them far more valuable, while below that would be wasting your own money. Judging from your pics, most if not all should do well, so reluctantly, I'd say grade them if you wish to sell for maximum profit.

Ian

Click to expand...

Might I ask why you are against grading?

Click to expand...

This is a long, long time dispute in the community. In my own personal opinion, grading has a number of negatives in the hobby. Don't let this detract from what you want to do, as from a selling point of view, you'll get more if they're graded. However, here are my own views, that some share and others don't.

Click to expand...

Oh, those are some good reasons and things to consider. AFA does not seem to be the best in regards to safety of the figures... And wow! That Chewbacca should be much, much less. As for the Toy Toni? I have not heard of it, being new to the toy collections, but I will guess that it was a horrible job. The more I read about AFA, the less they seem to be delivering on quality.

I would also be rather upset if the bubble was damaged due to the insensitive casing. As-said, more things to consider about doing or not doing. I will most likely just get decent cases from on here instead of AFA if I decide to keep them all.

Again, thank you for your knowledge on this! I am quite new at it myself so the more information I have, the better!

Stargeezer said:

I know everybody has his own opinion about grading, and it has his pro's and con's, but keep in mind that when you sell a graded figure, you cannot protect the bubble for shipping. Which might cause the bubble to come loose from the card or the figure breaking through the plastic bubble.
So not only a moc is destroyed then, but you'll also have to refund the buyer, becuase it went from a valuable moc to a loose figure with cardback...

Another thing i want to point out to you, is that you have a 12 back C large head Han Solo. I know it isn't the most valuable moc of the bunch, but an intresting fact about this is, it is the 4th rarest kenner 12 back, even rarer then a 12 back VC Jawa.

AFA grading reports indicate there are about 87 Large Head Han 12 backs graded vs 223 Vinyl Cape Jawas.

Click to expand...

Yeah, AFA does seem like a risk if the bubble breaks. I would rather have everything intact and would feel rather disheartened.

Thank you much for that information about the Han Solo figure. It really helps letting me know what I have!

Wow awesome pieces on top of the R2 .... I'm with the guys... but graded will probably help get the big bucks, I just know from a hobby point of view it rules a lot of us out owning them because it pushes the price up.

That Luke fb sweet piece!!! If you don't grade and sell here let me know

I just noticed that the picture of Leia was instead the picture of the back of another card. Fixed!

thats quite a treasure trove you've inherited . if it was me i wouldnt want to sell them :lol:

Hello,
I'm bumping this thread up because I also have a 12 back GDE R2 MOC. I am potentially interested in trading it but its been difficult to get an accurate valuation for trading purposes as there have been so few sold over the last couple of years.

Mine looks to be in about the same condition as the on posted here, with dents on the bubble (mine are at the top, not bottom like this one) and some general card wear. It has been AFA graded as a 70/70/85. I agree with the overall grade because of the bubble dents, but I thought the card deserved a 75 as it looks pretty good. For those on the SWFUK Facebook page there are pics posted there and in the 12 back group.

I saw Ian had an initial valuation of $2800-$3500, does that sound about right? Does anyone know if this one sold, and if so, for how much?

Appreciate the help.
Chris

SithlordWS6 said:

Hello,
I'm bumping this thread up because I also have a 12 back GDE R2 MOC. I am potentially interested in trading it but its been difficult to get an accurate valuation for trading purposes as there have been so few sold over the last couple of years.

Mine looks to be in about the same condition as the on posted here, with dents on the bubble (mine are at the top, not bottom like this one) and some general card wear. It has been AFA graded as a 70/70/85. I agree with the overall grade because of the bubble dents, but I thought the card deserved a 75 as it looks pretty good. For those on the SWFUK Facebook page there are pics posted there and in the 12 back group.

I saw Ian had an initial valuation of $2800-$3500, does that sound about right? Does anyone know if this one sold, and if so, for how much?

Appreciate the help.
Chris

Click to expand...

Yeh it sold mate and the valuations were way out, if my memory serves me right it was on auction on ebay and went for well under half the valuation, like I say if memory serves me right.