Starting a vintage figure collection

[sammarshall27]

Hi there,

After watching countless videos on YouTube particularly the padawan collector I would like to start collecting all the vintage Star Wars figures plus a few variants. I have always been a huge fan of the original trilogy with return of the Jedi being my favourite as that's the one I remember as a child and love the jabbas palace and sarlacc scenes. The sarlacc scene still gives me goosebumps to this day!!

I would like some advice on the best places to buy the figures ie eBay, facebook, toy fairs, recommended shops etc. I live in southeast London.

I would also like to purchase a display cabinet for the figures so any recommendations for this are welcome. I have seen the collector displays cabinets and although they look great they are a little pricey.

Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Sam

 

[monkey_roo]

Welcome along Sam

So, as far advice goes the big one is BUDGET - set one and try to stick to it, Vintage toys can be on big, expensive rabbit hole to fall down - that said, I bet everyone of us has set a budget for an item and then pissed all over it, but try, and always buy what you want because you love it, it's a mugs game buying for investment (in 30 years I have never made money on anything ).

I think in terms of the collecting itself there is lose, boxed, graded, variants and everything in-between, again, I would recommend picking an area to start with, kinda like the eating an elephant metaphor, take small bites and over time it you get through it.

In terms of where to buy, sadly the bricks and mortar world is shrinking fast but...

There is Raygun in Richmond (SW London) who may have bits and Blakes Heaven in Putney (SW London) - I've never been in either, just past them a lot. I'm sure there used to be bits turn up at Camden Market - It might be worth finding Comic Shops and the like, some carry toys as well.

These guys aren't in London https://www.leicestervintage.co.uk/toyshopontour - but watch their video's, they are basically a guide to vintage toy collecting in the UK (where all the shops are up and down the county) - well worth the watch, also worth watch to see all the cool stuff people have...

Online there are a few options -eBay and FB are the obvious ones. The forum here has stuff come up a bit, not as much as back in the day, but more than a year or two back

If you fancy a real go, try the auction houses - Vectis is the big one and they have a SW Extravaganza (their words, not mine) on the 28th Jan: https://www.vectis.co.uk/star-wars-spectacular/2025-01-28

There are conventions up and down the country that might be worth checking out like - Echo Live or Farthest From https://www.facebook.com/FarthestFromToyShow?locale=en_GB

Car boot sales, charity shops, etc are still a thing.

If you haven't already in might be worth investing in a guide of sorts - the best book I ever got was this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/38185650...NYilAGn8gc8spho3OHXYUSVw7Q==|tkp:BFBMzsfx3pBl

there are plenty of other books and in terms of online guides these guys are as good as it gets: https://www.jeditemplearchives.com/star-wars-visual-guides-and-photo-archives/

You'll want to watch out for Repro shite - eBay is riddled with it so you have to be careful, in real life purchases are better for that reason, but if in doubt ask folks on the forum here, but these guys have a good guide on line: https://www.imperialgunnery.com

good luck getting going and we all love a good show and tell here - so post away as you collection grows.

 

[monkey_roo]

Oh - in terms of storage - if you go for Cards, or lose etc. look into cases to put them in (they are old so protecting them is a good thing.

these guys are good and not too expensive: https://deflectordc.co.uk/
these guys are also good, a bit more expensive but great products: https://www.gwacrylic.co.uk/vintage-star-wars-boxed

As for cabinets - it's really a case of what fits in the space. A lot of people use Ikea stuff, I've seen people use 'garage shelving' or build their own, but Ikea is a decent place to look for something that looks good but doesn't cost the earth.

 

[Gadders]

Welcome Sam,

one thing I don't think i read on Monkey_Roo's posts above - buy complete items where possible. Otherwise you'll find its a lot more expensive to try and buy that missing weapon on its own.

 

[Cazza]

Great advice, fellas!

Re: display, I know they're expensive, but the Collector Display cabinets are worth every penny. It's hard to get your head around spending that much, but for the cost of a couple of last 17's, you have the most fantastic display. I have a wall of MOCs/reseals, but EVERYONE goes straight to the Collector Display cabinet and just stares for ages. Even non-SW fans. For years, I had various shelves etc, which were 'OK', but until I got one of Drew's cabinets, it never felt quite right and I was always a little disappointed with how they look. They're the kind of cabinet that you can just fill up as you go and they still look amazing. Build quality is absolutely stunning!

 

[Clarkspie&chips]

Great advice everyone.

If you can get to a toy fair I'd highly recommend it as not only will you have an opportunity to physically look at the item you're about to spend a fortune on, you'll get a chance to meet loads of other collectors. When I started collecting the main attraction way completing this run or that. Now it's meeting old friends and making new ones.

 

[sammarshall27]

Thanks for all the replies and advice!!

Let the vintage figure collecting journey begin!!

 

[supergoose]

I think it's pretty much all been covered above but definitely be careful of reproduction accessories. Research and educate yourself on the Imperial Gunnery and Variant Villain websites as 2 examples of good online information. There's several collecting books out there covering various subjects if physical guides are more your thing. Be careful with Ebay, there are some good sellers there with good images and honest detail about condition and figure / accessory types but there are some proper scetchy f'ckers and fraudsters selling repro crap as original and being very deceptive with the wording of their listings.

Facebook as a format I'm not a fan of but it's a necessary evil unfortunately. There's groups that have strong no repro policies (Echo Base and Jabbas are the 2 larger UK ones) and members are pretty good at spotting anything that's off and it gets called out quickly but even there don't be too comfortable - always do your own research / validation.

Defintely get to Echo Base Live - it's held twice a year in Redditch and it's wall to wall vendors selling nothing but Star Wars. Cash is king there..... bring lots of it

Displays...... to each there own. I've always just put together my own shelving / units etc. and modified to suit my collection as it changes. Ikea can offer a lot of cost effective sollutions. The Detolf and Kallax ranges are used by a lot of collectors.

Enjoy the hunt

 

[Robstyley]

Hello mate I think you've had all the good advice you need. All I would say is take your time. I see some guys completing a loose set in six months or less like it's some sort of big achievement - it's not. I took about ten years to complete mine. If you buy poor condition incomplete figures cos you're in a hurry you'll regret it and only end up replacing them. Taking my time didn't break the bank and it was more enjoyable. I also built my own cabinet for around 125 figures. Good luck with it, happy to help if you need any more advice

 

[Ruby2511]

Welcome to the forum Sam, I agree with @Robstyley with taking your time, their are some decent figures out their, it's not about the race, it's about the destination