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Vintage Star Wars Collecting
Toy Of The Week
SWTOTW, Week 52, 2018, Part 2/2 Death Star (Cardboard Version)
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<blockquote data-quote="Snaketibe" data-source="post: 500802" data-attributes="member: 7379"><p>And so Lars, we reach my favourite ever toy in your brilliant 'Toy of the Week' threads! What a perfect way to see out the year! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>The Palitoy Death Star is not just a fantastic toy for kids of all ages to play with, but is also a masterclass in how to make something brilliant out of not a great deal. This playset could have been a disaster; it's just a few pieces of cardboard with a minimal amount of plastic parts added, but it isn't. With superb ingenuity and attention to detail, the craftsmen at Palitoy conjured up a wonderful toy packed with play value out of something that is essentially one step away from origami. The design itself is incredibly clever, with wonderful artwork added to boot, on both the toy and the box!</p><p></p><p>I loved this playset when I was a kid (and yes, I'm old enough to have bought one brand new from a toy shop back in the 70's), and I love it still. It never gets old and quite frankly should have been used as a template by Kenner for future vintage and modern line Star Wars playsets. Hasbro are always bleating on about the rising cost of plastic and using that as an excuse not to make 4" scale playsets, but the solution is right here, staring them in the face, in the shape of Palitoy's wonderful creation!</p><p></p><p>I can't say enough good things about this playset, but I'll try to keep the rest of this brief so as not to send you all to sleep ;-)</p><p></p><p>I would however like to highlight a few points of interest about the Palitoy Death Star. As we all know, Palitoy didn't release Kenner's good, but frankly inferior (IMHO) Death Star Space Station due to the cost of plastic back in the 70's. And it was for the same reason Palitoy produced their own cheaper versions of the Cantina, Land of the Jawas and Droid Factory playsets. However, with the Death Star they didn't simply tweak Kenner's design (as they did with the other playsets; yes each one is unique to Palitoy, but each is also very similar to its Kenner counterpart). Instead, they created a brand new set from the ground up, with only the action figure stands being borrowed from their Cantina and Land of the Jawas playsets (albeit this time moulded in clear plastic), and nicking a pair of X-Wing guns for the top cannon.</p><p></p><p>The box however is unique in several ways too. For starters the 'Star Wars' logo and its racetrack is decidedly blue-tinted rather than silver, and is also missing the innermost black line / border from its racetrack. It also prominently features a vinyl caped Jawa both on the box front, the side, and also on the wonderful reverse side of the toy's base. Perhaps it's easy to say now, but I do have to wonder why there was ever any doubt that Palitoy released the vinyl Jawa in the UK. Of course if you owned or saw a vinyl Jawa yourself back in the 70's, then this won't be news to you, however I never saw or owned one back then (apart from on the Palitoy Death Star's box and base), and interestingly, when I started collecting vintage again in the early 90's and bought some pieces from Jim Stevenson (who was then one of the major players in the vintage market), he swore blind that the vinyl Jawa had never been released in the UK. I'm not going to criticise Jim for his error, as he was hardly alone in making it, plus his vintage knowledge was actually very extensive. However it is extremely interesting to me to note that the mainstream of vintage collectors don't seem to have come to realise the vinyl Jawa was released over here until the AFA finally graded a Palitoy carded one a few years back (so the AFA has actually done something useful in its existence after all ;-)). However, the evidence for its UK release was right there on Palitoy's box all along. Their Death Star was designed in this country, and was presumably photographed in this country for its box art too, so they must have had a vinyl Jawa in hand at the time in order to photograph it. I can't believe they would have gone to the trouble of having one sent over from America, when the other figures featured in the artwork were already available over here, and so it stands to reason that the vinyl Jawa would have been available over here (albeit briefly!) as well.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, it's interesting to note that for the Palitoy photoshoot, whilst the vinyl Jawa is clearly present, the Sand People figure is not. He is shown in the line-ups on the side of the box and back of the toy's base, but he is absent from the toy set-up the kid is shown playing with on the front of the box, and also from the dioramas shown on the back of the box (unless he's always out of shot, of course ;-)).</p><p></p><p>Anyway, enough waffle. Here's mine:</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51279[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51280[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51281[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51282[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51283[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51284[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51285[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51286[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51287[/ATTACH]</p><p></p><p>[ATTACH=full]51288[/ATTACH]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Snaketibe, post: 500802, member: 7379"] And so Lars, we reach my favourite ever toy in your brilliant 'Toy of the Week' threads! What a perfect way to see out the year! :D The Palitoy Death Star is not just a fantastic toy for kids of all ages to play with, but is also a masterclass in how to make something brilliant out of not a great deal. This playset could have been a disaster; it's just a few pieces of cardboard with a minimal amount of plastic parts added, but it isn't. With superb ingenuity and attention to detail, the craftsmen at Palitoy conjured up a wonderful toy packed with play value out of something that is essentially one step away from origami. The design itself is incredibly clever, with wonderful artwork added to boot, on both the toy and the box! I loved this playset when I was a kid (and yes, I'm old enough to have bought one brand new from a toy shop back in the 70's), and I love it still. It never gets old and quite frankly should have been used as a template by Kenner for future vintage and modern line Star Wars playsets. Hasbro are always bleating on about the rising cost of plastic and using that as an excuse not to make 4" scale playsets, but the solution is right here, staring them in the face, in the shape of Palitoy's wonderful creation! I can't say enough good things about this playset, but I'll try to keep the rest of this brief so as not to send you all to sleep ;-) I would however like to highlight a few points of interest about the Palitoy Death Star. As we all know, Palitoy didn't release Kenner's good, but frankly inferior (IMHO) Death Star Space Station due to the cost of plastic back in the 70's. And it was for the same reason Palitoy produced their own cheaper versions of the Cantina, Land of the Jawas and Droid Factory playsets. However, with the Death Star they didn't simply tweak Kenner's design (as they did with the other playsets; yes each one is unique to Palitoy, but each is also very similar to its Kenner counterpart). Instead, they created a brand new set from the ground up, with only the action figure stands being borrowed from their Cantina and Land of the Jawas playsets (albeit this time moulded in clear plastic), and nicking a pair of X-Wing guns for the top cannon. The box however is unique in several ways too. For starters the 'Star Wars' logo and its racetrack is decidedly blue-tinted rather than silver, and is also missing the innermost black line / border from its racetrack. It also prominently features a vinyl caped Jawa both on the box front, the side, and also on the wonderful reverse side of the toy's base. Perhaps it's easy to say now, but I do have to wonder why there was ever any doubt that Palitoy released the vinyl Jawa in the UK. Of course if you owned or saw a vinyl Jawa yourself back in the 70's, then this won't be news to you, however I never saw or owned one back then (apart from on the Palitoy Death Star's box and base), and interestingly, when I started collecting vintage again in the early 90's and bought some pieces from Jim Stevenson (who was then one of the major players in the vintage market), he swore blind that the vinyl Jawa had never been released in the UK. I'm not going to criticise Jim for his error, as he was hardly alone in making it, plus his vintage knowledge was actually very extensive. However it is extremely interesting to me to note that the mainstream of vintage collectors don't seem to have come to realise the vinyl Jawa was released over here until the AFA finally graded a Palitoy carded one a few years back (so the AFA has actually done something useful in its existence after all ;-)). However, the evidence for its UK release was right there on Palitoy's box all along. Their Death Star was designed in this country, and was presumably photographed in this country for its box art too, so they must have had a vinyl Jawa in hand at the time in order to photograph it. I can't believe they would have gone to the trouble of having one sent over from America, when the other figures featured in the artwork were already available over here, and so it stands to reason that the vinyl Jawa would have been available over here (albeit briefly!) as well. Lastly, it's interesting to note that for the Palitoy photoshoot, whilst the vinyl Jawa is clearly present, the Sand People figure is not. He is shown in the line-ups on the side of the box and back of the toy's base, but he is absent from the toy set-up the kid is shown playing with on the front of the box, and also from the dioramas shown on the back of the box (unless he's always out of shot, of course ;-)). Anyway, enough waffle. Here's mine: [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 01.jpg's Ass - 01.jpg"]51279._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 02.jpg's Ass - 02.jpg"]51280._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 03.jpg's Ass - 03.jpg"]51281._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 04.jpg's Ass - 04.jpg"]51282._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 05.jpg's Ass - 05.jpg"]51283._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 06.jpg's Ass - 06.jpg"]51284._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 07.jpg's Ass - 07.jpg"]51285._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 08.jpg's Ass - 08.jpg"]51286._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 09.jpg's Ass - 09.jpg"]51287._xfImport[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="Kicking Kenner's Ass - 10.jpg's Ass - 10.jpg"]51288._xfImport[/ATTACH] [/QUOTE]
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Toy Of The Week
SWTOTW, Week 52, 2018, Part 2/2 Death Star (Cardboard Version)
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