Perception Of Repros In Different Hobbies

ChallengerFox

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Jul 31, 2013
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I was thinking the other day that in some hobbies repros are looked on differently and not in such a bad light ,has anyone noticed this ? For example one of my other hobbies is classic American cars and sometimes there is not much option but to go for a reproduction item , eg a bit of interior trim, a reproduction would be about £40 but if you wanted an original Ford stamped 1967 same trim people ask about £400 so if restoring a car on a budget most people go for reproduction items , of course there are the guys who enter in concourse shows where everything has to be original but I guess it depends on your budget, not really sure what my question is but do you think reproduction will ever be "accepted" in the Star Wars hobby when originals just get far too expensive ?

Just for the record I'm against repros in the Star Wars hobby and I only collect original and don't have any repro items in my collection.
 

lejackal

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Yep, I was really surprised to see repro boxes being openly discussed and advice given on the best ones on a retro gaming group the other day, as you say it's a completely different attitude
 

ChallengerFox

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With a classic car I much prefer a car that is a little bit more "worn in" and original over a car that's been restored with all new parts, you can't replicate that old car smell and feel.
 

TK-7785

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I have had and restored a few classic cars over the years and you're right, repro is far more accepted. This may be because we're largely talking about consumables. Trim, rubber parts wear out and deteriorate over the years. So from a safety and practicality perspective, if like most, you want to drive and enjoy your classic there is no option but accept at least some repro. But also originality has an affect of value.

However, when it comes to similar toy and collectable hobbies I have noticed a difference in attitude to repro items. Toy collecting doesn't suffer from the same deterioration of consumable items, other than say the foam from the Dagobah playset and Kenner Death Star trash compactor. From what I've observed repro accessories in Masters Of The Universe and G I Joe collecting, for example, don't receive the same ferocity with which repro items are disregarded in Star Wars collecting. It is far less and in some cases almost welcomed.

Perhaps this has something to do with value, perhaps it's due to Star Wars collecting having arguably the most notoriety of all the action figure toy collecting fields and being more established. Going back to the classic car analogy for a moment though, you often see people trying to get original, non-repro money for a classic that is anything but. That, in my mind, is the same as trying to flog a repro Palace Blaster for orignal money. So in any collecting hobby where originals become a premium repros will inevitably exist. I know guys who were collecting American muscle cars back in the 80s when no one wanted them.

What seems odd to me though is that reproductions come about due to demand outstripping supply. In vintage Star Wars tat can't really be said for a lot of accessories. Orignal Bespin, smuggler and snowtrooper blasters are out there by their millions and readily available. So I'm not sure why they had to be reproduced at all.
 

Clawrence

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TK-7785 said:
What seems odd to me though is that reproductions come about due to demand outstripping supply. In vintage Star Wars tat can't really be said for a lot of accessories. Orignal Bespin, smuggler and snowtrooper blasters are out there by their millions and readily available. So I'm not sure why they had to be reproduced at all.
Unfornatally it's all about money....there are scum buying these repro's, passing them off as genuine.
 

batman

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What seems odd to me though is that reproductions come about due to demand outstripping supply. In vintage Star Wars tat can't really be said for a lot of accessories. Orignal Bespin, smuggler and snowtrooper blasters are out there by their millions and readily available. So I'm not sure why they had to be reproduced at all.[/quote]

Remember that the infrastructure for supply meeting demand has changed over the years , before Ebay, Facebook and forum classifieds it was a lot harder to find specific weapons and the demand for those weapons back then has lead to a sullpy of reproductions which has not stopped to this day . You could even argue that the prices for original weapons has stayed relatively low thanks to availability of those cheap reproductions .
The forums were already on board before SW increased in popularity, the upcoming of facebook groups went hand in hand with the "just say no to repro" campaign and the more personal format of the platform has increased peer preassure to avoid reproductions like the plague which has lead to original weapons becoming more expensive .

I have noticed that certain reproductions have become more or less accepted over time . When i first started visiting forums Mark Poon was seen as the devil himself for making rocket fetts while not so long ago there was a thread here on SWFUK about them and i was surprised at how many members admitted to owning one and enjoying them for what they are . Same goes for the blue harvest recasts of 4ups and Billiken bootlegs, a lot of people got burnt on those but they are still desired now that people know they are reproductions .
 

Alisdairmac

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I also have an interest in classic cars, i think the point about wear and tear is probably relevant. In the car you expect many components to need to be replaced
 

Wreck-It Ralph

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I think the attitude towards reproductions is mixed in Star Wars as Bootlegs which I presume are still classed as reproductions seem to be accepted and in some cases highly collectible like Uzay, where as weapons, figures, boxes that are exact copies are not. I think the accuracy of the reproduction is paramount as if the aim is to make something exactly the same then it causes contamination and people can no longer differentiate between what is genuine and what is fake which is not good for the hobby. Reproductions that are obviously different like bootlegs are not a problem for the hobby as they can be clearly differentiated and therefore contamination can not occur.

I think when it comes to cars originality is always preferred and on Classic/Vintage cars can make a significant difference in value. A car with an original body and matching numbers will always be worth more than one without. Restoration seems very acceptable as to enter most Concours D' Elegance events then restoration is a necessity rather than a option if you want any chance of winning. If you want to drive the car then restoring it to Concours standard is pointless and keeping it original with a nice patina is probably the best way to go.

Comics on the other hand seem very much against restoration and a restored comic when graded is worth significantly less than a original one. In comics which I would say is much more closely related to Star Wars Memorabilia originality is king. As I am both a MOC and Comic book collector I find it strange that Comic graders are so proactive in looking out for restoration and Star Wars graders completely ignore it. When professional restoration arrives in Star Wars like it did in comics years ago they will be totally unprepared.
 

Simply Sci-fi

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The Miroman/Micronauts hobby is beginning to see reproduction items via 3D printing. Although some of the parts in individual kits are extremely rare, the demand for them isn't such that they can be sold for a great deal. There's more a spirit of assisting the collecting community by making parts available. I've not come across anyone speaking out against it in the hobby, partly I suppose because values are so much lower.

I agree that reproduction items shouldn't be a problem in Star Wars collecting if they are clearly marked as such but that's never going to be the case across the board. As long as there is a demand and profits can be made, reproductions will keep appearing and collectors need to be knowledgeable enough to spot the fakes. While I'm not going to criticize individuals for buying them, on the whole I think that collectors should stay well clear of any items that seem to be perfect reproductions as it fuels the demand and floods the market with things that one day might be indistinguishable from the real thing.
 
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