I'm a bit stuck/lost

This week, I've felt a bit lost as to where to go with my collecting. As a child my ambition was to collect them all, condition didnt matter just having enough stormtroopers was more primary. Short of a VC jawa I now have them all.
I started to collect when i was 8 or 9, in 1989, abandoned it short of a few items when I reached 16. Finally in 2016 I had my own loft, and the recovery process from my mums loft started the interest again, 2016 to 2017 I just went mad, again but late 2017 I abandoned it due to .prices, reproductions etc, it just seemed and expensive gamble. I drifted towards vintage lego, it was cheaper and thrill was the same.
And so it sits there, sealed in those clear boxes to precious to touch, to light sensitive or impractical to display.
Does anyone feel the same, or are the suggestions to put the magic back into it.

Moc seem to pricey at this point
Variatants appear an overwhelming task
Focus concepts I like the idea of, is there an affordable figuare with a reasonable number of variants.

Firstly welcome to the forum from another in Norfolk, secondly take a good look around some of the forum members collections and it might just give you some ideas on a way to collect what you like. Nothing says you have to stick to one thing or vintage itself, myself and many others dabble from time to time into the world of modern star wars as well.

Collect what you enjoy, make use of references when it comes to dreaded repros and don't ever be afraid to ask for help.

Most importantly, just have fun.

Very true,
Just need some inspiration, a new challenge.

Shame the toy fair is currently on hold.

I've always wondered for modern is there a website that shows all the figuares released, as there must be 100s of them, I think I was always put off by those 1990s figures., although I still bought lots of those.
Ive been buying a few of the modern figures for my son, but even they seem hard to come by at the carboots.

This is a rather useful guide for modern stuff.
https://jedibusiness.com/

Yes its a shame that it will be on hold but its probably for the best for now, I havent made it out to those ones for a while due to work commitments. I was going to make 2020 a year of making a real effort to hunting around bootsales and fairs but nope, someone had other ideas...... :roll: :lol:

There's also the Rebelscum Photo archive, which is almost comprehensive on modern:

http://www.rebelscum.com/hasbro.asp

I think your right, disappointing for now the toy fairs are better off no going ahead.

Theres a guy at harford sometimes has modern, often loose, and some common carded modern. But I really honestly dont even seem modern these days, picked up a stormtrooper think it was a rogue one design for £1.50, I bought it for my 1 and a half year old. (He keeps trying to break into my display cabinet )
I'm not an early starter on a sunday but I'm at the 1st by 6.30am.
Think I might try either yarmouth or fakenham this weekend. Even decent vintage 90s lego seems in short supply.

Start sourcing figures for an army. 100 Stormtroopers, 500 Stormtroopers.... 1000 Stormtroopers?!

Now that's a challenge!

I have a bad back. At the beginning of 2017 I had to give up full time work as a graphic designer and work sporadically as a freelance designer today. As a result I have a very limited budget for Star Wars. Fortunately my wife is able to pay the household bills, sees the work I put in to bring up our little girl and is very understanding about my Star Wars collecting seeing the benefits it brings to my mental health when I'm stuck at home dealing with the pain and boredom.

Funnily enough rather than giving up and selling my collection it spurred me on to build my collection on a budget. One of my favourite things about Star Wars collecting now is researching each of the figures, identifying hard to find variants and through the knowledge gained, picking them up under the radar or on a budget. Also ensuring that I have the correct accessory to match the exact factory that the figure was produced in. This process keeps me very engaged even if my collection is not growing particularly fast.

If variant collecting does interest you there are so many available Kenner variants out there at a relatively cheap cost. You don't have to go for the expensive foreign lines like PBP or Lili Ledy to have fun. You can collect different paint apps like Snaketibe or like me different factory moulds.

As for interesting focus figure variants to collect on a budget. Lando Calrissian is an interesting figure. There are 3 factories (Smile, Kader, Unitoy). Each factory produced a no smile and smiling variant. Kader also produced a Made in China variant. All of those are relatively easy to find at a reasonable price. There are also some more harder to find variants to aim for including the PBP variants and Poch black neck.

Other characters include Han Hoth and Rebel Soldier Which have plenty of Kenner variants as well as some cool variants like Han Hoth (moulded legs, PBP pink and pale face, and Poch chocolate legs) and dark brown rebel Soldier.

The best thing is to find a figure you really like and start researching it to find out how much is might cost to go after the pieces. Also if there are beyond the toys items that you like the look of. For example there are many cool pieces that have both C-3PO and R2-D2 on together and thus can make for a really interesting focus.

That's interesting, is there many variants in the later Rotj line. The biker scout I've always loved, I still have about 5 or 6, but I could find 2 obvious differences.
I remember as a child around 12 so 1993, I bought a jabba throne from a private collector in cambridge, he had an amazing collection, at that time I had no books or figure lists, he was kind enough to show me figures and playsets, stuff I never knew existed. He also introduced me to coo markings for the 1st time. I thinks that's what stopped me selling all my doubles when I was in my 20s, its stopping me selling them now !, just in case that one figure is special.

What is the most interesting and your favourite figuare in your collection.
I got my 1st moulded faced luke the other day, never even knew that one existed until 2017, it's such a better mould.

You're right, not a great deal of difference with the biker scout if you're collecting on noticeable differences, more to collect for people like me if you're collecting different moulds or factories. I haven't started on this figure so my knowledge is sketchy so take this with a pinch of salt.

There are 3 Kenner factories that produced the figure - an unknown factory in Taiwan, the Unitoys factory in HK and I believe the last one is Kader in HK. The figures generally look similar though one of them (Kader I think) is responsible for the skinny legged variant. A no coo version of this figure was made for the European market and is sometimes referred to as the 2nd Meccano variant.

The Made in Hong Kong variant (which I think was made by Unitoy, someone with greater BS knowledge can correct me) had its moulds sent to Macau to produce the other Meccano variant and also to Spain to produce the hard torso PBP variant (which does look notably different). The figure is not too expensive to pick up but the exclusive blaster is very elusive and commands a premium.

Of course the most noticeable different variant is the Lili Ledy figure which appeared on MIM and LL cards.

Luke Jedi is a great character with plenty of variants and many people collect multiple variants because of the cape colours alone, a bit like Squid Head.

I love Luke Jedi. Again 3 factories. This time Smile, Unitoys and Taiwan. Plenty of face colours on the Taiwan as they got progressively lighter throughout production as I understand, as well as the moulded face you mention (one of my favourite variants).

Each of the factories produced a snap cape initially before swapping to a normal stitched cape. Smile also produced a blue saber variant as well as the green. And the Unitoys figure is a tough one to track down in the UK with or without snap cape. Plus of course the Ledy variant.

You delve deep enough and there's plenty to discover with most characters. I like variant collecting but it's not for everyone :lol:

Hi, thankyou it's amazing all that info is out there adds a whole new addition.
Out of interest I've never heard the unitoys term, is that a clear marking on the figuare or is it mould differences.
I think I may have a spanish vader, childhood one, so i guess bought 88 or around. Smooth cape both sides, and longer than the other. Big feet too.., sabre is a funny trans red orange.

Have a look around this site
https://swspaceclub.com/wbobafett/factory-codes/

They're currently working on a major update that will make this awesome for variant and figure focus collecting.

Joss said:

This week, I've felt a bit lost as to where to go with my collecting. As a child my ambition was to collect them all, condition didnt matter just having enough stormtroopers was more primary. Short of a VC jawa I now have them all.
I started to collect when i was 8 or 9, in 1989, abandoned it short of a few items when I reached 16. Finally in 2016 I had my own loft, and the recovery process from my mums loft started the interest again, 2016 to 2017 I just went mad, again but late 2017 I abandoned it due to .prices, reproductions etc, it just seemed and expensive gamble. I drifted towards vintage lego, it was cheaper and thrill was the same.
And so it sits there, sealed in those clear boxes to precious to touch, to light sensitive or impractical to display.
Does anyone feel the same, or are the suggestions to put the magic back into it.

Moc seem to pricey at this point
Variatants appear an overwhelming task
Focus concepts I like the idea of, is there an affordable figuare with a reasonable number of variants.

Click to expand...

Hi mate, welcome. Have felt similar recently. Things would like to buy are very expensive such as endor chase etc. They have become my focus for the future.

I sort of cant justifie more than £100 anymore, I have just as much fun, just getting a random missing part on a duplicate vehicle, or even better a random boot sale find.
Sad day today, thought I'd have a sort out mark down the coo and compare a few weapons, my cloud car pilot com link is quite clearly a repro, it's so obvious now I look at. To top it off the blaster was too. It's now completely put me off ebay. Bought it in 2016 when I fell back into collecting, and it wasn't cheap.
Do I dare start looking closer at the others I bought during that time,I had already accepted the luke poncho palace blaster must be repro. The markings are ok, the dots there, but it's detail is terrible compared to my lando one.

Sorry to learn that bud. Post stuff up if you're unsure. We can help.

Learning how to spot originals and reproductions can be challenging but also fun and the knowledge you gain can help you pick up bargains on eBay. All my best pick ups have come from there.

Plus you're fully protected by eBay so as long as you know you're stuff, are willing to challenge sellers and are prepared to send stuff back and pick it up again at a later date, it's a safer platform for purchasing.

People are always posting on Echo that they never buy from eBay because of the repro but they are kidding themselves if they think all the sellers on Echo know enough about repro that they're never going to get sold it.

Knowledge is power. 8)

TheJabbaWookie said:

Sorry to learn that bud. Post stuff up if you're unsure. We can help.

Learning how to spot originals and reproductions can be challenging but also fun and the knowledge you gain can help you pick up bargains on eBay. All my best pick ups have come from there.

Plus you're fully protected by eBay so as long as you know you're stuff, are willing to challenge sellers and are prepared to send stuff back and pick it up again at a later date, it's a safer platform for purchasing.

People are always posting on Echo that they never buy from eBay because of the repro but they are kidding themselves if they think all the sellers on Echo know enough about repro that they're never going to get sold it.

Knowledge is power. 8)

Click to expand...

Definitely agree with this.

first thing to do is educate yourself about repro, and it sounds like you're onto that already.

As a buyer on ebay you're very protected so long as you check stuff as soon as you receive it. There are mechanisms in place that will help you get your money back. Buying from facebook is riskier; unless the photos clearly show the accessories you're receiving AND you check them when you receive them (which means you have to know what you're looking for) then there's no more guarantee you're getting original than ebay. There's also no guarantee you'll get your money back.

Most on here will have been stung by repro at some stage. I''ve also spent a fair amount on fake autographed trading cards in the past which really got me down. Don't let it get you down.

True its upsetting sometimes. Is the imperial gunnery upto date. I've obviously started to question capes, it may be ok as I've heard palitoy capes can be different, but not all of mine have that zippy texture. I've bought a few items recently from antique shops, it used to be the case they where beater figuares asking silly prices, but recently they have had quality figuares and in some cases complete. with prices on Ebay they actual seem good value. Our local has a b wing pilot with the endor blue grey blaster for £28, the gun alone went for over £30 the other day. Last year I picked up a luke stormtrooper for £8, no weapons etc, a looked like he was hand painted in a brown mist coat, it all cleaned of and ended up in better condition than my original.
I guess it's all part of the fun.

What are other peoples most expensive impulse purchase mistakes.

The Imperial Gunnery is excellent as far as it goes, which is very far indeed. No, it is not absolutely complete / exhaustive, but it's about the nearest thing to it that you'll find on-line.