Power Droid. (Vintage R5-D4, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Power Droid)
Strange coincidence: it’s three years almost to the day since I last snapped a photo of the celebrated Power (or ‘Gonk’) Droid. Glad to see him back!
Power Droid.
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Posts from the 'A New Hope' Category
Bringing the Rebel Heat.
Bringing the Rebel Heat.
(Vintage Millennium Falcon, Vintage X-Wing Fighters)
HAPPY THIRTY FIVE YEARS STAR WARS! You’ve managed to keep me fueled with awe, inspiration, and the joys of youth well beyond what you, I, or anyone could’ve expected. Incredible that here in 2012 I find myself handing you down to my children. I expect that they will do the same for their children one day as well. Thanks for all the memories. Keep the fire burning.
(This shot’s one I’ve been thinking about for a while. Finally had time to put it all together today. A lot like the Hoth scene I did a while back, this is not one photo but several. Consider it my small tribute to the spectacular effects compositing that made the original Star Wars trilogy so exciting so long ago.)
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The Final Sale.
The Final Sale. (Vintage Jawas, Vintage R2-D2)
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Back to Black.
Back to Black. (Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Darth Vader's Tie Fighter with Custom Paint)
A couple of years ago I found myself on a roll scoring interesting finds from local sellers looking to unload vintage Star Wars toys from their storage. As is always the case in these situations you get some gems and you get stuff that’s seen better days (hey, nothing that’s vintage and Star Wars is junk, right?).
After a few of these encounters I found myself with four Darth Vader’s Tie Fighters from 1978. Three were in overall straight condition and one was just barely limping by, begging for either a noble burial or the breath of new life. Well after a good cleaning the path was clear: I would take the sucker apart and hit it inside and out with some matte black spray enamel.
The results are at least partially seen in the photo above.
Buying Notes on Vintage Darth Vader
Check out the current vintage Darth Vader listings here.
A nice vintage Darth Vader action figure is pretty much the alpha and omega of any collection. This is true for the beginner and advanced collector alike. A classic toy reaching back to 1978, the vintage Darth Vader has spun countless revisions and imitations but really has never been improved upon.
So I can’t blame you for thinking about picking one up. But because this item is so popular, it can be rough seas acquiring a good (and authentic) example for a reasonable price. Let’s go over some of the main points to consider before pulling the trigger on a vintage Darth Vader.
Once you’re on board at eBay the first thing you’ll notice is that the key words “Darth Vader” are used and abused ad nauseum to get your attention to buy other stuff. Don’t be discouraged and whatever you do don’t be distracted or tricked into buying something else. Your eyes will quickly learn to ignore all of the nonsense and aim strictly for the vintage gold. The links I’ve provided already do it to some extent, but you may also want to play around with the search engine’s advanced function on eBay to filter out the unhelpful stuff. Be especially aware of the new Hasbro toys labelled as “Vintage Collection”, “Original Trilogy”, etc. Their packaging is cleverly retro and aims to steer the newcomer off course.
Important to keep in mind with the vintage Darth Vader is that you’ve got two accessories to contend with: the vinyl cape and the light saber. Both were easily lost and/or damaged by their original owners so it’s common to see reproductions in the marketplace being passed off as original. There are excellent resources to read through at the Imperial Gunnery forum that will help you avoid pitfalls. Read them carefully. Go here for the light saber and here for the cape. This is also a good time to correlate a seller’s claims of authenticity with their feedback score. Have they sold a ton of toys? Do they score 100% with their buyers? If not, you can think twice about believing their claims. Don’t forget to double check the photos closely. Does the cape look torn anywhere? Do the arm-holes look distressed or sharp? How about that saber tip. Does it look straight and strong or does it like a toddler might have chomped on it for a snack once or twice?
As much as any other vintage figure, Darth Vader was a character that saw heavy play at the hands of us grubby kids in the 70s and 80s. If it’s not mentioned in the auction be sure to ask the seller in a message if the figure’s limbs and head are loose or stiff. Let the loose limbed Vaders go to the diorama builders. You want the guy that’s as close to package fresh as possible. The vintage Darth Vader had very little paint applied by Kenner so not much to worry about there. And chances are if you’re buying a figure with loose limbs there won’t be paint loss.
Feel free to add any thoughts in the comments and drop me a line if you run into any trouble!
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Darth Vader.
Darth Vader. (Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Death Squad Commanders)
Buying Notes on Vintage Darth Vader
Check out the current vintage Darth Vader listings here.
A nice vintage Darth Vader action figure is pretty much the alpha and omega of any collection. This is true for the beginner and advanced collector alike. A classic toy reaching back to 1978, the vintage Darth Vader has spun countless revisions and imitations but really has never been improved upon.
So I can’t blame you for thinking about picking one up. But because this item is so popular, it can be rough seas acquiring a good (and authentic) example for a reasonable price. Let’s go over some of the main points to consider before pulling the trigger on a vintage Darth Vader.
Once you’re on board at eBay the first thing you’ll notice is that the key words “Darth Vader” are used and abused ad nauseum to get your attention to buy other stuff. Don’t be discouraged and whatever you do don’t be distracted or tricked into buying something else. Your eyes will quickly learn to ignore all of the nonsense and aim strictly for the vintage gold. The links I’ve provided already do it to some extent, but you may also want to play around with the search engine’s advanced function on eBay to filter out the unhelpful stuff. Be especially aware of the new Hasbro toys labelled as “Vintage Collection”, “Original Trilogy”, etc. Their packaging is cleverly retro and aims to steer the newcomer off course.
Important to keep in mind with the vintage Darth Vader is that you’ve got two accessories to contend with: the vinyl cape and the light saber. Both were easily lost and/or damaged by their original owners so it’s common to see reproductions in the marketplace being passed off as original. There are excellent resources to read through at the Imperial Gunnery forum that will help you avoid pitfalls. Read them carefully. Go here for the light saber and here for the cape. This is also a good time to correlate a seller’s claims of authenticity with their feedback score. Have they sold a ton of toys? Do they score 100% with their buyers? If not, you can think twice about believing their claims. Don’t forget to double check the photos closely. Does the cape look torn anywhere? Do the arm-holes look distressed or sharp? How about that saber tip. Does it look straight and strong or does it like a toddler might have chomped on it for a snack once or twice?
As much as any other vintage figure, Darth Vader was a character that saw heavy play at the hands of us grubby kids in the 70s and 80s. If it’s not mentioned in the auction be sure to ask the seller in a message if the figure’s limbs and head are loose or stiff. Let the loose limbed Vaders go to the diorama builders. You want the guy that’s as close to package fresh as possible. The vintage Darth Vader had very little paint applied by Kenner so not much to worry about there. And chances are if you’re buying a figure with loose limbs there won’t be paint loss.
Feel free to add any thoughts in the comments and drop me a line if you run into any trouble!
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Not Easy Being Greedo.
Not Easy Being Greedo. (Vintage Greedo)
It’s too bad Greedo gets extinguished less than one minute into his epic role in Star Wars. I thought he was a pretty rad guy. He didn’t quite have the snappy outfit of, say, Boba Fett, but for entertainment value he was the hands down winner. His dialogue opposite Han Solo revealed without a doubt that he was indeed equal parts scum and villainy; the consummate lackie for El Jabba. It makes one wonder as cool as Boba Fett was looked, how much more so could he have been if he’d actually been given some dialogue beyond the arrid and utilitarian quips he’s known for:
“As you wish”
“He’s no good to me dead”
“What if he doesn’t survive?”
“He’s worth a lot to me”
“Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold”.
In truth Boba Fett comes off as a pretty boring dude. I’ll take my beer with Greedo any day.
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The Rescue Plan, Step 2.
The Rescue Plan, Step 2. (Vintage Bib Fortuna, Vintage Leia in Boushh Disguise, Vintage Chewbacca)
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Blues for Snaggletooth.
Blues for Snaggletooth.
(Vintage Luke Skywalker, Vintage Blue Snaggletooth, Vintage Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi)
Hands down one of my favorite action figures back in the late ’70s was the short-statured red Snaggletooth. So it’s ironic that it was only about 3 years ago (when I began collecting as an adult) that I first heard about the rare and hallowed blue Snaggletooth.
It goes like this: in the original era of Star Wars action figure collecting information didn’t move in the mercurial manner it does today. If a toy wasn’t on your local shelves or reeling you in through a Saturday morning TV commercial it basically didn’t exist. And given that the blue Snaggletooth (available only in a very short run with a Sears Cantina playset) was neither, you can see how he escaped notice.
I’m glad I’ve got the blue Snaggletooth now. He’s exceptionally cool with his silver moon boots and, despite the hype I was still able to land him for well south of a hundred bucks. But when push comes to shove, it’s his small-fry counterpart that still wins me over.
Buying Notes for the Vintage Blue Snaggletooth
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.
The Blue Snaggletooth is a highly-coveted vintage Kenner figure and therefore fetches higher prices. Depending on the condition, you can expect to pay between $70 and $140. That’s a fair amount of ka-ching so by all means pay close attention to what you’re getting into.
Some things to watch for:
The Blue Snaggletooth boots came painted silver. Not uncommon to see heavy wear in this area as (I’m guessing here) that silver paint didn’t have much staying power. So look closely at that.
He should also have a black Han Solo type blaster.
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.
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Deep Ties to the Empire.
Deep Ties to the Empire.
(Vintage TIE Fighters, Vintage TIE Fighter Pilots, Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Death Squad Commanders, Vintage Imperial Commanders, Vintage Bossk, Vintage Boba Fett)
The vintage TIE Fighter vehicle by Kenner is awfully sweet. The wings pop off in distress when you press secret buttons and another button lights up a chin gun and makes a cool laser sound to boot. I didn’t have one of these as a kid but was always deeply envious of my little buddies that did.
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If It’s a Fast Ship.
If It's a Fast Ship.
(Vintage Millennium Falcon, Vintage Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, Vintage Luke Skywalker,
Vintage Chewbacca, Vintage Han Solo)
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