2-1B. (Vintage 2-1B, Vintage Han Solo Hoth Battle Gear, Vintage Rebel Commander)
2-1B.
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Posts from the 'The Empire Strikes Back' Category
Two Years!
Rather Childish / Two Years Retrospective Poster
What better way to celebrate my first two years of obsessively lighting and photographing vintage Star Wars action figures than a greatest hits poster!
Need a print? Snap it up here.
Profound thanks to everyone that’s helped smooth the road: my wife, my daughter, my friends on tumblr (notably darthambiguous, samuraifrog, retrostarwars, geeklitist, and dbsw), my friends at Rebel Scum, and my friends at The Imperial Gunnery.
Thanks to Mike D as well for encouraging me to get printed works out there.
Enjoy! And here’s to the next two years…
-Pete
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Unleashing Hell on Hoth 2.
Unleashing Hell on Hoth 2. (Vintage AT-AT, Vintage AT-ST, Vintage AT-AT Driver)
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Unleashing Hell on Hoth.
Unleashing Hell on Hoth.
(Vintage AT-AT Commander, Vintage AT-AT Driver, Vintage AT-AT, Vintage AT-ST)
About 4 weeks ago I bought a vintage AT-AT walker off of a local seller who was indeed the original owner of the item. It was a little beat up and in desperate need of a cleaning, but the price was right and the seller actually met me at a location equidistant from our respective houses.
Now it’s one thing to buy vintage toys off of eBay. 99 times out of 100 you’re not dealing with 1st generation ownership. But it’s always an odd thing to relieve an original owner of their childhood toys.
In this situation I’ll occasionally interact with the seller and try to find out why they’re parting with such a wonderful part of their childhood — especially considering that they’ve been holding on to it for 30 years. Other times I don’t want to ask questions for fear that they’ll change their mind about the sale. When I do bother to ask, the responses are typically either the ‘need to raise money’ variety or the ‘just no longer interested’ variety. Either way is sad to me. I just have the feeling they’ll regret the decision down the road.
Anyway, that’s my story. That giant AT-AT now has a loving new home and makes his debut on these pages today. See above.
Have a story about buying or selling childhood toys that have only had one owner for decades? Share it in the comments.
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In the Company of Bossk.
In the Company of Bossk. (Vintage Bossk, Vintage 4-LOM, Vintage Zuckuss)
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Echo Base.
Echo Base. (Vintage Rebel Soldiers, Vintage R5-D4, Vintage Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot)
Buying Notes on the Vintage Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot
Check out the current vintage Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot listings here.
Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot was a toy sold by Kenner from 1978 to about 1985. So there were (and still are) great numbers in circulation, and a fair number of these are still in excellent shape. But keep a few things in mind when tracking one down on eBay.
The Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot action figure probably had more paint applied to it in the production process than any other vintage Star Wars action figure. Face color, facial features, helmet details, vest, chest panel, hands, leg straps, boots. The guy has paint details everywhere. Be sure to see plenty of photos showing that the paint all looks good.
This was an action figure in the true sense of the word. Luke Skwyalker X-Wing Pilot was played with extensively by little kids in the 70s and 80s. If the seller hasn’t already declared that the joints are tight in the auction description, you definitely want to ask before bidding.
Lastly, the figure’s weapon is the Han Solo pistol type of Kenner blaster. Don’t forget: repro accessories suck. Make certain that it’s authentic if possible. You can check out the Imperial Gunnery for some excellent reference on the topic.
Feel free to add any more thoughts on this in the comments section and drop me a line if you get into trouble!
Check out the current vintage Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot listings here.
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At the Gates of Bespin.
At the Gates of Bespin. (Vintage Bespin Security Guards, Vintage Cloud Car Pilots,
Vintage Twin-Pod Cloud Cars)
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Panic on Ice.
Panic on Ice. (Vintage Luke Skywalker in Hoth Battle Gear, Vintage Wampa, Vintage Tauntaun)
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Stone Cold Storm (Alt Take)
Stone Cold Storm - Alternate (Vintage AT-AT Driver, Vintage Imperial Stormtroopers in Hoth Battle Gear)
Alternate take from the original ‘Stone Cold Storm’ post of a few months back. That image nearly delivers the goods, but ultimately is just a bit too dark. This one’s been begging to see daylight… so voila.
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The Darth Vader All-Stars.
The Darth Vader All-Stars. (Vintage Darth Vader Tie Fighter, Vintage AT-AT Commander, Vintage Darth Vader, Vintage Imperial Stormtroopers in Hoth Battle Gear)
I promise you this: one day (and it won’t be long) I’ll present Darth Vader in the company of henchmen other than Snowtroopers. Looking back, this is now the fourth photo I’ve done of the Vader/Snowtrooper pairing. Ugh.
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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