Archives: vintage

Two Years!

Rather Childish / Two Years Retrospective Poster

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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· 9 Comments

This Way Out Redux.

This Way Out Redux. (Vintage Luke Skywalker Stormtrooper Disguise, Vintage Han Solo, Vintage Chewbacca, Vintage Millennium Falcon)

This Way Out Redux.
(Vintage Luke Skywalker Stormtrooper Disguise, Vintage Han Solo, Vintage Chewbacca,
Vintage Millennium Falcon)

This is a much-stewed-over rethink of a recent underachiever. Happy to finally have it off my chest and onto yours. Enjoy!

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· 5 Comments

Unleashing Hell on Hoth.

Unleashing Hell on Hoth. (Vintage AT-AT Commander, Vintage AT-AT Driver, Vintage AT-AT, Vintage AT-ST)

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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This is Weequay.

This is Weequay. (Vintage Gamorrean Guards, Vintage Weequay, Vintage Jabba the Hutt)

This is Weequay. (Vintage Gamorrean Guards, Vintage Weequay, Vintage Jabba the Hutt)

It’s Weequay’s world. We only live in it. You got that?

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· 7 Comments

Via Beast.

Via Beast. (Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Dewbacks)

Via Beast. (Vintage Stormtroopers, Vintage Dewbacks)

Buying Notes on the Vintage Stormtrooper

Check out the current vintage Stormtrooper listings here.

The vintage Stormtrooper is among the most iconic of the vintage Kenner figures. The good news is they’re plentiful and you can pull a gorgeous, like-new one off the auction table for not much dough. Certainly no more than $15 delivered. But you’ve got to be a bit careful as you go.

First it’s common to see reproduction accessories. The vintage Stormie came with a beautiful little imperial blaster that helped him shoot up jawas and rebels alike. But small and fun often equals small and lost. Enter the repro accessory makers and with them a lot of confusion on how to keep things straight. How to tell? Thanks to the good guys over at Imperial Gunnery, this is a nut easily cracked. Check out their awesome guide first before you buy something your unsure of.

Second, take a good look at the photos to spot yellowing. The vintage figures molded in white plastic are the ones most prone to a change in color due to plastic degradation. Some are yellowing and some aren’t, just keep a keen eye on what the seller is showing you and ask for more or better photos if its unclear.

And lastly be sure to inquire on whether or not the figure has loose joints or not. Stormtroopers saw a lot of play in their day and the limbs became loose quickly. If this is important to you (it’s important to me) drop the seller a line through the eBay message system before bidding.

Feel free to add any thoughts in the comments and drop me a line if you run into any trouble!

Check out the current vintage Stormtrooper listings here.

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· 6 Comments

This Way Out.

This Way Out. (Vintage Luke Skywalker Stormtrooper Disguise, Vintage Chewbacca, Vintage Han Solo, Vintage Millenium Falcon)

This Way Out. (Vintage Luke Skywalker Stormtrooper Disguise,
Vintage Chewbacca, Vintage Han Solo, Vintage Millennium Falcon)

I’ve been itching to see a Millennium Falcon on these pages for quite a while. Now I’ll be the first to admit this shot doesn’t do the old scrap heap justice, but it’s definitely a start. Or if not a start, at least a hint as to where this might go from here.

So we chalk it up to research, and next time I vow to present something that shows a bit more… shall we say… commitment.

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· 3 Comments

Echo Base.

Echo Base. (Vintage Rebel Soldiers, Vintage R5-D4, Vintage Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot)

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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