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.

7 comments

  1. Nice work… have been following your posts for almost a year now, I’m dabbling in the field myself, having taken the inspiration from you and some other guys who do similar things, but don’t have the time so the results are rather infrequent and so-so. Kep it up!

    • Thanks Thomas. Looking forward to seeing your handywork when you’re ready to show. Please keep me in the loop if you start an online gallery or blog somewhere.

      Right, infrequency seems to be the order of the day around here as well. I became a first-time dad about 7 months ago and my discretionary time has been zapped to zilch. I was doing about 2 shots per week a year ago… now I’m lucky to get 1 or 2 per month. Trying my best to bump up quality to keep things balanced. 😉

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