Growing vintage sets & figs

[monkey_roo]

https://www.gwacrylic.co.uk/product...ure-1st-12-synergy-stand-acrylic-display-case

 

[monkey_roo]

I'm now only a Cloud Car Pilot away from the full 77 + a sneaky Max Rebo Band - I am sure it'll be done in the next week or so

 

[monkey_roo]

Picked up a few more bits of late - some really not needed and others really really not needed

My first solid belly TaunTaun, and he needed a Wampa to keep him company and at that point it felt like a Han and Luke Hoth seemed sensible.

The Max Rebo was more an in real life impulse thing (Farthest From) - but love it, I'm a sucker for the band.

A few more figures down and now only the pesky Cloud Car Pilot to go and that will be 79 figs.

(I see a lose Rancor and Jabba coming next year….)

 

[Cazza]

Nice pick-ups. The collection's looking great! Need to get a solid belly Tauntaun, myself...

 

[StarWarsFan]

Picked up a few more bits of late - some really not needed and others really really not needed

My first solid belly TaunTaun, and he needed a Wampa to keep him company and at that point it felt like a Han and Luke Hoth seemed sensible.

The Max Rebo was more an in real life impulse thing (Farthest From) - but love it, I'm a sucker for the band.

A few more figures down and now only the pesky Cloud Car Pilot to go and that will be 79 figs.

(I see a lose Rancor and Jabba coming next year….)

View attachment 194181View attachment 194182View attachment 194183

Nice one mate

 

[Ruby2511]

What an awesome display, Those display cases are the business

 

[monkey_roo]

So finally I have all 79 figures loose and in display cases (sat in front of the 96 carded figures ) - As much as I would love to go after the Last 17 to get a full house here - that is way beyond me the way prices have gone these days, but very happy to have finally got a damn Cloud Car Pilot to finish this off - that said I did have to buy 2 of him as one I got off Evilbay never arrived and still in discussions about that and then another popped up for a 'reasonable' price so went for it. Vintage collecting focus is on M.A.S.K. for a bit now anyway...
Enjoy (and sorry about the mashed together photo - only way to get all in one shot - sort of...).

 

[supergoose]

So finally I have all 79 figures loose

Nice one

 

[STRIKEMEDOWN]

So finally I have all 79 figures loose and in display cases (sat in front of the 96 carded figures ) - As much as I would love to go after the Last 17 to get a full house here - that is way beyond me the way prices have gone these days, but very happy to have finally got a damn Cloud Car Pilot to finish this off - that said I did have to buy 2 of him as one I got off Evilbay never arrived and still in discussions about that and then another popped up for a 'reasonable' price so went for it. Vintage collecting focus is on M.A.S.K. for a bit now anyway...
Enjoy (and sorry about the mashed together photo - only way to get all in one shot - sort of...).

View attachment 195173

That's really cool! It's amazing to see these all together, it really puts it into perspective how many there are. How long did it take you to collect all of them?

(Also that sucks about the eBay thing, i hope that gets sorted for you)

 

[monkey_roo]

Thanks

Yeah Ebay is a pain, but it's inescapable, I recon I've had maybe 2 or 3 items go missing over a 10 year period, so not a common occurrence, but it does happen.

I've been collecting properly since the late 90's early 00's, so a long time - I think it took me around 15 years to put together the carded figure run (96) when I did that, but the loose figure run (79) was a lot quicker I think I started that in 2022/2023 so maybe two and half years to do that. There is nothing exciting in there and all the loose figures are easy enough to find, the trick is the accessories, holding out to make sure there are no repro's in there and then that damn Cloud Car Pilot - getting one with a Com-Reader, that has taken an age.

 

[STRIKEMEDOWN]

Thanks

Yeah Ebay is a pain, but it's inescapable, I recon I've had maybe 2 or 3 items go missing over a 10 year period, so not a common occurrence, but it does happen.

I've been collecting properly since the late 90's early 00's, so a long time - I think it took me around 15 years to put together the carded figure run (96) when I did that, but the loose figure run (79) was a lot quicker I think I started that in 2022/2023 so maybe two and half years to do that. There is nothing exciting in there and all the loose figures are easy enough to find, the trick is the accessories, holding out to make sure there are no repro's in there and then that damn Cloud Car Pilot - getting one with a Com-Reader, that has taken an age.

Oh cool! 15 years is a lot of dedication it's awesome that you're so committed to completing a run. I've seen a few conversations about accessories, it seems wild to me that people can tell all those little weapons apart, but I suppose that sort of thing takes time to learn. Congrats on the run mate!

 

[monkey_roo]

The truth is once you start collecting you never really stop, there is always a figure a vehicle or something you find or want to add and if you get hold of a few of the collectors books you'll see just how much stuff has been made between 1977 and today and of course being a SW toy collector probably means you drift into other IP's (Transformers, M.A.S.K & Lego in my case - oh and comics...) It is never ending.

Repros are a nightmare now. The reality is they have always existed, probably going back to the 80's but they weren't commercial back then, I would say in the 80's and early 90's it was more a case of people loosing them, or kids loosing them and parents tying to just recreate a staff or a gun or whatever and if you look at the repros from back then they are pretty obvious (Colour, shape, material etc,) - I guess they really became an issue in the late 90's when folks realised there was a market for them, first as replacements, which is one thing, but now they are so good that you're left with a bunch of folks who try to pass them off as vintage because they can (nasty people), mixed in with folks who probably have no idea what is real and what is fake - it is a minefield. Experience will come, but relying on places like here and other resources to build up that knowledge and build your own is the only way

Now as a tangent, what is interesting is custom stuff - i.e. things that people create to fill gaps from original lines and so forth, so they aren't fake or presenting to be anything they are not - there can be some great stuff in this category and another rabbit hole to go down. I have a few of the Shadows of the Empire and SW Rebels customs from these guys - very good: https://www.cardback-customs.de/our-showroom-boonta-eve/

Lots of fun to dive into...

 

[STRIKEMEDOWN]

The truth is once you start collecting you never really stop, there is always a figure a vehicle or something you find or want to add and if you get hold of a few of the collectors books you'll see just how much stuff has been made between 1977 and today and of course being a SW toy collector probably means you drift into other IP's (Transformers, M.A.S.K & Lego in my case - oh and comics...) It is never ending.

Repros are a nightmare now. The reality is they have always existed, probably going back to the 80's but they weren't commercial back then, I would say in the 80's and early 90's it was more a case of people loosing them, or kids loosing them and parents tying to just recreate a staff or a gun or whatever and if you look at the repros from back then they are pretty obvious (Colour, shape, material etc,) - I guess they really became an issue in the late 90's when folks realised there was a market for them, first as replacements, which is one thing, but now they are so good that you're left with a bunch of folks who try to pass them off as vintage because they can (nasty people), mixed in with folks who probably have no idea what is real and what is fake - it is a minefield. Experience will come, but relying on places like here and other resources to build up that knowledge and build your own is the only way

Now as a tangent, what is interesting is custom stuff - i.e. things that people create to fill gaps from original lines and so forth, so they aren't fake or presenting to be anything they are not - there can be some great stuff in this category and another rabbit hole to go down. I have a few of the Shadows of the Empire and SW Rebels customs from these guys - very good: https://www.cardback-customs.de/our-showroom-boonta-eve/

Lots of fun to dive into...

oh wow, those customs are really cool. I didn't know collectors books were a thing, I'll have to check that out!

 

[monkey_roo]

There are a few books out there:

I swear by Steve Sansweets book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-...=star+wars+action+figure+guide,aps,100&sr=8-2

Another one of Steves: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-...1739437343&sprefix=steve+sansw,aps,105&sr=8-1

This is a good one for broader reference: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-...248&sprefix=star+wars+toy+guide,aps,76&sr=8-4

Then there is the big bad daddy of Vintage Collecting books: https://muhi0y-kj.myshopify.com/pro...de-volume-one-kenner-action-figures-1977-1985

Once you start in on these you'll be lost forever

 

[Cazza]

Brilliant to finish your run- you were certainly in it for the long haul. Tricky to find a complete CCP these days. They look great!

 

[Ruby2511]

So finally I have all 79 figures loose and in display cases (sat in front of the 96 carded figures ) - As much as I would love to go after the Last 17 to get a full house here - that is way beyond me the way prices have gone these days, but very happy to have finally got a damn Cloud Car Pilot to finish this off - that said I did have to buy 2 of him as one I got off Evilbay never arrived and still in discussions about that and then another popped up for a 'reasonable' price so went for it. Vintage collecting focus is on M.A.S.K. for a bit now anyway...
Enjoy (and sorry about the mashed together photo - only way to get all in one shot - sort of...).

View attachment 195173

They display so well, look amazing

 

[STRIKEMEDOWN]

There are a few books out there:

I swear by Steve Sansweets book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Action-Figure-Archive/dp/1852277394/ref=sr_1_2?crid=19J5SKTMZPTSB&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.UEf1zI516VffWHrm2LIIYZQNlxS4q424LOFiy4zb68xjN2HqjZnQOSOO0wkpCSYb70ZeZqreR5MKchmXdNGTWWbXpu-rUN1h0-mCg8rXrpVNnqFCjtCLBWd4V6_UcqBoWufDtxbdELJUmZcv3NTTPdkQheNeQJzKvPDzdvLEdBzQxT3W3LLiNjQRM3m--je_6tKSSsSa7I1pyUmd3ehtSXsMzTeh2t2wNLFB2lpWTOk.EzdQYPbO-zCRWBLNCg19YoxL2MrVwXDpHpE3hNNPlsM&dib_tag=se&keywords=star+wars+action+figure+guide&qid=1739437396&sprefix=star+wars+action+figure+guide,aps,100&sr=8-2

Another one of Steves: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Ultimate-Action-Collection/dp/1781161399/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13ON2HMOFZSRP&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.AGTyGw5sGFSh7KqwImwkyeS9UMJdczBPiTv0dRo1VNfTOkJMLsNzTED0I7BBKrdVw5NiynLl6MwhsZgqbDT7wjGKT10OEtlXunp29uGh31WHKPZTwOsan9p3HmCEfn0S.JUJz3T_-h2sNqTQoEC9XcCIILrI0aBxw7Ycc3eVu2TY&dib_tag=se&keywords=steve+sansweet&qid=1739437343&sprefix=steve+sansw,aps,105&sr=8-1

This is a good one for broader reference: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Super-Collectors-Wish/dp/0764365886/ref=sr_1_4?crid=FKB3VPHQ7318&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.pwGSv9RsuCQ610IODXPf6M_hs9YRcPv-mOYFbJ9tNdFlC081Q6GbjFR9ujrkkc21CHXSvEfq02TyKW9dstb4mpCafsaiccoVD_ooRst831KWE7lYFCDqorx6vEWi95UxGiNe_cgE_z3mF4uuALGBRbilkZAh6UrdnKkxlWhxb5CXrx54V2_2YreXrQTK6HDYj7_JlrpJggZd72QwzT32724yq_nsXYcV_Xbuj0PCqMs.Lsa4xPR-KWdUPqvRoiOrkHJjB5T_abT1B0L5oJTknXI&dib_tag=se&keywords=star+wars+toy+guide&qid=1739437248&sprefix=star+wars+toy+guide,aps,76&sr=8-4

Then there is the big bad daddy of Vintage Collecting books: https://muhi0y-kj.myshopify.com/pro...de-volume-one-kenner-action-figures-1977-1985

Once you start in on these you'll be lost forever

Damn! Thanks for the links, these look like awesome references to use. I was able to find that first Steve Sansweets book in the Internet Archives digital library, so I'll definitely give it a flick through!