Date of Manufacture... advice, please!

[TC-14]

Righto. I'm rather green to this Star Wars collecting universe, and not afraid to admit it. Every day is a school day, and I'm certainly learning all the time. I've just been re-united with the remains of my original '77-'82 collection, and straight away I've realised that the Date of Manufacture is incredibly important to me. I am familiar with numerous posts concerning the Country of Origin and whatnot, but I get the feeling that there is scant regard for the specific production year on these little pieces of plastic.

Am I missing something? I'm looking at mirroring (and so preserving) my beat-up childhood figures with a minty loose collection for starters, but they will have to be dated from 1977 for the first 12, 1978 for the next, and so on. Is this normal behaviour, or is it my OCD going into overdrive?

Any thoughts, and perhaps a little guidance on this matter, would be most welcome :?

Martin

 

[itfciain]

All of the later release figures still have the date stamped from when they were first released. So a Han Solo original on a ROTJ card will still be dated from 1977.

Likewise, although R2 changed three times - all are dated 1977. However this is not the case for C3P0.

I think there are a couple of exceptions - Barada for example can be found with 1984 and 1985 date stamps and I ams sure that R2 or R5 has been sound with different date stamps

 

[Banton989]

The dates are the dates on the moulds, not when the figures were produced.

The first 12 are 1977
Rest of the Star wars line 1978 (R5 D4 can be found with 1977 stamp where they used overstock R2 D2 bodies)
Boba Fett is 1979
First wave ESB figs are 1980
2nd wave ESB are 1981
1st wave ROTJ are 1982
2nd wave ROTJ are 1983
POTF are 1984 or 1985 or both in Barada's case.

Think thats right lol!

Adam

 

[itfciain]

That looks about right Adam - although there was a third wave of ROTJ with 1984 date stamps

 

[Banton989]

Remembered that after I posted lol, plus 3po removable limbs, and maybe a couple of others are 1982

Adam

 

[TC-14]

Sound advice, thank you both! Which explains the uneasy feeling upon being re-united with my R2... I knew I had saved up my pocket money and bought three, maybe four R2-D2's between '78 and '82: once the decals had become grubby and finally disintegrated. But to come face to face with a 'sensorscope' rather than a 'solid dome' (which is what I had always been used to) but still dated 1977, threw me into a bit of a quandary.

I don't feel quite so daft for asking the question, now

Much obliged, Iain and Adam!

Martin

 

[Grant_C]

Remembered that after I posted lol, plus 3po removable limbs, and maybe a couple of others are 1982

Adam

and TIE Pilot

 

[walkie]

Removable limbs c3po 1982, yet the droids version is 1985.

 

[rob71]

Good to know. Interesting Iain and Adam, that the later release Han's etc still say 1977; I never knew that. I'm becoming slightly more knowledgeable every day

 

[Jedi_june]

Excellent Post @Martin

Great info @Adam & lain

 

[walkie]

POTF R2 with pop-up saber is 1977, explain that mystery??

 

[Banton989]

They just used the original 77 dated R2 body mould?

Adam

 

[walkie]

Nope, the pop-up R2 is a new moulding compared to the solid dome and sensor scope.

 

[Banton989]

Hmm yeah your right..maybe it was an alternate original body mould??

Adam

 

[olisuds]

Of course some of the foreign variants have different date stamps. Takara Stormtrooper, Vader and C3PO have 1978 date stamp. Also I think there is a Lili ledy R2 with a 1978!?

 

[walkie]

Also I think there is a Lili ledy R2 with a 1978!?

I can confirm the 1978 Lili ledy R2, there are several known examples in collectors hands.

I mentioned the Droids C-3PO having a 1985 stamp instead of the 1977, well having checked the Droids R2 has a 1985 stamp as well (potf has 1977).