Hello to all. This is my first post here.
Although the issue of the "Tony" cards has been running for quite some time, I have only just become aware of it. I thought that I would contribute something, because my recollections might be of help in ascertaining exactly what happened all of those years ago. I'm sorry that I have not had time to read all of the posts, so forgive me if I am covering old ground, especially as people seem to have posted some of my personal emails without telling me.
For people who don't know me, I am a long standing Star Wars fan and collector. I used to run the U.K.Star Wars Fan Club with Jason Joiner and a group of other fans. I was Club Chairman, a staff writer and my collection was a major source of material. Jason was the club promotions man (deal closer, etc), writer and his collection was an even bigger source of material. I have amassed quite a large Star Wars collection, some of which can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/12871619@N03/sets/72157624878003505/
One of my major purchases occurred when Jason supplied me with 212 Palitoy carded Boba Fett figures. The number 212 was quoted in the Marvel Star Wars comic story "Star Search" as being the number of Mandalorians that fought against the Jedi in the Clone Wars (which of course has been discarded in the new canon). Jason may have bought more from his source, being convinced that I would take the lot but I stuck to 212 which was the size if the army. Jason also bought a large number of carded Snowtroopers around the same time as he had a stack of them in his loft, but I have no idea of the style or quality of the packaging they were in. Jason and I were each collecting an Imperial army at the time and I assumed that Jason had bought them for this reason.
The Boba Fett figures were supplied to me in ordinary boxes, one of which I still have. It is for "Lyon's Ready Brek", with a best before end date of February 1988. In addition to the "Ready Brek" box, I still own a number of the backing cards and bubbles, some of which are still partially attached. Jason did not issue me with sales receipt. The figures were all on identical punched Palitoy Return of the Jedi 45 back cards with a "Free Nien Nunb" offer on the back. There is a red glob next to Chewbacca. The figures inside were all the light coloured version of Boba Fett that was issued in Palitoy/Tri Logo packaging. I have no doubt that the figures were left-over stock because that variation was too difficult to find in that kind of quantity with weapons on the second-hand market.
The bubbles were of a two-stemmed style which was too small to comfortably accommodate a Boba Fett figure. All of the bubbles had not attached properly (probably because of this reason) and although the majority had still clung on the card, they were hanging by a thread. Many of the bubbles were crinkled along the edge, as if too much heat had been applied. Also many of the backing cards had identical marks across the front, seemingly from a machine of some kind (The upside down Snowtrooper on page 93 has similar marks). The figures were not even close to being MOC and if they had have been, Jason could probably have made some phone calls to collectors/fellow dealers and raised more cash selling them such, as they would have been worth a lot more than the £1-2 he charged me. I was a trader myself to a much smaller degree and if I'd got my hands on 212 MOC Boba Fetts I'd have chucked them on a stall at the next Westminster fair. Jason only bought the Fetts because he knew I was a cert for buying them and it is a marvel of his business mind that he remembered our conversation regarding the Mandalorian army. Jason may have attempted to sell some of the Boba Fetts that I did not buy because of James Simmonds' memories.
The theory put forward that left-over cards, bubbles and figures were put together by a company outside of Palitoy on behalf of a dealer would seem to fit very well. I have always wondered why in 1983 Palitoy had made such a big mistake in attempting to issue Boba Fett on the wrong packaging style and why their machinery had caused damage to the bubble and card. An outside company might have made mistakes such as this and then go on to improve the process. Or perhaps one dealer attempted to have some figures resealed and gave up before another dealer was more successful. As a model builder and a crafter myself, I cannot imagine anyone sitting down and individually sealing hundreds of bubbles and backing cards. It really needs to be a machine process (This would also explain the upside down Snowtroopers). It would not be worth anyone's while, sealing them individually for pennies. And it would have been obvious after the first attempts attaching them by hand that the process was not working. The Fetts and Snowtroopers could well be a failed experiment by dealer 1. Dealer 2 has the same Boba Fett lose figures, cards and bubbles and gets a better result elsewhere. I had also wondered why the Boba Fetts had not been stored in Palitoy produced boxes and why the "Redy Brek" boxes were dated to the time that I bought them and not any earlier. It seems that the Boba Fetts were fresh from the factory/workshop and could have even been made to satisfy my particular order. Of course the figures could also be exactly what I had originally assumed; Palitoy left-over stock. The weak state of the glue holding the figures might have been down to poor storage conditions and the damage part of the Palitoy production process.
I have sold hundreds of Boba Fetts over the years as "opened with figure", and as individual backing cards and figures. I never made an attempt at resealing the figures myself. I have had various stalls, shops and an ebay account over the years so my supply has dwindled to almost nothing. So much for my grand Mandalorian army!
The only positive I can glean from this debacle is that I no longer have to justify to myself and others my reasons as a 17-18 year old for opening a large number of rare carded Boba Fett figures. Jason Joiner takes pleasure in reminding me and allegedly telling people of my actions (in the spirit of fun and friendly banter I'm sure). It has turned into "Boba Fett Gate." I am relieved to discover that these Boba Fetts were almost certainly not Palitoy production items. Even at such a young age I was a very serious-minded collector and had the eye for detail and business sense to know that the Boba Fetts were not near enough to MOC to resell at the time or keep for investment purposes. I had a great deal of pleasure in diorama building with the figures, where they went to war against my 700 plus Imperial army in the back garden. That was worth a couple of hundred quid!
I believe it was a couple of years later that Jason Joiner uncovered a warehouse find of his own and I spent a lot of money on a large number of fresh-out-of-the-case Palitoy figures that were definitely not part of the dodgy Boba Fett batch. There a large number of carded and peeled open figures (some of which are from my childhood) out of the 120 – 130 in my collection which are guaranteed to be carded by Palitoy, which I could supply photographs of for comparison against "Tony's."
I hope that this rambling post has been of some use.
Craig Stevens.
