Stuart Skinner
Sith Lord
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spoons said:
For a collector it's a really good watch and the extras are worth taking some time to watch. You'll enjoy it, although my mrs moaned throughout when I made her watch it.
SWFUK PODCAST Episode 9 LAUNCHED
- Thread starter Stuart Skinner
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For a collector it's a really good watch and the extras are worth taking some time to watch. You'll enjoy it, although my mrs moaned throughout when I made her watch it.
Stuart Skinner
Sith Lord
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spoons said:I saw it at FF but the beer has dulled the memory - but I do remember being surprised to see me in one of the childhood pics at the start
Was you really? Which one, brilliant!
Richard_H
Grand Master
The one that looks like a young Shmi Skywalker
spoons
Grand Master
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Richard_H said:
:lol: :roll:
I'm on the left (wearing the most 70s socks of all time) in the pic of two boys and a girl holding up Star Wars figures in a sunny yard. Me and my sister on holiday in Spain with a lad from the next door house
The pic won a prize on I grew up Star Wars and I guess they borrowed it from there
Edit - easier if I post the pic. The kid on the rigjt swapped my Lando for a dog chewed jawa. I was a mug
Stuart Skinner
Sith Lord
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Great pic, love seeing the old pictures.
Stuart Skinner
Sith Lord
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Is that Han Hoth in the other lads hand yours? Wondering if the love for him you have started early
spoons
Grand Master
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Boba Skinner said:
It is and I think it was mine. Walrus man was definitely one of my first figs, Lando got swapped I had a vague memory of Vader but I'm sure Han was an early one too - I think that kid just had a dog chewed Jawa and borrowed Han off me
Look how happy he is with his deal!
Listened yesterday- enjoyable, informative and entertaining as usual! Really appreciate all the hard work that clearly goes into this every month.
Reckon I could be swayed re: stickers. It was a very valid argument, but would only do it if they were in absolutely terrible condition or missing...
Reckon I could be swayed re: stickers. It was a very valid argument, but would only do it if they were in absolutely terrible condition or missing...
Richard_H
Grand Master
For me it depends on the stickers' importance. It is clear that the stickers on the TIE wings contribute a lot to the vehicle. If a TIE with wing stickers was impossible to get then I'd go repro. Minor stickers like the ones on the ATAT I can live without.
The foam does not last. You either have repro or none. I have 2 bags of original foam for the Kenner Death Star; one hard like sugar cubes, the other turning to powder.
The foam does not last. You either have repro or none. I have 2 bags of original foam for the Kenner Death Star; one hard like sugar cubes, the other turning to powder.
spoons
Grand Master
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I didn't agree with the sticker argument - stickers are as much a part of the vintage ship as a yellowed cockpit or wing. Just because they are made of paper it shouldn't make a difference - not many would want repro instructions and they are paper too.
If all stickers fell off like all foam rots I'd feel different, but personally I'd pay a premium for a ship with original stickers in good condition
If the stickers have fallen off already I'd reglue any I could find and leave the rest missing.
As most vintage ships are in collectirs hands there is no problem finding and regluing stickers that fall off from this point on.
If all stickers fell off like all foam rots I'd feel different, but personally I'd pay a premium for a ship with original stickers in good condition
If the stickers have fallen off already I'd reglue any I could find and leave the rest missing.
As most vintage ships are in collectirs hands there is no problem finding and regluing stickers that fall off from this point on.
Sompeetalay
Padawan
You sure were a good lad. I wouldn't have traded any of my figures as a kid, not even for gold
Like always, great podcast. I do like what was said about AFA
nohandluke
Padawan
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- Feb 7, 2014
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- 35
I understand the trepidation toward new stickers from the comments here, and I am also fearful of slippery slope consequences. I'd like to reinforce what I said on the podcast however - we conduct restorations for people who still have their original childhood toys and have asked us to clean them up for sentimental reasons.
We do not charge for our time and labor because part of the benefit for us is making a video documenting a particular vehicle. Sometimes the owner buys the parts, sometimes we assist in tracking them down.
We also follow a strict policy of only restoring as far as the owner asks us to go, and we make it clear up front - "If the vintage stickers are salvageable/serviceable, they will be preserved/re-used." RetroBlasting has *never* obliterated stickers that could be saved. Regarding the now-famous "Juan Snowspeeder," those decals were absolute toast. As were the bits of decals on the severely broken wings of Matt's X-Wing fighter.
As a classic car guy, I'm overjoyed to see it when a classic sports car is brought back from the brink of a junkyard destiny. I look at vintage Star Wars like classic Ford Mustangs - there are thankfully many original survivors and "barn finds" with the original stickers and no yellowing, etc. And yet there are many in bad condition that could still be saved as "classic drivers" - maybe too far gone to ever be museum worthy - but not so far gone they should be treated like trash. The snowspeeder and X-Wing we restored fall into that category - immensely important to the people who sent them to us and deserving of a redeemed glory.
With our recent B-Wing restoration, we stayed far away from the original stickers because they were in very good shape. Attempts to salvage the rear engine sticker to allow for cockpit disassembling did not pan out, so one sticker was carefully matched and replaced. Again - for a childhood owner of the toy - and a close friend.
I recognize that it's an idealistic point of view - that there are people who are happy to deceive buyers. RetroBlasting doesn't sell reproduction or restored toys. We're not a store. Any toys we do sell are duplicates from our collection that are meticulously described. At most the toys sold have been dusted/gently cleaned.
I've read the extreme argument that any vehicle with lost stickers should just be left blank. My question is: Who does that protect? No one wants to display blank vehicles, so they'll just get traded around over and over until someone puts new stickers on them to make it look more presentable. Or, a childhood owner is shamed by the collecting community for wanting his original TIE Fighter to have wing stickers again and used some exact paper reproductions to achieve that look he/she remembers from those halcyon days. So I can only conclude that the "leave vehicles blank" argument mainly protects those who have a fleet of vehicles with all original pristine stickers and they're trying to protect their investment/bragging rights/etc.
Investment protection I can understand, but honestly with the sheer number of Star Wars vehicles and toys made from 1978-1985, a loose complete vehicle from 1978-1984 will *never* be worth any marked amount (A-Wing, Skiff and sandcrawler excepted) compared to the relatively large number of MISB examples that also still exist. So from where I'm standing, with 33 years of vintage Star Wars collecting experience and counting, the "sticker risk" to value of "all original" is minimal to zero.
Now, does that mean I don't care about vintage original stickers? Absolutely not - I care very much and pursue nice examples where ever possible, paying a premium for all original examples, but I also care a lot for vintage Star Wars toys in general. I like seeing them at their best, and saved from the dustbin. So I recognize I have a foot in two camps.
Lastly, as for Retr0brite, we have an equally strict policy. We don't trust it - we use it *very* sparingly, and *only on request.* Jon was adamant he wanted the B-Wing cockpit de-yellowed. Matt wanted to find out if it was possible to blunt the yellowing effect on his X-Wing. In both cases, we were *very* conservative with the application. Matt's X-Wing still has a patina of yellow that shows its age, as does the B-Wing cockpit rotation housing. Melinda and I cut the formula out of pure distrust.
Sorry for the long post. I'm passionate about vintage Star Wars. Hope all this was a valuable insight into our methodology. - Michael
We do not charge for our time and labor because part of the benefit for us is making a video documenting a particular vehicle. Sometimes the owner buys the parts, sometimes we assist in tracking them down.
We also follow a strict policy of only restoring as far as the owner asks us to go, and we make it clear up front - "If the vintage stickers are salvageable/serviceable, they will be preserved/re-used." RetroBlasting has *never* obliterated stickers that could be saved. Regarding the now-famous "Juan Snowspeeder," those decals were absolute toast. As were the bits of decals on the severely broken wings of Matt's X-Wing fighter.
As a classic car guy, I'm overjoyed to see it when a classic sports car is brought back from the brink of a junkyard destiny. I look at vintage Star Wars like classic Ford Mustangs - there are thankfully many original survivors and "barn finds" with the original stickers and no yellowing, etc. And yet there are many in bad condition that could still be saved as "classic drivers" - maybe too far gone to ever be museum worthy - but not so far gone they should be treated like trash. The snowspeeder and X-Wing we restored fall into that category - immensely important to the people who sent them to us and deserving of a redeemed glory.
With our recent B-Wing restoration, we stayed far away from the original stickers because they were in very good shape. Attempts to salvage the rear engine sticker to allow for cockpit disassembling did not pan out, so one sticker was carefully matched and replaced. Again - for a childhood owner of the toy - and a close friend.
I recognize that it's an idealistic point of view - that there are people who are happy to deceive buyers. RetroBlasting doesn't sell reproduction or restored toys. We're not a store. Any toys we do sell are duplicates from our collection that are meticulously described. At most the toys sold have been dusted/gently cleaned.
I've read the extreme argument that any vehicle with lost stickers should just be left blank. My question is: Who does that protect? No one wants to display blank vehicles, so they'll just get traded around over and over until someone puts new stickers on them to make it look more presentable. Or, a childhood owner is shamed by the collecting community for wanting his original TIE Fighter to have wing stickers again and used some exact paper reproductions to achieve that look he/she remembers from those halcyon days. So I can only conclude that the "leave vehicles blank" argument mainly protects those who have a fleet of vehicles with all original pristine stickers and they're trying to protect their investment/bragging rights/etc.
Investment protection I can understand, but honestly with the sheer number of Star Wars vehicles and toys made from 1978-1985, a loose complete vehicle from 1978-1984 will *never* be worth any marked amount (A-Wing, Skiff and sandcrawler excepted) compared to the relatively large number of MISB examples that also still exist. So from where I'm standing, with 33 years of vintage Star Wars collecting experience and counting, the "sticker risk" to value of "all original" is minimal to zero.
Now, does that mean I don't care about vintage original stickers? Absolutely not - I care very much and pursue nice examples where ever possible, paying a premium for all original examples, but I also care a lot for vintage Star Wars toys in general. I like seeing them at their best, and saved from the dustbin. So I recognize I have a foot in two camps.
Lastly, as for Retr0brite, we have an equally strict policy. We don't trust it - we use it *very* sparingly, and *only on request.* Jon was adamant he wanted the B-Wing cockpit de-yellowed. Matt wanted to find out if it was possible to blunt the yellowing effect on his X-Wing. In both cases, we were *very* conservative with the application. Matt's X-Wing still has a patina of yellow that shows its age, as does the B-Wing cockpit rotation housing. Melinda and I cut the formula out of pure distrust.
Sorry for the long post. I'm passionate about vintage Star Wars. Hope all this was a valuable insight into our methodology. - Michael
Its good that it caused so much debate. I think it's something we have to consider going into the future.
Is there no way of adding a 'R' to the sticker? Even if it was a slight off colour to the colour its in?
Is there no way of adding a 'R' to the sticker? Even if it was a slight off colour to the colour its in?
Richard_H
Grand Master
That's a good point.
I was totally against repro stickers. I still am in the main - especially for the larger 'important' stickers like on the TIE wings.
But, how long will they last? Will the glue degrade to such a point that they won't stay attached? We need more information/research on this.
I was totally against repro stickers. I still am in the main - especially for the larger 'important' stickers like on the TIE wings.
But, how long will they last? Will the glue degrade to such a point that they won't stay attached? We need more information/research on this.
Ren Solo
Padawan
I'm currently renovating my old x wing. I had the battle damage stickers on it and removed them (as a kid). The yellow nose sticker is no longer there and the wing stickers are just covered in the residue of the removed damage stickers. Now, do I clean up and leave as best I can or do I go replacements?! :|
Ren Solo
Padawan
By the way, I love the Podcasts.
Hi guys, just listened to this episodes 8 and 9 and really enjoyed them, particularly the Retro blasting and Plastic Galaxy interviews.
Just wanted to comment on a query that popped up a couple of times about proof cards and a comparison to unused card backs and how proof cards can be authenticated as genuine. I'm far from an expert so maybe more experienced collectors will chime in if I'm wrong but from what I understand the majority of proof cards apart from a few "sample like" proof cards differ from unused card backs in that the card stock is different (thinner), lower corners are often squared and punches offset or sometimes complete absent. They can be distinguished as genuine by these characteristics and of course much like authenticating a MOC, proof cards have an age and feel about them and once you've handled a number of them its easier to determine if they're genuine or not. Of course from a photo it can be hard to guarantee authenticity but if you have it in front of you and have seen enough proof cards I'm confident you'd know the difference.
I really enjoy the podcast so keep them coming. I enjoy the variety of collecting fields that are covered. My only criticism is that they are a bit lengthy and I've really struggled to listen to them all for the full duration.
Cheers Oli
Just wanted to comment on a query that popped up a couple of times about proof cards and a comparison to unused card backs and how proof cards can be authenticated as genuine. I'm far from an expert so maybe more experienced collectors will chime in if I'm wrong but from what I understand the majority of proof cards apart from a few "sample like" proof cards differ from unused card backs in that the card stock is different (thinner), lower corners are often squared and punches offset or sometimes complete absent. They can be distinguished as genuine by these characteristics and of course much like authenticating a MOC, proof cards have an age and feel about them and once you've handled a number of them its easier to determine if they're genuine or not. Of course from a photo it can be hard to guarantee authenticity but if you have it in front of you and have seen enough proof cards I'm confident you'd know the difference.
I really enjoy the podcast so keep them coming. I enjoy the variety of collecting fields that are covered. My only criticism is that they are a bit lengthy and I've really struggled to listen to them all for the full duration.
Cheers Oli
