SWTOTW, Week 52, 2018, Part 2/2 Death Star (Cardboard Version)
- Thread starter Pomse2001
- Start date
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2016
- Messages
- 5,091
I certainly can't add to this one!
But I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work and effort that you have put into keeping this great thread going.
Well done Lars and a big thanks to all the members that contribute.
Looking forward to seeing what 2019 brings!
But I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for all the hard work and effort that you have put into keeping this great thread going.
Well done Lars and a big thanks to all the members that contribute.
Looking forward to seeing what 2019 brings!
StarWarsFan
Grand Master
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2015
- Messages
- 6,995
I too would like to add my sincere thanks to you Lars for all your incredibly hard work and dedication in maintaining the Toy of the Week threads. You never miss one, and you also post in every thread that you can. It should be pretty obvious to everyone from my own frequent posts in these threads that I enjoy them immensely, so thank you for all that you have done for us in 2018, and thanks for all you will continue to do for us in 2019 and beyond.Pomse2001 said:Thanks guys for the very kind words
Here are my box, it is getting late so I have no time to get it out of the box today.
But I will try to find some time in 2019 to get it out of the box and take some pictures of it
01.jpg
If there was a competition for SWFUK contributor of the year, I would nominate you!
As for your Death Star, that's a lovely example and I look forward to seeing it fully assembled. As for mine... watch this space! :wink:
Another terrific example of my favourite toy!StarWarsFan said:
Thanks for posting
StarWarsFan
Grand Master
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2015
- Messages
- 6,995
Snaketibe said:Another terrific example of my favourite toy!StarWarsFan said:
Thanks for posting
Thanks mate, No problem mate.
And so Lars, we reach my favourite ever toy in your brilliant 'Toy of the Week' threads! What a perfect way to see out the year!
The Palitoy Death Star is not just a fantastic toy for kids of all ages to play with, but is also a masterclass in how to make something brilliant out of not a great deal. This playset could have been a disaster; it's just a few pieces of cardboard with a minimal amount of plastic parts added, but it isn't. With superb ingenuity and attention to detail, the craftsmen at Palitoy conjured up a wonderful toy packed with play value out of something that is essentially one step away from origami. The design itself is incredibly clever, with wonderful artwork added to boot, on both the toy and the box!
I loved this playset when I was a kid (and yes, I'm old enough to have bought one brand new from a toy shop back in the 70's), and I love it still. It never gets old and quite frankly should have been used as a template by Kenner for future vintage and modern line Star Wars playsets. Hasbro are always bleating on about the rising cost of plastic and using that as an excuse not to make 4" scale playsets, but the solution is right here, staring them in the face, in the shape of Palitoy's wonderful creation!
I can't say enough good things about this playset, but I'll try to keep the rest of this brief so as not to send you all to sleep ;-)
I would however like to highlight a few points of interest about the Palitoy Death Star. As we all know, Palitoy didn't release Kenner's good, but frankly inferior (IMHO) Death Star Space Station due to the cost of plastic back in the 70's. And it was for the same reason Palitoy produced their own cheaper versions of the Cantina, Land of the Jawas and Droid Factory playsets. However, with the Death Star they didn't simply tweak Kenner's design (as they did with the other playsets; yes each one is unique to Palitoy, but each is also very similar to its Kenner counterpart). Instead, they created a brand new set from the ground up, with only the action figure stands being borrowed from their Cantina and Land of the Jawas playsets (albeit this time moulded in clear plastic), and nicking a pair of X-Wing guns for the top cannon.
The box however is unique in several ways too. For starters the 'Star Wars' logo and its racetrack is decidedly blue-tinted rather than silver, and is also missing the innermost black line / border from its racetrack. It also prominently features a vinyl caped Jawa both on the box front, the side, and also on the wonderful reverse side of the toy's base. Perhaps it's easy to say now, but I do have to wonder why there was ever any doubt that Palitoy released the vinyl Jawa in the UK. Of course if you owned or saw a vinyl Jawa yourself back in the 70's, then this won't be news to you, however I never saw or owned one back then (apart from on the Palitoy Death Star's box and base), and interestingly, when I started collecting vintage again in the early 90's and bought some pieces from Jim Stevenson (who was then one of the major players in the vintage market), he swore blind that the vinyl Jawa had never been released in the UK. I'm not going to criticise Jim for his error, as he was hardly alone in making it, plus his vintage knowledge was actually very extensive. However it is extremely interesting to me to note that the mainstream of vintage collectors don't seem to have come to realise the vinyl Jawa was released over here until the AFA finally graded a Palitoy carded one a few years back (so the AFA has actually done something useful in its existence after all ;-)). However, the evidence for its UK release was right there on Palitoy's box all along. Their Death Star was designed in this country, and was presumably photographed in this country for its box art too, so they must have had a vinyl Jawa in hand at the time in order to photograph it. I can't believe they would have gone to the trouble of having one sent over from America, when the other figures featured in the artwork were already available over here, and so it stands to reason that the vinyl Jawa would have been available over here (albeit briefly!) as well.
Lastly, it's interesting to note that for the Palitoy photoshoot, whilst the vinyl Jawa is clearly present, the Sand People figure is not. He is shown in the line-ups on the side of the box and back of the toy's base, but he is absent from the toy set-up the kid is shown playing with on the front of the box, and also from the dioramas shown on the back of the box (unless he's always out of shot, of course ;-)).
Anyway, enough waffle. Here's mine:
The Palitoy Death Star is not just a fantastic toy for kids of all ages to play with, but is also a masterclass in how to make something brilliant out of not a great deal. This playset could have been a disaster; it's just a few pieces of cardboard with a minimal amount of plastic parts added, but it isn't. With superb ingenuity and attention to detail, the craftsmen at Palitoy conjured up a wonderful toy packed with play value out of something that is essentially one step away from origami. The design itself is incredibly clever, with wonderful artwork added to boot, on both the toy and the box!
I loved this playset when I was a kid (and yes, I'm old enough to have bought one brand new from a toy shop back in the 70's), and I love it still. It never gets old and quite frankly should have been used as a template by Kenner for future vintage and modern line Star Wars playsets. Hasbro are always bleating on about the rising cost of plastic and using that as an excuse not to make 4" scale playsets, but the solution is right here, staring them in the face, in the shape of Palitoy's wonderful creation!
I can't say enough good things about this playset, but I'll try to keep the rest of this brief so as not to send you all to sleep ;-)
I would however like to highlight a few points of interest about the Palitoy Death Star. As we all know, Palitoy didn't release Kenner's good, but frankly inferior (IMHO) Death Star Space Station due to the cost of plastic back in the 70's. And it was for the same reason Palitoy produced their own cheaper versions of the Cantina, Land of the Jawas and Droid Factory playsets. However, with the Death Star they didn't simply tweak Kenner's design (as they did with the other playsets; yes each one is unique to Palitoy, but each is also very similar to its Kenner counterpart). Instead, they created a brand new set from the ground up, with only the action figure stands being borrowed from their Cantina and Land of the Jawas playsets (albeit this time moulded in clear plastic), and nicking a pair of X-Wing guns for the top cannon.
The box however is unique in several ways too. For starters the 'Star Wars' logo and its racetrack is decidedly blue-tinted rather than silver, and is also missing the innermost black line / border from its racetrack. It also prominently features a vinyl caped Jawa both on the box front, the side, and also on the wonderful reverse side of the toy's base. Perhaps it's easy to say now, but I do have to wonder why there was ever any doubt that Palitoy released the vinyl Jawa in the UK. Of course if you owned or saw a vinyl Jawa yourself back in the 70's, then this won't be news to you, however I never saw or owned one back then (apart from on the Palitoy Death Star's box and base), and interestingly, when I started collecting vintage again in the early 90's and bought some pieces from Jim Stevenson (who was then one of the major players in the vintage market), he swore blind that the vinyl Jawa had never been released in the UK. I'm not going to criticise Jim for his error, as he was hardly alone in making it, plus his vintage knowledge was actually very extensive. However it is extremely interesting to me to note that the mainstream of vintage collectors don't seem to have come to realise the vinyl Jawa was released over here until the AFA finally graded a Palitoy carded one a few years back (so the AFA has actually done something useful in its existence after all ;-)). However, the evidence for its UK release was right there on Palitoy's box all along. Their Death Star was designed in this country, and was presumably photographed in this country for its box art too, so they must have had a vinyl Jawa in hand at the time in order to photograph it. I can't believe they would have gone to the trouble of having one sent over from America, when the other figures featured in the artwork were already available over here, and so it stands to reason that the vinyl Jawa would have been available over here (albeit briefly!) as well.
Lastly, it's interesting to note that for the Palitoy photoshoot, whilst the vinyl Jawa is clearly present, the Sand People figure is not. He is shown in the line-ups on the side of the box and back of the toy's base, but he is absent from the toy set-up the kid is shown playing with on the front of the box, and also from the dioramas shown on the back of the box (unless he's always out of shot, of course ;-)).
Anyway, enough waffle. Here's mine:
Snaketibe said:I too would like to add my sincere thanks to you Lars for all your incredibly hard work and dedication in maintaining the Toy of the Week threads. You never miss one, and you also post in every thread that you can. It should be pretty obvious to everyone from my own frequent posts in these threads that I enjoy them immensely, so thank you for all that you have done for us in 2018, and thanks for all you will continue to do for us in 2019 and beyond.Pomse2001 said:Thanks guys for the very kind words
Here are my box, it is getting late so I have no time to get it out of the box today.
But I will try to find some time in 2019 to get it out of the box and take some pictures of it
01.jpg
If there was a competition for SWFUK contributor of the year, I would nominate you!
As for your Death Star, that's a lovely example and I look forward to seeing it fully assembled. As for mine... watch this space! :wink:
Wow thanks Jeremy for the awesome words :shock:
:lol: But I am sure many others do some other great things on the forum. I must admit it has not been perfect sometimes I have been to busy so the 2 threads have come by the end of the week. It would have been better with a thread tuesday and again Saturday I will try to put it together and I will watch the space :lol:
Snaketibe said:And so Lars, we reach my favourite ever toy in your brilliant 'Toy of the Week' threads! What a perfect way to see out the year!
The Palitoy Death Star is not just a fantastic toy for kids of all ages to play with, but is also a masterclass in how to make something brilliant out of not a great deal. This playset could have been a disaster; it's just a few pieces of cardboard with a minimal amount of plastic parts added, but it isn't. With superb ingenuity and attention to detail, the craftsmen at Palitoy conjured up a wonderful toy packed with play value out of something that is essentially one step away from origami. The design itself is incredibly clever, with wonderful artwork added to boot, on both the toy and the box!
I loved this playset when I was a kid (and yes, I'm old enough to have bought one brand new from a toy shop back in the 70's), and I love it still. It never gets old and quite frankly should have been used as a template by Kenner for future vintage and modern line Star Wars playsets. Hasbro are always bleating on about the rising cost of plastic and using that as an excuse not to make 4" scale playsets, but the solution is right here, staring them in the face, in the shape of Palitoy's wonderful creation!
I can't say enough good things about this playset, but I'll try to keep the rest of this brief so as not to send you all to sleep ;-)
I would however like to highlight a few points of interest about the Palitoy Death Star. As we all know, Palitoy didn't release Kenner's good, but frankly inferior (IMHO) Death Star Space Station due to the cost of plastic back in the 70's. And it was for the same reason Palitoy produced their own cheaper versions of the Cantina, Land of the Jawas and Droid Factory playsets. However, with the Death Star they didn't simply tweak Kenner's design (as they did with the other playsets; yes each one is unique to Palitoy, but each is also very similar to its Kenner counterpart). Instead, they created a brand new set from the ground up, with only the action figure stands being borrowed from their Cantina and Land of the Jawas playsets (albeit this time moulded in clear plastic), and nicking a pair of X-Wing guns for the top cannon.
The box however is unique in several ways too. For starters the 'Star Wars' logo and its racetrack is decidedly blue-tinted rather than silver, and is also missing the innermost black line / border from its racetrack. It also prominently features a vinyl caped Jawa both on the box front, the side, and also on the wonderful reverse side of the toy's base. Perhaps it's easy to say now, but I do have to wonder why there was ever any doubt that Palitoy released the vinyl Jawa in the UK. Of course if you owned or saw a vinyl Jawa yourself back in the 70's, then this won't be news to you, however I never saw or owned one back then (apart from on the Palitoy Death Star's box and base), and interestingly, when I started collecting vintage again in the early 90's and bought some pieces from Jim Stevenson (who was then one of the major players in the vintage market), he swore blind that the vinyl Jawa had never been released in the UK. I'm not going to criticise Jim for his error, as he was hardly alone in making it, plus his vintage knowledge was actually very extensive. However it is extremely interesting to me to note that the mainstream of vintage collectors don't seem to have come to realise the vinyl Jawa was released over here until the AFA finally graded a Palitoy carded one a few years back (so the AFA has actually done something useful in its existence after all ;-)). However, the evidence for its UK release was right there on Palitoy's box all along. Their Death Star was designed in this country, and was presumably photographed in this country for its box art too, so they must have had a vinyl Jawa in hand at the time in order to photograph it. I can't believe they would have gone to the trouble of having one sent over from America, when the other figures featured in the artwork were already available over here, and so it stands to reason that the vinyl Jawa would have been available over here (albeit briefly!) as well.
Lastly, it's interesting to note that for the Palitoy photoshoot, whilst the vinyl Jawa is clearly present, the Sand People figure is not. He is shown in the line-ups on the side of the box and back of the toy's base, but he is absent from the toy set-up the kid is shown playing with on the front of the box, and also from the dioramas shown on the back of the box (unless he's always out of shot, of course ;-)).
Anyway, enough waffle. Here's mine:
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 01.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 02.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 03.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 04.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 05.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 06.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 07.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 08.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 09.jpg
Kicking Kenner's Ass - 10.jpg
Wow thanks for another fantastic thread and thanks for sharing that fantastic playset of the Death Star 8)
If there was a competition for SWFUK contributor of the year, I would nominate you for writing the longest posts with great info on the forum
Just my thought, I choose the Death Star because it was the last thread for 2018
I agree Palitoy did a fantastic job with that playset, I never saw it for sale in denmark. Not that I would say it was not sold in denmark, some small shops could have imported it in the 70s but so far I have never heard about one that have been found in denmark or seen one
So I first learned about this fantastic playset in 2001 when I started to collect as an adult
Great story about the vinyl cape jawa, now I can't wait to we get to the Jawa thread
StarWarsFan
Grand Master
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2015
- Messages
- 6,995
Pomse2001 said:StarWarsFan said:
Thanks Steve and thanks to you Steve for sharing your collection in the threads, Happy New Year Steve
Also a nice box you have there, thanks for sharing it with us
No problem mate, have the full set just always worried about opening it. Happy New Year
Palifan
Sith Lord
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2012
- Messages
- 4,911
Great post Jeremy and I'll second all that you said as I also had one on it's release as a child and this without a doubt was my most played with toy I ever owned. I remember when it finally fell to bits with overuse and thrown out and it was something that I needed to get once again when started collecting vintage SW many years later. My box isn't in as great shape as both yours and Lars's but it's complete with a very good, unripped play set and even though I don't really display it due to size I'm still glad I own one.
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
Attachments
Thanks, Ian. Your set looks pretty nice too. Perhaps it's just the photo, but your box doesn't look that bad; some rubbing on the edges, but it's nice and square... or is there a gaping hole in the back? :shock:Palifan said:Great post Jeremy and I'll second all that you said as I also had one on it's release as a child and this without a doubt was my most played with toy I ever owned. I remember when it finally fell to bits with overuse and thrown out and it was something that I needed to get once again when started collecting vintage SW many years later. My box isn't in as great shape as both yours and Lars's but it's complete with a very good, unripped play set and even though I don't really display it due to size I'm still glad I own one.
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
Your set itself does look very clean and in great condition, plus you have a booklet that I do not. Is that the one that had the copies made by Area 51 that always crop up for sale on eBay?:
Also, I've said it before, but I must repeat that I simply LOVE your mini Death Stars!
They really do look fantastic, and it also shows just what a fantastic toy it was that it can look good in any scale! Great stuff!
Palifan
Sith Lord
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2012
- Messages
- 4,911
Snaketibe said:Thanks, Ian. Your set looks pretty nice too. Perhaps it's just the photo, but your box doesn't look that bad; some rubbing on the edges, but it's nice and square... or is there a gaping hole in the back? :shock:Palifan said:Great post Jeremy and I'll second all that you said as I also had one on it's release as a child and this without a doubt was my most played with toy I ever owned. I remember when it finally fell to bits with overuse and thrown out and it was something that I needed to get once again when started collecting vintage SW many years later. My box isn't in as great shape as both yours and Lars's but it's complete with a very good, unripped play set and even though I don't really display it due to size I'm still glad I own one.
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
Your set itself does look very clean and in great condition, plus you have a booklet that I do not. Is that the one that had the copies made by Area 51 that always crop up for sale on eBay?:
Area 51 Repro.jpg
Also, I've said it before, but I must repeat that I simply LOVE your mini Death Stars!
Take a closer look at the pics and the figures that are on display in it :wink:
I do have the catalogue that area 51 reprinted though and in fact it's one of the few things that I managed to save from back in the day.
Ian
Palifan said:Great post Jeremy and I'll second all that you said as I also had one on it's release as a child and this without a doubt was my most played with toy I ever owned. I remember when it finally fell to bits with overuse and thrown out and it was something that I needed to get once again when started collecting vintage SW many years later. My box isn't in as great shape as both yours and Lars's but it's complete with a very good, unripped play set and even though I don't really display it due to size I'm still glad I own one.
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
Hi Ian, thanks for sharing pictures of that beauty of a death star, I think it looks great
Sounds like you played a lot with your childhood death star since it fell to bits :shock: But great to read you got this one many years later :wink:
Also thanks for sharing the small scale version, it looks great. Great job with making it 8)
Palifan said:Snaketibe said:Thanks, Ian. Your set looks pretty nice too. Perhaps it's just the photo, but your box doesn't look that bad; some rubbing on the edges, but it's nice and square... or is there a gaping hole in the back? :shock:Palifan said:Great post Jeremy and I'll second all that you said as I also had one on it's release as a child and this without a doubt was my most played with toy I ever owned. I remember when it finally fell to bits with overuse and thrown out and it was something that I needed to get once again when started collecting vintage SW many years later. My box isn't in as great shape as both yours and Lars's but it's complete with a very good, unripped play set and even though I don't really display it due to size I'm still glad I own one.
I can't really think of a better play set ever released before or since and maybe one day we'll get something else of this level based on Star Wars, especially with Hasbro making a couple of cardboard small scale play sets recently (well we can at least live in hope!).
If I get a chance I'll post up some pictures of mine (other than the small scale version I made for my son that I keep posting up :lol: ), but thanks for sharing the pictures of Palitoy's star piece
Ian
Your set itself does look very clean and in great condition, plus you have a booklet that I do not. Is that the one that had the copies made by Area 51 that always crop up for sale on eBay?:
Area 51 Repro.jpg
Also, I've said it before, but I must repeat that I simply LOVE your mini Death Stars!
Take a closer look at the pics and the figures that are on display in it :wink:
I do have the catalogue that area 51 reprinted though and in fact it's one of the few things that I managed to save from back in the day.
Ian
I also agree about the box, it looks fine on the picture :? but I can see the playset is missing the cannon and cockpit with glass at the top of the death star :?
Similar threads
