I was August '73, didn't start collecting Star Wars til' about 1980/81 I think, I don't recall when or where I first saw the films but I remember my first figure was Darth Vader, I still have him along with all my other childhood figures, I think this was a great age to be into SW, I was in my imaginative prime ! Happy days.
The 'Perfect' Star Wars Age?
- Thread starter edd_jedi
- Start date
Born 19(cough, cough, cough) was 14 , nearly 15 so am ashamed to say it passed me by. Will I be the first pensioner on here 
:lol: :?
Started buying SW for my son 85 86 ish got snagged then, but mainly watching the films ( ROTJ on VHS when it came out for rental)
Re instigated about 4 years ago but bought randomly and only really appreciated vintage by joining this forum and it's merry band
:lol: :? Started buying SW for my son 85 86 ish got snagged then, but mainly watching the films ( ROTJ on VHS when it came out for rental)
Re instigated about 4 years ago but bought randomly and only really appreciated vintage by joining this forum and it's merry band
Ed your probably right about the early 70's kids getting the best out of SW. I didn't even know about SW at all until about 82. I remember first seeing a kid at school having a Stormtrooper and a Rebel Commander and I was super intrigued. Later that year in the Christmas of 82 I got my first 4 carded figures. Think I only seen SW for the first time in 82 as well. I'm not as old as the majority round here (getting there tho) but not as young as some either. :lol:
Edited 3 times due to piss poor spelling^^^. 8)
Edited 3 times due to piss poor spelling^^^. 8)
Stormtrooper37
Sith Lord
Born Feb 1972, so I was 5 when Star Wars came out in 1977 and I think that was a bit young, but when you take into account the toys I feel born anytime between 1971 - 1974 would be the ideal age for most stuff.
The early stuff was not marketed that well, there wasn't a lot of money around in the 1970's - life for most was bloody tough and toys were not top priority for most families. Inflation was high and unemployment rife, and my Dad had a job and even we struggled, don't even recall the adverts until around 1982.
I always felt the most hype toy wise was during 81 -83 when ESB figures were out and the launch of the ROTJ figues in 1983, Star Wars toys were everywhere. Also 1982 onwards seemed more prosperous after the grim Seventies, life was quite different from today, an Automatic Washing Machine was considered a luxury item and cost loads.
The early stuff was not marketed that well, there wasn't a lot of money around in the 1970's - life for most was bloody tough and toys were not top priority for most families. Inflation was high and unemployment rife, and my Dad had a job and even we struggled, don't even recall the adverts until around 1982.
I always felt the most hype toy wise was during 81 -83 when ESB figures were out and the launch of the ROTJ figues in 1983, Star Wars toys were everywhere. Also 1982 onwards seemed more prosperous after the grim Seventies, life was quite different from today, an Automatic Washing Machine was considered a luxury item and cost loads.
_Lee_
Sith Lord
- Joined
- May 7, 2008
- Messages
- 2,447
Good points here. I dont actually remember my seeing ANH in 1978 or so, but my mother does. I do know its been in me for years though. I remember clearly from ESB onwards, and even remember getting the free yellow stickers sheet from the Odeon cinema I also remember getting a figure from Sainsburys across the road straight after. I remember also waiting for the babysitter to come and look after my baby sister in 83 so that mum could take myself and my bro to ROTJ. One thing i do remember clearly is the ATAT/Endor dsplay model by the door leading into the cinema hall.
I then waited until 97 (a week after my daughter was born) to take Mum to the ANH SE, and she started crying-bless her
I also remember getting a figure from Sainsburys across the road straight after. I remember also waiting for the babysitter to come and look after my baby sister in 83 so that mum could take myself and my bro to ROTJ. One thing i do remember clearly is the ATAT/Endor dsplay model by the door leading into the cinema hall.I then waited until 97 (a week after my daughter was born) to take Mum to the ANH SE, and she started crying-bless her
March 74 - worked out well for me!
I thought i'd collected all the figures and then after a slight gap discovered they had released some more. I thought i didn't get the last 15 figures as i was a bit old for it by then, but perhaps i'd just lost interest by that point.
I remember my family getting me a y wing fighter for Christmas or my birthday and thinking i'm a bit old for this or being slightly disappointed.
When exactly did the last 15 figures actually get released in the UK then?
I thought i'd collected all the figures and then after a slight gap discovered they had released some more. I thought i didn't get the last 15 figures as i was a bit old for it by then, but perhaps i'd just lost interest by that point.
I remember my family getting me a y wing fighter for Christmas or my birthday and thinking i'm a bit old for this or being slightly disappointed.
When exactly did the last 15 figures actually get released in the UK then?
Richard_H
Grand Master
Born in '76. Or the hottest Summer in history as my mother keeps reminding me.
I think I was at the best age for Jedi. I think for SW 72 or even a touch earlier would have been ideal but then that'd be too old for Jedi.
Wouldn't change it.
I think I was at the best age for Jedi. I think for SW 72 or even a touch earlier would have been ideal but then that'd be too old for Jedi.
Wouldn't change it.
Mr. Bob A. Feet
Jedi Knight
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2015
- Messages
- 310
Born in 76 and one of the reasons I didn't post in the "where did you first see Star Wars thread" I have no idea when or where I first saw the movies probably around 1980 but getting back into it and just seeing the collectables jogs the old memory banks into ooh I had that and that and that..../cry because I have none of it left!...
One of my earliest SW toy memories and something that's stuck with me ever since and I guess always will be is the time when I must have been around 7 or 8 on a trip over to Dublin and visiting a department store and seeing the most amazing diorama I've ever seen then and ever since it was literally 20 square feet of SW goodness and I was in awe, sadly I somehow managed to get separated from my Mother and balled my eyes out, such a range of emotions that day but still to this day one of my most fondest childhood memories.
Now perfect age is I guess irrelevant, it's just great so many have had so much joy from it and now with the upcoming movies release over the next decade+ there will be another generation or two to fall in love with the SW universe...awesome stuff.
One of my earliest SW toy memories and something that's stuck with me ever since and I guess always will be is the time when I must have been around 7 or 8 on a trip over to Dublin and visiting a department store and seeing the most amazing diorama I've ever seen then and ever since it was literally 20 square feet of SW goodness and I was in awe, sadly I somehow managed to get separated from my Mother and balled my eyes out, such a range of emotions that day but still to this day one of my most fondest childhood memories.
Now perfect age is I guess irrelevant, it's just great so many have had so much joy from it and now with the upcoming movies release over the next decade+ there will be another generation or two to fall in love with the SW universe...awesome stuff.
tiefighterboy
Grand Master
Born in 1969. At the age of 7 when star wars came out...and I have to say it was exciting. By the time Jedi came out...had my face buried in Playboy. I do remember all the clearance of figures going on towards the end...but spent my money on beer.
itfciain
Grand Master
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2010
- Messages
- 7,907
I am 1977 so like a few, missed the the first films coming out but remember the ESB and especially the ROTJ arriving in the shops - and ROTJ was one of the first films I remember seeing (ET was the first)
I think the toys had a shelf life up til about 1988 and if you had older brothers or sisters then it is likely that they were hand were handed down right up until the early 90s
I think the toys had a shelf life up til about 1988 and if you had older brothers or sisters then it is likely that they were hand were handed down right up until the early 90s
Summer of '73 for my birthday.
Certainly don't remember SW in the cinema, but vividly remember Empire (multiple times during a week in Weymouth). Toys wise, I think it was Empire related too when it really became an obsession. Friends had had the land-speeder before I remember having a vehicle myself; Battle damaged X-Wing and rebel transport were my big memories of big Xmas gifts and a lot of mini-rigs too.
Certainly don't remember SW in the cinema, but vividly remember Empire (multiple times during a week in Weymouth). Toys wise, I think it was Empire related too when it really became an obsession. Friends had had the land-speeder before I remember having a vehicle myself; Battle damaged X-Wing and rebel transport were my big memories of big Xmas gifts and a lot of mini-rigs too.
mr_palitoy
Sith Lord
69 dude!
I was old enough to see Stsr Wars at the cinema when it came out.
I had the first 12 Star Wars figures and land speeder. Can remember shopping for them and opening a shipping container in a toy shop.
Didn't get any more Star Wars figures but had a mate who had everything so we went round his to play Star Wars. He had everything from ESB.
Grew out of it by the time ROTJ figures came out.
If I'd been born any later I'd have missed the start of the golden age of home computing with the ZX81 and Spectrum. I work in IT so it gave me a great grounding.
So for me, I think I really was in the sweet spot.
Jason
I was old enough to see Stsr Wars at the cinema when it came out.
I had the first 12 Star Wars figures and land speeder. Can remember shopping for them and opening a shipping container in a toy shop.
Didn't get any more Star Wars figures but had a mate who had everything so we went round his to play Star Wars. He had everything from ESB.
Grew out of it by the time ROTJ figures came out.
If I'd been born any later I'd have missed the start of the golden age of home computing with the ZX81 and Spectrum. I work in IT so it gave me a great grounding.
So for me, I think I really was in the sweet spot.
Jason
mr_palitoy
Sith Lord
Don't underestimate the excitement that the first film generated in 1977/1978. If you're too young to remember that, you really did miss out. Worth missing the tail end of the ROTJ toy line for.
Jason
Jason
I am from 79 and learned about the toys before I learned about the movies :shock: It must have been in 83 I learned about the toy, I was 4 years old and in 84 I think I saw my first star wars movie in TV or on video :? But in denmark we could buy star wars toy in most of the shops until 86. So I had 4 good years as a kid with the toy :lol:
But I was not old enough to buy star wars toy my self, so I wish I had been born a few years earlier :lol:
It was always, mom, dad, grandpa, grandmother or my uncle who bought it
I do not know what the perfect age would be, but if you were born in 72-73 I think that would have been perfect
But I was not old enough to buy star wars toy my self, so I wish I had been born a few years earlier :lol:
It was always, mom, dad, grandpa, grandmother or my uncle who bought it
I do not know what the perfect age would be, but if you were born in 72-73 I think that would have been perfect
Born may 1970 I was 7 and I had to make do with LEGO to make my falcon and it looked shitty but I loved my green and red falcon ,as we were poor the lad next door had a genuine kenner one it seemed bigger then than now even though it's pretty big ,it just seem to take up the whole of his bedroom he even had a Atari !!! Who knew years later the lego version would be the capa de monte of the falcons ! Could not see that
SOJ
Sith Lord
- Joined
- Feb 15, 2014
- Messages
- 1,077
Although I was born in '79 I had the full Star Wars experience. My mum and Dad were only 18 in '77 and loved the movie so I exposed to it from an early age. Between the age of 3 and 5 I received a constant flow of star wars toys.
I never did get to see the orginals in the cinema but I remember my grandad taping the movie off the telly in what would of been '82 and I played it to death in the hitachi top loader we had. I have fond memeroies of watching it with my mum on rainy weekday afternoons. I remember my dad then renting us Empire and by the time Jedi was released I was fully aware there was a new Star Wars movie coming out. I remember the older girls who lived next door went to see it. They told me (spoiler) Luke cut Darth Vaders hand off and I remeber that blew me away.
Then one Friday night not long after the release my dad btought home a bootleg of the movie. Not some dodgy bootleg like you get today of some bloke filming in the cinema but a full on version. (I still need to ask him where he got that)
We could only keep it for the weekend. I watched it 5 times beginning to end. My parent told me I up at 5am on the Sunday morning and ran downstairs and put it straight on again after watching twice the day before.
Then Xmas '83 was just a complete Star Wars blow out and one I will never forget. Jabba playset, speeder bikes, an AT ST, by beloved AT AT and what must of been 15 to 20 carded figures. My mum always says what a bitch it was to get the Gammy Guard, to which I just smile. She obviously wasnt looking in the right places :lol: :lol: :lol:
I never did get to see the orginals in the cinema but I remember my grandad taping the movie off the telly in what would of been '82 and I played it to death in the hitachi top loader we had. I have fond memeroies of watching it with my mum on rainy weekday afternoons. I remember my dad then renting us Empire and by the time Jedi was released I was fully aware there was a new Star Wars movie coming out. I remember the older girls who lived next door went to see it. They told me (spoiler) Luke cut Darth Vaders hand off and I remeber that blew me away.
Then one Friday night not long after the release my dad btought home a bootleg of the movie. Not some dodgy bootleg like you get today of some bloke filming in the cinema but a full on version. (I still need to ask him where he got that)
We could only keep it for the weekend. I watched it 5 times beginning to end. My parent told me I up at 5am on the Sunday morning and ran downstairs and put it straight on again after watching twice the day before.
Then Xmas '83 was just a complete Star Wars blow out and one I will never forget. Jabba playset, speeder bikes, an AT ST, by beloved AT AT and what must of been 15 to 20 carded figures. My mum always says what a bitch it was to get the Gammy Guard, to which I just smile. She obviously wasnt looking in the right places :lol: :lol: :lol:
Twin30mm
Jedi Knight
Born in 1968 :shock: , so I was just outside the ideal age for all three movies.
Vague memories of seeing A New Hope and the hysteria surrounding the UK release.
The excitement of seeing the first wave of merchandise hitting the local shops, e.g. Waddingtons puzzles, Topps cards, SW Weekly comics.
Don't remember getting any of the original figures.
By the time of the ESB release, I was that little bit older, so I could appreciate the the build-up and release of the film much more.
Started collecting the figures and hoarding every bit of merchandise, with renewed gusto. Joined the fan club and devoured every bit of info that I could get my hands on.
Subsequently, Empire is MY Star Wars film.
My interest in the GFFA was starting to wane by the release of Jedi.
Other things were starting to divert my attention (girls, cider and footie).
Coupled with the fact that I thought Jedi was a bit a disappointment (fecking Ewoks!!).
Even at that age, I thought they'd missed an opportunity with Jedi and made it more kiddie-friendly.
Although, I collected some of the Jedi merchandise, I have no recollection of buying or seeing the Jedi/Trilogo figures in the shops.
Vague memories of seeing A New Hope and the hysteria surrounding the UK release.
The excitement of seeing the first wave of merchandise hitting the local shops, e.g. Waddingtons puzzles, Topps cards, SW Weekly comics.
Don't remember getting any of the original figures.
By the time of the ESB release, I was that little bit older, so I could appreciate the the build-up and release of the film much more.
Started collecting the figures and hoarding every bit of merchandise, with renewed gusto. Joined the fan club and devoured every bit of info that I could get my hands on.
Subsequently, Empire is MY Star Wars film.
My interest in the GFFA was starting to wane by the release of Jedi.
Other things were starting to divert my attention (girls, cider and footie).
Coupled with the fact that I thought Jedi was a bit a disappointment (fecking Ewoks!!).
Even at that age, I thought they'd missed an opportunity with Jedi and made it more kiddie-friendly.
Although, I collected some of the Jedi merchandise, I have no recollection of buying or seeing the Jedi/Trilogo figures in the shops.
Fishtalk
Jedi Knight
Born 1968, first saw Star Wars a few weeks after my 10th Birthday. Collecting the toys seemed perfectly natural until the last Empire wave, started to feel too old after that. I still continued to buy them though, but didn't play with them.
When POTF arrived I had passed my driving test and was regularly visiting the pub, yet a sense of loyalty made me buy several, but not all of them. So with hindsight I wish I'd been born a few years later.
When POTF arrived I had passed my driving test and was regularly visiting the pub, yet a sense of loyalty made me buy several, but not all of them. So with hindsight I wish I'd been born a few years later.
Darthin
Padawan
1973 ftw! October myself. Missed the cinema release here in Norway (see attached premiere ad) but caught the bug after seeing SW on silent Super8 in '79 and ESB in '80. After which I was into the toys in a BIG way. In Scandinavia the figures were available and sold well up until about 1987 so I got lots of playtime out of the fabulous SW toys! Martin
Attachments
pizzathehutt
Sith Lord
I can remember getting our first vcr mid 80s, we had jedi and a new hope on video thanks to my brother who worked in the local video rental shop but i always wanted a copy of empire and waited what felt like ages for it to be shown on telly to tape it, maybe it was just me but it seemed like a new hope and return of the jedi were shown on telly a lot more than empire strikes back?
ahh, watching videos, those were the good old days, the first video i ever bought with pocket money was transformers the cartoon which had optimus prime on the cover, it was only 3 episodes but i watched loads, and at the same time my older sister bought a double video with grease and saturday night fever back to back, we would fight over the vcr!
can still remember my parents renting out trading places and the tracking going all funny when jamie lee curtis gets the boobs out, i bet there were plenty of blokes rewinding that part and watching it over and over :lol:
ahh, watching videos, those were the good old days, the first video i ever bought with pocket money was transformers the cartoon which had optimus prime on the cover, it was only 3 episodes but i watched loads, and at the same time my older sister bought a double video with grease and saturday night fever back to back, we would fight over the vcr!
can still remember my parents renting out trading places and the tracking going all funny when jamie lee curtis gets the boobs out, i bet there were plenty of blokes rewinding that part and watching it over and over :lol:
