julesburt
Youngling
Hello SWF.UK!
Pretty new to this forum but have been diving in and out quite a bit recently as I've re-acquired the Star Wars collecting bug.
About me: My name is Jules Burt and I started collecting Star wars items when you could still buy it in the shops. I'm 45 now and was 7 years old when I first saw A New Hope. I had pretty much all the figures and some juicy early Palitoy playsets up till ROTJ when I lost interest in the toys and got into home computing.
When I left home and started earning a living, I got really into Star Wars toys again. This was about 1987/1988. I was a regular car boot sale punter and would religiously search these each weekend for Star Wars, retro video games plus anything I could make a bit of money from. I would often find items that I could add to my original collection, plus doubles that I would sell on.
from my bedsit, I would sell comics, records, and SF merchandise to fellow collectors. Star Wars figures were just 75p each! I remember selling a Palitoy Cantina for about £15 and thinking this was high!
Around this time, I got a dream find. A newsagent chain, local to Plymouth, called Muldowneys, were shutting down. From their backroom, stacks and stacks of old toys and figures were pulled out and put onto sale. Everything was half it's original price, except the Star Wars action figures, these were just......wait for it....29p each. I kid you not, still carded and pretty much on mint or near mint cards. I remember getting quite a few last 17 figures on Tri-Logo cardsbacks, all had £1.59 stickers on. I got Yak, Han Carbonote, The Imperial Gunner, R2 Lightsabre. Lots of more standard figures. as well as the figures they had old Dr Who figures from the 1970's, UK Palitoy Mego's (rare fist-fighting versions) and stacks of Action Man stuff.
I'll go into that find another day and I have never forgotten it! Anyway, after a couple more years of trading from my bedsit and doing the old SF show and record fair, I met up with my future business partner, George Lessiter. Together, we formed a new business called Purple Haze and we opened our first retail shop, in Plymouth in May 1992.
Purple Haze was pretty much a success from day one. We always did well with Star Wars stuff and we continued to buy and sell it. I was able to continue to collect new items as they came along and I put my own loose set on display in the shop to inspire other collectors to complete their sets.
We put together a checklist poster and I also wrote and produced an detailed price guide to the vintage range. This was in 1993, maybe a UK first? I do still have a copy, Lol!
The guide was used as a template for inclusion in the 1995 edition of the UK Comic Book Price Guide. As a shop we had stacks of vintage Star Wars through our hands and we were privvy to many big deals. I remember being offered the cardbacks and bubbles that went in the end to ToyToni. Happy I couldn't afford them at the time!
it was interesting to see quite a few different people on the lookout for mint complete figures at shows after this lot surfaced. I remember spending months looking for a carded Imperial Dignitary and often finding carded example with a worn nose tip. Made me think they were re-cards.
I was involved in helping track down some Star Wars toys that were stolen from Jason Joiner's stall at a fair ( a Yak Face and a Kenner toothbrush as memory recalls). We did get them back in the end. The guy had stolen from other dealers as well.
I would do many of the shows and was able to get at least one of each figure carded, although I never did get a carded vinyl Jawa.
In about 2002, Purple Haze was forced to close for a major shopping development in Plymouth to go ahead. We went online which was fine, but George and I split the business up in about 2005. He continues to trade on eBay full-time. I went off and got another job, did some part-time acting (I had small parts and extra roles in Doctor Who, Marple, Alice in Wonderland, some BBC stuff, adverts etc) and also got married and started a family. My days of being a Star Wars dealer were over. The collection was all boxed up and has been stored in the loft for about ten years - until last month when I started getting it all out again!
Together with my son, who at eight is now very much into Star Wars, we have started going through the old collection and photographing what I come across. It's not especially in any great order, but i'm happy to see, that on the whole, most items are in great shape. A little aghast to see the yellowing on the Kenner bubbles, but I was expecting this. Happy to see the Tri-logo's still look great and my early Palitoy cards look amazing.
I have started sharing photos of my collection on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/vintagestarwarsaday
I'll be sure to shed some more light on any subject that comes up here or on the podcast (which I love btw) and am happy to go into detail on what I remember from those early days of collecting Star Wars in the UK.
For now, I'm after a couple of things and some advise.
The only piece I had as a kid that I've not still got or replaced is the Palitoy Death Star. I'm after a boxed one of these. Also, a boxed, preferably sealed Star Wars Han Solo Blaster, Palitoy version.
Loose figure-wise, I would like a mint condition Jawa to upgrade the one on my original vinyl cape Jawa that I had as a kid. Is there a particular one I need to look out for? To be clear, I have the cape, just need a mint, nude figure with perfect hands.
For trade or very generous offer, I have a pristine, unpunched, Takara 12 back C-3PO with the alternate sculpt head. It is the 12B card with Takara sticker.
Anyway, that's it for now. Let me know if you remember Purple Haze! I've loads of photos to share if interested!
Cheers,
Jules.
Pretty new to this forum but have been diving in and out quite a bit recently as I've re-acquired the Star Wars collecting bug.
About me: My name is Jules Burt and I started collecting Star wars items when you could still buy it in the shops. I'm 45 now and was 7 years old when I first saw A New Hope. I had pretty much all the figures and some juicy early Palitoy playsets up till ROTJ when I lost interest in the toys and got into home computing.
When I left home and started earning a living, I got really into Star Wars toys again. This was about 1987/1988. I was a regular car boot sale punter and would religiously search these each weekend for Star Wars, retro video games plus anything I could make a bit of money from. I would often find items that I could add to my original collection, plus doubles that I would sell on.
from my bedsit, I would sell comics, records, and SF merchandise to fellow collectors. Star Wars figures were just 75p each! I remember selling a Palitoy Cantina for about £15 and thinking this was high!
Around this time, I got a dream find. A newsagent chain, local to Plymouth, called Muldowneys, were shutting down. From their backroom, stacks and stacks of old toys and figures were pulled out and put onto sale. Everything was half it's original price, except the Star Wars action figures, these were just......wait for it....29p each. I kid you not, still carded and pretty much on mint or near mint cards. I remember getting quite a few last 17 figures on Tri-Logo cardsbacks, all had £1.59 stickers on. I got Yak, Han Carbonote, The Imperial Gunner, R2 Lightsabre. Lots of more standard figures. as well as the figures they had old Dr Who figures from the 1970's, UK Palitoy Mego's (rare fist-fighting versions) and stacks of Action Man stuff.
I'll go into that find another day and I have never forgotten it! Anyway, after a couple more years of trading from my bedsit and doing the old SF show and record fair, I met up with my future business partner, George Lessiter. Together, we formed a new business called Purple Haze and we opened our first retail shop, in Plymouth in May 1992.
Purple Haze was pretty much a success from day one. We always did well with Star Wars stuff and we continued to buy and sell it. I was able to continue to collect new items as they came along and I put my own loose set on display in the shop to inspire other collectors to complete their sets.
We put together a checklist poster and I also wrote and produced an detailed price guide to the vintage range. This was in 1993, maybe a UK first? I do still have a copy, Lol!
The guide was used as a template for inclusion in the 1995 edition of the UK Comic Book Price Guide. As a shop we had stacks of vintage Star Wars through our hands and we were privvy to many big deals. I remember being offered the cardbacks and bubbles that went in the end to ToyToni. Happy I couldn't afford them at the time!
it was interesting to see quite a few different people on the lookout for mint complete figures at shows after this lot surfaced. I remember spending months looking for a carded Imperial Dignitary and often finding carded example with a worn nose tip. Made me think they were re-cards.
I was involved in helping track down some Star Wars toys that were stolen from Jason Joiner's stall at a fair ( a Yak Face and a Kenner toothbrush as memory recalls). We did get them back in the end. The guy had stolen from other dealers as well.
I would do many of the shows and was able to get at least one of each figure carded, although I never did get a carded vinyl Jawa.
In about 2002, Purple Haze was forced to close for a major shopping development in Plymouth to go ahead. We went online which was fine, but George and I split the business up in about 2005. He continues to trade on eBay full-time. I went off and got another job, did some part-time acting (I had small parts and extra roles in Doctor Who, Marple, Alice in Wonderland, some BBC stuff, adverts etc) and also got married and started a family. My days of being a Star Wars dealer were over. The collection was all boxed up and has been stored in the loft for about ten years - until last month when I started getting it all out again!
Together with my son, who at eight is now very much into Star Wars, we have started going through the old collection and photographing what I come across. It's not especially in any great order, but i'm happy to see, that on the whole, most items are in great shape. A little aghast to see the yellowing on the Kenner bubbles, but I was expecting this. Happy to see the Tri-logo's still look great and my early Palitoy cards look amazing.
I have started sharing photos of my collection on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/vintagestarwarsaday
I'll be sure to shed some more light on any subject that comes up here or on the podcast (which I love btw) and am happy to go into detail on what I remember from those early days of collecting Star Wars in the UK.
For now, I'm after a couple of things and some advise.
The only piece I had as a kid that I've not still got or replaced is the Palitoy Death Star. I'm after a boxed one of these. Also, a boxed, preferably sealed Star Wars Han Solo Blaster, Palitoy version.
Loose figure-wise, I would like a mint condition Jawa to upgrade the one on my original vinyl cape Jawa that I had as a kid. Is there a particular one I need to look out for? To be clear, I have the cape, just need a mint, nude figure with perfect hands.
For trade or very generous offer, I have a pristine, unpunched, Takara 12 back C-3PO with the alternate sculpt head. It is the 12B card with Takara sticker.
Anyway, that's it for now. Let me know if you remember Purple Haze! I've loads of photos to share if interested!
Cheers,
Jules.
Look forward to your contributions.
