Collector Snapshot #24 – Stephen Savory

Welcome all to the twenty fourth episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. Check out the previous collector snapshot here –  Fonz Napolitano.

This time I’m delighted to introduce Stephen Savory onto the blog!

I first met Stephen a few years ago on SWFUK, where I bought a baggie from him. Not only was he a super chilled dude to deal with but he was also professional – not always qualities you encounter when dealing in vintage figures… I then met Stephen face to face for the first time at Celebration London and found he was just as cool in person as he was online.

Stephen is quite a popular and well-known figure on the forums and social networks so I don’t need to spend too much time introducing him, except to say that he lives in Wiltshire, England and works for The English Heritage Trust; a charity that looks after some of the greatest and most significant monuments, castles and Abbeys in England including the World Heritage sites, Stonehenge and Hadrian’s Wall. His role there is ‘Buying & Merchandising Manager,’ meaning that he manages the team that designs and buys all the souvenirs and gifts at over 100 of the sites in their care.

Now to the questions!

1.How long have you been collecting?

I collected as a child, with my brother Daniel, but being that bit younger (he was born in ’77 and I was in ‘73), he was Jedi era at best, but actually more interested in Action Force, Transformers, A-Team and Mask. That made for a good mix of figures and often my Rebel Soldier and Rebel Commando would be drawn into battle if the super-scary Bib Fortuna on the other hand was less welcome!

At the end of the 80s, probably ’89, as I was in my final year at school, I was in the Swindon Ice Hockey youth team and the toys were gathering dust in boxes. Mum suggested that to buy updated kit we might do a boot sale… I cleaned up, full body armour costs covered, childhood binned off…

Then in 1993 at university I met a couple of guys that were Star Wars collectors and ended up becoming best mates with one of them; Chris, he and I spent every weekend at car boot-fairs and church jumble sales grabbing every SW toy we could. I quickly amassed a large loose run, maybe around 70% of a full run. Mostly with weapons… Chris and I enjoyed a few nights out and a few shall we say chilled out nights in too… uni was great… but he came up cash short one term as we had both been rather excessive and despite the beers etc. we needed to eat… I had a handy gift of funds come in from my Grandfather and Chris offered me a large number of his boxed ships for sale; Tie Interceptor, X-wing, Blue Tie-Fighter, Falcon, Rebel transport and Y-wing. A bargain price and all but one of these I still have to this day!

After uni, I kept my hand in, went to the now famous Cheshunt fairs, just north of London, including the one just before the Phantom Menace release that had a number of signing bods and a stand selling off TPM props from a dumpster dive. I plunged all my money into that prop and passed over some far more preferable items that would fit far more comfortably than a painted plastic toy the is somewhere in the set as dressing… though I’ve never found it… some piece of scrap in Watto’s junkyard is my best guess!

My son was born in 2001 and at that point I was collecting TPM, oh how foolish I feel now.. I had a full run of MOCs as well as all the boxed vehicles and playsets at its largest… eventually though he needed his own room, so my collecting room was disbanded and boxed up storing what I could and selling a bunch.

There it all stayed until 2012 and I did a loft clear-out, decided that I had space in the house for a home office, the shelves looked bare, so first the loose run came back out, followed by the Mint on Cards and then the boxed vehicles. By 2014 I was active rather than lurking on SWF.uk Forum and having struck up a friendship with super dealer Iain Sanderson I finished off my MOC run relatively swiftly… and between him and Christian at GW Acrylic, I also had an acrylic fetish too! (VSWC – you can check out our past review of GW Acrylic here – GW Acrylic)

2.What do you collect?

Can I say Star Wars? Haha!

Seriously though, I collect Han Solo. Principally I collect the Han Original outfit, be that as a figure, oddball item, artwork, posters, books, cups, toothbrush, the whole nine yards.

I have recently completed my Han Solo Kenner numerical carded run. I may look into the Alpha-numeric in time, but for now I’m happy to have taken it this far and still have a passion for it, where other runs have come and gone over the years.

I also started ‘side focuses’ for my two other favourite Kenner action figures, Rebel Soldier and Rebel Commando while trying to complete things within the Han collection. Both of these are far more pedestrian, but no less love goes into them… they were certainly my most played with figures as a child and hold a very special place in my collecting room/display as well as my heart.

3.What’s your grail?

I genuinely don’t know if I have one.

I was desperate for a year or so to get the Han Solo model Trem and one day it appeared on Facebook and I bought it… so I’m not sure it was a grail, just dumb luck and desire.

I spent nearly four years looking for the Han Solo ESB 32 back Kenner MoC to finish the Kenner run, and I guess that was a grail of sorts.

I have no rational desire to own a Han wax-sculpt or hardcopy. I certainly wouldn’t say no if someone was passing one my way and finances added up, but these are not the kind of things I’m actively hunting and wishing I owned… or things that I think I could ever justify owning/paying for either. I guess I don’t really collect like that.

4.What collectors inspire you?

I’m not sure that anyone does… That really isn’t anything to do with arrogance, but I simply don’t look at other collectors in that way. I don’t aspire to be anyone else, or have his or her knowledge or collection. I have my collection, it means a great deal to me. It has evolved and changed to my needs, space, interest and taste. This is also true of my knowledge (or lack of it) too.

There is no doubting that there are impressive collections out there to see, but many of them are about volume rather than quality or are so high-end that they don’t interest me so much.

Gus Lopez is possibly the only collector in the Star Wars realm that I have spent quality time with (although briefly) to talk face to face about their collection and be truly impressed. I would though temper that comment by noting that I still find it all a little overwhelming to be honest; having so many amazing, no, breath-taking items almost seems like too much weight for me to shoulder if I were to have them in my own collection.

5.What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

The only one I can think of was a silly mistake when I questioned a listing of a Rebel Soldier on a Facebook for sale group and questioned if it was the debut card or not; having completely misread the listing and made an arse of myself in the process!

6.What is your favourite Star Wars film?

The Empire Strikes Back… boring answer I know, but it is. What comes after is a much tougher reply though of course Star Wars is right there. I am though also a big fan of the Disney era so far and was and still am a huge fan of The Phantom Menace too.

7.What would you change about the Star Wars collecting community?

I’d like to say nothing, because I actually like that everyone likes different things, but sadly I would say I’d like those that do like different things to stop their inane belief that only they can be right on any subject.

If you don’t like The Last Jedi for example… I couldn’t give a tiny rats ass… if you love it, I don’t care either if either of you are going to squabble about it and not listen to the other side of the story with some level of acceptance.

You don’t have to agree, you do though need to be civil and mature enough to accept that others don’t think the same thoughts you do and then have to try and prove your point… unless you’re a politician of course and then you’re most likely a dick anyway, so move along, move along…

8.Forums or Facebook groups?

Instant answer is SWF.uk forum. I do use some of the Facebook groups and I do like a number of them, but for me they are all fairly transient and there is little to make me stay on one group more than another.

9.What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

As a bald-headed chap, I guess I have to be Lobot! Not sure I really resemble any though…

10.Is there one thing collectors might not know about you?

I’ve not made a secret of it, but I run a bit and have completed 50 marathons, 20 of which I did in less than 350 days.

I have though now retired from marathon running (over a year since my last… probably should get a chip for that really) and will be refocusing on shorter distances such as Half Marathons and faster things like 5 and 10k events too.

VSWC: Check out Stephen’s Instagram account for awesome photos of his collecting and marathon feats – Star Wars Runner

Star Wars wise, I love to make my own customs from beater figures…

VSWC: Thank you so much for joining us Stephen and for sharing your passion for not only Star Wars, but for life in general! It has been an absolute pleasure as usual.

Collector Snapshot #23 – Fonz Napolitano

Welcome all to the twenty third episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. Check out our last collector snapshot here –  Michael Molloy.

I met Fonz a few years ago on Rebelscum and then met him in person at Celebration Orlando last year. Fonz, Shawn Moynihan, Clint Garniss and myself had a few drinks and a bullshit in Orlando and I’ve been meaning to get him onto the blog since. Not only does Fonz have an incredible collection, but he’s also an intelligent, warm, easy-going and modest dude. Yes, you might have guessed that there is a clearly discernible trend with the type of people I interview here 🙂

Fonz was born and raised in Syracuse, NY where he lives with his wife Katie of eight years and their two labrador retrievers Max and Gus.  Fonz is the District Manager at a biotechnology company and has been involved in pharmaceutical sales for 18 years ( nine at his current company). Fonz has lived all across NY state, but moved back to Syracuse 17 years ago.

Now to the questions! 

1.How long have you been collecting?

I’ve collected my entire life, starting at four when Star Wars came out.  My parents really encouraged my collecting. They took me to the stores to get the figures and ships and sent in the proof of purchases to get the free figures.  I actually have the five original Boba Fetts my mother mailed away for. They are very well played with and of course do not have their weapons. I actually saved almost all of my Star Wars toys from when I was a kid. Most are missing several pieces and are not in great condition but they do hold a lot of memories.  I started keeping the figures MOC (mint on card) about midway through the ROTJ waves.  So I have many MOCs that I purchased from Jedi, POTF, Droids and Ewoks, including a MISB (mint in sealed box) A-Wing.

I took a three year break around 13 and started collecting baseball cards.  I grew tired of that pretty quickly and sold a lot of them off to buy more Star Wars figures. I bought a lot of stuff through Toy Shop and was always excited to get a new Action Figure News and Toy Review because it had a price guide.  I had a collectible toy shop near me in college and bought a lot of MOCs and MISBs there.

In 94 or 95 I got ‘From Concept to Screen to Collectible’ off QVC when Steve Sansweet was selling the books there.  He subsequently signed it for me when I visited Rancho for my 40th b’day.

Speaking of Steve Sansweet…

About 4.5 years ago, from an article about collectible toys on Yahoo, I discovered Rebelscum, followed by the Facebook groups.  That opened a completely new world for me of new information, awesome toys and what I love the most, like minded collectors who have become some of my closest friends.  I attended my first Celebration in 2016 in Orlando.

2.What do you collect?

I collect high grade MOCs and MISBs.  Recently started a tri-logo run and started collecting some foreign toys.  I also have a Boba Fett focus that I blame my mother for.  She started my obsession with him.  Waiting what seemed like an eternity for his figures to come in the mail.

I also have an affinity for 70s MOPARS.  I have a 1970 Dodge Challenger.

3.What’s your grail?

It is currently a skinwrapped Canadian General Veers.  I would like to have the figure of the only guy to beat the rebels in a battle in the OT (original trilogy).

4.What collector’s inspire you?

I had the most trouble with this question because I could name fifty and I would inevitably leave somebody out. Each have different collections and collect different ways but all of them would be willing to do anything for a fellow collector.  That being said, the collector I most admire is the leader of the Empire State Star Wars Collector’s Club (ESSWCC), Tom Quinn (VSWC – we all love Tom! Check out his previous interview with usTom Quinn).

Fonz (fourth on the right) and the ESSWCC gang

Fonz hosted an ESSWCC event in January this year

‘Fonz Con’ swag

Fonz Con cake

Fonz Con cake – best Star Wars cake ever!!!!

Christian (VSWC – that’s me!) was the first to reach out to me when I joined Rebelscum and he put me in touch with Tom because he knew he ran the ESSWCC.  Despite not knowing who I was, Tom was incredibly welcoming and made sure I knew about the upcoming meet-ups.  Once we were able to meet in person we quickly became friends. To say he is the heart and soul of the ESSWCC is an understatement.  Not only does he have a great collection, he opens his house up to collectors multiple times each year, plans and organizes our meet ups, gets us involved in events like Celebration and can always be relied on to help out if we need him

5.What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

I keep it hidden, but the amount of time and money I put into collecting modern figures is ridiculous.  I have a large modern collection that sits in my parents basement which I have just started to sell off.  When I think of the vintage items I could have purchased instead of having stuff like six Ric Olie figures (VSWC – I have no idea who that is!) I’m disgusted.

6.What is your favorite Star Wars film?

The Empire Strikes Back. I have the most vivid memories of this film.  Whether it was going to see it in the theater or collecting the toys.  I also like to see the bad guys win.

7.What would you change about the Star Wars collecting community?

I hate the divisiveness that has been created after the purchase by Disney.  I was not the biggest fan of The Last Jedi, but I still really liked parts of it.  I don’t understand the blind hatred for anything new now.  I really liked Rogue One and Solo.  It’s a faction of fans that have never existed until recently.

8.Forums or Facebook groups?

I like the Facebook groups.  I love seeing so many pics of other people’s collections. I also like how easy it is to make deals over Facebook.

9.What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

I’m a pretty quiet and unassuming guy, so I think I most resemble  Hammerhead.  At collector events, you’ll most likely see me hanging out in the corner of the bar quietly drinking my Grey Goose.  Similar to what Hammerhead was doing  in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

10.Is there one thing collectors might not know about you?

I played D1 baseball in college and signed a pro contract after I graduated.  I played in the very low minor leagues for two years on an independent team in Welland, Ontario.  I also received my Black Belt in MMA about 10 years ago but haven’t kept up with it.

While I was in college in 1994, I designed, patented and sold the first protective device for Star Wars MOCs.  It was called The Figure Frame.  We vacuuformed plastic around a wood and plaster mold.  It took forever to make one and was not very profitable. We sold a few through Toy Shop.

The Figure Frame

VSWC:  Well thank you so much for coming on Fonz! I’m sure everyone feels like they know you a little bit better now! 

Collector Snapshot #22 – Michael Molloy

Welcome all to the twenty second episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. Check out our last collector snapshot (Lee Harris).

It has been a while now that I’ve been meaning to ask Michael onto the blog, but as you guys know, I haven’t been as active here as I would have liked to have been this past year. But what better way to get back into the swing of things than with an interview with hands down the most positive bloke in the hobby. Have you ever seen Michael complain online? Ever seen him tell a new collector that “google is their friend?” Ever witnessed him bully someone or say something sexist? Bet the answer is a big fat NO. He does worry me a little though, no-one can be this nice can they?

Michael was born in Perth, Western Australia and has lived there his entire life. When he’s not collecting Star Wars figures he can be found down at the beach swimming, surfing and just enjoying life. He’s currently studying full-time library and information services and studying part-time as an ‘Education Assistant,’ so he tells me that he hasn’t got much of a social life at the moment. Well I’m glad he had a bit of time here for us at VSWC blog.

Now to the questions! 

1. How long have you been collecting?

I have been collecting Star Wars vintage since 1978. I had all the figures but had to give them to my cousin as we moved house. I have been collecting again since 2010.

2. What do you collect?

I collect the first 21 figures vintage carded and anything that I think is a great item to own. I am limited to the space I have so just happy to have what I have.

3. What’s your grail?

My grail if I have one is to own a Toltoys 12 back carded or a 20 back Toltoys figure carded.

4. What collectors inspire you?

The collectors that inspire me would be Brian Angel, Ross Barr (VSWC – check out our preview interview with Ross and the 12 back group founders – Carl, Gary and Ross from the 12 Back Group), Derek Ho, Ben Sheehan, JohnPaul Ragusa (VSWC – we’ve also interviewed JohnPaul – Vintage Star Wars Moderator Roundtable: Forums and the Future), Aussie James (Jame Kenneison), Gerry James, Yehuda Kay, Ron Salvatore, Sean Lehmkuhl, Chris Georgoulias, Christian Carnouche, Jez Allinson, Alex Pardi, Jenni Bennett and Robin Bocra. The list goes on but these people inspire me to be a better collector in the hobby.

Michael and some of his Aussie collector mates

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector? 

I don’t have any embarrassing moments. Can I pass on this one?

6. What is your favourite Star Wars film?

My favourite movie is The Empire Strikes Back, then the original Star Wars. I loved how different The Empire Strikes Back was. I still love it today as much as I did when I was younger.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

The one thing I would change is U-Grading. Also I would like to stop the negativity as it’s a hobby so we should enjoy it. One thing I pride myself on is being positive all the time and to be the best I can be.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

For me at the moment Facebook, but I do look at forums once in a while to see what’s for sale etc.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

The character I would most resemble would say I’m Han. He is the good guy 🙂 ‘Trouble’ is his middle name. I have a cheeky side like Han has.

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

One thing collectors may not know about me is I love AFL (Australian Football). I go for the West Coast Eagles and I watch all sport, from ice hockey to basketball and the NFL. Love sports, can’t get enough 🙂

VSWC:  Well thank you so much for coming on Michael! I hope everyone enjoyed that as much as I did.

RIP Steve Pullman

A lot you may have known Cantina Tig, who was not only a good friend, but one of the most knowledgeable and generous collectors in our hobby. Steve was a founding member of the Tantive XI forum, a former moderator on TIG and he was also kind enough to write an awesome Variant Collecting 101 guide for us here last year.
May he rest in peace.

Photo courtesy of Marco

Here’s the post from Tantive XI (where I am also a moderator):

It’s with a very heavy heart that we have some extremely sad news to share with you all.

We have lost a fellow vintage collector, moderator, founding member of the Tantive XI forum and most importantly, a very good friend to us all here at Tantive XI. Steve Pullman (aka Cantina Tig) passed away on March 17, 2018 at his home at the age of 46. Steve passed away too soon and sadly leaves behind his beloved daughter Beth.

Steve was an incredibly well-respected member of the vintage community, not just for his incredible knowledge but also for his willingness to impart this knowledge onto his fellow collectors. Here’s an example of his efforts to improve our collecting knowledge – a fantastic and informative article on variant collecting:

http://www.tantivexi.com/t2207-variant-collecting-discussio…

Before helping set up the TantiveXI forum, Steve was a moderator over at The Imperial Gunnery forum, where he ran the very popular ‘details’ competition.

If you didn’t know Steve, check out his profile below from the “Meet the TXI Team” thread.

http://www.tantivexi.com/t1065-meet-the-txi-team

Congratulations Mark Hamill on finally receiving a Hollywood Walk of Fame star! 

Congratulations Mark Hamill on finally receiving a Hollywood Walk of Fame star!

Mark Hamill has been an inspiration to all of us kids who looked up to the stars and knew there was something bigger than ourselves out there waiting for us.

Collector Snapshot #21 – Lee Harris

Welcome all to the twenty first episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. It has been almost a year since our previous collector snapshot (Snapshot 20- Todd Thornhill/) so we’ve done out best to make sure this interview is a cracking one.

I’m extremely pleased to present my friend and fellow Australian Lee Harris onto the blog. While I’d seen Lee around the Facebook groups for a while, I hadn’t met him face to face until Celebration Orlando, where we sank booze and dropped the c-bomb every ten seconds. All part of being an Aussie I guess….

Lee going full turtle neck…. Image courtesy of Ryan Lee-Taylor

I warmed very quickly to Lee  and to his laid back and extremely friendly attitude but I was particularly impressed when he organised a boxed 12 inch Stormtrooper figure as a present for our mate Jez Allinson (The Running Stormtrooper), who had broken his back on a running machine for all four days of the convention. Lee gave the present to Jez on behalf of all of us but I don’t think Jez knows that it was actually Lee who paid for it. When we asked if we could contribute, he simply told us to pop some cash into Jez’s donation box (not a pun…). What a bloke…

Lee and his wife Nicole own and operate a school bus service, so he’s busy dodging kangaroos, wallabies, snakes , echidnas, kookaburras and eagles on country roads while driving kids to school. Along with their two girls, Dusty 24 and Drew 22, they live in north-eastern NSW, in an area called Diehard. Yippie Ki Yay. I don’t know the area myself but Lee tells me that it’s a very beautiful mountainous area and that he wouldn’t trade it for anything.Lee is still shocked that somehow his wife and kids have put up with him after all these years….

Lee’s beautiful girls Dusty and Drew

Yippie Ki Yay

Although Lee lives in Diehard now, he was actually born in Narrabri NSW and then lived in Sydney until 1980, when he was around eight years old and moved to Cairns in far north Queensland in 1980. In 1984, his parents split and he and his dad moved again , this time across the Pacific until they landed in California. He then moved back home to Australia in 1988 and has been living back in Australia ever since.

Now to the questions! 

1. How long have you been collecting?

This is my second go at collecting as an adult, I started back up around 2 1/2 years ago. Before that I had collected in the late 90s early 2000s after I found eBay and went a little crazy. I’m definitely enjoying it a lot more these days, compared to the old days of going to the post office and sending away a western union money order and then waiting weeks and months for things to turn up. So much easier these days.

2. What do you collect?

Anything vintage that I like the look of. I’m a bit limited with room for displaying stuff at the moment so really have only been picking up stuff in SW packaging. Would like to finish that off and then move onto the other lines. Also hoping to build a man cave / display room later in the year so I can go a bit harder.

Some of Lee’s awesome collection

More of Lee’s collection

Yep that’s a Toltoys landspeeder in there…

3. What’s your grail?

I don’t like to use the word ‘grail,’ it’s more like what’s next on my hitlist. At the moment a 21 back Fett is pretty high on the hitlist to finish my 12/21 MOC run. Also anything Toltoys. I would really love to pick up any 12/20 back Toltoys MOC. Gotta have dreams..

4. What collectors inspire you?

I would have to say the person that has inspired me the most would have to be hands down is Jez Allinson (The Running Stormtrooper) I was fortunate enough to meet Jez at Celebration Orlando and to see him giving his all for such a great cause – that was one of the best things about my trip. Then for him to head straight home and grab a world record in the London Marathon and then smash the 40km run for ‘May the fourth’ was pretty special too. Very keen to see him smash his 100km run that’s coming up soon. Good luck mate.

Jez and mini-Jez at C8

Lee, Jez and the SWFUK lads at C8

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector? 

This is a hard one for me to answer. I don’t feel that I have embarrassed myself as a collector yet 🙂 Can I pass?

6. What is your favourite Star Wars film?

Not even a contest. Star Wars. I was hooked from the moment my dad took me to see it. We lived in Sydney at the time and I can still remember walking into the cinema and seeing cardboard X-Wings hanging from the ceiling.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

Probably would like to see the end of u-grading. Not really a fan of any grading myself.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

Facebook at the moment, as I’ve never really enjoyed forums to be honest. I do though keep planning to get more involved in forums.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble? Han. I can be little bit cocky and have a smart mouth at times. So my wife tells me 🙂

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

I’ll give you a couple of things. Most people probably don’t know I’m half yank and that I did my JR high and Freshman and Sophmore years of high school in California. Also I am a mad keen dirtbike rider. I’ve been on a bit of an enforced holiday from riding the last 18 months but I’m getting very close to getting back on my bikes though (Little Katie and Dirty Hussey) yes they have names 🙂

Okay, he’s not lying about the dirtbiking…

Little Katie

VSWC:  Well thank you so much for coming on Lee! I hope everyone enjoyed that as much as I did. Was great getting to know you a little bit better. Looking forward to our next beer mate! 

Tantive XI custom droid swag – which droid should we choose for Celebration Nine?

Some of you may know that I’m also a moderator on TantiveXI.com. The Tantive Team are again hard at work preparing for the next Star Wars Celebration in 2019. Once again, a custom droid will be part of the swag the team will be handing out.

We are having a little bit of difficulty deciding on which droid to make so we are coming to Tantive Crew to help us decide. Check the link and sign up to vote!

Which droid should we choose?

Check out my interview on the Creator Talks podcast!

So I don’t usually share any of my non-vintage Star Wars exploits on this page (I’m about to publish a comic book) but in this podcast I chat a bit about vintage Star Wars blogging and about my Luke Skywalker focus. That said, the interview is still 90 percent about my comic book 🙂

Hope you guys enjoy it!

https://creatortalks.podbean.com/e/93-christian-carnouhce-and-the-resurrected/

Variant Collecting 101 – Guest Collector: Tantive XI mod Steve P (aka cantina_patron)

I’m excited to welcome onto the blog yet another guest collector, this time my good friend and fellow Tantive XI moderator Steve P! Steve is a bit of a legend in the variant collecting world so I thought he would be the perfect candidate to write an article outlining exactly what variant collecting is. Variant collecting is often misunderstood and I can’t count the amount of times I’ve witnessed someone being criticised for “hoarding” figures when they are in fact all variations of a figure.

Massive thanks to Steve and to all of the variant hounds on the Tantive Team for putting this educative and entertaining article together. If you’d like to learn more about Steve, check out his profile on Tantive XI:

Steve’s Tantive XI profile

Take it away Steve!

VARIANT COLLECTING 101 – with Associate Professor cantina_patron (BA, M.A, PHD –  London School of the Identification and Collection of Variant Figures)

What is variant collecting?

Many collectors are happy to build a complete loose collection of the 105 characters & creatures released during the original toy production run from 1978 through to 1985. However, once the collecting bug has set in and a basic set has been built, some collectors maintain their interest by seeking out different versions / variants of each character.

So what is variant collecting? In broad terms it can be divided into:

‘Major’ variants –  involving significant changes in sculpt, materials used & paint application.

Well known examples include:

Han Solo (small & large head)

Jawa (vinyl or cloth cape)

Luke Jedi (head moulded in flesh colour plastic with painted hair or head moulded in hair colour plastic with painted face):

‘Minor’ variants –  e.g. small mould differences, differences in paint application and or colour used. It should be noted that figures produced by a single factory may have minor batch to batch variations in paint colour.

In recent years a lot of collectors have also been collecting COO (country of origin) stamp variants e.g. Hong Kong, Made In Hong Kong, China, Macau, Taiwan, Made In Taiwan, Japan, blank raised bar, no COO and COO scar.

For more information on COOs please follow this link to Tantive XI’s guide:

Tantive XI COO Guides

Any help filling in gaps would be appreciated!

When did variant collecting take off?

Personally, like many collectors I started looking for ‘major’ variants such as Obi-Wan with white and grey hair in the early 90s when I got back into collecting while completing my childhood collection. I am under the impression that serious loose variant collecting has increasingly grown over the last 10 years due to international collectors sharing knowledge and trading via the internet.

How has variant research benefited the vintage Star Wars community?

The research that has gone into variant collecting has helped confirm what factories produced the figures (in part or full), what cardbacks they appeared on & in which countries they were available. e.g. the infamous burgundy coat Bib Fortuna is exclusive to the former Lili Ledy factory in Mexico and was only available at retail in Mexico. The research that has been conducted & published by notable collectors on forums, Facebook & their own websites has been hugely valuable to the collecting community & has driven the current interest in variant collecting. However there are still gaps in our knowledge.

What are some of the rarest variants?

Some of the rarest & most desirable production variants include:

Kenner (US) Luke, Vader & Ben figures with double telescoping (DT) lightsabers;

Meccano  (France) Boba Fett, Luke Farmboy & Death Star Droid;

Lili Ledy (Mexico), Burgundy coat Bib Fortuna, removable rocket Boba Fett & Jawa removable hood;

Poch/PBP (Spain) Jawa, ‘toxic’ green limbed Bossk and 4-LOM;

Toltoys (Australia) unique Vinyl caped Jawa.

Figures produced by Top Toys (Argentina) and Glasslite (Brazil) are also highly desirable to many collectors.

Great care should be taken when purchasing high end variants as there are many fakes on the market, some are obvious but others can only be spotted by the trained eye. It is strongly recommended to do your research, ask questions, request detailed photos and to buy from reputable sources.

Why are some variants overrated?

Some of the most desirable and expensive variants aren’t actually that rare, but due to their desirability they command a premium on the secondary market. Prime examples include: the vinyl caped Jawa, blue Snaggletooth & Yak Face.

The vinyl caped Jawa & blue Snaggletooth are particularly desired by European collectors as the vinyl caped Jawa saw a very limited release here & the blue Snaggletooth was a US exclusive through the Sears Cantina Adventure set. Conversely Yak Face was relatively abundant in Europe, but not released in the U.S, so U.S collectors regard this figure in the same way that European collectors regard the vinyl caped Jawa & blue Snaggletooth.

Prior to the rise of eBay, forums and Facebook, these figures were considered rare outside of their country of origin. Today these three figures can be found available for sale online virtually any day of the week, whereas other variants such as some of the confirmed erarly Poch/PBP (still being researched) and Meccano figures may only be seen very occasionally.

Who are the most well-known variant collectors?

Some of the notable variant collectors who are well known and respected authorities in the collecting community include:

Wolff (Aslan Adam on Facebook);
Kenneth (Kenneth_B on the forums);
Marco (Dr Dengar on the forums)
Sergio (slolance4ever on the forums); and
Henrik (HWR on the forums).

These are just a few of the most well-known, there are many more.

As you can see from the above list,  a lot of  notable variant collectors are based in Europe. One explanation for this may be due to the fact that more variants were available here at retail. For example, in the UK we had figures packaged on Palitoy cards, US Kenner cards and Trilogo cards. The figures packaged on these cards were manufactured in the various Asian factories as well as Spain during the latter period of production.

Factory Errors and Discolouration

A variant is often mistaken for a factory error or discolouration, especially by individuals who are new to the hobby, or don’t take the time to do their research. A true variant is a figure whose appearance is that intended by the manufacturer. Therefore there are numerous confirmed examples for the same character, including MOC.

Factory errors come in many forms. Although they should not have made it through quality control they are pretty abundant. Common examples include:

Short shots / pours where the COO may appear to be very faint or completely absent. These can be mistaken for, or passed off by unscrupulous dealers, as pre-production items. The affected leg will usually have less definition of the other details and be shorter :

Odd limbs e.g. two right arms or two left legs :

Paint errors e.g. missing paint application, or overspray. As the figures are painted before assembly, missing paint usually only includes one colour and affects one part of the body :

Non sonic welded figures. Occasionally figures can be found that are non sonic welded (the process used to ‘glue’ the body together and hold the limbs in place). These figures have a torso which can be pulled apart allowing the component parts to be separated;

Please note that genuine non sonic welded figures have no signs of melting / damage to the internal seams or the pin and receiving hole of the torso. Unfortunately, some people try to pass off separated, poorly sonic welded figures as un sonic welded, so again care needs to be taken when purchasing these factory errors.

Example of a ‘forced apart’ sonic welded figure. Note the damage described above.

More detailed info can be read here:

http://www.tantivexi.com/t1513-short-pour-factory-error-figures.

Discolouration / degradation is the result of chemical changes in the plastic or paint e.g. the breakdown of pigments. Discolouration / degradation is most frequently caused by environmental factors such as ultraviolet light, humidity, gases & temperature. Many people mistakingly identify discoloured / degraded figures as a variant & can take some convincing of the truth. A classic example of this is the ‘green’ limbed Chewbacca. While the discolouration can look very uniform there are enough documented examples which are in the process of changing to demonstrate that they are not true variants, as seen here.

White plastics can turn pale yellow through to orange / brown. There is a growing trend among some collectors & dealers to chemically bleach these figures in order to increase their aesthetic appeal / value. However, it is not known what harmful long term effects this practice will have on the stability of the plastics. It has also been documented that this treatment only provides a ‘short term’ fix as some of the bleached figures have started to turn yellow again.

Paints can also degrade e.g. Pink can fade to cream or white due to the break down of the red pigments.

More information on discolouration / degradation can be found here:

Discolouration

Unfortunately there appears to be a divide between MOC collectors & loose variant collectors. If we can actively encourage more MOC collectors to identify what mould families their figures belong to & confirm the cardback & factory code (where applicable), it will be possible to establish with even more clarity when each variant was produced, its distribution and even where it was manufactured.

Collecting variants can be both fun & frustrating, but the basic full collection of 105 loose figures can be increased to several hundred. Let the chase begin!

Photo Credits: The Tantive XI team & Matthieu Barthelemy

ANNEX: Best internet resources

Here are some links to some of the best internet sources for researching variants:

Tantive XI: http://www.tantivexi.com/
Rebel Scum: http://rebelscum.com/
The Imperial Gunnery Forum: http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/
Star Wars Forum UK: http://www.starwarsforum.co.uk/

There is also a lot of great information on the Facebook groups, but specific discussions can be hard to find. Forums are much easier to search.

Collector Interview #10: Gus Lopez

Welcome everyone to the tenth edition of VSWC Blog Full-Length Collector Interviews! It’s been a while since we published our last full length one, featuring Bobby Sharp, but we are making up for it with the introduction of one of the hobby’s greatest collectors (if not the greatest) –  that’s right, Gus Lopez is joining us! I’ve chatted to Gus at the last few Celebrations and he graciously promised to appear on the blog. This is our tenth full length interview and I’ve always planned to keep this special number reserved for Gus, because not only did he start theswca.com over twenty years ago but he is also one of the hobby’s true nice guys. I don’t think I need to introduce him further as we all know him, but I will say that you are missing out if you don’t check out theswca.com at least once a week…

Okay here we go. I’m so excited!

1: Hi Gus and thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! It’s an honour to have you on. I have to ask straight off the bat – how many of your friends have taken selfies with your Slave Leia outfit? 

GUSThe list of friends who’ve taken Slave Leia selfies continues to grow. Every time we have a party, people line up for photos next to the costume. When I received the costume, I asked some friends if they could come over to help me put it inside the plexiglass case. I thought maybe 3-4 friends might stop by, but 20 friends showed up! While we were setting it up and before Leia was put into the plexi case, whenever I stepped out of the room, my friends secretly took photos with the costumed mannequin. Of course, I found out later when all these photos appeared on Facebook. Fortunately, that’s the only time the costume has been out of the case since I’ve owned it.

2: Seriously though, I know you’re a pretty socio-politically engaged guy, so I have to ask your view on something I’m really conflicted about it. My Facebook profile picture shows me with a Slave Leia cosplayer so obviously I’m a huge fan, but the outfit is pretty damn revealing and the ‘slave’ connotations are very strong. I know there is a huge debate about the outfit, with some saying it is sexist (I think even Carrie Fisher was against it at some point) but others saying it was an important part of her character arc (she strangles Jabba with the slave chain in the end). Where do you stand?

GUS: I think cosplayers should be able to wear whatever they want. The moment any of us start telling anyone what costumes they should or should not wear, I think everyone loses. The Slave Leia symbolism is powerful in Star Wars. On one level, yes, the costume represents the objectification of Leia by an amoral crime lord. But as we all know, it’s in that outfit that Leia strangles Jabba with the very chains he used to bind her. I’d say that’s pretty badass!

3: You’re not wrong… So before we get to the inevitable Star Wars questions, I’m sure our readers would like to learn a little about you. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your family? Where do you guys live currently and what do you do when you’re not collecting Star Wars vintage? 

GUS: I live in Seattle, Washington with my wife, Pam. My education and career background is in computer science and engineering. I have a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in computer science. I work at Amazon where I run the Amazon Restaurants business and have been with Amazon for over 18 years. In my spare time I travel, run, and take photos, all of which I do badly.

Gus’ home in Seattle, which he has aptly named ‘Bobacabana.’

4: I’ve seen your travel snaps and trust me, you don’t take bad photos…So how did you get into Amazon? Through your computer science study? When I think of someone working at Amazon, I have that famous Google office atmosphere in my head – snooker tables, hammocks, mini-golf etc. Is it anything similar to Google then? 

GUS: My background and experience is in computer science, software engineering, and distributed systems. After working at another local startup in the Seattle area, I interviewed with Amazon, which was also based in Seattle. Amazon had just launched Books and Music (the only retail categories they offered at time). It’s been an amazing 18 1/2 years there and continues to be a thrilling place to work.

Amazon does not have the mini golf, hammocks, massage tables, private chefs, etc. that has become cliché at many other tech companies. People do decorate their offices and desks at Amazon, and we encourage and celebrate people’s unique interests and passions.
My personal view (not my employer’s since I don’t speak for them) is that those tech company employer-funded playgrounds are ridiculous. It’s a workplace. If you really want a room filled with plastic balls, build one in your house. In my opinion, a company spending money on that junk may reflect on their responsibility with costs or being prone to manipulative techniques to encourage younger employees to stay in the office until all hours. I think it’s really dumb, and in the future people will make fun of that aspect of some tech company cultures.

5: So did you actually grow up in Seattle? 

GUS: No. I was born in Havana, Cuba. Our family moved to the USA when I was 3 and grew up in Summit, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. After college, I moved out west to Seattle to go to graduate school, and stayed in the area ever since. I met Pam while we were both in grad school at University of Washington. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world, surrounded by two mountain ranges, lakes, and ocean. Once I moved here, it was impossible to leave because every other place would be a letdown.

6: What was it like growing up there? 

GUS: My hometown, Summit, is probably similar to many suburban towns in the US. I went to the local public schools, could walk/bike anywhere around town, and had small mom and pop stores selling Star Wars comics, magazines, cards, and toys. In some ways, Summit was a really amazing town because it was a diverse cross section of incomes, races, and ethnic groups, in an area where that is not the norm since many other New Jersey towns at the time were homogenous.

7: Have you ever been back to Havana? I’ve heard it’s a stunning place to visit. 

GUS: No. I am eager to go back sometime soon. I’ve seen many East Bloc countries before and during their transition to democracies and it was amazing to experience that before those places transformed from communism. I would like to visit Cuba again before that happens. Because of their isolation, there are some really unique things in Cuba like colonial architecture that is still standing and 1950s automobiles everywhere. But Cuba is long overdue to become prosperous and free as they once were.

8: What are your interests other than Star Wars? 

GUS: I love to travel, and I’ve been all over the world and have visited many countries. But my favorite place to travel is the United States, which has some of the most amazing places to see. There’s really no other country like it with ice fields in Alaska, active volcanoes in the Northwest, the grandeur of the Grand Canyon, the deserts of the Southwest, lava flows in Hawaii, and huge populations of wildlife in places like Yellowstone and Denali. I’ve been to all 59 US National Parks, so in some ways, my collecting passion has crossed with my interest in visiting scenic places since I appear to be a completest with National Parks too. While traveling, I also like to take photos of all things wildlife, mountains, waterfalls, Northern Lights, icebergs, lava, reefs, etc.

I also run. I’ve run in over 30 marathons and a countless number of half marathons. In fact, I’m a big fan of the runDisney races at the Disneyland and Walt Disney World theme parks, and have run in all the Star Wars themed races (5Ks, 10Ks, and Half Marathons) that they’ve done since they started three years ago.

Star Wars keeps me busy, so I don’t collect much else. I do have a small shrine to the Beatles, and have some really cool Beatle collectibles such as vintage cereal boxes from the US and UK, Ringo’s personally owned psychedelic posters of his bandmates, and Ringo’s personal platinum record award for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. I also have a small collection of Evel Knievel toys in sealed boxes. As a kid I was really into Evel Knievel and on some level he represents a kitschy aspect of Americana. Only in America could a guy who jumps stuff on a motorcycle could become globally famous as a superstar. It’s one of the things I admire about this country—many Americans are non-conformist, creative, innovative, and independent.

Some of Gus’ favourite travel photos:

America Samoa

Hawaii

Western Australia

Alaska

Alaska

Greenland

9: Wow Gus that is inspiring! All 59 National Parks! I really don’t know where you find the time to also collect Star Wars….So if you had to give up Star Wars or travelling, what would you choose? 

GUS: I’ve gotten very efficient in my time management on collecting, and I do combine collecting with my travel. It’s simple: I would give up Star Wars before I’d give up travel. You only live once, and for me, seeing the world is part of having an interesting and fulfilling life with many memorable experiences. I love Star Wars collecting, but at the end of the day it’s just stuff.

10: I’ve met you briefly at the last few Celebrations and you honestly come across as one of the nicest guys in the hobby. I know you’re also a member of the Seattle SW  Collectors Club (SARLACC) and I’ve actually interviewed a couple of your colleagues (Jake Stevens and Amy Sjoberg), who I’ve also met in person. They also seem incredibly happy, friendly and easygoing. So what the hell is going on at SARLACC? Is it a cult? How is it possible for you guys to all be so nice? Something smells fishy…

GUS: SARLACC is one of my proudest creations. I formed the group in 1994, and it was the first Star Wars collecting club in the United States. Some of the principles I applied to creating SARLACC are common ones I’ve applied to other communities I’ve formed (the Star Wars collecting newsgroups, the Star Wars Collectors Archive website, and the Celebration Collecting Track) based on few rules and no hierarchy—all to maximize people’s passion and creative potential and minimize politics and drama that plague many social groups. SARLACC is a great bunch of friends with many varied interests. We do lots of things together and have had quite a few shared adventures. We do vet people before they can join SARLACC, not in an obnoxious elitist way, but basically we want to see that they are friendly and nice. We’ve had an active membership since I started the group 23 years ago. In the early days, I had to do a lot of work to remind people about meetings, but in the past two decades it has been self sustaining with members taking turns to host meetings in their homes. We have about a one year backlog to host meetings as there are so many members willing to host other collectors in their home. SARLACC has no rules, no leaders, and no dues. That’s the secret to our success—it’s just plain anarchy.

The SARLAAC crew…

11: I’m sure you’ve been asked this question a million times but what is your first Star Wars memory? 

GUS: My first memories of Star Wars were from the television commercials in early May 1977, before the movie’s release. Star Wars only opened in 32 theaters nationwide on May 25, 1977, and I happened to live in one of the few areas of the country with multiple theaters showing the movie. I vividly remember and was struck by Chewbacca and C-3PO in that early commercial (I thought 3PO was a bad guy). I was also blown away by the imagery of Luke and Leia swinging across the chasm. I saw the film later that summer and my life has never been the same since.

12: That’s pretty cool. Most people’s first memories are the movies themselves and not the commercials. Do you actually remember what commercials they were? 

GUS: It was the standard television commercial they had running in the US that mentions heroes, villains, and aliens from a thousand worlds. But I remember there was so much imagery unlike anything else that it was impossible to absorb everything going on or even have a sense of the story. It was really word of mouth that got me to rush to the theater to see it.

13: At what age did you start collecting Star Wars? 

GUS: As a kid, I attempted to buy every Star Wars thing I could find, and I still have every single Star Wars item from 1977 on. But I didn’t really start serious collecting until I was 27. Like many other collectors, I started with the loose action figures. My original goal was to complete my set of figures from childhood. After about a month, I managed to complete the set, and quickly moved onto other things like carded figures and boxed toys.

Gus’ childhood SW collection

14: So what was the trigger to start collecting at that age? 

GUS: Prior to Star Wars, I had collected other things. As a kid I was into baseball cards, coins, and action figures. In fact, even at an early age I was fairly advanced at this, tracking down dealers who had trading cards from prior decades and having my parents drive me to shows to buy items. But then Star Wars came out and I applied all those learnings and experience to this newly discovered interest.

In one of the panels at this past Celebration, I went into a bit more detail about how I started and grew as a collector, in case anyone is interested in hearing more about it:

15: When and why did you establish theswca.com and who else was involved in the beginning? 

GUS: I started the Star Wars Collectors Archive in 1994. It was the first website on the Internet about Star Wars collecting. The original concept was just to have a place to share cool photos of obscure items between friends. As we expanded the content, it became clear that the Archive was generating a lot of interest. I lot of other collectors contributed since the early days like Pete Vilmur, John Wooten, Duncan Jenkins, Chris Georgoulias, Ron Salvatore, Chris Nichols, Isaac Lew, John Alvarez, Tommy Garvey, Stephane Faucourt, Steve Danley, Skye Paine, Mike Mensinger, James Gallo, and Todd Chamberlain. There are also hundreds of collectors who have submitted entries to share their discoveries and amazing items in their collections.

16: Were you connecting with other collectors before the arrival of the internet? 

GUS: No, my only option at the time was connecting with local friends who were also buying Star Wars items. My first access to the Internet was in 1983 at Bell Labs and MIT via ARPANET, NSFNET, and USENET. There was a Star Wars newsgroup on USENET in 1983 that was short-lived and mostly discussed Return of the Jedi. Not a whole lot of chatter about collectibles, and it would take years before the Star Wars newsgroups would emerge in the early 1990s.

17: I know you were at the first Celebration but what was your involvement there? Is that where the Collecting Track started? 

GUS: Yes, I started the Star Wars Celebration Collecting Track at the first Celebration in Denver in 1999, and it has continued to be a big part of Celebration ever since. Just a couple of weeks before the start of Celebration I, I asked Steve Sansweet what Lucasfilm was planning for collectors at Celebration. He said nothing was planned yet and asked me if I wanted to put something together for collectors. It seemed crazy to try to arrange something with only a couple of weeks notice, but I decided to go for it! I scrambled to assemble a lineup of panelists and make all the arrangements. We were set up outside and had a small tent and there were no official announcements or communication that this was going on. I contacted several other collectors who brought items to show in person at the event. We gave our presentations to a small audience that was waiting outside in the rain, many of them waiting in line to get into other panels at Celebration I. It was fun, and I realized we had something we could build on.

The Collecting Track has come a long way since Celebration I. I have continued to lead the Collecting Track at all Star Wars Celebrations including all 8 Celebrations in the US and the Celebration events in the UK, Japan, and Germany. In addition to high quality panels and presentations, we also offer patch/pin/swag trading events, contests/awards, daily newsletters, giveaways, meet and greets, swap meets, collector displays, social media, and many opportunities to meet other collectors. There are a lot of people who make the Collecting Track a success each time!

At Celebration III, I thought it would be cool to have giveaways for every attendee at every panel of the Collecting Track. We made up a trading card set (a different card for each panel) based on different presentations at Celebration III. We also gave out animation cells from the Ewoks cartoon that Lucasfilm had offered to us to give to attendees. These giveaways were well received, and we continued this tradition ever since. This is probably one of the earliest, if not the first, examples of Star Wars collector swag, which has now become a massive thing at Celebration.

18: Great story Gus. I love the Collecting Track and it pretty much makes up about 90 percent of my Celebration experiences. So thank you and everyone else involved for everything you guys do there. Any chance you’d remember what panels were on at the first Celebration? 

GUS: I could probably dig out the program from the first Collecting Track but going off memory, we covered things like customized action figures, prototypes, and creating collecting clubs. Since we were outside and didn’t have any way to project onto a screen, the format was entirely discussion panels and items that people brought to show at the panels. Almost all the panels had multiple panelists since everything was oriented around discussion and questions.

Gus introducing Steve Sansweet in Orlando. 

Celebration Orlando Panel

Celebration 4 panelists 

19: How does someone volunteer to assist at the Collecting Track? 

GUS: Several months prior to each Celebration, we usually make a call for participation and multiple announcements to find out who’s interested in becoming a volunteer. I select the panels, and do a formal call for panels. The process can be very selective, for example at Celebration Orlando 2017, I accepted 28% of the panel proposals that had been submitted. We try to rotate topics and try new things each time.

The volunteers run the operations once we’re on the ground at the event. Tony Damata has led that area on my team and he usually reaches out to collectors and fans to see who is interested in volunteering. That is also very selective since we get many more people interested than volunteer positions.

20: I know you receive a lot of swag at Celebrations but what is your most memorable? 

GUS: Darren Mcaleese’s General Madine beard in Kenner retro vintage packaging has to be one of the craziest swag items ever but also one of my favorites!

21: I love the Star Tots that you guys give out after attending a panel at the Collecting Track. Whose idea were they initially? 

GUS: It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the idea started since it involved multiple iterations of various ideas. In early 2011 on a trip in Canada with some other collectors I recall discussing future Collecting Track giveaway ideas with Alyssa Loney, Ron Salvatore, Elling Haug, and Chris Georgoulias. We were brainstorming various Collecting Track giveaway ideas, some of which we’ve used. We talked about carded figure ideas such as carded Kenner Micro figures, Yupi figures, vintage style action figures, and Star Tots, all with the idea of continuing the line beyond the concepts that Kenner had. In June 2011, Chris and I discussed various figure-based giveaways in over email. Originally we wanted to do 3D figures just like the Kenner Star Tots, but there are some challenges in producing painted 3D figures. Chris came up with the idea of flat metal figures since those would be easier to make.

Then I pitched that idea and backup idea to Lucasfilm for Celebration VI Collecting Track giveaways. Initially, we decided to go with the backup idea, but at the last minute ran into issues preventing that from happening.  Fortunately, we had also pitched Star Tots and after a lot of hard work and much scrambling by the team, we were able to produce them in time for Celebration.

22: Each Tot is sponsored by a collector but how does someone become a sponsor?

GUS: Yes, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to fund the Collecting Track giveaways. The Celebration III giveaways were completely funded by the Collector Track budget (which is modest). So for Celebration IV, I had an idea that maybe we could do even more impressive giveaways if we could get additional funds via sponsorship. The concept was that if we could get individuals to sponsor individual items, we could raise the funds to do something major. So I ran the idea by Lucasfilm and they were supportive of it and gave us permission to put the sponsors’ names on the pewter medallions we gave out at Celebration IV. So we’ve used that sponsorship model ever since.

A shot of the large sized tots that sponsors receive (thanks to ‘Ke We’ for the photo). 

23: So do you approach potential sponsors or can someone approach you or your team? 

GUS: We usually keep a waiting list of interested sponsors. There are many more people who want to sponsor than slots available, so unfortunately, we need to turn some people away. But we keep in touch with people for next time. Sponsorship is not cheap and has been running about $2000 per sponsor in recent years. But we are super grateful for the sponsors to enable us to do these giveaways.

24: What do you think of people flipping Tots? 

GUS: Once we give them away, people can do whatever they want with their Star Tots. Sponsors get some Star Tot sets, but they aren’t allowed to sell them until after Celebration. Many people do sell them, which I think is fine as it gives others the chance to buy ones they missed.

25: Let’s move on to some questions about vintage collecting and social networking. Where would collectors find you online most of the time? Forums? Facebook? Twitter? 

GUS: I post daily to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about Star Wars collecting and interact with many collectors, particularly on Facebook. I started this thing in November 2016 of posting a “Daily Grail” each and every day. I’ve kept it up since then and can continue doing this for quite a while longer. One of the things I find when people visit our house is that they are frequently overwhelmed by the sheer amount of rare and one-of-a-kind items on display. People end up missing lots of interesting stuff. So I thought it would be cool to drip feed cool items each day to start a conversation about individual pieces.

I do participate in Facebook group discussions from time to time but there are so many groups and daily threads and I have a super busy career that I don’t post as often as I used to. I also attend many conventions every year such as Celebration, San Diego Comicon, and Emerald City Comicon. I do tons of local events with collectors in my area as well. I’m fairly easy to reach since I even show my email address on the Star Wars Collectors Archive.

26: What do you think is the best platform for connecting with other collectors online?

GUS: There is no question that Facebook has taken over as the central place for collectors to interact online. There are lots of great Facebook groups devoted to different areas of Star Wars collecting. The Rebelscum forums are also the classic venue for collectors to meet, but as a lot of discussion has shifted to Facebook, it’s more a secondary forum these days, which is unfortunate because I love Rebelscum. There are many other sites with interesting forums like Imperial Gunnery and Star Wars Forum UK but those also appear to be waning as the discussions move to Facebook. Facebook has 2 billion active monthly users. We just can’t repel firepower of that magnitude.

27: We recently hosted a roundtable discussion with the owners/moderators of the four English speaking vintage Star Wars forums (Roundtable) What do you think the future holds for forums? 

GUS: I believe it’s all going to Facebook. Facebook has live streaming, great posting features from simple feedback to long responses, moderator tools, and more. But social media is constantly changing. In the past two decades we saw the Star Wars community on the Internet start with newsgroups, move to web-based forums, and now on to Facebook. And I’m sure it will change again in the near future.

28: Do you get caught up in the endless online debates about u-grades, reproductions etc? 

GUS: Not really. I do have viewpoints on those topics but don’t think there’s a whole lot of depth to those debates so generally don’t join in on them.

Regarding U-grades… I think loose figure collecting is wonderful. That’s how I got started. I still have my first set of loose figures from when I was a kid, and I ramped on Star Wars collecting by collecting loose figures. But U-grades are not loose figure collecting. It’s a process of destroying vintage Kenner (or affiliate) Star Wars toy packaging to put the toy in AFA packaging forever where you can never access the toy. It’s not a loose figure—it’s a packaged figure but instead of Kenner, it’s AFA. You can’t even touch it. Also the “U” for uncirculated is ridiculous in toy collecting. The term “uncirculated” comes from coin collecting where coins enter circulation as they’re exchanged. Toys are bought by kids and have already been touched by hands of a worker in a factory—there’s no notion of “circulation” like currency. Finally, if I’m going to collect something that is sealed in a package, I’d much rather have vintage Kenner packaging than AFA packaging. U-grades are just stupid.

I’m also not a fan of repros. I think they’re completely unnecessary as there’s plenty of vintage items to go around. The big problem with repros is that people are constantly fooled by them. Even if the people who created them in the first place had the best intentions, they tend to get out and passed off as originals. It’s hard to put that genie back in the bottle though, so I think the best thing people can do is educate other collectors by making it clear how profoundly lame it is to collect repros and U-grades. None of the advanced collectors I know really bother with them.

29: Does the Inner Circle exist and are you its overlord? 

GUS: As you can tell, I’m not a big fan of hierarchies in the collecting community. But let’s just say that if an Inner Circle did exist and if that Inner Circle was created by me, it would certainly not have an overlord ruling it. I guess I didn’t really answer your question. Or did I?

30: Well answered Gus. That’s exactly how I would expect the overlord of the Inner Circle to deflect the question…On to a few questions about your collecting habits now. Firstly, what do you collect? 

GUS: If there’s a theme to my collection, I enjoy collecting items that are challenging to find. For me, it doesn’t have to be super valuable, but I love the novelty and thrill of the hunt that comes from finding previously undiscovered items. So I collect in several categories: Star Wars food items (especially cereal boxes), record awards, cast and crew items, original art, vintage toys, toy prototypes, store displays, school yearbooks of the cast, and screen-used movie props and costumes. In each of those categories I have an extensive collection, and in some of them I may have the largest collection in the world in that specialty. Who knows?

Okay brace yourselves for a few photos of Gus’ collection! 

  

31: Gus that is just mindblowing! Do you get many requests from collectors to visit your collection?

GUS: I get requests for tours all the time. I do private tours quite frequently, usually for out of town guests who are in the area. We also throw parties a couple of parties a year. Of course, we’re not equipped to be open to the public, and I wouldn’t risk that, but if I know a collector or they are friends of someone I know, I usually find time to show them around.

32: What was your most recent purchase? 

GUS: I just recently picked up some amazing original artwork by Ralph McQuarrie for various concepts he drew and painted for Star Wars cast and crew t-shirts, belt buckles, and Christmas cards. It really doesn’t get any better than one-of-a-kind Ralph McQuarrie artwork!

33: Is there still something you’re looking for?

GUS: Tons of things. In each of my areas of specialty, I have a list of holy grails I’m after. For instance, in toy prototypes I would like to find mockups of the Blockade Runner, White Witch, and Micro Collection Torture Chamber box. For store displays, I’d like to find the Early Bird pole display. For crew items, there’s an early ILM X-Wing t-shirt I’m after along with the 1999 Lucas Learning, 1999 Lucas Arts, and 2005 JAK Films Star Wars-themed Christmas cards. For cereal boxes, my holy grails are the Canadian General Mills sticker offer boxes from 1978 and the Weeties cereal box from Australia. For movie props, I would like to find an original trilogy screen-used lightsaber and various helmets such as the TIE Pilot, AT-AT Driver, and Rebel pilot. I would pay a lot for any of these items. So it never ends…

34: Do you still sell vintage at all? 

GUS: If I pick up duplicates of something I will sell it. But I don’t sell very much.

35: What’s your favourite vintage piece?

GUS: It’s impossible to pick a favorite. Really, how do you choose between the unproduced 12” action figures, the Death Star model, Luke Skywalker’s belt, the complete set up unproduced Droids and Ewoks, Rocket Firing Boba Fett, the Sandcrawler toy wood pattern, Tusken Raider mask from A New Hope, the Bacta Chamber playset, or the Slave Leia outfit?

A selection of Gus’ favorite pieces. 

36: Have you ever stood in front of your collection and doubted your desire to  continue collecting?

GUS: Not really. I still love it and continue to keep it fresh and novel. I do sometimes say to myself that I will eventually have to stop since I won’t be able to continue finding pieces that match what I’ve found before. But then I find more and more items that set the bar higher. So I continue.

37: Do you think you have to be wealthy to start collecting vintage these days?

GUS: No. I think it’s a myth that you need to have lots of money to collect vintage. I have heard many collectors who spend thousands a year on the latest, newest toys saying they don’t collect vintage because they can’t afford it. That’s so wrong! Obviously these collectors could afford to collect vintage if they didn’t have to buy each of the latest toys on the shelves. Vintage Star Wars is finite and thousands of dollars can buy a lot of cool vintage stuff. Sure, it’s not as easy and convenient as walking into Walmart every week to get the latest toy, but the hunt is part of the fun.

38: Couple more questions and then we’re done. I know you’ve travelled the world visiting Star Wars locations, including those in Tunisia. My wife is Tunisian so I have to ask – what is your favourite location in Tunisia? 

GUS: I’ve been to most of the Star Wars filming locations: Finse in Norway (Hoth), Tikal in Guatemala (Yavin), northern California (Endor), Death Valley (Tatooine), Caserta (Naboo), Lake Como (Naboo), Skellig Michael (Ahch-To), southern California (Tatooine), Sevilla in Spain (Naboo), Puzzlewood Forest (Takadona), Canary Wharf in London (Scarif), RAF Greenham Common (D’Qar), and of course, Tunisia (Tatooine). I’ve also been fortunate enough to visit Skywalker Ranch, Lucasfilm’s offices at the Presidio in San Francisco, Elstree Studios, and Pinewood Studios. In fact, I was on set for the filming of The Force Awakens and was blown away by what I saw. It was so cool to be on set and witness the filming of a Star Wars movie and see all the sets, costumes, props, and actors!

A couple of Gus’ favourite filming locations

Tunisia has so many amazing Star Wars locations: Obi-Wan’s house, the Cantina, and Mos Eisley on Djerba, Lars homestead interior in Matmata, Slave Quarters in Medenine and Ksar Hadada, Mos Espa in Chott el Gharsa, Lars homestead exterior in Chott al Jerid, Dune Sea at La Grand Dune near Nefta, and the canyon shots in the location near Sidi Bouhlel.

Matmata is probably my favorite location. To sit in the dining room of Luke’s house and have dinner is an experience every Star Wars fan should do once in their life. It’s chilling when you realize you’re eating a meal in the exact location where Luke, Lars, and Beru had dinner. You feel like you are in the Star Wars universe. You just have to bring your own blue milk.

Tunisian filming locations

39: Awesome photos! I’ve heard a lot of collectors now claim that the south of Tunisia has been “taken over by ISIS” (based on some very loose news reports) and that it’s too dangerous to visit the SW locations down there now. What’s your take? 

GUS: Since Arab Spring, a lot of formerly stable countries in the region (like Tunisia) have gone through some turmoil. As typical in that region of the world, Tunisia was ruled by a strongman. Tunisia’s former ruler, Ben Ali, was a benevolent dictator and did many great things for Tunisia. He was educated in the US and France and tried to modernize Tunisia with programs like universal education and advancing the rights of women. He was very pro-west and promoted a secular government. Because of Tunisia’s stability, unique landscape, and strong tourism, it had become a favorite location for many motion pictures.

Arab Spring changed all of that. While there are some great pro democracy elements of those uprisings, unfortunately the instability was also seized by jihadists. Many news stories have reported that Tunisia is one of the top recruiting grounds for ISIS. There have been cases of tourists kidnapped in Tunisia. In the last couple of years, 57 tourists have been killed in two separate terrorist incidents in Tunis and Sousse committed by ISIS-aligned fanatics. Tourism is suffering in that country as a result, which makes things worse as Tunisians lose tourist dollars and see fewer westerners. ISIS itself is very small group, with estimates around 20,000-30,000 members worldwide, so they aren’t prevalent everywhere. The problem is that ISIS offers huge bounties for kidnapping westerners, which tempts many non-jihadists to kidnap people to transfer them them across borders for these bounties. While the overall risk is low in Tunisia, it’s not a risk I want to take right now. I know some Star Wars fans who have gone in recent years, but I’m holding off until the country stabilizes further. 
I love Tunisia. It’s one of my favorite countries in the world: the scenery, Roman and Islamic architecture, friendly people, delicious food, wonderful climate, and of course the Star Wars filming locations, make it an absolutely amazing place to see. I will go back some day.

40: Okay our final question – will you sell me your Death Star model? 

GUS: Not on your life! That little Death Star and I have been through a lot together.

I take back everything I said about you being a nice guy then! Well thanks so much for joining us Gus! It truly was a pleasure and above all an honour to have you on.