Strange conversation at the ‘Toy Tokyo’ store in NYC

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A couple of weeks ago I had a weird experience in NYC. I was keen as mustard to check out vintage comic and toy stores to whet my geeky appetite but I was extremely disappointed when I didn’t find much vintage star wars in some of the more well-known places.

I did though stumble upon a really cool vintage toy shop named ‘Toy Tokyo’ in East Village. If you’re interested in vintage Japanese toys and you live in New York then this will be your shrine. There were also some nice star wars items, such as playsets and a few loose figures. I didn’t spot any MOCs though.

Toy Tokyo in East Village, NYC

Toy Tokyo in East Village, NYC

Although this shop was great, this post isn’t really about giving it a review. Rather, I want to mention a conversation I had with an employee there, whose opinion don’t  necessarily represents that of the store owner. Anyway I’ve been chasing down two Japanese figures – the ESB Luke Farmboy and Luke X-Wing, made by Popy (If you have some for sale let me know!) so I asked one of the employees if they had any in stock. He told me that the owner definitely had some but they had been moved to the warehouse because there wasn’t much financial value in vintage SW these days. He then tried me to convince me to buy a Cloud City playset and went on to explain what a great set it was I told him that as far as I knew vintage SW were rapidly on the rise. He looked at me like I had three heads and questioned my sources. Of course I referenced Ebay, the forums etc and told him I was an informed collector. He told me that Ebay prices should not be trusted and that they aren’t a sound indication of market value. While I understand that Ebay prices are usually inflated, they are a huge indicator of the SW market. They are what they are, whether or not we agree (which I for one don’t!).

While I understand the nature of sales tactics, I was flabbergasted with his comments. Was he straight up lying to me, thinking I had no idea what I was talking about or was he the one with no idea? Or is the truth somewhere in the middle? I’m confused, as far as I know there is a huge SW bubble right now.

What do you guys think? Am I missing something here?

This is the store’s link if you are ever in New York. Definitely worth the visit:

https://www.toytokyo.com/

If you’d like to learn more about the Popy line and other Japanese SW lines, click here for a great article from Japanese collector extraordinaire Toru Komoru himself:

http://www.rebelscum.com/japanswhistory-japan.asp

Thanks for tuning in!

Book review: ‘La French Touch: History of French Star Wars Merchandising 1977-1986’

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Well I know I’m a bit late to the party with this review but personally I think the more press this self-published book receives the better. French collector and all round French star wars braniac Stephane Faucourt released ‘La French Touch: History of French Star Wars Merchandising 1977-1986’ in June last year and it has been incredibly well received in the vintage collecting community. This great read is a follow-up to Stephane’s previous release – ‘Meccano to Trilogo’  in 2006, and provides a near exhaustive account of star wars related merchandising during the period of the original trilogy (some will say the only true star wars era).

Cover

My copy of Stephane’s book

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Contents page

`Paris based Stephane is one of the world’s leading authorities on French star wars collecting and merchandising and he has been actively collecting since the mid-1990s. Not only is Stephane a well-known collector but he is also recognised equally on the forums and Facebook groups as one of the nice guys of the hobby. Stephane and I have a mutual friend – Matthieu Barthelemy, another Parisian vintage stars wars collector and supporter of Europe’s worst football team – Paris St-Germain, who kindly gave me the photo below.

Stepane and Matthieu

Stephane and Matthieu at a recent auction in Paris

Being half-French myself I was very excited to get my grubby little paws onto Stephane’s book so I ordered one almost immediately. The aesthetics of the book’s contents were magnificent and it was a real joy flicking through each of the 244 full colour pages and being hit by a total of 1300 beautiful photos of French star wars memorabilia. The striking visuals of this cracking book has set the bar extremely high for other similar attempts to detail star wars collecting. 

Signed to yours truly

Signed to yours truly

Although this book was released originally in French, Stephane translated it into English and was assisted by his friend Dallas Ewen. When I spoke with Stephane, he told me that he was extremely happy with the assistance that Dallas gave him as he was able to correct Stephane’s text and to lend it a real contemporary feel, without being too formal. I found the translation quite smooth and easy to read. Stephane is an adept writer and he really drew me in with his personal style and storytelling abilities.

When I first skimmed the book, I was a little disappointed by the amount of non-action figure related information as I do not collect this memorabilia. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how interesting these sections were once I properly read them. Given this, I’m certain this book will appeal to quite a broad audience, much wider than simply star wars toy collectors such as myself. 

Food

Food products and premiums

Records

Records and audio tapes

So what were my favourite bits of the book? Well for the sake of brevity I’ll have to painfully limit myself to only two. Being an avid MOC collector, I have to say that the stunning photos of the Meccano MOCs were the high point for me, particularly the glorious Luke Skywalker examples. I also loved seeing the French translations of Luke’s various costumes. My second name is ‘Luc’ so it’s great to see the name that I was always teased about in Sydney finally get some rockstar air time.

Luc (Tenue de Chevalier Jedi)
Luc (Tenue de Chevalier Jedi)

My second favourite highliight has to be the fantastic catalogue and advertisement artworks that were captured in the book. Some of the photo dioramas were outstanding. I loved this example below.

Catalogue
Ads and catalogues

I have to add that I was quite chuffed to see a 1977 issue of ‘ecran’ featured, of which I have the same issue. My wife’s father who is a massive film buff (but unfortunately not a star wars fan) owned it since 1977 and handed the baton on to me last year.

My copy of Ecran
My copy of ecran

‘La French Touch’ really is a tour de force and I truly hope that Stephane will inspire collectors from around the globe to produce similar efforts. I’d love to see something similar about merchandising in say Brazil, Argentina or even my host country The Netherlands. 

Although Stephane is not currently working on a follow-up to this splendid book nor is he involved in a major project of a similar nature, he can often be seen contributing to websites in an effort to broaden the appeal of French star wars collectibles. In addition, he appears at conventions, often as a panelist, and is doing his best to make sure that French collectables receive the credit they deserve. Here are a couple of shots of the dashing Frenchman strutting his stuff at a recent convention in France.

Stephane at Generation SW

Stephane at Generation SW (2)

Stephane at Generation SW (2)

In recent times Stephane and his friend Yann Leroux (who designed the book cover) released some fantastic giveaways, such as buttons and exclusive flyers based on a Chewbacca (aka Chiqtabba) action figure painting from UK Alastair Eales artist. These goodies were given away at the Generation SW French event in early May and have been extremely popular ever since. Look out for Stephane at the next big event!

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Stephane and Yann

Yann, Isaac Lew, Stephane and Chris Georgoulias

Yann, Isaac Lew, Stephane and Chris Georgoulias

Although Stephane tells me that the book is selling quite well, he still has a few copies available. So if you are into French star wars collecting, or just a star wars fan in general, I urge you to buy a copy of this book, then sit back, put on a pair of slippers and let Stephane take you on an exquisite and nostalgic ride. 

You can order a book online directly from Stephane using this link:

http://www.meccano2trilogo.com/booking.php

Stephane has kindly offered a special giveaway exclusive to my readers if you order a copy directly from him. Enter ‘Chiq’ into the comment box of the order form and you will receive a complimentary limited exclusive Chewbacca flyer (until stocks last).

Chewie flyer

Chewie flyer

SONY DSC

Finally, I have to say, apologies for my unbelievably horrifying photography skills! I will improve!

Thanks for reading.

Facebook page is now live!

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Just a real quick status update for you guys. While this page is still only its infancy and I’m yet to advertise its existence, I thought it would be appropriate to create a twin Facebook page, link below:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vintagestarwarscollectorscom/753279518055565.

At the moment I’m having a problem getting this blog to automatically update posts to the Facebook page but hopefully it will sort out soon. If you like what you see, please like the page and also subscribe to the blog. I will be pumping out content pretty regularly and I’m hoping to also post regular interviews and to host guest bloggers. I have four interviews on the run right now and will post them as soon as possible. Feel free to let me know if you’d ever like to contribute an article. Christian

Ethics and business – are they reconcilable?

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Howdy dudes and dudettes,

I was involved in a debate yesterday with a bunch of collectors that made me realise that I omitted a key point from a previous post outlining my top ten hints for getting along better with others in the collecting community.

The previous article is here:

Ten tips for dealing with other collectors on social networking sites

In a nutshell, a collector mentioned that he had agreed to a deal with someone who then reneged on the deal because they received a better offer. Note that the deal had been completely agreed to by both parties.Several other collectors responded that this was unethical and that the seller should have honoured the original deal. Meanwhile other collectors suggested basically that it’s a dog eat dog world and that the seller had every right to renege on the deal and that we all would have done it and shouldn’t pretend we are angels.

When I stated clearly that I disagreed with this view, one collector expressed his disbelief that I or anyone else would subordinate money to morals. I’m not so schooled up in the legalities of business dealing in the star wars community but I can tell you all with complete confidence that the majority of collectors on the forums I frequent would honour their deals. When they don’t, they are quickly called out and usually heavily criticised by the majority.

Statue in Athens of the great philosopher of Ethics Socrates

Statue in Athens of the great philosopher of Ethics Socrates

I have my own personal anecdotes of sellers sticking to their deals with me. For example not long after a respected seller, and a great guy to my mind, accepted my best offer on SWFUK, he received a better offer from another member. However he stuck to our original deal. When I heard about this, I decided to pay him his original asking price as a way to reward his honesty. I have heard loads of similar stories that have convinced me that we are not all financially self-interested and that a lot of us are in it for the love of the hobby and the community, rather than for the financial dividends we may reap.

Not only is it emotionally rewarding to have some honour in dealing, it can also be financially sound in the long game as it is highly like that if you renege on deals, others will hear about it and may not deal with you (a common occurrence on the forums).

So it might be a good idea to think twice before you renege on a deal in order to save a few bucks or even a few hundred. Not only will you stand to lose financially but you also lose something that I believe is much more important – the respect and trust of your fellow collector.

I’d love to hear where you guys stand on the issue. Don’t be shy if you’d like to throw tomatoes or god forbid – even agree with me..

Thanks for reading.

When it rains it pours

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Hi guys, here’s a quick post about something that has been on my mind for a while.

One thing I’ve noticed in my collecting adventures, and I know others have too, is that my purchases often seem to come in waves. I’m constantly on eBay (my least favourite buying source) forums and groups hunting down figures. My focus is pretty tight so it makes finding relevant items more difficult for me than for collectors who just collect EVERYTHING STAR WARS. For weeks I have been monitoring my usual sources but I didn’t find anything remotely interesting or financially enticing. Then BAMMMMMMMM, I picked up a Luke Hoth ESB MOC, Luke X-Wing Trilogo and ESB MOCs (I had been hunting down the trilogo for six months), Luke Jedi ROTJ MOC, Luke Bespin ESB MOC, a whole bunch of loose figures and weapons and loads of acrylic from Christian in the UK. Not only did this all happen within a few days but they were all fantastic deals, granted the condition wasn’t exactly Toy Tony’s lofty (and artificial) AFA 90 standards…I haven’t actually received any of the figures yet so the excitement is really building. I think I’ll pee in my pants when they arrive. Here are the pics of some of the figs I’m soon to receive.

I know these bursts in buying activity also occur for other collectors. My question, and the point of this article, is why? Are there special time periods wherein sellers advertise their items? Or is it mainly in my own mind – that something is going on within me that makes me prepared to buy at a certain time? Or is it just completely random? I really have no idea. Just something to think about.

Does anyone have similar experiences? Any theories about why this happens?

Christian

Ten tips for dealing with other collectors on social networking sites

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Well this post may come across as a little patronising to some – who am I to tell you guys how to deal with other collectors? Well I don’t have all of the answers but I do spend a lot of time on forums and Facebook and what I do know is that there are regular bust-ups that really could have been been avoided with simple manners and courtesy. I pride myself on making an effort with people and I get my best results by putting myself in their shoes – treat people how you would like to be treated yourself. Sounds corny right? Well it is but unfortunately we often disregard this pearl of wisdom. We love the figures but we don’t collect in a vacuum – we engage with other collectors.

After more than a year on the forums I’m yet to have anything more than a disagreement, I believe this stems from my working in a very stressful environment where a simple miss-communication can bring the bricks and mortar of work relationships tumbling down. Don’t get me wrong – there is a time and a place for stern words and maybe even anger but really we all love vintage star wars collecting and just want to get along with minimal stress . So let’s see what are some of the minor things we can change to bring us a bit closer to this goal.

1. When you post a query on a forum or a group (for example ‘How do I identify a PBP Luke Hoth’) make an effort to say hello or to at least sound friendly and for god sakes thank people that took their time to respond to you! This may look like I’m teaching my grandmother to suck eggs but I am amazed how people phrase their questions and how people often make no effort to be grateful. Getting a response is a privilege not an entitlement.

2. Try not to take differences in opinion so personally. I know this is difficult, we are all emotionally invested in our opinions/collecting stlyes etc etc. But at the end of the day when my opinion is being criticised, it is not necessarily an attack on me as a person. This is something I have to deal with daily at my work and I wouldn’t survive without thick skin. If you are anything like me you might change your opinions regularly anyway. So take it easy guys and try to be objective!

3. Speak respectfully with each other! If you don’t agree with someone, there is no need to shoot them down or to be brutal. Argue your point with logic, not insults. For me this is one of the true signs of an intelligent person. And just a quick tip, it screams anger when you capitalise words during a debate and underlining words stinks of condescension.

4. Don’t blast someone if you feel that their question/statement is ‘stupid.’ Not everyone is gifted with the same levels of intelligence and not everyone is as knowledgeable as others. I cringe when I think back to some of my early posts. Actually I cringe when I read my current posts!

5. Do some research before you ask a question. Okay you might be new to the game but you can still do a quick google search before you post a query and if you can’t find the answer, more experienced forum members will respect you more for at least showing you did some research yourself. Laziness is not well tolerated in the forums and groups.

 6. Have some appreciation for what the old guard has done for our hobby – those guys that hounded ex-Kenner employees for their treasures or those that studied the figures meticulously to identify variations. You don’t need to treat them like gods, just have some respect. We’d be no-where if it wasn’t for them.

7. Don’t pretend to be more knowledgeable than you are. This feigning gets called out pretty quickly. There’s nothing wrong with lacking knowledge in a certain area. I love it actually as it gives me something more to learn and explore.

8. If you have a for sale thread, respond to queries and offers – even if it is not something that advances your sales. Respect that people have made an effort to contact you for whatever reason. I once had a seller not respond to my decent offer but then they contacted me a month later saying they would accept my offer (obviously they couldn’t sell the item). I refused to buy it on principle.

9. Make an effort to re-read your post/comment for grammar errors/typos. And capitalise! People will respect that you have made an effort to make your post look professional and comprehensible. It sounds a bit superficial but I often get turned off by posts that look like they were written by a drunk five year old.

10. My final piece of advice is to listen to the moderators/admins! They do their best to keep the forums chugging along so we need to respect them, even if we don’t always agree. I doubt any of the moderators/admins get paid so appreciate that they are sacrificing their precious time to make our social cyber spaces better.

So those are my thoughts. I in no way think my list is exhaustive or that I’m 100 percent correct. I’d love to hear what you guys think? What are your top tens?

Thanks for reading. Play nice and stay cool.

Christian

My first post – welcome to the blog!

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Hi guys. Well this is it. My first post. Starting this blog is a huge risk to my ego – who the hell knows if this is going to be an utter failure or a raging success. One thing that is certain is that it won’t be a financial success! Let’s be honest, most star wars bloggers aren’t in it for the money, it’s all about our love and passion for this great hobby of ours. Even though I’m often teased about my collection, I am a proud collector and it brings me amazing joy, not just because of the toys themselves but due to the whole collecting process – researching the toys, hunting my targets, pulling the trigger and then finally displaying my purchase in my star wars figure cabinet. Last but definitely not least of these joys is that of making friends with other like-minded collectors.

I haven’t been collecting for much more than a year now but it really feels like it has been years. I’m barely finding time for anything else (other than work and my wife of course) in between trawling ebay, posting on blogs and facebook groups and reading other blogs. I have always felt a strong affinity with the figures and I still mourn the loss of my childhood collection that was stolen from outside my classroom in primary school. I got back into it immediately after my wife took me to a vintage star wars exhibition in Paris early last year. I was reading a lot of SW comics at the time so it wasn’t such a leap to start collecting. It was actually my wife’s idea – which I remind her of every time she complains about my SW spending!

While my blog is pretty much empty at this point, over the next couple of weeks I plan to post a few interviews with collectors and write some updates on happenings in the community. I will most likely limelight my Luke Skywalker focus sometime over the next month.

So welcome to the blog. I hope you enjoy the upcoming content.

Bobbybobs