Star Wars Vintage Vinyl Records

My first introduction to Star Wars was via 8-tracks and record albums. Most haven't survived the years, but every once in a while, you'll find some nice vinyl or an 8-track.

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The Star Wars Chewbacca Plush Kids Backpack

Collecting Star Wars Vintage Action Figures

How to Collect Action Figures
By Colin Dorman

This short guide will help you decide what you want to collect, how to start collecting and the best places to look for action figures.

The information is particularly aimed at the action figure collector but much of the advise is applicable no matter what you are thing of collecting, whether it's stamps, postcards, toys or even kitchen sinks!

Ok, let's get on with it.

You have some important decisions to make.

First ask yourself...

Why do I want to collect action figures?

Is it :

 
• For financial gain

 

 

• For enjoyment

Most people collect for one of these two reasons. The answer will affect many of your choices and decisions over the course of this guide so it is important for you to decide now before you continue.

If your primary goal is to make money then make sure you read my "How To Make Money Collecting Action Figures" guide after reading this.

If it is for the pure fun and enjoyment of collecting, then great, this report will help you keep your costs down.

What Should I Collect?

How do you decide what to collect?

And

What to buy?

Hmm, good questions.

Have you decided yet?

Not sure?

Take your time, think carefully about your choice.

If you don't you'll end up with nothing more than a box full of miss-matched figures. All unrelated, incomplete and without any uniformity or consistency.

This may seem an obvious but so many times in the past I've seen collectors who don't think about exactly what they want to collect first.

The result?

They end up trying to collect everything.

If you're a card collector decide WHAT cards you want to collect?

Trading cards, card games, science fiction, cartoon, TV, Star Wars, Star Trek, Fire engines.....

If you're a stamp collector WHAT stamps do you want to collect?

Animals, trains, Thai, French, 1800's, planes, George Washington, civil war....

If you're a coin collector WHAT coins do you want to collect?

Gold, silver, bronze, Roman, Greek, British, American Civil War......

If you're an action figure collector WHAT action figures?

Movies, Star Wars, wrestling, baseball, cartoons, TV, Simpsons, PC Game figures......

Get the picture?

OK, so what's the answer?

Before we start you will need a pen and some paper and a cup of coffee, or tea (or a beer if you prefer, mines a Bud ).

Now we're going to do some brainstorming.

How To Choose A Subject

Think about the following questions:

What movies do you like?

Who is your favourite movie star?

What sports do you like?

What are your favourite teams?

Who is your favourite baseball star?

What are your favourite TV programs?

What cartoons do you like?

Do you like Action, Horror, Sci-Fi, or Fantasy?

Write down your answers and build a list of subjects that you like and enjoy to watching, reading about or playing. Make sure they're things you really like or enjoy something that grabs your imagination and is close to your heart. Something you are passionate about and care about.

There's nothing worse than collecting something that you have no passion for. That becomes a business, or worse still WORK. I know some people who collect purely for monetary reasons and they have no enthusiasm for it and get no pleasure from it.

Now take a look at your list and choose between 1 to 3 unrelated subjects.

Why?

Because:

 
• If one is to narrow (more on this in a minute) you can start on one of your other choices.

 

 

• To give your collection, and you, some variety.

Good, now you need to: Decide On A Niche

Ok, so what's a niche?

A niche is like a sub-topic of a larger topic, it is more concentrated and specialist.

For example a main topic or subject in action figure collections, and probably one of the most popular, would be Star Wars figures. But that is a HUGE market, so a niche here would be R2D2 figures or Darth Vader.

Get the idea?

Personally though I would not recommend anyone starting a collection based on Star Wars figures for the same reasons I NEVER stocked any in my shops or sold them on my website.

 
• The market is too big.

 

 

• There are too many.

 

 

• The competition is fierce.

 

 

• The market is saturated.

But that said if your mind's set on collecting Star Wars figures then choose your niche carefully. Make sure it's small enough to be affordable and collectible. For example you could specialize in collecting Luke Skywalker figures. Or you could specialize in figures from any one of the movies (although this topic is probably also a bit too broad).

Another good example of choosing a niche would be instead of collecting McFarlane's Baseball figures choose your favourite team or a couple of teams or players, and stick with them.

You'll be thankful you did because there is nothing worse than having all the figures in set or series "except for...".

It leaves you feeling incomplete and with a need to fill the space

The main objective of this exercise is to find a niche that is tight enough to enable you to:

 
• build your collection

 

 

• complete each release/series

 

 

• keep costs down

 

 

• increase your enjoyment and satisfaction

 

 

• take pride in your collection

 

 

• give your collection uniformity

 

 

• build on a theme

So, in conclusion take your time in deciding on your niche now, then stick with it. If you find it's too narrow a niche you can always broaden it later or move onto one of your other choices.
But by being selective in choosing your niche now you will get more enjoyment and satisfaction out of your collection and probably save time and money later.

OK, so you've chosen your subject and your niche.

What now?

Now you need to decide...

Collect 'em All?

You are probably thinking, "Of course I do"

But wait a minute...

...and think it through before committing yourself.

This decision will greatly influence how much you are going to spend on your collection and it will give you a better focus on what to look out for.

Most lines of action figures include regular figures, variant figures, chase figures, collectors editions, limited editions and exclusives etc.

Each "level" of rarity becomes more expensive than the previous level. The cheapest being the regular figures but at the same time these are the ones that are the most common and mass produced so rarely have any secondary value.

Again it is important to decide now because if you change your mind later you may have a hard time getting some of the figures you've missed.

Not sure what a variant, chase, or exclusive figure is?

Then read my "What Is A Variant Figure Report" article.

Good, almost done.

New Or Secondhand?

Do you want to collect new or secondhand?

Carded or uncarded?

Mint, near mint or...?

Do you want to keep them boxed?

Or display them?

All these decisions again will affect the final price you will have to pay for your figures.

If you're a budget collector then your best bet would be to go for second-hand figures and save buying the new ones for special figures or ones that you particularly like.

If you're into customizing your figures then second-hand figures is also an obvious choice. But if you have the spare cash and want your figures in pristine condition to display then new figures is the way to go. But if you're a perfectionist and wish to ensure they stay in absolute mint condition and retain their value you will probably want to buy two of each.

Why?

Many purist collectors will often opt to purchase two figures so they can keep one carded and in Mint condition and open the other to display.

Which you decide to do will of course depend on how much money you can afford to spend on your hobby, and the actual value of the figure.

Generally second-hand non-mint figures have very little to no value whereas Gem-Mint carded figures will often increase in value over time, particular the variant figures or limited production runs.

My personal recommendation would be to keep any chase, variant, exclusive or Super Chase figures carded or buy two if you want to display one.

This is what I usually do, or I buy a good condition second-hand figure for display and a carded one to be kept.

Many toy stores or hobby shops will sell there own ex-display figures or items with damaged cards at a cheaper price.

Make sure if you're putting any on display, particularly any rarer ones, that they are displayed and protected properly.

Beware of massively overproduced mass market figures, as these, even in Gem Mint Carded condition are unlikely to increase in value for a long time.

I enjoy having most of my figures on display and I used to have a huge diorama of a wilderness landscape with dragons and monsters displayed that looked awesome and was hugely popular.

But unfortunately since moving I've not had time to make another...

Yet...

But I will talk about building dioramas and displays some other time.

I discuss the topic of customizing your figures in greater detail on http://www.mcfarlanes-figures.com and it will be the subject of a future report.

Colin Dorman

New to collecting? Want to find how to save money buying action figures? How to store, protect and clean the? Then click here

McFarlane Toys are the fifth biggest action figure manufacturer in the States and the Best! Checkout these ultra cool and realistic collectibles HERE

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Star Wars Toys: Lego Sets

Lego Star Wars Toys - A Successful Partnership
By John Mowatt

The familiar Lego block has been a very popular toy for several decades. Very versatile and fun to build with they have many adult devotees as well as kids.

The company was very far sighted in obtaining the license from Lucas films to manufacture Star Wars toys. Popular movies come and go but Star Wars remains ever popular with a worldwide cult like following. This series of toys was introduced in 1999 and has had many additions since then.

The Lego line of Star Wars toys started with figures and vehicles from the trilogy(Episodes IV-VI). At a later date new sets and releases were introduced to cover the earlier prequel trilogy (Episodes I-III).

All the main themes of the series of movies have been recreated. The characters are typical Lego style figures with the usual square heads and bodies. Slight differences in color and the headwear and clothing distinguish them from one another.

Star Wars characters have a wide variation in the head type, size and shape. Lego decided to make special molds for the heads which are true to these characters. Unique and completely original molds were created for these figures. Darth Vader is a good example of this special treatment. Light sabers were also added to the line since it would not be complete without these very well known weapons.

All of the well known star ships and assorted other vehicles are included in the series. The Millennium Falcon is likely the most popular vehicle. The X-wing fighter, the Imperial AT-ST, speeders and TIE fighters were all included. A series of location sets from several of the movies is also included to accompany the vehicles that were in the movie.

Lego has produced a huge variety of Star Wars paraphernalia. Their Technic line includes several of these items. The Technics line has more complex parts which are capable of movement and are more realistic than the well known Lego figures.

The Ultimate collector series has large and very complex designs in Star Wars material. The Millenium Falcon in this series for instance has over 5000 pieces and is the biggest Lego set ever produced.

This series of video games is definitely the best selling Lego product ever made. These video games were hugely popular and were a hit with both Star Wars devotees and video gamers. The first of the video games was based on the prequel trilogy, and the second game was based on the original trilogy. The two games were later packaged and sold together as one complete Star wars edition.

Lego Star Wars toys, figures and other items are extremely popular with both adults and children. This is one of the really great success stories in toy production history.

Looking for the best in Star Wars and Lego toys? You will find much more free information and a great selection of toys at our website=> Star Wars Lego

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Star Wars Vintage Figures: Part of a Timeless Franchise

Star Wars - The Franchise That May Never Disappear
By Andrew Wills

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was the little sci-fi movie that could – Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. At the time, though, it was just known as Star Wars, and it created a franchise unlike anything seen before.

In 2005, Forbes magazine estimated that the Star Wars franchise, from the time it began in the late seventies, had generated more than twenty billion dollars in revenue, and with six big screen success stories, at least three spin-off films, five licensed television shows, and thousands of books, comic books, and toys, it's no surprise. What might be a surprise, though, is that by the time Star Wars creator George Lucas finished the first film, he was over-budget, out of time, and convinced the film would be a flop. Early screenings of the film did little to improve Lucas' ideas that the film would be any kind of success, but when it was finally released in the summer of 1977, the film earned nearly seven million dollars in its first weekend. It is considered to be the second highest profitable film of all time.

More than Great Films

Ask any Star Wars fan, though, and they'll tell you it's not just about the movies, it's also about the associated merchandise. The initial film was predicted to be a flop, so no merchandise was created to debut with the film's release. The toy company, Kenner, though had purchased the license to sell associate products By Christmas of 1977, demand was so high, Kenner created an "Early Bird Special" kit. The kit held a certificate fans could send in for four 3 ¾ inch figures as soon as they became available. On Christmas morning, thousands of kids got empty cardboard envelopes that held only a display stand, a Star Wars club card, a few stickers, and a certificate they could put their name and address on, mail in, and wait for several months for the first Star Wars toys ever produced to arrive. Months later, lots of kids did get Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Chewbacca in the mail, and years later, these four figures are considered to be some of the most valuable action figures on the collectors' market today.

Explosive Industry Growth

As you can probably imagine, the Star Wars toy and merchandise franchise has grown considerably since the Christmas of 1977. Once Kenner geared up the production machine, it slowed for no one. From additional action figures to vehicles, playsets, and lightsabers, the vintage Star Wars toy market had everything. As Episodes V and VI were released, more toys hit the market. T-shirts, bed sheets, toothbrushes, combs, and watches were all part of the marketing campaign as well.

After the release of Return of the Jedi, though, the Star Wars marketing machine slowed considerably. People seemed to thing the Star Wars market was nearing the end. However, in the late 1990s, a new line of Star Wars action figures was released. Dubbed "The Power of the Force" line, these green carded figures created a whole new generation of collectors, and with the release of the special edition of the original trilogy, and the subsequent release of Star Wars Episode I, the marketing machine kicked back into high gear. From bubble bath to sandals, the Star Wars name can be found on almost anything these days, and with talk of additional television series, DVDs, and even other films, it's hard to tell when the franchise will ever slow down.

The author, Andrew Wills, is a professional working in Canada and is the Admin of the website content page content-web-site.com Article Directory. This article can also be found at SplitSecondBooks.com, where you will find books on many exciting topics of interest. For more information please go to splitsecondbooks.com today.

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