Vintage Star Wars Toys: Which are Most Popular?
Learn Which Toy Star Wars Figures Are the Most Popular
By Brian Garvin
Children have always been fascinated with the worlds beyond our own, hence the rise on popularity of the Star Wars Franchise. For the past 30 years, each generation has been reintroduced to the Jedi and Darth Vader. That is why each year parents scramble on birthdays and Christmas to find just the right Toy Star Wars figurines and play sets. With the changes in characters and story lines, this can be a confusing task, unless you are in the know about which Toy Star Wars figurines are the most popular.
Darth Vader
No matter which generation of Star Wars you are from you will instantly recognize this figure. Darth Vader is the ultimate heavy breathing villain resplendent in black. This figurine has been made and remade over the years with the new model more realistic than ever.
Complete with foldable arms that allows for an accurate re-creation of the last scene in The Revenge of the Sith, kids will love this figurine. Vader stands an impressive 12 inches tall and his cool outfit is made of cloth. Perhaps the neatest improvement on this figurine is the recreation of the scarred face beneath the mask, it is an accurate depiction of the actor who played Anakin Skywalker, AKA Darth Vader in Revenge of the Sith.
Storm Troopers
No collection of Toy Star Wars action figures is complete without at least one or two storm troopers. These action figures come in all sizes and are the Star Wars answer to little green army men! Kids love to play out their favorite scenes from any episode with storm troopers. You can also get these in the same dimensions as Darth Vader from above. Twelve inches high and they come complete with an Imperial Blaster and stand. A perfect toy for any Star Wars Fan.
Star Wars Collectors Tin
If you are less inclined to invest in the large figurines, you can make the smiles come alive with a collector's tin. This one is perfect for the girls too as Princess Leia is part of the package. Princess Leia comes with an Ewok approved cloth dress and rooted hair, she may only be a few inches tall, but she is still a beautiful figurine. With her in this set are a storm trooper, scout trooper with flip up helmet and of course the dark Darth Vader with light up saber. Hours of fun and imagination are to be had with this cool set.
Conclusion
If your child is a Toy Star Wars Figurine fan and you are unsure of which one to get, stick with the classics. They will always be a recognizable part of the Star Wars Saga and any child will love them. Once you have exhausted the Vader, Trooper, and Princess angle, there are always Ewoks, Jar-Jar Binks, Yoda, and Chewbacca to fill in the gaps. The story may evolve but these characters will always be a part of the Toy Star Wars figurine family.
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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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Star Wars Fabric and Costumes
Star Wars Replica Ultimate Star Wars Costumes
By John Allsop
I never viewed them as replicas of Star Wars. To me, they were just simple toys. In spite of everything, Star Wars was just one of the best games that we knew. Nearly every day after school, we would gather to play out the scenes. While cowboys and Indians, cops and robbers, and other typical childhood games got boring - Star Wars never seemed stale. I ask you, what kid doesn’t dream about saving the world from powerful, evil forces?
Toys are funny in many ways. As you get older, you either completely let them go or start to gain a more serious interest. For me, I became almost obsessed. The assortment of Stars Wars replicas that I owned grew without measure and over the past couple of years, I became more intense with the creations of episodes one through three. While I enjoy the new Star Wars, nothing beats the original classics. This is why it is nice to see Lucas films rereleasing a variety of Star Wars replica models associated with the original movies. At the present time, I possess a scaled-down x-wing fighter pilot helmet that matches my Darth Vader helmet and storm trooper costume. I have no clue if one day my replicas will be worth something. I am positive that the older Star Wars toys that I own are, but this is not why I collect. These items represent the passion I feel for the Star Wars movies.
When it comes to epic fantasies, nothing compares to Star Wars. People have penned epics dealing with good versus evil, but none were turned into movies of this magnitude. This is why many followers of the movies are crazy about Star Wars replica models, as the story is so well known and popular. The evil of the dark side is powerful enough to eliminate planets on a whim, as the rebellion courageously fights to save the rest of the universe from chaos.
However, if you are just beginning to collect Star Wars replicas, then the best place to start is with the rereleases of original toys. After all, what is a Star Wars collection without the likes of Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Chewbacca, and R2-D2? Before we ever saw Yoda in a lightsaber battle, he was combating evil by showing the young Luke Skywalker how to effectively use the force.
Visit our general article website for the latest articles covering a broad range of information articles And read our star wars replica article.
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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 Vintage Action Figures: How to Sell
How to Sell Star Wars Action Figures
By Linda D. Nickerson
There are tens of thousands of collectors of Star Wars figures around the world. Star Wars figures have been a hot commodity for 30 years. The tremendous success of the original three Star Wars movies created a great market for Star Wars figures from the subsequent six movies. Read on to learn how to sell Star Wars action figures.
First off, when you start selling Star Wars figures, you need to determine the exact age and series identification information of the figures. Because there have been a lots of different series of Star Wars figures and needless to say that the initial series are the most difficult to find in mint condition or even still new in box (NIB), if you can get hold of one, you are in luck! You can locate the series number on the box itself or you can also find the identifying information on the actual character itself if the figure does not come with a box.
When assessing and comparing the value or prices of the Star Wars Figures, you can make a judgment by going to several commercial websites and auction sites to take a look at the prices. Do take note that if the star wars figure had any defects on it, it will decrease its value.
This is one of the most effective and classic way of selling or getting attention to your star wars action figures. You can either attend a star wars collectibles convention or science-fiction convention. Do remember to bring along a few photographs of the most valuable Star Wars figures in your collections and also an updated collection list. Try your best to network with the convention attendees and vendors. One thing to note is that only gives your email address to interested potential buyers to avoid someone spamming your email. If you bought along some of your collections you must always keep it locked in the hotel room unless the cost of a vendor's table is low. One warning is that, do not accept personal checks.
Selling your Star Wars collectibles through an on line auction site can gives you're a lots of exposures in a short period of time. Having great photographs, knowing the right category and setting a reasonable starting price are essential to making sales through on line auctions, always remember that, it's a rule of thumb.
Another way is to contact an on line store that specializes in buying and selling vintage Star Wars figures. All these merchants, be it on line or offline, they can offer quite a fair share of market value. Do not expect to get the highest possible price but you can sell good quality figures at a fair price.
I am a great Star Wars Fan! I had created a Star Wars Price Guide blog for all Star Wars Fans around the world!
I will be doing Star Wars price guide book reviews and also a lots of how-to Star Wars to share my experience in the world, do feel free to check out my Star Wars blog!
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