Hi guys,

Below are pics of a Hong Kong Luke Jedi with a cloak which is much darker than I have seen before (I also included a comparison shot with a normal cloak).

It seems that the dye also left some stains on Luke's face.

I think this is just a custom dyed cloak. The seller could not guarantee it was a genuine cloak either as he had never seen it before too. The price was low so I bought it anyway.

Any thoughts?

Edit: Cloak appears to be custom at the end of this thread. Changed title of this topic accordingly.
Edit: Added a new dark cloak and changed title of the thread again

Have you seen Craig's limelight? https://imperialgunnery.forumotion.com/vintage-limelights-f6/craigy-s-luke-jedi-last-updated-02-07-2010-t504.htm

aussiejames wrote:

Have you seen Craig's limelight? http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/vintage-limelights-f6/craigy-s-luke-jedi-last-updated-02-07-2010-t504.htm

No I haven't, until now. Impressing pile of information, nicely done!!

I could not find anything about a dark cloak at first glance, strengthening my assumption it must be a custom cloak.

Hi Marco,

Thanks for you kind words and nice to meet you.

When you PM'd me about a "dyed" Luke Jedi cape, I was expecting to see the Mocha Brown cape that you see on the prototype Luke Jedi (Shown in all the early ROTJ Packaging)

This colour, although obvisouly darker than the cape on the right, looks OK on my Laptop screen.

The cape came from a "Made in Hong Kong" Luke Jedi figure and not the "Hong Kong" Luke. These two factories, although both in Hong Kong, made totally different figures and accessories. Now if you look at the "ribbing efffect" on the outside of the darker cape it is thicker for "MIHK" Lukes which was the give-away for me.
The MIHK capes are also darker so I don't think you have nothing to worry about.

Although the colour for this cape is darker, I can't expalin why Luke has brown marks though... very interesting... Does the same brown marks appear anywhere else on the figure or just the face? I do have lukes which have dark brown spots appearing on the head. This is the plastic breaking down.

I can't see any reason why someone would re-dye the cape again and re-dye it this particular colour as it would not increase its value. If it has been re-dyed, you can check for this by soaking a part of the cape in water. If it has been re-dyed then some of the colour will seep out into the water.

Best regards

Craig

EDIT I STRIKED THROUGH INCORRECT INFORMATION IN ORIGINAL POST

Craig T wrote:

Hi Marco,

Thanks for you kind words and nice to meet you.

When you PM'd me about a "dyed" Luke Jedi cape, I was expecting to see the Mocha Brown cape that you see on the prototype Luke Jedi (Shown in all the early ROTJ Packaging)

This colour, although obvisouly darker than the cape on the right, looks OK on my Laptop screen. The cape came from a "Made in Hong Kong" Luke Jedi figure and not the "Hong Kong" Luke. These two factories, although both in Hong Kong, made totally different figures and accessories. Now if you look at the "ribbing efffect" on the outside of the darker cape it is thicker for "MIHK" Lukes which was the give-away for me. The MIHK capes are also darker so I don't think you have nothing to worry about.

Although the colour for this cape is darker, I can't expalin why Luke has brown marks though... very interesting... Does the same brown marks appear anywhere else on the figure or just the face? I do have lukes which have dark brown spots appearing on the head. This is the plastic breaking down.

I can't see any reason why someone would re-dye the cape again and re-dye it this particular colour as it would not increase its value. If it has been re-dyed, you can check for this by soaking a part of the cape in water. If it has been re-dyed then some of the colour will seep out into the water.

Best regards

Craig

Hi Craig, thx a lot for your comments, they were very helpful.
Just 5 minutes ago I followed your advice and soaked a corner of the dark cape into some water. The water immediately turned brown, indicating the cape was re-dyed indeed. Maybe by someone who wanted to give the cape a more rare appearance? This also explains the stains on Luke’s face.

Case closed!

I guess I have to transfer this figure to my custom collection now

I was triggered by the fact that the ‘Made in Honk Kong’ and “Hong Kong’ figures were made by different factories. You got any more information about these factories? See also this thread .

Cheers

Going through my collection I found another dark Luke Jedi cloak. This time the dye did not dissolve into water, something which happened last time with the very dark cloak which therefore was identified as a custom (see posts above).

I was wondering what could be the origin of this cloak.

Any ideas guys?


Luke Jedi cloaks: regular, dark, very dark (=custom)


Luke Jedi cloaks: regular, dark, very dark (=custom)

Hi guys here's an update for the Luke Jedi capes. I have scored a complete MIHK Luke with the correct cape and confirmed it with MOC examples. It not only darker but also fluffier. I mistakenly thought a big ribbed cape was the MIHK cape as it was slightly darker. This is not true the big ribbed caped seem to belong to the HK COO lukes only.

Anyways here's a reference for all ye collectors:

Great info (as always) Craig - many thanks!

I always thought there are more than 3 different capes...

Uli

Your very much correct Uli! As Lili Ledy, Maceo, and Top Toys made they own. There may be slight differences in shade in the cape's material as the factories would of probally ordered in batches of material during different times thoughout the years of production.

The above shot covers the more common variants and is there as an illustration of the 3 major factories. Hopefully the shot is clear enough to show relative differences in texture and colour.

Hey Craig,

That was great help, thx!

So the darker fluffier cape is a genuine vintage cape, belonging to a Made in Hong Komg COO Luke Jedi.

Learned somethng again!

Craig T wrote:

Your very much correct Uli! As Lili Ledy, Maceo, and Top Toys made they own. There may be slight differences in shade in the cape's material as the factories would of probally ordered in batches of material during different times thoughout the years of production.

The above shot covers the more common variants and is there as an illustration of the 3 major factories. Hopefully the shot is clear enough to show relative differences in texture and colour.

I thought it might be helpfull to picture the common cape variants with the Lili Ledy capes. The LL capes differ significantly from the Kenner capes both in structure and colour. Check for yourself.

From left to right: 1: Made in Hong Kong cape, 2: Hong Kong cape, 3&4: Lili Ledy capes


From left to right: 1: Made in Hong Kong cape, 2: Hong Kong cape, 3&4: Lili Ledy capes

Very interesting info here,great work Craig and Dengar.