Hi everyone I have touched on this subject once before but would like to just get a final opinion before buying once.

I have been adviced that the most reasonably priced desirable stormy is the
PBP/tri logo Hard torso stormtrooper followed by the Lily Ledi stormy.
I was also told of a bootleg stormy called a uzay stormtrooper which I was told would cost a couple of hundred dollars.
As I said in my intorduction I want one of each figure loose, but I want to try and get a desirable figure/varient of each.

Does anyone have any advice and prices of the above or any other stormys that they would recomend.

Is anyone selling any?
Thanks
Andy

Those are waaaaay beyond my area of expertise!!!

The only two Stormtroopers I have are a Hong Kong COO and a China COO!!!

Regardless of which one you get... make sure you post some pics I would love to see it!!!!!

Once I get a decision off everyone I will be buying one. So I will definatly put some pics up once I recieve it.

The Uzay one will set you back a good bit if you can find one. There are some bootleg ones you can get rather cheap on Ebay. Mex/SA ones you can pick up around $10-15 each. Polish ones around the same price, maybe alittle more, but theres alittle more compition for the Polish ones (me included ).

Out of curiosity, why not just get the version you like? The most desirable/valuable variant can change at any time. You might get the one considered desirable now, but in a few years time, it might not be the case. In my opinion, part of what makes a collection yours, is the fact that you built it based on your own likes/dislikes. If everyone went for the same stuff, then looking at limelight threads would be very boring.

Having said that, you are free to collect however you want and if that is the way you want to go, then by all means go that way.

shawn_k wrote:

Out of curiosity, why not just get the version you like? The most desirable/valuable variant can change at any time. You might get the one considered desirable now, but in a few years time, it might not be the case. In my opinion, part of what makes a collection yours, is the fact that you built it based on your own likes/dislikes. If everyone went for the same stuff, then looking at limelight threads would be very boring.

Having said that, you are free to collect however you want and if that is the way you want to go, then by all means go that way.

Couldn't have said it any better!

However, if you are looking to focus on the stormie, you'll probably end up getting all of the ones you mentioned anyway.

Hi Shaun
I take your point. I have had quite a few bashings from avid collectors from the rebelscum forum over my collecting style. Some die hard collectors have said similar things.
I suppose the thing that draws my attention to what I want is the appeal of having a figure that I know not many people have. Usually its fair to say that the figures Im trying to get are of a better detail or quality than lets say the standard figures. Not in every case but most. For example the DT farm boy is appealing as it has the DT saber. A part which doesnt come with most. The Hard torso Stromy seems to have more detail around its chest. It appears more defined than some standard figures. If you go further to the blue Uzay stormy the appeal is the fact its blue.

When I said the best possible I suppose what I mean is the most detailed as well as one that isnt around in huge numbers.
I do agree with what you are saying though. If I did see one that was nice but dare I say Common. I would go for that. I wouldnt just not get it and go for an expensive one I didnt like.

Ronniebiggs wrote:

Hi Shaun
I take your point. I have had quite a few bashings from avid collectors from the rebelscum forum over my collecting style. Some die hard collectors have said similar things.
I suppose the thing that draws my attention to what I want is the appeal of having a figure that I know not many people have. Usually its fair to say that the figures Im trying to get are of a better detail or quality than lets say the standard figures. Not in every case but most. For example the DT farm boy is appealing as it has the DT saber. A part which doesnt come with most. The Hard torso Stromy seems to have more detail around its chest. It appears more defined than some standard figures. If you go further to the blue Uzay stormy the appeal is the fact its blue.

When I said the best possible I suppose what I mean is the most detailed as well as one that isnt around in huge numbers.
I do agree with what you are saying though. If I did see one that was nice but dare I say Common. I would go for that. I wouldnt just not get it and go for an expensive one I didnt like.

I think you are confusing the Uzay Bluestars (which is a snowtrooper) with the Uzay Stormie, which is plain ol' white like the other production stormies. More Uzay goodness can be seen here: Uzay Guide. There are also a couple of paint variants for the Uzay stormie, thick arm bands, thin arm bands and double arm bands (at least I think that's the third).

To more answer your question about most detailed though, it would have to be the PBP/Hard Torso stormie.

Hey Andy, I hope you didn't take that as a bashing. I hadn't realized you've been down that road already on RS and my intention wasn't to bash, but just to maybe have you think about your collecting motivations. I was mainly trying to point out that things in the hobby can change at any time as to what is considered valuable/desirable.

With your Luke Farmboy analogy I would say the current trend for the most valuable/desirable actually isn't the DT Luke, but the orange haired Luke. I can't believe some of the prices that those have fetched recently and far less people own one of those than a DT Luke.

Hi Shawn
No I didnt take it as a bashing I take everything onboard as its all usuful advice. It was a very valid point. I think I was confused about the Uzays. I did mean snow trooper. I have been trying to get a orange haired luke for sometime but they dont come up that often. Wonder if I could combine the ornage haired luke with the DT saber. Going slightly of topic with this but. Do you think they did a DT orange haired farmboy?

Ronniebiggs wrote:

Hi Shawn
No I didnt take it as a bashing I take everything onboard as its all usuful advice. It was a very valid point. I think I was confused about the Uzays. I did mean snow trooper. I have been trying to get a orange haired luke for sometime but they dont come up that often. Wonder if I could combine the ornage haired luke with the DT saber. Going slightly of topic with this but. Do you think they did a DT orange haired farmboy?

No problem on the OT bit. I think most of us are used to that here.

I haven't followed the Orange Haired Luke too closely, but from what I remember he only showed up on one version of the ESB card, so pairing one with a DT saber would not be a valid combination.

No there is no DT orange haired Luke.

Orange haired Luke's came out on one wave of ESB cards and not SW cards (DT)

I think you should rethink things a bit, I agree with Shawn, don't collect because its rare or sought after, collect because it makes you happy!

Edit - Shawn beat me by 2 minutes

How about stormtroopers then?

Whats your favorites? Or what do you have in your collections?

Im still thinking of buying the PBP/trilogo hard torso.

I just have some regular HK Stormies and one China. My favorite though is a minty white HK that I picked up from someone selling to a dealer in the mid 90's.

Well, why not try to find a JAPAN COO Stormtrooper, i think then you have something what most collectors don't have.

I have just had a look at your gallery Shawn. What a nice collection you have. I think im about 34 figures behind you. I see you like the Luke jedi knight. I have been told previously that the varient to get of this sort is the snap cape with a blue saber. Which do you like?
Do you have one for sale?
(Thread is turning into a miscellaneous one O well its all good fun)

Ronniebiggs wrote:

I have just had a look at your gallery Shawn. What a nice collection you have. I think im about 34 figures behind you. I see you like the Luke jedi knight. I have been told previously that the varient to get of this sort is the snap cape with a blue saber. Which do you like?
Do you have one for sale?
(Thread is turning into a miscellaneous one O well its all good fun)

LOL You could make this Andy's ultimate variant discussion thread.

Thank you for the comment on my collection. As far as Jedi Luke goes, I like them all. The more difficult variant of the kenner released Luke to track down, would probably be the Moulded face. He came with the snap cape, but a green saber. If you know how to spot them, you can get one fairly cheap. I got mine at a collectible shop in Vegas for $12 before I even knew about the variation. The blue saber really isn't that hard to track down and in fact a collector found a bunch of overstock ones and still has them available. If you want to go by the highest loose price of one, then the Lili Ledy one probably is the winner. They seem to usually fall in the $100-$200 range for a complete loose one. I haven't followed the Top Toys one much, but that one could even break that price.

I think the moulded one looks the best as far as detailing goes. Where the face isn't painted, he isn't as pale as the other variants and the hair is more brown where it is painted on this one.

Here is a pic of mine.

Ronnie

If you put a DT Luke Saber into an OJ Luke make sure to put it on a Lili Ledy Cardback to really drive everyone crazy LOL

Everyone's answered in pieces but yeah the OJ Luke seems to have appeared only on a 41E back ESB card. I was lucky enough to find one with it's carback and actually posted the question on R/S. Everyone who either owns, owned or saw one on it's card all said 41E was the only cardback they had seen.

DT Lukes of course are blonde only and either came in an Early Bird Kit or 12A Cardback.

Keep your eyes open, you may see one for sale soon

As for the Stormtroopers, there is no right answer. I mean in terms of overall wow factor I would say any UZAY figure would certainly be a contender (black armbands are my favorite). There is also the Top Toys version that has no peg holes which is cool.

I will throw this out, since they mostly look the same maybe save up and get a foreign MOC Stormie. There is nothing cooler than the SW logo in a foreign language. I personally think it's something you don't grow tired of seeing.

Thanks for the good advice. So if I get a moulded head Luke I could put a Blue saber on it and would be correct to do that?
I thought about the uzay stormy its just hard to come by. I too like the thick black arm bands. Someone said that they are bootlegs though?

Doesnt bother me that much I do like the look of it.http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-star-wars-LUKE-SKYWALKER-JEDI-KNIGHT-SNAP-CAPE_W0QQitemZ270502887946QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efb3a820a
Is this a moulded head? I think its alittle pricey

Ronniebiggs wrote:

Thanks for the good advice. So if I get a moulded head Luke I could put a Blue saber on it and would be correct to do that?
I thought about the uzay stormy its just hard to come by. I too like the thick black arm bands. Someone said that they are bootlegs though?

Doesnt bother me that much I do like the look of it.

Well all UZAY figures are bootlegs. They weren't licensed

Ronniebiggs wrote:

Thanks for the good advice. So if I get a moulded head Luke I could put a Blue saber on it and would be correct to do that?
I thought about the uzay stormy its just hard to come by. I too like the thick black arm bands. Someone said that they are bootlegs though?

Doesnt bother me that much I do like the look of it.

The moulded head Luke has only been found with a green saber carded, so that wouldn't be a valid combination. I personally believe the blue saber Luke and Moulded face luke were both shipped around the same time. Both of those figures can be found on the 65A card back(Ewoks Blacked out on the back), but the blue sabers came from Hong Kong and the moulded Luke came from Taiwan. I would imagine that production started earlier in Hong Kong, so that's why that one has the blue saber, but they probably both hit the shelves very close to the same time with the same cardback. This is purely my speculation mixed in with that from another Luke Jedi focus collector. In his research he even put the moulded face as being shipped first. As far as figuring out the rarity, I know the count is around 20 moulded face carded Lukes that have been found. They are all on the 65a cardback. Where as the blue saber Luke can be found on the 65a,b, and c, so logically it would have had a longer production run than the moulded face.

Ronniebiggs wrote:

http://cgi.ebay.com/vintage-star-wars-LUKE-SKYWALKER-JEDI-KNIGHT-SNAP-CAPE_W0QQitemZ270502887946QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item3efb3a820a
Is this a moulded head? I think its alittle pricey

That picture isn't the best, but it looks more like the Hong Kong Luke which lacks Made In on the coo. That version has a pink hue to the face.
That price is actually decent for a Luke with a snap cape. The snap cape alone usually sells in the $15-$20 range on a good day.

I think deep down you are a good guy Ronnie/James but you must take on board these words :

Do your research well and take your time, its not a race

Please don't be upset, you must realise that collecting is not just about having the rarest figure, really in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter, I enjoy looking at a collection that someone put together from the heart not from a rarity list.

You really must do some research in the basics, I am not trying to be rude yet again, but you can't be asking about UZAY figures and looking to buy one when you don't even know anything about them.

I don't know how else to put that across really, you really must read more, learn more and then decide what you want to do. I have been collecting for about 8 years now and many here even longer and I would say in the grand scheme of things I probably know bollock all but the things that interest me that I find out about I research them, I actually think knowledge is on par with owning them, its possible to know more about a figure you have never even held than someone who owns them just be looking on the internet, I wouldn't want to be one of those guys who has a nice collection but knows very little about what exactly he owns.

Friendly advice , I hope you take it like that. I remember you asking similar questions on rebelscum a few months ago and if I am honest in those months it appears you have learned very little but are still pursuing "rare" figures.

Joe_O wrote:

I think deep down you are a good guy Ronnie/James but you must take on board these words :

Do your research well and take your time, its not a race

Please don't be upset, you must realise that collecting is not just about having the rarest figure, really in the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter, I enjoy looking at a collection that someone put together from the heart not from a rarity list.

You really must do some research in the basics, I am not trying to be rude yet again, but you can't be asking about UZAY figures and looking to buy one when you don't even know anything about them.

I don't know how else to put that across really, you really must read more, learn more and then decide what you want to do. I have been collecting for about 8 years now and many here even longer and I would say in the grand scheme of things I probably know bollock all but the things that interest me that I find out about I research them, I actually think knowledge is on par with owning them, its possible to know more about a figure you have never even held than someone who owns them just be looking on the internet, I wouldn't want to be one of those guys who has a nice collection but knows very little about what exactly he owns.

Friendly advice , I hope you take it like that. I remember you asking similar questions on rebelscum a few months ago and if I am honest in those months it appears you have learned very little but are still pursuing "rare" figures.

OK

Where do I start!

First I have about 15 links to various sites for research which I frequent quite often.
I did post as you correctly said on RS and had the reply that you just put off nearly everyone on there.
As I put on that forum and will again now. It is much easier to ask the questions and be told the answers off people who know what they are talking about and have already done the research rather than spending hours myself researching something I dont know about until Im told that they exist. Once someone tells me about something I look on all my links and o the research on the item in question.

You could say that that is unfair as I havent done the research myself. But I wouldnt of thought anyone would mind sharing there knowledge. It appears that most people who have given this reply seem to hold there knowledge as power over the minions like me and dont like to share it.

As I said to Jay on a PM. I have had a break from collecting for about 5 months as it gets very expensive buying figures every week. I did learn alot since my last post on RS. Before I never knew about the exsistance of Lily ledi, Palitoy or anything except Kenner. Now I know what they are and where they are from and that the figures are slightly different (in most cases). I also learned about bootlegs admitedly I never knew that UZAY was a Turkish maker of the figures (I learned this today!). I also learned a great deal on varients. So I have learned since my post on RS.


I agree I have maybe asked to many questions in this thread. For that Im sorry and I wont do it again!

You say to not take offence to what you have said. But putting DO SOME RESEARCH in capitals is offensive. Its sad when you cant ask a question and just simply get an answer and thats it.

Some people collect varients, I like harder to come by figures thats just the way it is for me.
I dont mean to offend anyone and I asure you I am doing my research. But I much prefer discussion on a forum which is after all what they are for rather than just looking at text after text on the net.

Appologies to all if anyone is offended by my asking to may questions.

Andy

I was in the same boat as you Andy, in '07 when I started collecting again. But the one thing I did learn fast was to do the research on your own is alot more educational. Like some on RS, they do get a tad bit riled up when someone sorta new to collecting starts asking alot of questions. To them, its like a slap in the face. They worked hard work and put in alot of time doing all the research in finding out about what they are collecting. Some don't like to share, some do. But all in all, they (including us) like to see newer collectors do some research on there own then ask questions if they don't understand something.

Like with me, I never knew that there were bootlegs out there until I seen JoeY's limelight. I was fascinated by them and read everything I could find on it, which isn't much and learned from that. There are still things I don't know about bootlegs, but I'm steadly learning everyday. Its good to ask questions, but in a way your asking the wrong ones. Like some said, collect what you like, not whats the hottest thing at the moment. Because if you go that route, you'll get burned and burned out. I did before I sold off my collection in July. I was going after everything because it was the flavor of the month. Now, I enjoy bootleg collecting because its a never ending story with them. But don't take offense to what Joe said. He just told you what anyone on RS would've said. Researching on your own is actually the best part of the hobby, not just collecting the toys.