Hi all,

since the bootleg stormtrooper is a hot subject right now, i was kind of thinking to myself about another thing that was done some time ago by Hasbro with the POTF wave of toys.

The 4 pack collector's edition or whatever it was called. You know, the one that reproduced, Luke, Han, Chewie and Darth Vader from their original molds.

My question is what are the difference between them and the 1970's originals? I have seen some vid on youtube and the guy says the color is different but who is stopping people on ebay to try to sell those as real vintage. Especially if the COO is the same and pardon my ignorance, i do not know if the coo is still on those figures or not so it is even more confusing to me.

So far i got lucky and got an original Darth, Chewie, Han and Luke, but i have to upgrade my farmboy Luke and i am worried i could get scammed because of this, sometimes bad photography will lend you to believe that the toy is ok while it is not...

what should i be watching for so i don't end up with repros instead of vintage figures.




cheers!

1. Mark Poons Stormtrooper is a CUSTOM, NOT a bootleg. Nothing more.

2. The Classic 4 pack: Date stamps on the back are different from what Ive heard and read. It has the year it was released in on it instead of 77. If you dont get a back shot of the figure to see it, you really cant tell them apart.

Like Chris said, they were stamped 1996 or 1997 whichever year they were released.

http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t1121-whats-wrong-with-this-vader?highlight=Vader

aussiejames wrote:

http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t1121-whats-wrong-with-this-vader?highlight=Vader

glanced over the thread you provided. This really is bad for vintage collectors. Hopefully most people are honest and i am sure most big star wars sellers would not go as far as trying to pass them as vintage and loose their reputation along the way... it would be dumb to tarnish a hard earned rep for 8$ of profit or under a 100$. There must not be like a gazillion of those that have been made.

I hope that Hasbro does not pull that stunt of with vintage mainstream figures ( and i mean the figure ) anymore.

But at least i know what i am looking for now.

cheers!

Luckily these haven't really been a problem from what I've seen. Really, all you need to do is ask the seller what year is stamped on the leg as Jay showed in the pic below. These were exclusive to TRU and as far as know, were never sold outside the U.S., so there are a whole lot more vintage Vaders out there than these. At least Hasbro marks their reproduction vintage figures with new markings.

plus the 4 'classic edition' figures are slightly smaller than their vintage counterparts. This doesn't help identify them in a photo without an original next to them though, so the date stamp is the best bet.

and stick to the two best safeguards to buying vintage...
1. if its too good to be true it probably is
2. if in doubt, and the seller can't/won't help, move along, move along.

As stated the figures are smaller than the originals. They were not made from original molds. They were made from molds that were produced using the original figures. The vader sabers tip is way thicker than an original. The foot holes for theses are POTF2 and have the same indentions around the feet of the figures just like POTF2 figures. The weapons are more flexible than original weapons. Vader cape is dead on...so someone could put it on a vintage one...and no one would be the wiser. Hope this helps.

Also these figures limbs are more flexible then vintage figures.

down the road i'd like to get a pack for display value in collection. But it is kinda fun to know all these facts now.


cheers!

budspencer wrote:

down the road i'd like to get a pack for display value in collection. But it is kinda fun to know all these facts now.


cheers!

I got the 4 figures loose if your intrested... They are straight out of the package.