Hey all

I have been working on a plan to get baggies graded/cased with Steve at UKG for a while now so that they don't look totally gash which IMO they have done to date, I wanted to get my collection of baggies graded for many reasons, protection being the foremost of the considerations, as IMO eventually ALL tape sealed baggies will open rendering them un authenticated & open to question, after getting some very very rare baggies sent over from the US that had just been re cased I was horrified at how slap-dash the figures had been cased & TBH vowed that if this is the way AFA is willing to let any baggie go out of there doors let alone a one in only 3 known $500 baggie go then I for one will be boycotting them, I also got 2 multi-pack graded & both are damages due to the acrylic IMO being far to thin for such a case & I will be (in the future) working on a better way to case these as well.

I wanted the figure & the baggie to be presented in such a manor that both can be appreciated & that the full baggie can be seen I.E not folded over or crumpled up like most I have seen, this will come in to its own when having ESB-h style baggies cased, the cases are larger than usual & will cost more but I think considering the alternatives & what the purpose is of having items grade is, there is no contest IMO.

First up some AFA example which I have & will be getting re cased when I have the spare cash -



Small head han solo in SW-d baggie (only 3 know to exist) & what a dog's dinner -



Another from the same batch & also not a cheap baggie



A better example with a much cheaper baggie :? & totally different case style :? still not up to what I would call quality though.

& a vid of the Small head super rare child's rattle, or should I say graded baggie :?: :? Click the photo to see the vid - excuse the noise



Now the new style case Steve @ UKG has come up with & I have to say a HUGE thanks to him for putting up with my numerous questions & suggestions & for going that extra mile or 5 to tailor this to my exact needs, I have done a LOT of photos of it so you can clearly see just how it has been put together & just how well it both supports & displays the figure, no worries about paint rubs/knocks or dinks IMO








This last photo is of the case free standing & how it will look on display -



Your thoughts guys?

Those UKG cases look killer compared to the AFA ones. If I had to choose, Id go for the UKG ones all the way.

I wondered what the solution was going to be to stop the 'rattle'. End result is very impressive & clearly thought out. May I ask what it costs?

FIGURE
PAINT
SKIRT

I would never have thought that would be what they sub graded?? I'm not sure what I expected- FIGURE & BAGGIE or just a single tier.

For skirtless figures the sub grades are? I'm not sure if Klaatu refers to it as a skirt!! Or am I missing something?

Thse UKG cases are simply amazing!

Good Work Frank! For me, I would defo use UKG for baggies too!

no contest is there ukg all the way frank

steve has done a awesome job there mate

just 1 thing though i must agree with james on this one why grade the skirt

figure
paint
baggie

baggie is more importent than the skirt

That UKG Looks great Frank, you and Steve have come up with a great design there, I'm not really in to the grading but I do agree that the baggies do look cool like that, TBH with all the mistakes I've seen AFA do I'd go UKG every single time.

I can see the grade an Emporer would get now.

Figure 85%
Paint 85%
Depends 10% used.

Looks awesome! if I get into baggies and need them graded I know where to send them.

Nice job by UKG (and you Frank)!!

I've always had an issue with the baggies at AFA. Matter of fact, that loose stlye caused a Blue Snaggletooh , in baggie, to smash into the side of case hard enough to literally break into pieces. It arrived shattered in the baggie, like crushed potato chips.

Kudos, job well done!

I know there are a tone of die hard "AFA is the only way to grade" fans out there especially in the US, but being relatively new to the whole getting things graded routine I for one would not dream of sending them anything, for one its the distance & cost involved which can also entail "imperial entanglements" - the customs but the actual standard of work & commitment to improving the service & putting the customer fist seems to have gone all Pete Tong with them & now just seems to be a profit focused business with little care or consideration for the end user (us), with UKG I can have items tailored to my specific requirements without it costing the earth & feel that the service is both genuine & friendly aposed to the almost corporate company type attitude that seems to (from what little experience I have of them) come from AFA.

I also wondered about the skirt grade but it seems to be logical in a way as the skirt is often badly degraded, though I am happy to not have the baggie its self graded as some of my rarer ones are a bit the worse for wear & just how well is that thin plastic bag going to hold up to 30 years of handling?, food for thought though.

Price structure is pretty good IMO with the usual cost being £12.99 & £15.99 for this style with at least twice as much work involved so IMO £3 well spent, Steve will not be offering this type of case as an general option should others want it doing which I don't mind one bit - you all just have to send me a pound for each one you have done