Hi lads!!

I am just curious to know your thoughts about the individual evolution on a vintage collector.

In my case, i have been collecting figures from my childhood, but as an adult collecting since arround 1999, when i started to built slowly my US Kenner loose set.In those days i did collect even MOCs and modern figures but in the end i have to consider myself as Loose Collector, variant collector if you want.

After ended my US Kenner run , with some common variants i bought some Mexican Ledy figures, as a complement for my loose variant collection , that was in 2005 or so. I sold most of my variant collection in 2008 , in that time i had arround 400 variants , and i just kept a complete set of AFA Loose (which i sold a year later) and the loose PBP´s i had in my collection.

That were a dark days in my way to collect, i really didnt knew what to collect , but again , the hunting of loose variants kept the "bug " of collecting on me. BUT I did lost the interest in US variant and i focused on the Spanish variants and in foreign to US variants,Glasslite,Top Toys,Takara, Popy, which i ended the past year.

Since 2010, i guess, i become an "Extreme PBP loose collector",The PBP loose figures are the most part of my loose collection, now a days.

After the end of my foreing to USA variant collections, the bootlegs catch my attention and i decided to collect them slowly, Now i am focus on Uzay and the Hungarian Bootlegs.

I have spoke with some collector friends , and some of them have the same evolution.

This could be ,IMO, a "common" evolution on a loose collector:


1-The loose variant collectors in the beginning starts to collect US figures for getting a full production set.

2- After that, some of us gets in to the variants hunt , majorly common variants.

3-Started to collect cool Foreing to USA variants i.e LILI LEDY, which are the most common "foreing" variants along with the Euro variants.

4-The next common step will be to try to gets some Glasslite or Takara which look like very close to the US producction.

5-The Top Toys line are some kind of " transition" step between the production figures and the bootleg ones.

6-The "problem" began when the Bootleg looking catch your attention !! LOL!! you are done if so!! LOL!! just kidding!!Now a days i love them!!

7-After all that "phases" your only way, is collecting bootlegs!!UZAY ,Mexican ,Hungarians ,Polish or brazilian ModelTrem !! Some of them are really "ugly" and weird figures, BUT they just looks so COOL!!!

Any thought will be very appreciated.

Thanks!!

Javi

BTW please, do not take in account my typing mistakes

Javi

Great topic! It's late but I'll be answering in the morning!

I have followed a very similar path ( & still going )
1. Yes- just to complete my childhood collection
2. Yes- Collecting via ebay from UK & US meant getting variants by 'accident'
3. Yes- Still going with Ledy & Euros
4. on my budget not so much- a few Glasslite so far
5. Yes got a few Top Toys a few to go
6. Dipped my toe in the bootleg world- a few Polish but never got the bug (yet??)
7. I think ONE of each other line will be neat- got an Uzay, Hungarian- any trem is on the want list.

I have also been easily distracted from one path- so coins got a look in ( up to Cat3 )
Cardbacks have always been quite special to me
Working on a ROTJ MOC run
then there's vehicles & playsets ( only a few needed )

I can see me downsizing one day but not until I've focussed on what means the most to me.
At this stage if I had to I'd keep my cardbacks & 3 (maybe 4 or 5 LOL ) variant sets of 77.

EDIT: I think at some point interacting with fellow collectors becomes as important as collecting itself.

My collecting has also follwed a similar pattern.
In 1994 I started to complete & upgrade my childhood collection.
I then got into getting the common US & European variants followed by coo variants.
I'm currently trying to concentrate on loose Ledy's & a MOC MIM run.
So far I've kept clear of bootlegs, but I am tempted by the silver polish unart Stormtrooper, Imp. Gunner & IG-88. I love the way they look when some of the silver has worn off to expose the black rubber beneath.

hmmmm...I started around the same time I guess. About 1992/4 I tried to complete my childhood collection on fleamarkets! I was pretty much surprised as I found an Amanaman....LFL ?? WTH??? What is this?? Never seen before..LOL

In 1999 I joined ebay and could finally get everything I ever wanted...main goal was a Tie Fighter....finally!
I think I did the stupidiest thing that time: I bought repro weapons to complete my childhood collection What a waste of money and time!

I also bought a SU Collectors guide and there was a strange packed R2 with red eye pictured. WOW....I needed to have that one! I also saw pictures of this incredible collection (on webshots):
https://2img.net/u/3011/13/96/10/album/27052510.jpg
So my research on foreign and bootleg stuff begun. The Swca.com was a huge help!

I started TT, LL and glasslite the same time I guess. I had completed my main set and already had a few molding variants.
Of course my main interest was LL Bib, Jawa and Squid, as well as Glasslite R2 and 3PO. TopToys figure were availible these days pretty cheap. Around 40 USD each MOC!!! But I never saw a Yoda or a Luke! :scratch:

In time my researches made me knowing how many LL and glasslite really exists. I started step by step to build up my collection. Browsing ebay nearly every day...LOL

In 2008 I joined RS and from then on I knew about PBP and certain weapons belonging to LL figures etc etc....
(There was no silver platter like today where you get all information served in just two clicks )

Thanks to Rog and the German pals I started to collect coos. Another never ending journey!

As for the bootlegs I started with Uzay Stromtrooper.....way before 2008. But these were barely on ebay... The forums helped me to build it up from time to time! I recognized there were also Trems and hungarians...
Main aspect was: the have to be cheap....nowadays I try to upgrade and complete them...LOL

I always had a limit...it was once 40 bucks a figure...then 80 (LL Jawa i.e. )...then 100....200....oh my.....
Today a number with 3 zeros is scaring me away....so no headman for me...

I think my personal limits (moneywise) always slowed down collecting for me. Sometimes it wasnt even the limit but the feeling that some stuff is overpriced....oh boy was I wrong

I never was interested in packed stuff though. And I never started a focus which I sold afterwards...so no Afa, no Moc, no bootlegs I once wanted and then sold again......time will tell
edit: Delte that...I collected modern MUhahahahhah...that was a waste of money too. I was happy to get at least 50 cents each anakin at the end...

Interesting topic Javi, but I guess today people do collect different:
"What is this?? AHA! How many are there from this series?? AHA! How much do they cost? AHA...Ill take them all!"

You can see some sort of "circles": New guys joining, buying a lot of rare and expensive stuff within months....and after a year or so selling up everything again...to the next new guy wanting them all at once! Money seems to be no factor anymore these days....

No hunt, no fun I guess?!?!?!

edit2: I think the newer guys sometimes think Im an idiot, when I tell them Im searching figure "xy" now for 15 years....LOL....maybe Im really too slow...

Good thread, Javi!


Maybe best to illustrate my evolution via my Star Wars CV.

1971: Born with mitochondria.
1979: I got my first Star Wars figures from my mom, Stormtrooper and Chewbacca, both on Clipper 12-backs. Still have the figures.
1982: My first ESB figures: Bossk, Snowtrooper, and AT-AT driver. And mini rigs: INT-4 and MLC-3. Still have a weak spot for those two rigs.
1984: My first ROTJ figures: Gamorrean Guard and Klaatu.
1985: Bought my last childhood figures: Barada and Nikto. I was 13, and felt too old to play with toys. Instead I was making dioramas in combination with my collection of minerals and fossils.
By that time I had slowly built up a modest childhood collection of around 30 figures, three rigs, one Taun Taun, and one Wampa (still very white at that time).

Now a long period started during which I always kept my interest for Star Wars and the - meanwhile - vintage toy line. From the mid 90s, when I started to have internet access via my work, I started reading the Archives and Rebelscum which still looked like this at that time.
I learned about blue Snaggletooh, vinyl cape Jawa, about the many vehicles and playsets which I had never seen during my childhood, about hard copies, first shots,....

I was interested in the basics of the SW vintage toy line, but did not collect myself, that was till that day in.....

2009:
- and I came across a loose vintage TIE Fighter pilot in a comic shop while visiting The Hague. Without thinking I bought it, because I always wanted to have him as a kid, but somehow I never got my hands on him. That was the spark that ignited the collecting fire that had been smouldering all those years.
- first vintage purchases via marktplaats (a dutch craigslist) and ebay


2010:
- my first Ledy figure (Gamorrean Guard)
- checking for info on the axe of the GM and found imperialgunnery.com
- decided to join TIG after lurking for a few months. Best decision ever in the hobby. It is fun to discuss your hobby with like minded instead of just reading. More importantly I made friends here. which mean a lot to me. I love you guys!
- started the Lili Ledy thread


2011:
- complete set of Kenner loose figures


2012:
- my first POCH figure (Han Hoth)
- complete set of Ledy figures (excluding variants)
- started the POCH/PBP thread
- my first TopToys figure (Yoda)


PLANS 2013 -2017:
- complete set of Ledy figures (including variants)
- set of POCH and PBP figures
- set of Top Toys figures
- set of Kenner MIB

Other goals, further down the road:
- Glasslite
- Droids
- Ewoks
- Microcollection
- Focus collection. I could imagine Squid Head, Boushh, or ERG.

I will not start collecting bootlegs within the next five years. Though they are appealing, I like to focus on the other things mentioned.

Cheers

Marco


EDIT: Some typos.

Hmmm...I often read here:

"I will not start bootlegs till I have finished...etc...etc..."

This is very risky IMO guys. You cannot start collecting Uzay and then expect to find them all within 2 years. There he speaks again...the human slug...I know Im slow, but the turkish as well as the polish original stuff can keep you busy over years I guess.....so better "start" soon and you will be happy when after 2 years another chance comes to go on....

just my 2 cents.

I'm not interested in the Lili Ledy or other forms of the figures......yet. Have not seen a collection that compares the figures to tempt me to search out the figures.......maybe somebody can point me in the direction of a comparison gallery.

gardzy99 wrote:

I'm not interested in the Lili Ledy or other forms of the figures......yet. Have not seen a collection that compares the figures to tempt me to search out the figures.......maybe somebody can point me in the direction of a comparison gallery.

Here you go:
http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t2135-the-lili-ledy-discussion-thread-part-1

My evolution as a collector is similar. I'm not going to consider my childhood toys collecting, as I played with them and enjoyed them as toys, not as collectables.

Started in the late 80s/early 90s collecting loose figures for nostalgia.

Slowly, as my income level rose, started collecting boxed and carded items.

94/95 got online and found the Raasc/Raascv usenet boards and took my first steps into a larger world.

Also in 1995/96 started collecting non US items.....and bought my first few bootlegs (just a few for the sake of having some oddball items

96 til 2006, built up a fairly impressive collection of both licensed and unlicensed items as well as prototypes, focused more on bootlegs than other stuff from 99 on, but still bought licensed non us stuff I needed as it came up.

2006 my shop burns down, my income level changes drastically, and unfortunately seems to be permanently.

2006 to now, I gradually sell off my licensed items and prototypes in order to maintain and continue my main focus of bootlegs on the level that I'd been able to buy previously. Only licensed items that remain/remain important to me, are my SW items, first 21 carded and SW boxed vehicles/playsets, and my loose vintage set, everything else licensed, if I still have it, has a price.

Cheers
Joe

Started 03 mainly Kenner then....

03-08 - full set of Kenner/Droids/Ewoks and main Ledy variant ie Biker Scout/CCP etc
08-09 - rest
10-11 - more Kenner variants
12-13 - full sets of ledy (-1), complete glasslite, top toys (-2), pbp/poch ???
13- - takara? or poch? vlix??

As for bootlegs, maybe a blue stars but nothing else as I prefer the production stuff.

2005 found my old toys and join sswc (swedish collector group)

2006 started to build up a loose 96 set

2007 finished my loose set and started to pick up loose ships,variants and original posters

2008 bought a house and build my home cinema

2009 started to collect MIB ships and creatures

2010 started to collect mocs and loose 12"

2011 Maked a decision that i will try to get a full set (except variants) moc and finish my loose and mib run of ships and creatures

2012 finished my poster goal (for now )

2013 keep on adding moc,mib,loose,variants and try to get my collectionroom/office finished

Thanks for your thoughts on this matter.I really appreciate it and i am very interested in the oppinion of the collectors community

For what i have read so far it seems that many of us started collecting loose figures to complet a set of 96 different figures and then we "grew up "in collecting terms, i mean from cheap and easy to find loose figures to the tough ones , playsets , shipps and so on.The bootlegs figures seem to be the most popular this days, i guess becouse the " old collectors " have finished the regular lines and looking for something really cool to track down and learn about it

As i have told to Wolff on TIG`s chat , i cant see me still collecting with 50-60 years old, after have fun with ALL of those figures for years ,I guess i ended up selling most of the collection and keeping a full set of arround 100 loose figures .

Ok lads, thats my point :

what is in your oppinion the essence of the vintage collecting? i mean if you have to keep just a handful of items , which ones would you keep??

As i said before ,i probably keep a complete set of 100 figures, maybe with PBP figures or maybe the coolest variation(IMO) of each caracter.

Thanks in advance for your posts , lads!!

hope you ,all, have a nice weekend!!

Cheers
Javi

wbobafett wrote:

gardzy99 wrote:

I'm not interested in the Lili Ledy or other forms of the figures......yet. Have not seen a collection that compares the figures to tempt me to search out the figures.......maybe somebody can point me in the direction of a comparison gallery.

Here you go:
http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t2135-the-lili-ledy-discussion-thread-part-1

+1

Gardzy 99:the info provided in that thread is HUGE !!! you , probably, will never found any other thread with such an impresive research , info and efforts.The best LILI LEDY guide out there, for sure!!

javiswspain wrote:

wbobafett wrote:

gardzy99 wrote:

I'm not interested in the Lili Ledy or other forms of the figures......yet. Have not seen a collection that compares the figures to tempt me to search out the figures.......maybe somebody can point me in the direction of a comparison gallery.

Here you go:
http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t2135-the-lili-ledy-discussion-thread-part-1

+1

Gardzy 99:the info provided in that thread is HUGE !!! you , probably, will never found any other thread with such an impresive research , info and efforts.The best LILI LEDY guide out there, for sure!!

I'll second that. The contributors have been incredibly generous in sharing their knowledge, so that newer Ledy collectors can avoid being stung. I see so many Ledy figures on eBay, which, after researching here are clearly Kenner figures sharing the same COO. Without the guide, I, along with others could have wasted a lot of money.

I really have no right adding to the thread being as new to collecting as I am...
I really have to say I started collecting later in life because I was drawn to my childhood memories with these toys. I wanted to collect the basic loose Kenner figures. I became a Member here a couple years back. I did the normal stuff new people do, ask too many stupid repetitive questions before doing research and reading. I think AJ was the first to slow me down and simply say "read the threads dude"
: ) So I did... and I read and I read. I was drawn then to variants (foreign, Euro, PBP, POCH, Ledy, Meccano ect...). Then I was introduced to prototypes. In the past year or so I have really enjoyed collecting them. I have mostly enjoyed doing research, writing old owners, documenting provenance. Like I learned so much about variants on TIG, I like to hope I'm giving back, by providing info about my proto pieces now, so others can learn... My collection is small compared to many of yours', that's why I was a little nervous about posting this thread.
Also, wanted to say thanks to TIG and the friends I've made here. You guys have been extremely helpful, even when putting me in my place when I needed to be sat in a corner : ) ( Thanks Joe : ) )
Sorry if this got WAY off topic...
-Steve

I think it was around late 2009 when I got into collecting vintage. Like Joe Y I don't consider chilhood toys as "collecting". I was cruising Ebay one night and decided to look up "old Star Wars stuff" and bid on a small lot of figures. And so it began. At the time I didn't make a distinction between collecting vintage and modern. Being new to the game I figured if you collected Star Wars stuff you collected anything with SW printed on it. I learned quickly that, that wasn't the case. So I joined RS somewhere along the way. Got read the riot act early on for asking "stupid questions without doing my damn research." To which I wanted to say "Sorry assholes. I thought a collecting board was a place to ask questions." But I took my lumps and learned to play in the dramatic high stress world of SW collecting. Anyway I started out just working on a loose set. And then that grew into having an IG-88 focus. Then came MOCs. Which I learned weren't for me really. Then came a year or so of bootleg fever. Then right about the start of 2012 I kinda fizzled out. It was a combination of things. Trying to focus on too many areas of the hobby at once, other hobbies competing for the same limited cash flow, buying a house in July 2012, some shitty personalities making me question being in the hobby at all. So I took last year off. Focused on getting the house set up, other toys and comic collecting and such. Now jump forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was rearranging my toy displays and got to the SW part of it. It got me wanting to pick up some stuff again. About the same time I started interacting on here more again. For some reason I now have the urge to pick up some Mini Rigs.

That's a really compact version of my story. But the basic gist of it.

The_Dark_Artist wrote:

I really have no right adding to the thread being as new to collecting as I am...
I really have to say I started collecting later in life because I was drawn to my childhood memories with these toys. I wanted to collect the basic loose Kenner figures. I became a Member here a couple years back. I did the normal stuff new people do, ask too many stupid repetitive questions before doing research and reading. I think AJ was the first to slow me down and simply say "read the threads dude"
: ) So I did... and I read and I read. I was drawn then to variants (foreign, Euro, PBP, POCH, Ledy, Meccano ect...). Then I was introduced to prototypes. In the past year or so I have really enjoyed collecting them. I have mostly enjoyed doing research, writing old owners, documenting provenance. Like I learned so much about variants on TIG, I like to hope I'm giving back, by providing info about my proto pieces now, so others can learn... My collection is small compared to many of yours', that's why I was a little nervous about posting this thread.
Also, wanted to say thanks to TIG and the friends I've made here. You guys have been extremely helpful, even when putting me in my place when I needed to be sat in a corner : ) ( Thanks Joe : ) )
Sorry if this got WAY off topic...
-Steve

Hey Steve, dont make yourself so small. You have any right to write your story here and I very much enjoyed reading it!
You were once sometimes annoying...I remeber that...LOL....but look at you now!! One of the greatest Proto collections you have and giving out tons of information...bravo
You became a valuable and respected member in such a short time my friend!! KUDOS!! And keep on going

Your friend

Wolff

javiswspain wrote:

......what is in your oppinion the essence of the vintage collecting? i mean if you have to keep just a handful of items , which ones would you keep??

I guess I would keep the figures I am sure I will never get again! You know...there is pieces you just had luck finding them once, but you are sure this will never happen again!

So basicly I wozuld keep foreign and bootleg stuff. That reminds me again that I wanted to do a TOP 10 haul for a long time now

I give an example, I would keep:
My complete TT Luke, my polish black Chewbacca with bow, my PBP Luke Farmboy, and i.e. my no coo DSD (the no coo where only three pieces are known).

So this sounds like only keeping the most expensive figures, but that is not fully true. I also have piecesequally priced sometimes but you will never have problems getting them again (especially with throwing money around), but the pieces I am talking about I saw 1 or 2 times for sale (sometimes zero) in 15 years of collecting!
That what makes the collecting so fun to me: the thrill and the patience and to "be there" when the "one-time-in your-life" moment is knocking on your door!!

I'm not in the norm at all here. I started collecting again in 95 -bought some of the modern figures for about 4 years while I built up a complete loose set of vintage. I ended up selling entire set to pay my rent at the time (kept my childhood Hammerhead). I got into GG busts, autographs (SW and non-SW) and started buying vintage MOCs, and oddball items. I still only buy what I like. I never got into variants or foreign items. The only foreign items I look for are Star Wars records and storybooks in any and all languages.

If I had to keep only my favs-I would keep my MOCs, lunchboxes, micro collection and autographs.

Thanks Wolff for the kind words. I can honestly say because of your incredible guides I was drawn to variants. Thanks for what you and the others do for the collecting community : )
I learned a valuable lesson though as a collector. That is to simply use the "search" function. Do some research and reading. As AJ said to me a couple years ago, "you will have months of fun reading to do".
What a valuable site this is for the new and old collector, wanting to learn something... and make friends along the way.
Thanks, -Steve

Thanks for all of the replies, I enjoyed reading each and everyone of them!

Being born in 1985, I never had the opportunity of enjoying these toys during the original run. In 1994 a neighbor friend of mine had interest in Star Wars. He was old enough to have had a Darth Vader carrying case filled with a variety of Jedi and POTF figures he acquired in 1983-86. My interest for Star Wars toys spiked that afternoon and later that evening I convinced my Mom to take me to the video rental store.... The only VHS on the shelf not out for rental was The Empire Strikes Back. The films were always second to the toys for me.

About the same time, Star Wars was nearing a re-release in theaters and the Kenner/Hasbro POTF2 orange cards were debuting. Up until that point, my only access to Star Wars toys at retail were the Just Toys Bend 'Ems that sucked something fierce. I enjoyed the Target, Toys R Us and Kay Bee toy store POTF2 runs in 1995 with my Mom. My Dad having had an interest in sports memorabilia, lead me to shows, flea markets, etc. This is where my connection with the vintage line emerged. I started buying vintage as an 11 year old and amassed a modest collection of vehicles/loose/carded figures - I collected until the age of 15-16 when my interests changed to cars and females. By 2000, I sold everything to fund my first car and never regretted it. A decade hiatus begins.

Summer of 2011 - I settled down after finishing University, established myself professionally and moved together with my fiance. Messing around on Craigslist one afternoon, I found an obscure ad with no pictures and purchased a Darth Vader carrying case filled with figures and weapons. I decided to locally seek out a complete loose vintage collection. The interest in identifying original weapons and accessories lead me here and I joined TIG immediately following my first purchase. The wealth of knowledge and online resources provided through websites and forums lured me in once again.

While I haven't completed the complete loose local run, I did find every figure in some variety - loose, carded or bagged in less than two years time not using eBay or any collector networks. A geographical advantage and persistence paid off tremendously during this search.

2013 - Contemplating a loose sell off only keeping the first 21 + Blue Snag and the last 17. Moving forward, I plan to continue collecting MOCs (included within a last 17 focus & foreign MOCs), loose production variants such as, DT Luke and VCJ. With a little bit of luck I would like to network and score a pre-production item at some point for my collection.

These days I am very selective with what I purchase, I've since passed on items I would have certainly bought in 2011 for various reasons. I will continue to remain active in vintage collecting for as far I can see and can't wait for Celebration 7.

Interesting thread Javi.

I did things very differently though, I started by collecting actual characters back in the 90's. I picked up a Peter Mayhew at a comic convention in Scunthorpe, David Prowse at a Tufty the Squirrel Road Safety banquet and I bagged Mark Hammill at the BBC studio doing a voice over for a My Little Pony comeback series. About this point I noticed that these guys were annoying, they did things like ate my food and used all my toilet paper. Also Hammill was forever at my wife despite the fact I could prove she wasn't a blood realation. In the end, Hammill showed me his collection of plastic figures of himself and said he'd swap them for my wife, naturally I aid yes, and that's how it all began.......... Anyone wanna buy an ageing Peter Mayhew, you get David Prowse for free!

To the OP. There is an excellent thread somewhere on RS that details the 6 steps of collecting. Its worded perfectly. If I didnt have such a bad memory I'd be able to remember some of it and be able to quote so of it here. Where is Joe O when you need him...