Hi folks,

I think that most of you, like me probably didn't just collect Star Wars toys when they where young. I had loads of different toy lines over the years, mainly for me it was Star Wars, M.A.S.K. He-Man and Action Force (G.I. Joe), I appreciate that different companies do things differently and that they weren't all released by Kenner (Think M.A.S.K. was, He-Man Mattell and G.I. Joe? Can't remember) basically I was just wondering if any one collected other toy lines like these and more to the point did any of them have mutiple variations, like paint colour, COO variations etc. etc.
I found other websites dedicated to some of the lines mentioned above, but never seem to come across any real toy line that seems to have been so scutinized as the Star Wars line. Any thoughts or sites?

I have a few variants in my Vintage Battlestar Galactica collection.

http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t5139-does-anyone-else-collect-vintage-battlestar-galactica

Cheers Clint, I never had any of them as a kid but I do remember them, loved the program, I'm suprised they didn't sew George Lucas for robbing the Cylon design for Vader and blatantly nicking the Colonial Raider design for the X-Wing heehee

I collect alot of different lines and have noticed paint variations in nearly every one . Battlestar Galactica as Clint mentioned , Buck Rogers and my D&D collection to name a few .

I actually have some D&D paint variants shown in my OT thread I started . I have even noticed coo stamp variants - some made in macao , others hong kong .

Here is a great example - Melf The Elf (AKA Paralay) - the figure and accessories are pretty well identical molds but the paint is different (mainly face and hands) and the swords are made of slightly different plastic colors / shields painted differently . I am not positive but I think that the one on the left was a 1st series release and the right is 2nd series .


same paint differences here with Ringlerun ...


Stronghearts - 2 on left 1st series releases molded in completely different armor colors - the 1 on the right is a 2nd series release that had a lever on the back added for "battle-matic" arm action feature .Even the swords are different plastic colors ...


Check out my does anyone else collect D&D thread to see a few more


Its probably pretty safe to say that most lines would show some variations . If , like star wars , they were produced in different factories you are bound to see color differences due to different materials used . If a figure line was made over a longer period of time than just 1 year then the variations would probably be even more common due to manufacturer changes along the way .

If your thinking about collecting Joes and I would be willing to bet there are variants there too due to the long time they were produced and the sheer number due to the popularity of the line . There were so many made that I bet they were made in multiple factories , thus increasing the chances for variations . I know the 1st series had streight arms and the later releases had extra joints added to give the more poseable arms .

Hope this helps General

Quote :

If your thinking about collecting Joes and I would be willing to bet there are variants there too due to the long time they were produced and the sheer number due to the popularity of the line .

Yeah James, I be inclined to agree, the huge production numbers and years of production, you would expect numerous variations. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think G.I. Joe's have only had a 2 years production break since 1982!

Never seen them figures of yours before, Gelf the Elf looks like he's about to 'knock one out'

Cheers for the input dude!

General Kahn wrote:

Cheers Clint, I never had any of them as a kid but I do remember them, loved the program, I'm suprised they didn't sew George Lucas for robbing the Cylon design for Vader and blatantly nicking the Colonial Raider design for the X-Wing heehee

The original BSG came out in 1978 so it came out after SW. It was the made for tv low budget sci-fi cousin of SW. I don't know if George minded the comparisons? :scratch:

The original toys were only made for a few short years, so I'm surprised there are a few variants. They are mostly paint colours and cloth & trim variations, card backs and some bootlegs.
Hope this helps.

Clint

Have some of these myself. LOVED the show, but I never knew there were any variants.

I collect Transformers and Ninja Turtles and both lines have multiple date stamp and figure variants, but unlike Star Wars there are fewer collectors that really care. So there is no real documentation other than what you discover for yourself.

For example for the 1988 Splinter I own

A loose Rubber head Splinter
A hard plastic head Splinter with same stamp as the rubber head
A hard plastic head with a different stamp
Another different stamp with the tail and feet painted the same colour
Plus i own a few paint opps differences that may not be variants plus different weapon molds plus there are many, many different card back variants of the same figure, some produced in different countries, I only own 2 carded Splinters but know of others.

There are even super rare variants, for example only the very first release of the 4 turtles came with fan club flyers, although an April had be found here and there with one. A few years ago I bought a carded Rubber head fan club flyer Splinter (never knew a fan club one existed let alone that i had bought one until it arrived). Around a year ago another fan club Splinter was unearthed and sold for almost $1000US.

An example for Transformers is the 3 Bombshell figures on my shelf. All have slight mould differences, different size and shape holes on the back of their heads and different date stamps.

And if variant collecting is your thing I highly Recommend MOTU, there are some very nice fun variations in that line.

I think I/we have problems but at least they are fun problems

One of the obvious variations is of course GI Joe switching from straight arm to swivel arm figures. They also changed the waist at the same time. Any pocket deco on the arms was changed from the front to the sides as well.

I do have an original set of TMNT turtles with the soft hollow heads. They later changed them to solid plastic.