The Imperial Gunnery is proud to present our second interview. We thought it might be nice to sit down and chat with members about themselves, their lives and of course a little vintage. Joseph_Y graciously gave me a glimpse into his world. Enjoy the read and post your comments and feedback!




Off the bat, thanks for agreeing to do an interview

Not a problem at all. Thanks for thinking that I and what I collect is interesting enough to warrant one.

Obviously your reputation precedes you but, if you don’t mind, maybe give a quick intro?

My name is Joseph Yglesias, I'm 41 years old. I live in Providence Rhode Island where I own and operate Evolution body piercing. It's a job I've been doing for over 19 years and I've owned my own shop for about 11.

Well Joe, you're obviously a long standing collector so my first question is "How did you start?"

How did I start: Do you want the start of the adult collection or my love for star wars toys in general?

Actually toys in general. I know you're into several lines

I'll start with Star Wars and get into some of the other things that I collect. My love of Star Wars toys started when I was 7 and the movie first came out, nothing too far from how most people started. My father was a big fan and would take me to see the first movie several times as a child. My father was a used car dealer and mechanic, on Saturday mornings he'd go to car auctions. When he came home he'd often take me to child world(a now defunct toy store chain and let me pick out a figure or two, on rare occasion he'd let me get a vehicle if he'd had a good week.
Being that we're close in age I have to ask, indoor or drive in?
I think I saw SW in the theater/drive in well over 15x as a child. Empire at least 6, and Jedi, maybe 3 or 4 times (at age 13, bmx bikes seemed more important than SW toys, movies, or spending time with my dad).
That's how my love of SW and toys started, with my dad being a fan too and going to the toy store together being part of father & son time together. As you'd imagine his involvement in the car business has also played a hand in my love of antique cars (particularly caddys and 60s muscle) but that's a discussion for another time, we're talking about toys. My adult collection started at about age 19, I'd been collecting comic books and had been buying collections to flip. I purchased a collection that also had some toys, in there were some loose SW figures, and vehicles. It brought up nostalgia for my youth and the enjoyment that I had playing with them, as well as the bonding between my late father and me (he passed away when I was 15). My adult collection essentially started as homage to my dad as well as the fun I had playing with the toys as a child.

Sorry about your dad of course. Sounds though like you guys had some great times though and obviously your SW and car collecting show that. So a 19yr old kid starts flipping stuff pre-internet. Tell me about that. Were you a flea market guy, or putting out newspaper ads?

At that time there were TONS of comic book shows in the RI, MA, and CT area to set up at. I'd do that on weekends. I went thru most of my friends, buying all of their comic books and toys. It was easy as most of them just wanted money for beer etc. I also had ads in local newspapers looking to buy. I kept what I wanted and sold the rest and "worked" the hobby. Doing it on a regular basis and having it be a big part of my income while I was in college and doing my apprenticeship, took a LOT of the fun out of the stuff I kept to be honest. That's why I eventually stopped doing shows, and sold off all of my comic book and toy "stock" once I started to make a full time living in my chosen career.

Well I'm sure that buying/selling/trading skills came into play later on LOL. Now doing body piercing, to me, seems like a job that is chock full of stories. I'd also think you need to really love it in order to do it. First finish this sentence; "Just when I thought I'd seen it all, i was asked to......." and then take us through a little bit of the job!

My job is actually far more mundane than you'd imagine. Either that or after 19 years of doing it, I'm just not easily phased. It's very similar to being in a medical profession. I'm far more concerned with providing my clients with a safe, aseptic, calming atmosphere than I am with any sensationalism of my profession. Not that I'm accusing you of trying to do that, but to those that aren't into it, what to me is a normal day at the office, could be considered completely bizarre.

No I understand. I guess I watch too many of those tattoo shows where every episode shows something just incredibly unique. Don't ask me, I sell networks. If my job were anymore fun, a funeral might break out.

So let’s talk a little SW. You said something to me that I found amazing about foreign MOCs. I guess when you got into the hobby they were the cheaper alternative?

Those "reality" shows are nothing like the day to day operation of a real shop. Of course we get many clients that attach major significance to the piercings or tattoos that they want, and it's always a good feeling to help them get the exact final product and experience that they want out of coming in. BUT it's nothing like what TV makes it to be.

As for your question about non US items having been cheaper than US when I started collecting... ABSOLUTELY. Collectors in the US more often than not viewed them as inferior and less collectable than the US MOC figures....OH how the times have changed.
Just look in Chris G's Toy Shop magazine scrap book. There are dealers selling Harbert 12bks 6 for $200, Palitoys and Canadians for about 1/2 what the US ones were going for at the time. I bought a lot of the non US (licensed) stuff that was in my collection at that point in time. Some of my better buys were a c8 Canadian VC Jawa for about 900 US when the US one was selling for about 3k, a c9 Palitoy 12bk Vader for $100 an equal US one at the time was around 250, and MANY trilogos for next to nothing as for years they were viewed as junk by most "serious" collectors.

$900 for foreign VC Jawa?? Man where's my DeLorean??? LOL

Well obviously that turned out to be a great investment! As a foreign MOC collector I love seeing the different languages and logos. Were you attracted to the uniqueness of them or just saw a nice inexpensive alternative?

When I started collecting non US it was a combination of the 2. As it progressed, and the prices on non US items went higher, the fascination with the different language cards, different logos and offers was what kept it going for me. Sad part on the Canadian VC Jawa is that I got pushed into selling it by my girlfriend (now ex gf) about 10 years ago to buy her an engagement ring. We never got married (thank goodness) and unfortunately I was never able to find another Canadian VC Jawa to replace it. Mistake made, lesson learned:
Girlfriends can be replaced easier than rare toys.

Don’t forget as toys get older, they get more attractive (Just kidding ladies)! Now you amassed an amazing licensed set. But when did you first discover that crudely made figures would become a much better pursuit?

I started collecting bootlegs in the mid 90s as just a sideline, part of my non US collection really. The novelty of them is what attracted me to them at first. My first bootlegs came from Paul Levesque (some may remember him from his site poftoo). He and I were set up next to one another at a show in Auburn Mass. I'd just bought a huge collection and kept a lot for myself, but got a table just to sell the extras and recoup some costs (and get into the show early to scoop up any deals). Well, Paul had some loose Polish figures, and some carded Hungarians. At first glance I kinda scoffed at them, I kept looking at them and how cheesy they were, then by the end of the show I'd bought my first bootleg figures: an unarticulated Luke, unarticulated Barada, and a carded Hungarian Leia and Wicket...all for under $100. The dealer across from us (Art Lew) had 2 carded Uzays an Imperial Gunner and a Blue Stars. I didn't buy them that day, but the next time I saw Art, I purchased the Gunner. It was the start of something that I at the time had no idea would end up consuming me.

And with the increase in value on the foreign stuff it obviously helps immensely. So for the folks who aren’t into the bootlegs. Do you mind giving us a little "Bootleg 101”? How they came into prominence in the US? Did people at first think it was a joke? I heard that UZAY's were 1st found out when a Turkish man was upset he had "fakes"! Mind sharing a little bit of the history?

Bootlegs for years were out there in US collections, but more as conversation pieces not much history or info was available (on many lines there still is limited info out there). I know that Ron Salvatore had a decent bootleg collection before I even started, there was also a woman named Kirsten (I believe) who was also an early bootleg "focus" collector. She sold her collection off in the late 90s/ early 2000's
some of the pre internet, significant bootleg finds came from dealers that bought out warehouses and stores of them in the late 80s early 90s. The bulk of MOC Hungarians, Uzays and Polish that came into the US at that time all trace back to the same 3 dealers. As for earlier Mexican bootleg collections, many of the first Mexican pieces that I owned came from Steve Hoffman as well as some purchases in Toy Shop.
As far as history in the larger sense, many of the major bootleg lines from the vintage era come from either 3rd world or former Soviet Bloc countries where licensed product was either completely unavailable due to trade restrictions, or imported, legally or illegally, but still far more expensive than the bootlegs. How they became popular in worldwide collecting: Exposure. The more people saw and learned about them, the more popular they've become.

As evidenced by Rick Springfield! I could spend days talking about the different lines but obviously the UZAY line is probably the most infamous of the lines. Now your UZAY set is am amazing run. Can you tell me about how you started, what were the hardest to get, and how badass is it to see that set in your possession?

It's no doubt that Uzays are the Cadillac of bootlegs. It started for me with seeing the Imperial Gunner and Blue Stars for the first time. As mentioned in my answer to the last question. They really pushed open the floodgates. The hardest one to acquire, out of what I already have, would have to have been either The Hoth Stormtrooper, or the Alt cardback Chewie. A large portion of the set, including my MOC Headman came to me from Lenny Lee (via Tom Derby brokering it, in a trade). I'm not going to lie, or even feign being humble about my bootleg collection. When I walk into my bootleg room and see the displays I still am in awe of the quantity and quality of what I've assembled. Don't get me wrong, I've had LOTS of help from friends making it much easier for me, but it's definitely not the cookie cutter SW collection by any stretch of the imagination.

Hey I don't blame you. I'd stare all day! Just out of curiosity, any collections you see on any of the forums that make you take notice? I'm glad you mentioned friends because one thing I've wondered is how friends react when seeing these possible 1 of 1 type of bootlegs. If something rare comes up do you ever find yourself looking at fellow bootleg friends and saying "May the best man win" or "Please step out of way"? Have you ever had that happen with a friend? We know the Polish Hothtrooper was more anonymous.

It's really not so much other people’s collections that I take note of at this point, other than for future "shopping" for my collection, but the way that they have them displayed. I love a well planned and thought out display area. Seeing others like what Jeff (Jeffs Museum) or Scott (JediDallas) have put together, that really put as much effort into having well planned set ups as they do into the quality of items in their collections is what inspires me to make my display set up even nicer than it is.

You'd have to ask my friends how they react to my having as many rarities as I have. As for how the competition works when something big comes up. Several times I've bribed friends that could have boosted the prices higher or even won pieces, with offers of favorable trades and deals if they back off for me. I've always made sure that they knew that helping me is truly appreciated with the deals I've given them. I've backed off on pieces for friends also, it’s not completely one sided. There's even a standing offer to a friend for me to sell him a piece out of my collection that I have 2 variants of, IF it becomes the last piece that he needs to finish a set that he's working on. When it comes to pieces in others collections that I'd like to own, I just wait until I have items that I know that they want and I go to work until a reasonable deal is made.

If you want to use the Polish HothTrooper as an example, I had 2 friends that I thought were going to be competition for it, I worked out deals with them so that they wouldn't bid on it. At the end of the day it was someone that just wanted it because it's rare, not a bootleg collector that boosted it up far beyond what it would have ended at otherwise. A perfect example of how "auction outing" is a bad idea.

That story is legendary. Hey glad it went to you though. It's like it was meant to go "home" LOL. Well you've been generous with your time so I don't want to take too much more, but I'd like to hear about some other lines your into. What’s the attraction? I assume they aren’t like a movie franchise where that connection can suck you in. So how did it begin?

Don't worry about taking up my time; I could talk about toys all day. As for other lines that I currently collect, I'm collecting Mego WGSH (Boxed and loose), Mattel 24" Shogun Warriors, 6 Mil Dollar Man, and a few select metal lunch boxes. ALL of these are things that I'm collecting for nostalgia value, as they're all lines and specific toys that I enjoyed as a child before Star Wars took over my playtime. I'd tried collecting all of these at various points but always sold them off for more SW toys. That was when I was actually trying to get every Kenner SW toy. Now my range is much more focused on just bootlegs and a few select Japanese items that I want.
I've owned and in many cases still own just about every "grail" piece in licensed SW that I set out to own, I'm content in that, and other than my obsession of trying to own every unlicensed item ever made which I really think of separately than the rest of my SW collection, for the most part I only want items that actually have memories and meaning attached to them.

It's cool to see that that nostalgia is the factor more than some who are strictly "investors".

I'm going to ask a couple of final questions in a bit of a scattershot here, just to get your thoughts. Answer as brief or in-depth as you like.

1) Last year you almost called it quits. Why? And what showed you the light to continue? If you got out of the hobby would the friendships survive in the absence of collecting?

2) We've seen a few people selling to cover debts made by collecting. A poll run on Imperial Gunnery showed that some just say screw it and charge their purchases to others who will only spend purely disposable income. Do you have an opinion on fiscal responsibility while collecting?

3) What are your top 5 collectibles in your collection (doesn’t need to be SW)

A lot of things lead me to almost get to the breaking point. "Having" to sell off portions of my collection that I may not have been "ready" to let go of over the past 4 years. Seeing a bunch of uninformed chodes with more money than brains turning the hobby into nothing more than an investment as stickers and 3rd party approval have become more important than the items themselves to many people (a great example, other than "U"grading, is a recent limelight in the RS forums, a person who has acquired some reasonably nice graded items. Now if he just limelighted the pics of the items, the fact that they're graded really wouldn't matter to me, but this person is limelighting the AFA stickers just as much as the items themselves, to me that exemplifies(SP?) a type of collector that I hope I never understand).
Not to mention that for there was a drought of bootlegs to buy, for a few months, which contributed to my boredom and burnout.

Two things reignited my love for collecting: Starting to collect other lines from my childhood, and CV.
Collecting Megos, Shoguns and other toys of my youth really sparked me back to life. It helped bring me back to the reasons I started doing this in the first place.
CV was helpful for the social aspects of getting to hang out with friends I rarely see, not to mention getting to share my love of cheesy bootlegs in the collector panel that I did with John A. and Ron. I also added some amazing pieces to the collection thanks partially luck (or as Don calls it the gravitational pull that draws all bootlegs towards me) and some friends bringing items specifically for me to buy.

A good portion of the friendships that I've made via the hobby would certainly survive even if the bond of collecting were no longer there. There are a lot of friends that I've made in the hobby, that I share non hobby interests with and would likely hang out with on a regular basis regardless, if they lived closer.

My opinion on incurring debt from the hobby really varies depending on the item and how legitimately rare it is. I've been on payment plans for larger items & purchases and I generally try to pay them off ahead of schedule. At this stage in the game I try not to spend more than I have in my PayPal account from selling off items that used to be part of my collection. BUT, if a long term hit list item came up, I'm not above paying a bill or my mortgage late if needed to secure an important piece. I can only think of a few pieces that I could justify putting myself into any "real” debt to own. As far as other collectors putting themselves in debt, credit card or otherwise, unless you're collecting prototypes or items that there are only a few known examples of that you're likely to NEVER get another chance at, it's idiotic to put yourself in that predicament.

My top 5 pieces:
1) my PAIR of unproduced Plush Salacious Crumb prototypes
2) MOC Uzay Imperial Gunner (it started it all)
3) MOC Uzay Headman
4) Presentation board for original 12 figures.
5) A tie between the IMAI "Nazi" R2-D2 model kit, and Mexican 12" Tusken Raider bootleg

Jeez Joe, what would have number 6 been? LOL

the one thing we haven’t spoken about, and I think it's a great way to end, is about your music! Tell us about the group and what you're doing! Where can we hear it?


#6 likely would have been my Hungarian Store Display set of MOCs

Music in general has always been a huge part of my life, even more than SW. My current band is called The Usual Suspects. We're an OI! band for those that don't know what OI! is: here's the link to a reasonably accurate Wiki definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oi!
Basically it's a subgenre of Punk typified by working class ideals expressed in the lyrics and sing along choruses.

We have so far released a 3 song sampler called "3 All The Way" that was limited to 50 copies and is out of print. A full length 10 song CD that we released this past July called "Old Fat And Bitter". It along with any of our other merch(T-shirts, hoodies, stickers & pins) can all be purchased from me via a PM here or on RS. We also have a track on a compilation CD for a benefit/non profit called Punks For A Princess (look them up on facebook or MySpace, they do some great work for a few different causes)
.ALSO Soon to be released will be a track on another compilation to celebrate Vague Records (a small RI indie/punk label) 25th anniversary, that'll be a compilation record (vinyl) of RI Punk bands doing classic Punk covers. Our contribution to that project was our cover of "Caught With The Meat In Your Mouth” by The Dead Boys. We hope to get back into the studio by summertime to record a follow up to Old Fat And Bitter.

Here's one of the many rave reviews of our CD:
http://www.emptyhandspvd.com/2010/11/usual-suspects-old-fat-and-bitter.html?spref=fb
other reviews from print publications have been copy and pasted into the notes section of our FB page.

Places where you can hear The Usual Suspects online

Our Facebook page (we have FREE downloads in our Band profile section)
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Usual-Suspects/481908870569?v=app_2405167945&ref=ts#!/pages/The-Usual-Suspects/481908870569?v=wall

and good ole MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/theusualsuspectsri

OR if you're in the New England area, we play out frequently and our shows are always a fun time for all.
Here's a recent show review with a bunch of video of us, as well as the other bands we played with:
http://musicinpictures.net/?p=2417

enough of me shilling my band. It's just another hobby for me, just one that doesn't cost me hundreds of dollars, unless you count my bar tab at the end of the night.



I'm thinking of the Blue Brothers Movie, when they pretended to be the "Good Ole Boys" LOL

Joe I could probably spend another few days asking questions but honestly I don't think I'll find a good place to end it so I'll do it here. I can't thank you enough for taking the time. Without making you blush, your status in the collecting community is so amazing that it’s been great seeing behind the curtain. I appreciate it.

Thanks for the interest in my opinions and perspectives John,
I really don't think that I'm much different than anyone else thats part of the community. I've seen many people with less time in the hobby contributing far more publicly than I have, any real praise should go out to those people that build and run sites, write books and guides, do podcasts etc. While I've done some panels and a few articles, to be honest, I've been lazier than I'd like to be when it comes to giving back to the hobby. I need to really work on that.

Cheers
Joe

Joe your lazy is most peoples 100% . I think you're giving more than you know and I look forward to what's to come.






Did you miss our first "in-tig-view" ??

IN-TIG-VIEW with Geordie

"Girlfriends can be replaced easier than rare toys."
How many 'girls bits' do you have to pierce before it becomes mundane?
Joe's Uzay & Hungarian runs have always impressed me. Cheers for another great interview John

Awesome idea on the interviews! I used to publish interviews back when SWORA was around, always cool to learn from other people and their perspective on different areas of Star Wars!

Good job Joe!!

Thanks Darthberizing and Joseph I really enjoyed the read, Is there a limelite anywhere I can have a look at?

Scott

excellent interview Joe and John,

class answers regarding the girlfriend that tickled me
makes me wish i started collecting years earlier :!:


Andy

Great interview guys!!! Joe we still have to set up a day to get together, I would love to see your amazing collection in person (also your Megos & Shoguns, I collect them also). I was just saying to Rob that we should play a show together. - Bill

Awesome Interview John & Joe!

Thanks for sharing your story of you and father spending weekends together and him taking you to the toy shop. Seriously, it almost made me weep thinking of that and how my Grandfather (in my dad's absence) would take me to TRU once a month and let me pick out an item or two. When I think of all the micros he bought me that I let get lost I long for more just to relive those memories!

It seems there are some common bonds for why we all get into collecting.

- Dallas

Wow awesome interview guys

Joe many thanks for taking the time out to share so much there were some real laugh out loud moments bro. It was superbly written you had me clicking all the links following the story! Its great to hear that focusing on alternative lines from your childhood in some ways gave you the collecting boost you needed.

John the interview was top notch real well done mate! I don't think i could have pull it off its definitely a specific skill! Massive Kudos bro!

Jay

Thanks to the positive response guys. I may not always come out with the "nice" answer to a question, but it's the truth.

Aus.James: To answer your question,It's the same for me as it is for people in the medical profession, it's almost like a switch that you turn off when I go to work. I'm not there to oggle my clients, I'm there to make the piercing experience as easy as possible, and respect the trust that they're giving me by choosing to have me work on them.

Scott/Snag: I currently don't have a full limelight up on any sites. There are some partial limelights on RS:
Here's a 1 pic limelight that packs a bit of a punch:
http://threads.rebelscum.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3881865&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

A partial limelight from a couple of years ago thats waaay out of date:
http://threads.rebelscum.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=3329294&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1

Here is an article that I wrote for the SWCA on Model Trems, it needs some updating, which won't be being done on the SWCA. I'll likely do a redux of the article for either my own site (if I can get it running) or for another project that I've been offered a space on that I can't go into details of at the moment)
http://theswca.com/images-speci/model-trem/model-trem.html

Bill: I'm ALL for both of our bands playing, we can put one more Metal band and one more Punk band on the show and have a Punk vs Metal event! As for visiting my place to view the collection. Right now, my prototype room looks like an episode of Hoarders, as other than the display cases it's disorganized and full of boxes of stuff that I'm selling that I need to organize. Once I get the place whipped into shape, you're more than welcome.

Geordie: I'm always keeping it classy....

Noob/Dallas: I think that for most of us that are in the mid 30 to mid 40 range, the nostalgia factor is what drew us to collecting in the first place. I'd certianly hope that it surpasses the $$ factor.

Jay: It usually gets funny when I'm given free range to say whats on my mind, well funny for everyone other than the person that it's aimed at when the vitrol starts...

Thanks again John for tossing some interesting questions out to me.

Cheers
Joe

Thanks John and Joe for putting this together. I always love to hear the stories of the pre internet days in collecting. It's always amazing how the foreign items were so overlooked back in the 90's. I'm glad that you didn't opt to sell out Joe. Even though I haven't collected any bootlegs as of yet, your panel at CV was certainly one of the more enjoyable ones.

Joseph_Y wrote:

Noob/Dallas: I think that for most of us that are in the mid 30 to mid 40 range, the nostalgia factor is what drew us to collecting in the first place. I'd certianly hope that it surpasses the $$ factor.

Certainly. I value my collection for the memories and joy that I get from collecting. I've never even tried to put a $ value on my collection.

Good to see the inTIGview making its return Nice work, John and enjoyable interview, Joe, hey, all the best with the band too!

Joseph, some absolutely crazy looking figs there mate. I never realized there was even a fraction of the amount of them bootlegs out there. Thanks for sharing your lime lites, I really enjoyed having a glimpse in to the crazy world of Bootlegs. Scott

Great interview John, really well put together, & very inciteful.

Very interesting stuff Joe, it's good to fill in some of the gaps. I think that although you're a well known player in the hobby, you don't push what you have into people's faces. Nice to hear how you got involved with the hobby too, although many of us have different nostalgic reasons to why we got involved with SW, it's always great to get the backstory.

John-I'm really enjoying these interview sessions you put together. You're a natural at this. Your questions and responses are always very informative and entertaining. Great job! Hope to see a lot more.

Joe-I was very excited to see you as the guest this time. I really respect your opinions and knowledge of this hobby. Even though I don't post on rs, I read your threads about the AFA controversy with great interest. Being very new to the hobby, I had no clue what all the fuss was about. I initially thought people had the right to do whatever they wanted with their collections. After reading your viewpoints on the subject, I quickly realized just how damaging this practice was to the hobby, and my opinion on the matter did a complete 180. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I am very grateful for your wisdom and your willingness to share that wisdom with the whole sw collecting community.

Thanks to both you guys!

Brad

Great read guys- good work both of you!

That was a great read John and Joe.

While its gonna sound like I'm kissing ass, you're the Bootleg Badass, Joe. You have the coolest shit in your collection and your display is getting better each time you limelight. Please start bribing me to not bid on auctions too

It was seriously cool attending your "knock offs" panel and kickin' it with you at CV.

Awesome idea to do the interview DB. You've done a good job trying new stuff here on TIG.

A long and great read, I enjoyed it very much.

Many thanks to John and Joe!

Joseph_Y wrote:

.... BUT they should think of the overall community,and long term consequences of doing something as stupid and destructive as U grading.

Back to topic, I heartily endorse what you said 100%. Destroying a package to "liberate" a vintage Star Wars figure for the sake of getting a "U" grading is downright stupid and destructive!

I have removed the comments relating to an ongoing transaction and moved them to this new thread - http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/t2417-item-discussion please feel free to discuss things there if required.

A lot of work went into the interview and i for one thought its was an outstanding read

Peter i hear you on the U Grade buddy the only good factor is that U Grade prices in general are falling on eBay hopefully the fad is starting to die out or at least slow down.

Cheers Jay

Thanks for the edit Jay.

Guys let's keep this on topic. Joe was nice enough to do an interview so we are not going to let it spiral.

Now in the editing process, Joe's reply to Andy and Brad got moved. Here are Joe's answer, verbatim, to you guys:

Joseph_Y wrote:

Brad, People DO have the right to do whatever they want with thier toys. BUT they should think of the overall community,and long term consequences of doing something as stupid and destructive as U grading.

Andy, I've been working on tidying up the bootleg room for a real limelight. It's been YEARS since I've done a full collection limelight. The problem is,that by the time I'm done photographing it, the pics are outdated, as another box or ten have arrived.
(of course I've had to box up most of my potf2 bootlegs as I just don't have any room left to display the more generic ones). As for bribing you not to bid on stuff, I doubt any Fetts that we both need will come up soon, and if it's only a variation of something that I already have an example of, I'll be the one backing off and letting you build the Bobas up a bit.

For my two cents I think education is the key to the U grade. Shawn's expose' on the subject did wonders. I have to admit, when I started, I didn't really understand the potential damage. I shudder to think I sent a baggie DT Luke. Thank the maker that AFA graded it as a bagged figure. I really don't think people understand the finite numbers and everyone intelligently explaining the hazards makes the hobby stronger.

While I can't confirm this, I've heard of them making mistakes and opening baggies to "U" that were sent in to be just graded sealed.

Scary stuff if you ask me.
J

WOW Joe those links to the items in your collection are mind blowing!!!

The Uzay set is a sight to behold bro! Fantastic stuff! Awesome for you to take the time to share it with other collectors as well

I pretty much got zero work done this afternoon spending my time sipping coffee and pouring (drooling) over the links

Jay

Just wait til I get my camera fixed (just bought a new camera few months ago,and it's not working right, it's at the camera shop being repared as I type) I've been putting in some serious hours working on revamping the bootleg room. Almost ALL of the POTF2 generic figs are boxed up, slatwall has been put over the windows to give me more shelf space,not to mention a ton of additions to the collection. The Uzay set pics are before I'd put my loose set in the case, or the mini rigs,not to mention the MOC Imp Gunner variant that "just" arrived yesterday.

Real limelight soon... I promise.
Joe

Deffinately looking forward to that one, Joe! My room should be finished here in a few weeks, just looking for a couple cabinets that will fit next to my bar for the boots. I almost forgot about your Gunner variant, good to see you finally got it .