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Info: Cool or Unusual Star Wars Collectibles

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I thought we needed a counterpoint to the other thread. Post the cool or unusual stuff here. I’ll start with something I didn’t know existed…Empire Strikes Back Kleenex!

Where were you in '77?

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That is pretty cool. Seeing R2 in the rain makes me want to blow my nose.

They need to make a Rancor lobster bib.
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This was probably my absolute favorite toy when I was a kid. I've spent hours playing with this thing. The trash compactor was brilliant with the dianoga and the foam bits of trash and the fact that it really compacted, and I loved the retractable bridge and rope swing. The trash compactor and the bridge had always been my favorite moments in the movie, so having them both depicted in the same toy where my figures could relive those moments again and again was fantastic. The elevator was pretty well designed too.

The Ewok Village was also pretty cool. It had the net trap at the bottom, which was really cool, and then spit for roasting guests over the fire, a throne to honor whoever the latest visitor to be mistaken for a diety is, and then a few more drop traps for the unsuspecting Stormtrooper prowling around in the poor little Ewoks huts (I would alway imagine there to be spikes at the bottom).

Most SW playsets were kind of pointless (see, Droid Factory, Cloud City, Rebel Command Center, Cantina Adventure, Jabba's Dungeon, etc.), but the Death Star and the Ewok Village went above and beyond what a playset should be. If my parents are going to throw alot of money away on something, it ought to at least be able to keep me occupied for a decent amount of time.

Another cool one was the exploding speederbike. Blowing that thing up and watching the rider go flying never got old.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Oh, yeah. To this day I consider the Christmas I received the Death Star playset to be the best Xmas ever. I lost that little "rope" early on, but my friend's playset still had it. Also, my trash compactor was entirely dark blue, although my friend's was orange as seen in the link. Indeed the trash compactor and swinging-over-the-non-functioning-bridge were iconic scenes from the movie, and it was great to re-enact those. Although getting Leia to hang on was a bit tricky!

I went through a strange phase after ESB where I thought I was too old for the toys (I was born in '72, so I still don't know why I thought that!) and ended up giving away my entire collection to a young boy whose family was poor. Then ROTJ came out and I had to rebuild my collection. The Ewok Village was one of the playsets I got, and these days my kids play with it along with the other stuff I had. I had to retrofit the wooden "throne" chair since the '90s version of the C-3PO figure wouldn't stay in it. I screwed a little wooden dowel on the seat that he could stradle!

My kids play with the speeder bike as well. When their friends come over and behold the collection, I still get a kick out of showing off the exploding feature of that bike! Actually, the boulder-on-a-rope at the Ewok Village comes in handy for swinging at a speeder bike and "smashing" it apart.

After ROTJ, my friend and I would remove that big gun from the top floor of the Death Star (which my friend still had) and that chair would be the Emperor's throne.

Pink Floyd -- First in Space

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Originally posted by: auximenies
Oh, yeah. To this day I consider the Christmas I received the Death Star playset to be the best Xmas ever. I lost that little "rope" early on, but my friend's playset still had it. Also, my trash compactor was entirely dark blue, although my friend's was orange as seen in the link. Indeed the trash compactor and swinging-over-the-non-functioning-bridge were iconic scenes from the movie, and it was great to re-enact those. Although getting Leia to hang on was a bit tricky!

I lost my swing too, but I just replaced it by tying a bit of string to the place where the plastic rope attached, and then tying a loop in the other end. It was a little harder to get the arm through, but worked just as well. It is very interesting to hear that your trash compactor was dark blue. Mine was orange just like the one on the box. My friends was also orange, and I am sure I have seen several of these sets out of the box in various collections and at comic shops, and I have never encountered a blue compactor before. It makes a lot more sense than bright orange and better matches the colors of the rest of the set.

Actually, the boulder-on-a-rope at the Ewok Village comes in handy for swinging at a speeder bike and "smashing" it apart.


I forgot to mention the boulder! That boulder was another one of the things that made that set great.

After ROTJ, my friend and I would remove that big gun from the top floor of the Death Star (which my friend still had) and that chair would be the Emperor's throne.


Haha, I did that too. The exploding mechanism of the gun on mine broke somehow and the gun would always automatically sping out, so I never bothered put it on. It was a lot cooler as a Throne room anyway.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Loved, loved, loved the Death Star playset... just boxed mine up for storage recently. I too lost the rope, and the trap door leading to the compactor broke its hinges, so I had to improvise with some white electrician's tape. Also, the gun turret mechanism also gave out on mine... I think it had something to do with a small plastic tab being broken. At any rate, I'm proud (how sad is that) to say that I was able to rig up something with a paperclip and it works again.

Overall, definitely a cool playset. Loved having Obi-Wan deactivating the tractor beam from atop the elevator shaft, as well as having the good guys shoot at stormtroopers from across the retracted bridge. Best part hands down, though, was the compactor... I loved winding that thing up and almost squash Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie.

I thought the Dagobah playsetwas also quite cool... there was a little "table" (tree stump) inside the tree with a little bowl, and I'd imagine Yoda eating his root leaf stew with Luke there. It also had little plastic supports that you could put R2 or boxes on and, when you pressed on a rock, the objects would lift up with the "force." Coolest thing, though, was the "mud pit"... hours of fun watching Luke or R2 sink into that thing Sadly, the foam became extremely delicate over the years, and a lot of it has since dissolved (although I guess it'd be possible to find more foam and replace it).

The one playset I had always wanted but never got was the Star Destroyer playset. I always liked Vader's chamber, and the upside-down-character-hanging feature (although I have no idea where that came from).

“It’s a lot of fun… it’s a lot of fun to watch Star Wars.” – Bill Moyers

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That unopened box of Puffs tissues reminded me of my still-unopened ROTJ toothbrushes that I got in 1983. I think they may have been purchased prior to my seeing the film, so this may have been a first glimpse at Luke's black outfit, green saber and Anakin Skywalker:

http://imgcash6.imageshack.us/Himg205/scaled.php?server=205&filename=swtoothbrushesps8.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=480
Oral-B also had a free poster give-away with the purchase of a toothbrush. It was a VERY cool poster of Luke and Vader dueling.

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I guess there are lots of them out there!

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Originally posted by: Mielr
That unopened box of Puffs tissues reminded me of my still-unopened ROTJ toothbrushes that I got in 1983. I think they may have been purchased prior to my seeing the film, so this may have been a first glimpse at Luke's black outfit, green saber and Anakin Skywalker:

http://imgcash6.imageshack.us/Himg205/scaled.php?server=205&filename=swtoothbrushesps8.jpg&xsize=640&ysize=480
Oral-B also had a free poster give-away with the purchase of a toothbrush. It was a VERY cool poster of Luke and Vader dueling.


Hey! that's not Anakin ???

"Well here's a big bag of rock salt" - Patton Oswalt

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Yeah, who is the guy standing next to Obi-Wan and Yoda on that toothbrush? Those Oral B artists absolutley suck, he looks nothing like Hayden Christensen!

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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I always loved the Death Star Playset, and still do. That's one of the best play-value playsets ever made. It's got nearly everything. However, the Palitoy Death Star actually beats it in some ways. It's round (well, half-round) and has so much of the Death Star environment packed into it that it's amazing. But it doesn't have the elevator/tractor beam or the rope swing. Ideally, if you had both sets together you would be in heaven. But since they were released in separate countries, I'm sure there were VERY few kids that had both. Maybe if you lived near the Canadian border and your parents were rich you could get both.

My parents weren't rich and generally only bought things for me on birthdays or Christmas, hence no Death Star back then. But I have one now, proudly displayed on a shelf in my den area. I didn't have the Milennium Falcon either (and still don't) - biggest toy I could manage was the TIE Fighter for a while.

Originally posted by: corellian77
The one playset I had always wanted but never got was the Star Destroyer playset. I always liked Vader's chamber, and the upside-down-character-hanging feature (although I have no idea where that came from).
I actually DID have the Star Destroyer playset! Later on after ESB came out, my grandparents bought me that for Christmas. It was the biggest thing I ever got! Of course I had lots of fun with it, but I have to admit it's kind of low on the play value scale other than for pretending to fly it around and chase other ships.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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When you talk about the Palitoy Death Star, you are talking about the one made of cardboard right? It looks cool, but I mean, it is made out of cardboard. I think it was available in Canada too.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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*sigh* I took a stroll down the toys aisle the other day in Wal-Mart, it is sad how ignorant and cheap most all of the current toys are. My kids are probably gonna be cheated out of the cool Star Wars playsets, awesome G.I. Joe stuff, and Transformers. Even though it was plastic back then, they built that stuff pretty solid, a lot of this crap I've seen recently looks like it won't take one slam against a wall.
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I can imagine if I were to slam my Death Star against the wall that it would shatter. I am not sure if that is the best form of quality testing , but yeah, I know what you mean.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Originally posted by: C3PX
I can imagine if I were to slam my Death Star against the wall that it would shatter. I am not sure if that is the best form of quality testing , but yeah, I know what you mean.


LOL, yeah, you got me there. But at least you caught my drift.
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Yeah, a lot of people talk about how much cooler toys have gotten, what with vibrating and laughing Elmos and Ernies and all, but I think the things I had as a kid where cooler. The old G.I. Joes were great, especially the vehiclels. I also really like my old D.C. and Marvel comic figures.

They were much more simple back then, but they really felt more worth while that way. A couple of months ago my wife sent me to purchase a Spider-Man action figure for a six year old kid's birthday, I was amazed to see that there was a pretty large number of Spider-Man action figures, and that the vast majority of them were Spider-Man himself, but in slightly different poses or with slightly different special features. One of the had suction cup hands so you could stick him to the window or smooth surface, another one had a big section with a string hanging from it so he could swing. I counted at least eight different variations of the exact same character in the exact same series of figures. When I was a kid there was only one Spidey figure (not counting the symbiote Spidey figure), once you had that one figure you could imagine him doing anything and not feel the need to make your parents dish out more money so he could do something slightly different. The selection was over whelming, and none of them seemed as cool as I thought they should be, so I ending up getting the kid a glow in the dark Spider-Man shirt instead.

I look at this massive selection of and remember how much fun I had with just my Spiderman and Doc Ock figures, as simple and low detailed as they were. I guess it is kind of biased though, probably every kid thinks the things he grew up with were the best.


EDIT: Okay, so I take it back. Some of the modern Spiderman figures kick the butts of the ones I had when I was a kid. For example:

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/8854/mjuj8.jpg

Not exactly sure I'd buy it for my kids, but you have got to be impressed by the detail that went into this thing.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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Originally posted by: C3PX
When you talk about the Palitoy Death Star, you are talking about the one made of cardboard right? It looks cool, but I mean, it is made out of cardboard. I think it was available in Canada too.
Yeah, cardboard (or pressboard, whatever) it may have been, but man the amount of play features in all of that!

Actually, some of my favorite toys from back in the day were nothing much more than cardboard, and maybe a little bit of plastic. The Cantina Adventure Playset (which was more like the Mos Eisley Streets Playset) was nothing but a cardboard backdrop with plastic footpegs, as was the later Cloud City Playset. However, I got so much play out of those things just by using my imagination based off what was printed on the backdrops. But I admit, not a lot of built-in play value there. The Palitoy Death Star, on the other hand, had multiple levels and rooms, with corridors, a trash compactor, a turret gun, and much more. Really amazing for something made from cardboard.

The Land of the Jawas Playset and Hoth Ice Planet playset were mainly cardboard too, with a plastic base (the same one). Yet those really fired my imagination as well. A full AT-AT or RC Sandcrawler were too expensive, so I made do with the cardboard versions... and probably had just as much fun.

Incidentally, I really liked the retro-ish cardboard fold-together Jabba's Palace and Cantina playsets that Kenner/Hasbro did in the mid-to-later 90s. They were like the old cardboard playsets only much more accurate and with tons more detail. Unfortunately, most of their later plastic playsets left a lot to be desired.

--SKot

Projects:
Return Of The Ewok and Other Short Films (with OCPmovie) [COMPLETED]
Preserving the…cringe…Star Wars Holiday Special [COMPLETED]
The Star Wars TV Commercials Project [DORMANT]
Felix the Cat 1919-1930 early film shorts preservation [ONGOING]
Lights Out! (lost TV anthology shows) [ONGOING]
Iznogoud (1995 animated series) English audio preservation [ONGOING]

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I looked at some detailed pictures of the palitoy playset. It actually is kind of cool considering it is mostly cardboard with minimal plastic parts. The trash compactor is pretty well designed for what it is. Also I liked the tunnel near the top and the gun turret. From what I read there were two different variations of this made by two different toy distributors in different overseas regions, on of them was made out of cardboard like the Cantina set, and the other was made out of a heavier material.

When I was a kid I was constantly building my own playsets out of carboard, scissors, tape, and markers. I had a lot of fun with those too. I would also build an "explodable" bridge out of my families VHS tapes. I miss being a kid. I am suddenly feeling the urge to drop all my obligations and responsibilities, shrink three feet, move back into my parents house, and dig out the boxes of my old toys.

"Every time Warb sighs, an angel falls into a vat of mapel syrup." - Gaffer Tape

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C3PX said:


When I was a kid I was constantly building my own playsets out of carboard, scissors, tape, and markers. I had a lot of fun with those too. I would also build an "explodable" bridge out of my families VHS tapes. I miss being a kid. I am suddenly feeling the urge to drop all my obligations and responsibilities, shrink three feet, move back into my parents house, and dig out the boxes of my old toys.


I totally agree, I do to. Things were so fun back then
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http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a117/Sluggomatic2000/Toys%20and%20collectables/IMG_0162.jpg

Tough to beat the Darth Maul Cup Topper. I painted the horns on mine, made the teeth nastier and the eyes more blood-shot. The guy looks awesome.
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Ok time to post some cool Star Wars collectibles.

In the last few days in Japan the latest Star Wars Kubricks series 8 was released. Unfortunately it is based on the PT (TPM specifically) after 7 series and numerous other sets based soley on the OT with a big nod to the Vintage Kenner Star Wars line.

These are from the previous series, series 7, released at the end of 2006. Each series has 6 kubricks and a few 'secret' or 'chase' figures.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/2858/spiritanakinfrontmm4.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/5494/jedianakinfrontrx5.jpg

The ghost Anakin is from the regulars while the other vintage kenner-esque (flesh) Anakin is a chase.

I though it was appropriate to mention when series 7 came out because it is after Lucas' alterations to ROTJ.

A very cool OOT collectible in an age where everything is saga-fied.

"Well here's a big bag of rock salt" - Patton Oswalt

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Ok...So I'm at that point in my life where I go "Do I give my 3 year old son access to all my old vintage Star Wars toys?"
I had a lot as a kid growing up...was an only adopted child..guess my parents tried to please me...and still have all my figures and vehicles all in pretty mint condition in my parents loft. Do I give them to my son and let him totally ruin them....or just leave them there?
It's a tough one....He's just starting to like the films and loves the lightsaber he has, and I know I had the best childhood with my toys, I want him to be feel the same way...but that was a whole different time...things have changed just a bit too much for him to really appreciate all those wonderful toys!

Dunno?!?! I've always said I wouldn't let my kids play with my old SW toys..but it seems a waste to just leave them there.

http://www.facebook.com/DirtyWookie

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HotRod said:

Ok...So I'm at that point in my life where I go "Do I give my 3 year old son access to all my old vintage Star Wars toys?"
I had a lot as a kid growing up...was an only adopted child..guess my parents tried to please me...and still have all my figures and vehicles all in pretty mint condition in my parents loft. Do I give them to my son and let him totally ruin them....or just leave them there?
It's a tough one....He's just starting to like the films and loves the lightsaber he has, and I know I had the best childhood with my toys, I want him to be feel the same way...but that was a whole different time...things have changed just a bit too much for him to really appreciate all those wonderful toys!

Dunno?!?! I've always said I wouldn't let my kids play with my old SW toys..but it seems a waste to just leave them there.



I wouldn't overwhelm him with all of them. A lot of my figures are already beat up because I played with them my entire life, so I'll probably let my future kids tear them up even more. I would just let your kid play with a few of main figures, if they're not in really good condition. Or you could just buy some beat up ones at a flea market.

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Actually you've just reminded me...I have a shit load of 'doubles' that a friend gave me way, way back for like 50pence. I can give him those.....Bloody hell...I've also just remembered I went through a stage of buying the new type figures..you know the ones..Luke as He-Man type of thing. Plus a few of the later ones, all still boxed up good as new...that's it...he can have those. I'm sure i have 2 At-ST's up in the loft somewhere..He can have one of those too...

http://www.facebook.com/DirtyWookie