 Graphics by Chris Bishop |
Dawn of the Menace
|
With May 21 basically around the corner, and my issues of Toy Fare, SW Galaxy Collector,
and the SW Insider late (as usual), I am at a loss for fodder for this column.
The last column got great response, more than any other I had done previously, and a few
of the Q & A's will be listed at the end. I would like to take this opportunity
and this space to wax philosophic about what a momentous occasion May 21 is going to be.
Never before has there been such a buzz around a movie, not since it was anounced that
there would be a sequel to "A New Hope" (Empire) has a script been so shrouded
in secrecy. Sure, back when "Star Trek: Generations" was planned, there was hype
and buzz and the like, but nothing compared to what we have for "The Phantom
Menace". ( I don't like that title by the way, and many others have told me the
same.) It is a testament to our faith in Lucas that most of us are content to wait,
nay would RATHER wait to see the film, than try to find out bits of the script from
insider sources and rumors (although I've seen and heard my share), unlike the rabid Trek
fans who damned near stormed the Paramount lot for a looksee. If it's anything other than
a general overview of the story, or the trailer, I don't want to know it. ( Tusk. closes
eyes, puts hands over ears and starts making NAAA-LAA-BLAAAAA noises). SW is so ingrained
in us that even if I weren't a SW junkie, I couldn't escape the references that popular
culture has to my beloved trilogy. It's everywhere, from sitcoms to films, from commercial
advertisements (i.e. Energizer, Taco Bell, ad nauseum) to Infotainment shows (like ET
& Access Hollywood). When Lucas announced he was going ahead with production of the
"prequels" I think the Earth tilted on its axis from all attention being aimed
toward Southern California and Skywalker Ranch.
It's astonishing to me the amount of people
who, even if not SW junkies, anxiously await the coming of this film (these films). I've
reserved the day off from work to see the first showing, and I've heard stories of
business men and women dropping everything to go to the movies to see the trailer (it
played with "Meet Joe Black"). It's a phenomenon, it's a juggernaut, it's
a behemoth - call it whatever you like but it's SW... it's NEW SW... and it's coming soon.
I might be putting a bit more importance on the day than is warranted, but not much. It
has all the possibility of being like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" when
everything ground to a halt. I think that small businesses will be closed for the day, at
least those run by members of Generation SW, and I think that everyone will be in a pretty
good mood that day. A general feeling of unity and peace will be bestowed on those in the
theater with us. A "Pax Starwarsa", if you will. I was at the first showing of
the SW:SE, and there was partying and screaming BEFORE the movie started. When the lights
went out, there was silence. When the Lucasfilm and Fox logos appeared along with the
drumroll, there was applause, and when it was over there were tears of joy. Personally I
can't wait. If you're reading this, then its a safe bet YOU can't wait, nor can
America...or the world. I will be right there with you in body, in mind and in
spirit.....May the Force be with you.
WE GET LETTERS
(well actually E-mail)
From time to time you
have a question about SW collecting, and you seek the Counsel of the Learned (read: ME
<g>). Here are some of your questions and my responses. Thanks, and keep those
questions coming!
Clay asks: (A very important question)
I have a question about collection preservation...please help me with it. Recently I bought a humidifier...my star wars collection happens to be in the same room, I don't know if it could hurt my collection (which is in drawers) or not affect it at all.
Chris responds:
Well you're in luck; you asked the right person about this question, being a former
HVAC worker I can answer this pretty well. First: Once you introduce a climate changing
piece of equipment into your home, almost all conditions within the home will change.
There are two types of humidifiers you can get - a single room (a unit that plugs into an
outlet and humidifies a single room or area) or a whole house humidifier which installs
directly to the central heating unit and humidifies the entire house. If the humidifier is
a single room humidifier, you are making a large change to the overall climate of the
room... wooden furniture will expand, wooden floors will creak less, and paper will feel
the effects, hence your carded figs or packaged collectibles will feel the effects too. If
they are in drawers, they are better protected than out in the open, but they are still at
risk. If you collect them to archive them, vaccuum seal them. Now if you don't want to buy
a vaccuum sealer, a cheap way to vacuum seal is to get ziploc freezer bags, insert the
fig(s), seal the bag almost all the way then get your vaccuum out, attach the hose and
suck the air out of the bag (quickly seal to keep any air from getting back in). If the
humidifier is a whole house model, you don't have anything to worry about unless you have
the humidistat set way high, but even then the moisture that these units put into the air
is only meant to replace the moisture lost during the winter months.
Dylan Abram writes:
Hi Chris, What a great column you have written!!!! I collect Star Wars since I saw the movie for the first time in 1977, first only stickers, buttons and so on and when the figures came out, also the toys. As you have noticed/experienced that collecting is losing a little of its fun of what it used to be. There is so much coming out that it is almost impossible to keep up with it. Especially when you are from Europe, where a lot of things are not even coming out! You then must hope that you can find it at some dealer for double or triple the US price!! For instance, the Han Tauntaun is US $ 59 and Europe $250 or the Han Stormtrooper free with a couple of boxes cornflakes in th U.S.... in Europe between $40 and $65. Then the regular carded figures in US $5.99, in Europe $17.50 to $20.00. I too wanted everything that came out, but decided ( from 1998 ) that I only will collect figures (in any form) and complete my vintage toy section. I will not collect anything from the Phantom Menace due the fact that I want to complete the other parts of my collection. I hope that Lucasfilm will be concentrating on the new movies and not too much on the classic trilogy. I have noticed that many "new" collectors (that are about one or two years into collecting) aren't getting enough of all the stuff that is coming out, because they cannot get everything or/and there is just too much!!!, and you've got to put the stuff someplace!! Those people will try to sell their collections, but can not get back half what they have paid for it! I forsee that the market will crumble in a couple of years, because Lucasfilm is trying to squeeze every penny out of our pockets., They are flooding the market...remember Batman. As you, I have an entire room just full of boxes with Star Wars stuff, and the rest of my house is also covered with memorabilia. My girlfriend says that if I sell all of it, I can buy a house, but I don't mind. I still love every little part of my collection, it doesn't matter if it's a vinyl caped Jawa or a Gammorean Guard action figure. Collect the things that you like and not the things which are hot right now or are the most expensive!
Chris responds:
Thanks for the positive response, Dylan. Two words of advice: NEVER SELL!!!
Aaron West writes:
I share a similar fate, my collection has been moved to the basement storage and the Highest Shelves Of The Closet. Why? My son was born during the release of the Return of the Jedi Special Edition. All delicate pieces and small parts must remain out of reach of infants and children. For many moons, the adventures of Skywalker shall only be shared in private moments or select viewing with true believers. As my credit card lay dying from the multiple collections I have hunted, I have forced myself to moderate my own collection. I can only buy and collect Kenner /Hasbro 4 inch figures and accessories (vehicles included). That's it! But, alas, my collection, let me look on you with my own eyes.
Chris responds:
Ahh, when SW babies have babies...next on Springer.
Steve Vidgor asks:
Hello, On Oct.21 I found a STAP at Toys-R-Us. It was in a carton with five others, I picked out the most prestine one and charged it to my TRU Visa card.( A sign of the truly hooked, or should I say trh TRU-ly hooked <g>) I was happy because I wouldn't have to "hunt" for it in the future. Then, a few weeks later I saw the STAP at KB. I noticed a difference between the one I had purchased and the KB STAP. Mine has text in English,French,and Spanish. I found out from some helpful people on the Net that this is called a TRI-LOGO. I have also heard different opinions on the TRI-LOGO collectables. Some say they it may be worth more, some say less. Let me tell you, I collect to collect and do not plan on selling any of my SW stuff for profit. I will admit it's nice to say, "My Han Solo Stormtrooper is worth $30-40." My wife would then say, "so why don't you sell it?" NO WAY! My question is this, Should I keep the TRI-LOGO STAP or the American version STAP?
Chris responds:
( Note: some of these questions are old and I have been informed since
then<g>) I am located in the toy nexus known as the suburbs of Philadelphia...we
don't get anything until after its been out everywhere else for months. The STAP is the
battle droid on the repulsorlift attack vehicle, right? I've seen it a few times in
articles, but as you'll see in my article, I've been out of the loop a bit lately.
I am just getting back into this. Since the Episode I preview stuff hasn't been widely
distributed yet, (as of Late Oct in my area) the actual value on a Tri-logo vs. the
English version can't really be determined. Right now is NOT the best time to buy one of
these from a dealer anyway. You WILL get ripped off. If you can, get and keep both. The
"value" of the toy should be based on the joy you get from saying you have both
versions. Generally, the Tri-logo are more readily available, since they are distributed
to more countries, and unfortunately, based on the original figure/vehicle line the
Tri-logo are worth considerably less.
Derek Dabrow asks:
Though I have not been as into it as I am now, over the past year I have collected figures. I have some with pictures, some with freezeframes, and some with holograms. My only question is I can not find the difference between the red and the green cards. Where is this beam everyone is speaking of? I may just be looking at the wrong packages, but I can't find it.
Chris responds:
The Red beam cards were the original style of packaging for SW POTF2 figures when the
line re-appeared in 1995. in 1997, to commemmorate the re-release of the SW trilogy in
theatres, the packing was changed to the present green beam style of packaging. Where the
originals had photos of the character in the package, the greens replaced the photo with a
hologram with the photo still printed on the card. But mistakes will happen and supplies
must be used. So there was a period of time when the wave which included Mommaw Nadon and
Greedo could be found in either the red or green packaging and even the green ones could
be found without the hologram. So essentially, if you were a die hard variant hunter, you
would have to have all three styles (not to mention the slight adjustments made to the
figures themsleves or Kenner's stupid 3 category system for the characters which was REBEL
ALLAINCE, EMPIRE, DROIDS AND ALIENS, of which they also never got all the bugs worked
out).
Tamare asks:
I have the complete set of the mega-sized Marvel edition of ANH as well as the smaller series of SW comic book. Although I am not particularly interested in selling, can you recommend a good reference point for appraisal or estimate of the value ? I would like to add them to the insurance policy for their replacement value.
Chris responds:
The best source of SW Collectibles info/pricing is "Tomart's Price Guide to
Worldwide SW Collectibles". That will give you pricing that is the most accurate. The
pricing that is most up to date for comics can be found in a magazine called Wizard (a
Comic book price guide is updated each issue). Now, as with all Pricing guides, look for
dealers to buy very low (usually at less than what the item is worth) and sell very high.
Somewhere in the middle ground is what the item is actually worth. What it is worth and
what consumers will pay for the item sometimes vary greatly. Sometimes even items that
weren't mass produced on the level of the toys will still sell and be worth less due to
demand (i.e. the Darth Vader speakerphone which still lists for about $70-135).
Susan Bird asks:
I am looking for a PC mouse that looks like the faces of some of the Star Wars characters (C3PO and Darth Vader) for a dedicated fan's Christmas present. Have you come across this in your travels?
Chris responds:
Yes I have, there are actually 3 styles currently available each retailing at about
$30.00, There are the C-3PO and Vader models you mentioned and also a Stormtrooper. They
are made by a company named AMERICAN COVERS which also manufactures 6 soft and hard mouse
pads, a CD wallet and a wrist rest. They are available at CompUSA, Babbages/Software Etc.
and Electronics Boutique.
Any SW collecting questions you may have, regarding the value or availabilty of an item, or any comments you have are welcome. Mail me and you might get your question and answer posted for all to see.
( Chris Bishop is a SW fanatic (lunatic is actually a better word) who's collection of SW memorabilia is so large he can claim it as a dependent on his taxes since it occupies an entire room of his apartment. )
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