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Collectibles => Past Hasbro 3.75" Lines => Power of the Force 2 => Topic started by: Brian on August 13, 2004, 02:38 PM

Title: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on August 13, 2004, 02:38 PM
I was curious to hear some of your opinions, stories, etc. about when the POTF2 line first started out, and when Star Wars figures were back on the pegs.  I have to be honest, I wasn't really collecting right when it started, getting into it more so around 1999, about the time of Phantom Menace.  I was aware that the toys existed sometime before that, since my younger brother was receiving some things as b-day gifts at that time.  Anyways, just looking over the waves, figures, etc. online, I bet it was a pretty exciting time to see Star Wars on the pegs again.  Sure, they were big and buff, and most of them look pretty poor compared to today's figs, but I can still imagine it was pretty neat.

How did you first know they were back?  The internet community wasn't quite the same back then, was there another route (maybe commercials that I don't remember).  Did you know what was coming out next, in upcoming waves, or was there a time of "ta da, new figures" like it was in the vintage days?  Did you have any idea that Hasbro would continue on so far, or did it seem like it was a short limited series?  Were figures tough to find?  Anyways, just curious as to some of your personal stories for that period in Star Wars collecting.  I kind of missed out on it, and although I have some figures from that period now, it would have been neat to be a collector during that time.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Morgbug on August 13, 2004, 05:21 PM
It started as a joke for me.  Really. 

I was in grad school at the time and was (apparently) really aggravating to my supervisor.  He was/is an extremely intelligent man, with tastes far more advanced than mine.  He listens to Opera, reads classical literature, attends the symphony, ballet, etc.  Being a lifelong (thereabouts) star wars fan I thought I'd get him an Obi-wan figure as a joke and put a Vader figure on my desk.  I was pretty sure he wouldn't pick up on the analogy, but he did, which impressed the heck out of me.  To this day he still have the Obi figure on display in his office, which is entirely out of character. 

As mentioned in the vintage section, I never collected the old figures.  I did collect Marvel comic figures, Secret Wars or whatever teh current action figure series of the time was.  I only ever grabbed one or two sparingly, maybe that many in a year.  So I sort of knew that the figures had just appeared in the toy aisles fairly recently.  Didn't have much money in grad school, so my purchases were very limited to say the least.  Essentially, I just stumbled on them.  I'm not now, nor was I then as critical as many here, I was just happy to have the figures, heman or not. 

Initially there were about 12 figures and Leia, who was the original shortpack in this line, monkeyface and all, was one I had no difficulty finding.  I picked up those 12, thinking that was about it.  When more straggled out, I would pick those up as they came along, following the packaging as a guide for what was available.  Eventually it became an insanity, on the retailers part.  So many figures out: POTF2, cinema scenes, SOTE, vehicles, beasts, 12".  I resisted the whole time, only buying main characters and that was about it. I was not initially aware of the diversity of figures.  Being in Canada, in spite of all that crap on the shelves (which I own most of now) I had no idea how much I was missing.

I eventually started doing searches on the internet and found RS in its first year on the web and eventually found collectstarwars.com as well.  I was a ghost at those sites for a very long time, from around 97 onward.  The whole time, until late 2001 I only collected 3 3/4 figures. 

No idea about promotional stuff, but I do remember one thing.  I used to see more parents buying stuff at that time, probably owing to the re-release of the OT in theaters.  I remember scouring pegs with a woman that was a parent of two kids.  She was asking all sorts of questions about what the main characters were and whether her kids would like things like Ugnaughts.  It was a fun conversation that won't be repeated these days. 

I never really followed what was coming up that closely, just occasionally printed out a new check list so I could see what was missing.  At the time I was a carded only guy but eventually space issues drove that out of me too. 

So essentially in my case it was dumb luck, or fate, depending on your point of view. 
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Muftak on August 26, 2004, 01:18 PM
I remember seeing the Toy Fair image of the first bunch of POTF2 figures in a Wizard Magazine sometime in the spring or summer of 95 and feeling my heart skip a beat.

They were real...modern...Star Wars figures!!

At the time I was collecting odds and ends of toys: Aliens stuff and X-Men stuff are what I remember mostly. Sometime that September I was at the local TRU and saw a handful of the new Star Wars toys on the pegs. My first grab consisted of Luke, Han, Chewie, Ben, Artoo, and Vader. They were all that was there. A few weeks later I found a couple of Stormtroopers and a Leia. Then a Landspeeder and an AT-ST.

I skipped out on the X-Wing and Falcon ,but eventually picked up a TIE. I liked the toys a lot...even the big EU extra weapons everyone came with. The lightsabers seemed a little long, but they were see-through colored plastic so I forgave them.

And those bios on the back of the cards...what an extra! I had been playing the RPG for a few years prior, and it was neat to see all the info from the Sourcebooks carried over to the new toys.

My Mom actually found C-3PO and Boba Fett for me not long after (half-circle Fett, that I proudly opened up and stuck on my shelf with all the others.) I had seen pictures of the New Fett on a Toy collecting magazine (no idea which one anymore) and thought--Wow!! It looks like a model or something! I had no idea it would be out so quickly. In the comic magazines they touted the return of Star Wars toys, and I learned what would be coming next.

It wasn't long before I had that next batch of figures,  Yoda, Lando, Luke Pilot, TIE Pilot (the hardest one for me to find back then!) Hoth Han and Dagobah Luke all hit here that same winter. Then it was a long wait, eight months or so, till Shadows toys hit.

I collected the entire POTF2 line steadily and displayed it all, until I moved into my own place in Summer '98 and had to pack everything away. Most of that old stuff still hasn't come back out. I "took off" from collecting for a couple years then, until 2001 or so when POTJ started to heat my enthusiasm back up. By then I was online alot of the time, and found the RS/CSW communities just before the big merge. And I've been with it ever since.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: DoctorPadawan on August 27, 2004, 09:22 AM
I was not even aware that there was going to be a new SW action figure line until I happened to see a copy of a toy magazine (Lee's?) in a bookstore in July of 1995.  I was just looking around for a copy of a Giger art book and on my way out, I noticed the cover proclaiming "Star Wars is back!" or something along those lines.  I picked it up, flipped to the page with the photos and just about fainted.  I can't put into words how excited I was about new SW toys (especially since I had lost the vast majority of my vintage toys back in the day to the evils of a yard sale) and I counted the seconds until I could look for them at retail.

The first thing I saw from POTF2 was actually the X-Wing on a top shelf at a Wal-Mart in early August of 1995.  Strangely enough, it would be another three months before that Wal-Mart would get anything else from the line (and even then it was another vehicle, the AT-ST), and another month after that before they got any figures.  Believe it or not, I actually found Han, Luke, Chewie, and Ben at a Woolworth's a few days after the X-Wing, and the following day I went to another Woolworth's a few miles away and found Leia, Vader, R2, and the Stormie.  The fact that Threepio was missing was very confusing to me, as I still labored under the vintage-induced perception that everything came out all at once and I must have just missed him.

By the end of September, I had all nine figures (Threepio showed up at that Woolworth's about three weeks later), all five initial ships, and I was absolutely thrilled that there were new SW toys.  And everything went downhill from there.  ;D

As for INTERNET, I think the first time I ever visited a SW collecting site was in October of 1996.  I had just heard about the Special Editions coming out the following year and was looking for pictures of the new stuff when I stumbled across a small personal page of someone who also had photos of the upcoming toys (which at that point were the Sandtrooper, Greedo, and the DS Gunner).  I did some other websearches and ran across Yakface's Realm first, then stumbled into Wiseacres.com and the SW Collector's Archive.  A few weeks later I discovered Usenet and found RASSC, and the rest is history.  Nine years later, I have Jebus knows how many figures, vehicles, beasts, playsets, and dolls populating a room of my home and no matter how crappy some of the stuff may be in retrospect, I still think fondly of every single piece in my collection.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: bobafett14 on August 27, 2004, 10:19 AM
I actually was collecting the SW Bend-ems before the POTF2, and also the SW comics by Dark Horse.  I beleive the bend-ums came out around 1993 or 1994 (on vac. right now, can't remember) but I kept looking for the Fett and Luke X-wing (which I still need to complete that part of the collection)  they ran about $2.99 pretty cheap, but that's when I ran across the POTF2 in stores and the rest is pretty much history.

About that same time was when I first jumped online as well.  That's when I hit a few sites like collect sw, POTF2.com, and I think Gus's site were the early favs.  and I started grabbing the toy mags w/SW covers as well. 
(I think the first Lee's I grabbed back then had the black cover w/TIE Fighter on it)  I still to this day collect mags w/SW covers on them.


 
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Jesse James on August 27, 2004, 06:07 PM
I was similar to your story Bob.

I was buying MicroMachines actually...  That was my thing.  I eventually started going online about the same time too and started looking at modern figures.

Before all that I bought some of the RPG books for just "good reading", some of the miniatures, and I collected/customized Vintage. 

I was a G.I. Joe brat though, not a Star Wars fan till proobably the later 80's.  I liked Star Wars as a kid, but didn't collect it because G.I. Joe was just a better toyline to me from a child's standpoint (more fun, more vehicles, etc.)...

Joe was my life though...  Had EVERY figure.  In fact the only things I didn't have were redeco exclusives, Sears Exclusives, etc...  Oh, and the FLAGG which wouldn't fit in my room.  :)  Had that all though, and hardly any Star Wars.  They were good for accessories for my Joes and for use as the helpless scientist or something.

Vinty caught my eye when I was watching Empire and Jedi on NBC one night, and I wanted to collect the old toys...  Before long talk of new films, re-released films, and then in 1995 a whole new action figure line.  And the rest is a sad pouring of $ into Hasbro.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Ben on September 26, 2004, 06:15 PM
I read a blurb in Star Wars Galaxy Magazine issue #2 (still have that same ish) and I about **** my pants. I was picking up vintage figures, collecting Micro Machines, Bend-Ems, X-Men, and Playmates Star Trek stuff. Now I had a chance to get brand-new Star Wars figures! Real ones!
I got the first nine figures and the Landspeeder for Christmas 1995 (couldn't drive on my own back then) and eventually located the next waves in the early months of 1996.
I'm only missing the Snowspeeder and AT-ST from that period. I was obsessed. I let my Playmates collection slide just before the 1701 Fiasco, and I'm glad I did then. Now I'm buying what I want for a song.

I got online about 1996, and the first SW site I hit was Gus Lopez's Collector's Archive. From there I found Yakface's Realm, CSW, POFToo! (great stuff, wish he'd continued) and eventually found RS.

I thought new Star Wars toys wouldn't last long, but 500-odd Star Wars toy purchases and nine years later, I'd say it's golden.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: evenflow on November 5, 2004, 02:33 PM
Well I remember seeing the pictures in Action fgure digest and all those magaiznes and was so pumped. It was awesome.

The cooler memory is when I first found them. I was on my way to PA to visit some family and I usually stop to look for toys, there is a TRU, a Walmart, and at the time a Service Merchandise all right next to each other. I went into S.M. and to my surprise they were all just hanging there. I was flipping out, I bought the complete set and it was amazing. I was literally the first person who had them because the next day i went to a toy show and when i wnet no one had even known they wer eout yet. So I had them in my car so i brought them out to show eveyrone.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Ranat on November 5, 2004, 03:08 PM
I didn't find out about POTF2 like you guys did. My story is a little bit different:

It was Christmas of '96. I was in the mall looking for a christmas present for one of my friends. He had told me he wanted a Star Wars toy. I went into Kay-Bee toys and went to the action figure aisle. I was 11 or 12 at the time, and really had no collecting interests at the time. Looking through all the Star Wars figures, I picked up a Han Solo in Carbonite for him. While paying for the toy, I thought to myself "These things are stupid". Isn't it interesting how one can change his or her mind quickly?

Than night, I brought the figure up to my room and put it on my dresser. I was playing a video game, but the whole time, I just kept staring at the action figure. I paused the game, picked up the action figure, and just looked at it. I read the bio on the back, and looked at the other figures that were listed on the back too. The next day I brought the figure over to my friend's house. When I dropped it off, I asked if I could borrow the Trilogy. He lent it to me, and as soon as I got home, I started watching it (I had NEVER seen Star Wars). I immediately fell in love with it. The vast amounts of unique aliens, the technology, the fights, everything appealed to me.

That Easter, my mother brought me to Kay-Bee toys and told me to pick out two things I wanted. I went right to the Star Wars toys and picked out my very first Star Wars figures: Bossk and the Jawa 2 Pack. Ever since then, I've been buying all the Star Wars figures I can.

Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Raia on January 11, 2005, 10:56 PM
In June '95, on the last day of school, I was pleading with my mom to let me stay up later when ESB came on the TV.  Not knowing what it was at all, I tried to use it to help my cause.  I said that I really, really wanted to watch, that it was my favorite movie.  She saw right through that and sent me to bed, but not before I got my first glimpse at Chewie, all covered in snow shooting at the Probe Droid. 

The next day I couldn't get that "weird, fuzzy guy" out of my mind and decided to ask my mom to rent the tape for me.  She got  them one at a time, and had to have watched them five times each that week.

The day that ROTJ was due back my cousin came over.  I tried to get him to watch with me, but he said it stupid and boring.  I finally got him to watch the final fight between Vader and Luke, and converted him there on the spot.  When our grandmother (Nana :)) came to pick him up, she surprised us by taking us to Toy'r'Us.  He picked out Darth Vader while I searched in vain for Chewie.  After going through ever single figure and not finding a single one, I decided that I wanted Vader, too.  I picked one up, and he got upset because "we can't have Vader fight Vader!"  I wasn't going to budge, and was beggining to cry (I was only 7!) when Nana stepped in and made him get Luke in the X-Wing gear. 

We played with those figures everyday for 4 or 5 years, and of coarse we added several dozen more along the way.  Today, all I have left off my first figure is Vader's cape - with the dirt baked into it and all.  I can't remember exactly what happened to him, but my money is on him being half-buried somewhere in my old backyard.

Of coarse, finding Princess Leia in a huge bin of figures at KB is my favorite memory.  I was so excited, jumping up and down and screaming "I got Leia!  I got Leia!"  I had to return the R5-D4 I just bought to get her.  Of coarse, her hand fell off later that day  >:(

-Raia
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Darby on February 6, 2005, 05:42 AM
At the time I was collecting Playmates Star Trek line, and I can't remember if I first saw a pic of the new SW in a toy magazine or on the web.  I do remember thinking they were going to be the same size as the Playmates stuff, and being surprised when I found they weren't.  Weird.  But they took me right back to when I was a kid, saving up ten quarters to buy one of these every month.   :)
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Vator on February 20, 2005, 02:45 PM
So...10 years this summer is it? My first memories are from back in late '95 being in TRU and seeing the attractive red cards. My dad recognised them as Star Wars, and I really, really, really wanted 'the gold guy'. I never got him though, eventually along the way I'd opt for something else.
Everytime we'd go there (frequently...what can I say, I was spoiled) I'd always one of them. It wasn't until the Special Editions came out that I understood. The lines were too long at the theatre to go see them, so we went to Blockbuster and bought the Trilogy.
We also stopped at the same Toys R Us that afternoon and I got the 12inch Vader and the SOTE Xizor VS Vader 2 pack. Now if I recall, Carla and Michelle (mom and sister) went to go see Evita or something that night while we watch A New Hope. By the time they got back, my fate was sealed. And thus was born my love of Star Wars.

One problem of course, was our new puppy Riley. I lost sooo many figures to him, he really had a thing for X-Wing Lukes and Vaders. Luckly that ended befour '99 when Episode I came out.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: John C on March 24, 2005, 05:00 PM
The last 10 years have gone by so fast.  I remember seeing the pictures for the first time as many others did in Toyfare magazine.  I had picked up some of the Bend-Ems and die cast Action Masters, but they weren't the same.   Real Star Wars figures were coming out again.  I found the Falcon first at Target, so I picked it up.  The first figure I was able to find was Luke at a TRU.  I was able to find the rest of the first wave at a Target shortly afterwards.  They had a limit on them, but it was something like one of each per person, so I was happy with that.  I was a completist with the figures until the POTJ line. 
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Jagdohh_Fett on April 14, 2005, 02:41 AM
When the modern line debuted, I wasn't really into Star Wars that much (I had a few vintage figures, but most of my childhood was spent with He-Man and TMNT figures). I was still collecting the X-Men, X-Force, etc. figures around '95, but I do remember buying a few of the orange-carded POTF2 figures sometime in early '96, I believe. I still have the Obi-Wan carded, which I think was my first modern SW figure bought.

It was sometime around when the Freeze Frames came into play that I ended up picking a few more up, but it wouldn't have been until the summer of '02 that I became a hardcore collector, sadly too late for most of the earlier stuff  :(.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Darth_Anton on June 2, 2005, 01:08 PM
At the time I was collecting Playmates Star Trek line,

Same here. I was also working on Star Trek at the time. Strangely, this is where I heard my first rumor of the return of the Star Wars line.

I was frequenting a store called Puzzle Zoo in Santa Monica and got to know one of the store attendants. He turned out to work as an extra and happened to work one week as a stand-in/extra Klingon. While we were chatting on set he broke the news to me. After that, I was done. I found out everything I could abou the line and haven't stopped since.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Matt_Fury on June 2, 2005, 08:16 PM
When the POTF2 figures came out, I stumbled across them in the store and thought it was pretty neat to see SW figures on the pegs after about a decade, but didn't collect them.

The first POTF2 figures I got were two Theater Edition Lukes when I went to see ROTJ SE in the theater opening day.

I didn't really get into collecting them until 1999 when TPM came out, and then I was mainly collecting Episode 1 figures,, but eventually went after the POTF2 stuff as well....especially when the quality improved.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on June 7, 2005, 03:20 PM
I was looking back at some pics online of the earlier POTF2 figures at the photo retrospective here at JD.  According to some information I have read, there were 12 figures released in 1995.  Is that at all accurate?  Like I said, I remember seeing these again, but wasn't really collecting at the time so I'm not all up on the details.  I was just curious if there was only 12 figures for the whole year (or how many were released in following years).  When I started actually buying the figures (around 98 or so), there were obviously a lot more on the pegs for the most part, but I don't know much about the initial waves/releases.  Although I always like more figures/vehicles, etc., it sure would have been easier to keep up than it is now ;).
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on February 28, 2006, 04:05 PM
Just thought I'd bring this topic back up, in case anyone else had stories to share.  Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences.  Like I mentioned earlier, I really wasn't collecting anything at that time, and I missed out on the beginning years of the POTF2 line...jumping in on the later waves and the commtech figures.  I really wish I would have known about it from the beginning, or at least been more aware of it, because it sounded like a great time to be a collector.  Sure, the figures look outdated now, but at the time they were pretty spiffy.  Plus, having 10-20 figures a year with a few vehicles would have been a lot easier to keep up and enjoy the hobby.  I really like the figures and collectibles we get nowadays, but I kind of miss the simpler times that many of your stories have brought up.  I still like collecting, and checking the stores for figures, but there are many times where I feel like I have to pick figures up the second I see them (usually at odd times during the day) or I'll never see them again.  Was there as much trouble with that in 1995?  Was there a scalper problem where you missed out on figures like that?  Anyways, thanks again for sharing everyone, sounds like it was a great time.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Gatillo on February 28, 2006, 04:30 PM
I remember that figures were easier to come by in 95 and 96, perhaps even 97 but it got harder and harder until 99 hit and it was crazy.  Of course after the TPM craze everything POTF2 was cheap and everywhere.  I saw items in 2000 that I had not seen in the shelves for years.

I think a lot of people started collecting after TPM and the scalping incidence therefore also increase.  I remember always seeing figures on the pegs regardless of day and time.  Now you have to go in at 0800 on an odd day to find half a case and if you are lucky most of the case.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Morgbug on March 1, 2006, 12:41 AM
I remember that figures were easier to come by in 95 and 96, perhaps even 97 but it got harder and harder until 99 hit and it was crazy.  Of course after the TPM craze everything POTF2 was cheap and everywhere.  I saw items in 2000 that I had not seen in the shelves for years.

I think a lot of people started collecting after TPM and the scalping incidence therefore also increase.  I remember always seeing figures on the pegs regardless of day and time.  Now you have to go in at 0800 on an odd day to find half a case and if you are lucky most of the case.

I have distinct memories of having to be timely to find things like the Ugnaughts though.  Some stuff was tough and you just had to be there at the right time.  But a distinct difference between now and then is the space alotted to the figures outside of a movie year. 

I remember multiple retailers carrying the figures in 95-98 without any movie to back them up.  And the space devoted to them was incredible.  TRU had more peg/shelf space dedicated then than they ever had with the release of any of the PT movies.  That's just a bit weird.  Vehicles, playsets, all manner of things.  Nowadays we're hard pressed to have Walmart put out two cases every couple of months.  And yet they fly off the shelves.   ::)
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Dan on March 1, 2006, 09:03 AM
I was 25, and just starting to pick up vintage stuff that I used to have. A 2-1B or Luke Hoth would set you back 10-15 bucks loose. All of a sudden, these new figures started showing up (and cheap). I dumped all my vintage stuff except things that I had since I was 9, and focused on the new figures. I had a great time running around collecting them, opening them, and getting a set for my brother in law (he was 11 at the time). The stores certainly supported the line more then, but it was the only star wars game in town, so that make more sense. I look back, and think it is actually harder for me to find figures now than it was back then. So much for a decade of distribution resulting in progress...

I may not currently like the looks of buff Han and luke, and the inflated darth, but I do remember the hunt fondly. And getting a Luke Stormtrooper for 4.00 was incredible. Not to mention getting that Han stormtrooper in the mail, just like the old days.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Jesse James on March 2, 2006, 02:48 AM
I saw them for the first time at Hills...  *sigh*  Oh good times.  I am amazed at moments how far this line's come in quality, and yet somehow I'm equally (or moreso) amazed at how Hasbro DOESN'T improve quality in certain ways across the board.  They simply refuse to. 

Still, they're kind of like vinty's in that they hold a special place with me...  Ugly as they may be, they were all there was at the time and nobody knew if these were going to continue like they have.

I remember my customizing was turned around completely at the time though.  That was one of the big things that came with the new line for me since I knew they weren't overall appealing, but I also knew they had potential.  :)
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Mitsukara on May 2, 2006, 07:14 PM
I was pretty young at the time, but I really liked the Star Wars movies (all three of them). I'd probably heard about my older brother's figures he once had, but sadly all those vintage figures were sold in a box long ago, for most likely far too little money.

I had no idea new Star Wars figures existed until I got two for christmas :) Ahh, Buff Luke and R2-D2. I really loved those figures and was totally amazed with them, and saved up all my allowance to buy more afterwards. My first two purchases were Han Solo and Darth Vader, and I was in love with them <3 And so I kept buying and asking for them and wound up with quite a few...

And then I kinda lost interest around 2000, missing the commtech figures and only getting a handful of episode I figures. When episode II came out I looked for some episode II figures, but only wound up with 4- none of them even an Anakin because the only Anakins I saw sucked, of course ;) I guess Episode III kind of got me re-interested, urging me to improve my mostly-POTF2 collection.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Ackbar on May 4, 2006, 03:01 PM
I started seeing them on clearance for $3 and $4 at K-Mart and other stores like that, around 1997 and 1998, to make room on the shelves for the release of all the EPI merchandise.  Needless to say I snapped those clearance figures up in bunches, and then filled in the gaps in my collection through EBay.  It was definitely fun running around to all the local department stores, trying to complete my collection.

I have to say that getting in around 1997-1998 had 1 main drawback, I missed out on the majority of the Orange Card figures, which I think started around 1995, and were mostly gone by 1997-1998 in my area (I live in Southern NJ)
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: nitro on July 4, 2006, 02:30 PM
I just involved in collecting POTF2 figures early in the line. I was never into toy collecting  and I had just graduated high school earlier in the year. Well, one day in between day and night classes back in college, one of my college friends asked if I wanted to stop by a few stores at the mall.  With this being my first semester in school and a very long time between classes, I figured what the hell "let's go!!"

Well I got dragged into store after store, K-Mart, Caldor, Ames, K-B Toys, etc while my friend was looking for certain figs. The line he collected was...you guessed it, the POTF2 line. I thought it was pointless at first although it was nice seeing figures from a movie I had dearly loved since I was a kid. After a few hours of checking out toy departments and toy stores (we went to a few Toys R Us's in the area), he must've bought a hundred dollars worth of stuff. As far as myself, I didn't wind up buying anything although I was impressed with this incarnation of Kenner's recharged toy line. My college bud hooked me up with my first figure free of charge that night. He had an extra Red Card Darth Vader that he gave me to get my collection going when we got back to the college. That Darth Vader figure right there ,at that moment, fueled my toy collecting habit.

After that toy run, I winded up going every Wednesday night looking for Star Wars figures w/ him until we both graduated a few years later. When he moved to Arizona after college to take a job offer, I still collected SW stuff until Episode 1 came out. I still have all of my Star Wars stuff put away in my folks attic for the time being. I haven't gotten back into collecting Star Wars until Medicom released their own line of Star Wars Kubricks....I've been hooked ever since...
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on August 15, 2006, 04:19 PM
Its been great reading everyone's replies about their memories from the beginning of the POTF2 line.  I really wish I had been as active in collecting at that time as I am now, I bet it was a fun time.  Sure, many/most of the figures look crappy by today's standards (or maybe even then in some instances), but it would have been so neat seeing OT Star Wars product in the stores again.  When you were collecting then, did you know what was coming out next?  I know the internet was around, but maybe not quite as big, so was it similar with finding new stuff as the vintage days when you just happened across it or used the cardback as a checklist - or did you have an idea in advance of what was on the way?

Edit: Oh, one other quick question, some of you have mentioned first hearing of the "new line" via Wizard or another magazine.  Does anyone know if there is a scan of this online somewhere?  No big deal, just wanted to see it if it was available.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Morgbug on August 30, 2006, 04:19 PM
I don't have a copy Brian, but I did just post some comments from Wizard #55 in another thread.  So if you're looking for early reports on the line it would be around issue 50 or so, plus or minus about five issues either way.  I probably had a copy at one point and read it, but don't really recall.

First checklists I ever found were on CSW.com or RS.com.  I think I first found those sites around 1996 or so, maybe as early as 1995 but I don't really recall any longer.  How long have (had) they been around?  And finding those checklists was disturbing.  I didn't know there was a removable helmet Vader until I saw it on the checklist as it was never released in Canada (a trend that was to sadly repeat it self continuously through the years >:().
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on August 31, 2006, 09:52 AM
Thanks for the info Brent (here and in the other thread).  Its fun to read about everyone's experiences from back in those days.  Its funny with the talk of checklists and cardbacks, because I bet most of us couldn't imagine not knowing what was out (or coming out soon) well in advance the way we do now.  Like I was saying in another thread, I enjoy hearing everyone's stories from the early POTF2 days.  I bet it was a fun time to collect.  Star Wars figures for the first time in 10 years, limited releases so there wasn't so much to keep up with, just a simpler time overall.  I'm wondering, did most of you who started from the beginning go all out and get everything released (sometimes 2 or more of each) right away - or was it more of a trickle in of collecting.  It seems like it always starts with a few, and then snowballs.  I know that's how it was when I started, I picked up a couple POTF2 figures (later waves), and then went back and picked up the "main characters" loose I believe from Brians Toys, then it just kept accumulating from there to where I am now.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Morgbug on September 1, 2006, 01:38 PM
For me it was as much a joke as anything to get figures.  Honestly, I didn't even know that there actually were figures out in the stores at the time.  I did remember the vintage figures and I guess I just sort of thought there must be something hanging around Star Wars-ish.  So I toddled off to the store and much to my surprise there indeed were orange cards on the pegs. 

As mentioned previously I only bought Vader and Obi and an R2 for my office partner, as Leia was hard to find at the time so she had to settle for R2.  I believe she still has the R2 and I know my advisor still has the Obi in his office. 

I'm not sure when I decided to, but at some point I opted to pick up the remainder of the first 12.  I know I was reading Wizard at that point, so I probably new a bit of what was coming out as I'd just stopped collecting comics around the same time.  But as the green cards started coming out I started trying to find one of each figure that was out there.  I think I used cardbacks primarily for information and just checking pegs. 

It's funny thinking back to those times.  When the original movies were re-released into theaters I didn't even know that Episode I was going to be coming out - duh ::)  I was just happy seeing them in theaters again as they brought back so many memories for me: Star Wars 1977 I was 13 and at the transition from child to teenager.  Empire in 1980 I was in high school and it was one of the first movies I went to as a date with a girl ;)  A real, live girl!  1983 and Jedi was another date and I daresay the girl might have enjoyed the movie more than I did.  Damn ewoks. >:(
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on September 7, 2006, 10:30 AM
Thanks for sharing Brent.  Its always great hearing these stories.  I so regret not being an active collector back then, because it seems like it would have been a fun time - buff figures or not.  I saw over on the RS forums at one time that they had some pics of the displays set up in stores in the POTF2 days.  Lots of Star Wars in the aisles, that's good to see.  It doesn't seem like there was nearly the trouble with finding stuff then either, as there is today.  Sure, there were certain figures here and there, but now it seems like anything new is tough to find - at least for a certain period of time.  Just seeing all new Star Wars figures, vehicles, and beasts out on the pegs/shelves was probably a pretty neat experience.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: darth punkinhed on September 7, 2006, 05:00 PM
I was working for a comic distributor at the time, capital city if any of you can remember them. So I was always up on the new toys/comics/games/hobby stuff. Those were good times. When the new line came out I think they hit K-Mart first (after direct sales-I think these hit comic shops before retail) and then trickled down to Wal-Mart and everywhere else. Leia was a pain to get as was C-3po. Early cases pretty much only had Luke, Vader, Obi-wan, Han and R2. I think Leia and C-3po were 1 per case additions to the second wave and then it just snowballed from there. Then there was the variant phase where everyone was freaking out about the short/long saber/tray deal. I remember it got muddy after that. Green cards and orange cards looked like they were shipping out at the same time and then they added the holo's. You could open a case and find two of the same fig but one would have the holo and one wouldn't. Then the Freeze Frames started to hit and I'd had it by then. There was a frenzy going on at that point to get the new waves so I got sick of it and stopped getting them. I didn't pick the hobby up again until ROTS. I wanted to collect not fight the masses. That said, I have every Wizard that I ever bought while working for Capital (and later Diamond). I started there in 93 I think so I'll see if I can locate one of the earlier wizards that goes into the POTF2 release. If it existed I'd have it. I think someone mentioned it was in the 50's and my collection should go back to the 30's-high 20's issues. I know I have them, just not in order and not in the same places. I probably even have the Advanced Comics catalog with the pre-order info on them still. I kept all that crap because most of it came with trading cards and I wanted a price reference for the future.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: Brian on April 24, 2007, 04:21 PM
I was just reading through the replies here again, thanks everyone.  I was going through and cleaning out some of my storage totes (getting kind of full), and came across some POTF2 figures I had packed away - and it made me think of this topic again.  Like I've said before, I regret not collecting then - because I bet it was a fun time.  I don't know why it fascinates me - maybe because it was the first "new" Star Wars figures out for 10 years, maybe it was the more "simple time" of collecting with just a couple dozen figures a year at most, along with a few vehicles.  It seems like, at times, collecting becomes a stressful event these days - just with what the action figure collecting "business" has become even since 95.  The figures might look kind of crappy now, but it does have a sort of nostalgia to it in a vintage sort of way too.  Anyways, just wanted to bump this up if anyone else has stories to share, or comments.
Title: Re: The Beginning of POTF2
Post by: JesseVader08 on May 7, 2007, 08:18 PM
The figures might look kind of crappy now, but it does have a sort of nostalgia to it in a vintage sort of way too.

I totally agree.  Many of the POTF2 figures are nostalgic to me since it was a return to collecting.  I like to think of them as neo-vintage.  ;)