New To Vintage Collecting? Some Tips!

[DSJ™]

Well that auction went up a few beans!  

[Morgbug]

Wow, average price of 16 per fig.  Steep for some, bargain for others.  

Most of the last 17 he indicated were taken from bubbles on bad cards, so should be prime condition.  Still a big outlay of cash, but wouldn't it be nice to get one shipment with the Last 17, blue snaggletooth and everything else complete

BTW, is jedi Luke supposed to have a blue saber or a green saber?  I presume he was released with both.  

[Reconsgt]

You are correct on the Jedi luke although the Blue saber version is valued higher

[DSJ™]

BTW, is jedi Luke supposed to have a blue saber or a green saber?  I presume he was released with both.

Yes, both. There is also a difference in the robe that came out. This is from our JD checklist on vintage variations:

Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight Outfit) - NO. 70650
___ green lightsaber, robe w/sewn collar & packaged straight behind and under Luke, no green flap
Variations:
___ green lightsaber, robe w/snap-on collar & straight behind and under Luke, no green flap
___ green lightsaber, robe is sewn, behind & to the R. side of Luke, under small green flap
___ green lightsaber, robe is snap-on, behind & to the R. side of Luke, under small green flap
___ blue lightsaber, robe is sewn, behind & to the R. side of Luke, no small green flap
___ blue lightsaber, robe is snap-on, behind & to the R. side of Luke, no small green flap

It's worth checking out the list Brent. Very interesting stuff in there.    Alot of work our Thomas has done!  

JD Checklist

[Morgbug]

Indeed.  thanks for the list Dale.  The only problem I have is the main page crashes my computer at home and since Dell seemed to ramp up the prices for the Christmas rush, I won't be getting a new one until later, probably next spring.  The problem is not unique to JD, Galactichunter and RS have both done the same thing.  Killertoys is another site that, well, kills me.  At work, I try to limit the surfing.  They do watch, so too many clicks engenders a nasty email.  Plus we've now got new people at the top, so they might be looking at "re-organizing".  

I actually have two Jedi Lukes, one complete, one missing a gun.  The paint jobs on the face are dramatically different.  The Taiwan (1983) fig has much more face paint for the features than does the Hong Kong (1983) version.  Both have the green light saber.  Both robes appear to be sewn.  

[Brian]

I wanted to thank everyone for this thread, and for the advice in these forums.  I am admittedly a vintage novice, but am slowly working towards getting a loose, complete set of the first 77 figures.  After that, who knows, maybe the rest of the figures, or maybe on to vehicles.  Although I really enjoy the modern stuff (especially with the 2004 stuff coming out, OT heavy), vintage is just so much fun to collect, and really takes me back.  I can still remember when and where I found a few of my favorite vintage figs on the pegs (actually on the pegs, not ordered online like today )  Anyways, getting somewhat caught up with some modern stuff, and scaling back on prequel stuff right now has given me the opportunity to get back to some vintage collecting, and I appreciate all of the knowledge I gain from you guys here in the forum.  Thanks!

[Morgbug]

Duh, is the gun that comes with blue snaggletooth the same gun that comes with red snags?  Just curious

[DSJ™]

Yes.  

Blasters

Pistols & Rifles

Red & Blue Snaggletooth

[Morgbug]

Excellent....thank you.

[DSJ™]

Not a problem.  

[Morgbug]

I'm sure this has probably been anwered elsewhere on the forums but how do you go about cleaning vintage stuff?  A few of the items I've received lately, notably my rebel transport and original 12 display have some considerably aged dust and some yellowing as well.  I'm not sure the yellowing will come off, especially on the white transport, but will it off the grey display?  

I don't want to experiment with any cleaners on this stuff

BTW, my EV-9D9 came in and the head that was reported to be loose isn't, though the left arm falls off pretty darn easily.  Only overcharged for shipping by $5

[aka DaBigKahuna]

Brent,

From what I have read, most collectors recommend using soap and warm water.  You can use a soft tip toothbrush (make sure it is a super soft tip).  I use Lysol wipes then armoral wipes to shine up my figures.  No problems whatsoever.  I am not aware of a process to reverse the yellowing.

The arm issue is extremelly common on EV so I would not worry about that.


-Fish-

[DSJ™]

I agree with Matt, soap & warm water, a soft tip toothbrush & a little TLC will clean them. I also use Q-Tips.

Reversing the yellowing, ahh no. Its there for life & Plasti-Dip will not even help! Right Scott!    

[Radagast]

Wow, I've been looking for a forum like this for quite awhile, I have been collecting again for six months, although I had a good start as I had all of my childhood collection intact, Mainly started to upgrade and became addicted.  anyway.  I have discovered that letting your figures and soiled parts soak in a mega dose oxyclean and water works miracles, I dare say it will make a yellow figure a shade whiter, but its probably self deception on my part.   It will also remove ink, stage blood, and whatever else little whipper snappers tortured their figures with if you have the patience and want to scrub judiciously. I removed red stains from a land of the jawas playset base that soap and water would not touch.  Just this evening I soaked a survival kit backpack that was almost black with worn in grime, one that soap and water did nothing to, and it looks almost as good as new!  I forgot, it does wonders on soiled/stained cloaks as well, I have a royal guard that the colors were brought out amazingly.  GREAT STUFF.
WARNING: dont soak a rancor keeper, his belly will fill with water, also make sure to rinse with normal water a few times , or oxyclean residue will show up as dry flakes, they do brush off however.

[Brian]

Although I'm not sure when I will dive into it, I have always wanted to get a small collection of vintage carded figures.  I know I couldn't afford to do the entire line (unless Hasbro would stop making stuff, and I'd have more collectibles income to go towards this area), so for now I'd just like to slowly work towards getting some of the "main" characters.  I still have a ways to go on my loose collection as well, but thought I'd maybe save here and there and try to pick up a carded figure every so often.  The one I want to start with is Han Solo, probably the Bespin or Endor version.  I'd kind of like to get them on the movie card that they are actually from, but maybe sometimes it is cheaper to say do a Bespin Han on a ROTJ card.  Anyways, what is the best route to take for someone starting out?  Is ebay the best way to go for carded figures?  Any tips for a newbie?