---- REC.ARTS.SF.STARWARS.COLLECTING FAQ ---- Coordinators: Gus Lopez (lopez@cs.washington.edu) Chris Nichols (anichols@bucknell.edu) Authors: Dave Halsted (def@leland.stanford.edu) Gus Lopez (lopez@cs.washington.edu) Chris Nichols (anichols@bucknell.edu) Martin Thurn (thurn@cis.ohio-state.edu) Contributors: Wolfgang Schloegl (schloegl@faps.uni-erlangen.de) ---- Below is a list of Frequently Asked Questions in regards to Star Wars collecting, mostly having to do with Kenner toys. The list is always a work in progress, if you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to one of the above addresses. ---- The FAQ is split into six sections: I. General Information 1. What is POTF? 2. Are there any good sources for SW collectibles files/photos on the net? 3. Is Kenner (or other merchandising outfits) online? What is their address? 4. Are there any Star Wars collecting Home Pages? FTP sites? Other sources? 5. What new merchandise is coming out soon? II. Kenner Packaging and Grading. 6. Why are some of my figures blacked out on the back of my ROTJ card? 7. What does the C-1 to C-10 scale mean? 8. What does MOC mean? 9. What does MIB mean? 10. Is there a checklist for the Star Wars cards? Figures? Playsets? Books? 11. Why do a lot of POTF figures have "yellow" bubbles? 12. Is Yak Face pictured on the back of a POTF Yak Face card? 13. Did Yak Face come with a weapon? 14. What is the best way to store carded figures? 15. What does it mean when a card is punched? 16. What does 12, 20 ... Back mean? III. Kenner Loose Figures 17. How many figures were made? 18. What does mint mean? 19. Did anyone else get one of those neat Rocket Firing Boba Fetts? 20. What are some rarer figure variations and how can one tell the difference? IV. Buying, Selling and Pricing. 21. Are my old toys worth anything? 22. What's a good price guide/publication for SW collectibles? 23. Why is there such a large range in values for POTF figures? 24. Do fan made figures go up in value over time? 25. How is an auction or sale usually conducted on the net? 26. Where are good places to buy/sell/trade, physical and virtual? V. Non-Kenner Merchandise 27. Is it true that there is a C-3PO penis card? How much is it worth? 28. What about Foreign Star Wars figures? VI. Other Information 29. What are the other rec.arts.sf.* newsgroups for? 30. Where can I find out about the new movies? I. General Information 1. What is POTF? POTF = Power of the Force. A series of toys issued by Kenner two years after the release of ROTJ. This is a highly collectible series of Star Wars collectibles. 2. Are there any good sources for SW collectibles files/photos on the net? The SW Collectors Web Page has many color images of SW collectibles: http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/lopez/collectors.html 3. Is Kenner (or other merchandising outfits) online? What is their address? No online access for Kenner is known at this time. To contact Kenner/Hasbro by phone, dial 1-800-327-8264. 4. Are there any Star Wars collecting Home Pages? FTP sites? Other sources? The Star Wars Collectors Web Page: http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/lopez/collectors.html The Star Wars Bible http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~thurn/SWB/ 5. What new merchandise is coming out soon? For the latest info on new SW merchandise, read the rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting newsgroup and read issues of the Star Wars Insider, Star Wars Galaxy Magazine, the Star Wars Collector, and Tomart's Action Figure Digest. Pictures of some soon to be released SW products are also available on the SW Collectors Web Page in the section, "New Stuff". You should also regularly check Martin Thurn's Targeting Computer on-line at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~thurn/SWB/calendar.html, which is updated whenever new information is received. ---- II. Kenner Packaging and Grading 6. Why are some of my figures blacked out on the back of my ROTJ card? It is believed that this was done by Lucasfilm to keep the ewoks a surprise from people who hadn't seen ROTJ yet in late Spring of 1983. This occurs on the first version of 65-backs on US cards. The second and later versions of the 65 backs show these ewoks. On some European cards, Lumat and Paploo and blacked out, since these figures were never released in continental Europe. 7. What does the C-1 to C-10 scale mean? This scale is usually used to grade carded figures and boxed toys. It was designed to be more specific and quantitative than a scale based on individual terms. C-10 is absolutely mint, perfect, free of defects. C-1 is totally beat up. What goes in between is highly subjective. No matter what anyone tells you, there is no absolute meaning to this scale, and each collector uses their own relative grading. It is best to continue to buy from dealers you trust after you get a feel for their grading scale from some of their samples. When buying carded or packaged items, always ask for a description of all defects in addition to this C-1 to C-10 scale grading. Some typical defects in carded figures and boxed toys include (but are not limited to): yellowed bubble edge wear creasing bends card is not flat bubble is crushed bubble has ding bubble has dent (bigger than a ding) tears on card bubble separated from card over a small section card colors are faded celophane ripped price tag still in place sticker tear (from removing price tag) card is punched Carded figures sometimes sell for several times the price of the same figures as a loose, mint, complete specimen. It is not uncommon to see a figure that sells for $10 loose to go for $50 carded. The reason for this is that CONDITION IS EVERYTHING in the value of carded figures and completeness is the key factor in the value of loose figures. The prices listed in price guides for carded figures are for C-10 samples. The price drops dramatically (sometimes to about the same price as a loose mint figure) if there are significant defects. 8. What does MOC mean? MOC = mint on card. This means figure is in original unopened package. If there is any way the figure could be removed or has been removed, then it's *not* MOC. MOC says nothing about the condition of the card, which is the most important factor in the value of carded figures. 9. What does MIB mean? MIB = mint in box. A toy is MIB if the toy inside is mint (see definition of mint). MIB says that the box is, well, a box. MIB says nothing about box condition, an important aspect of value. 10. Is there a checklist for the Star Wars cards? Figures? Playsets? Books? Comics? Etc...? Some checklists are found on the SW Collectors Web Page in the "Text Files" section. You might also look at Martin Thurn's on-line Collector's Bible at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~thurn/SWB/ , although you have to access the data by the company's name. 11. Why do a lot of POTF figures have "yellow" bubbles? Cheaper plastics were used for bubbles on POTF, Droids, Ewoks, and some ESB and ROTJ carded figures. The exact reason for the yellowing is still unproven but it's believed it is due to heat, humidity, exposure to light, or some combination of these. 12. Is Yak Face pictured on the back of a POTF Yak Face card? No. He is pictured on the POTF Galaxy maps and the 1985 Kenner Toy Fair catalog, however. Some believe Yak Face was originally intended as a mail-in offer, and thus does not appear on the card backs for this reason. 13. Did Yak Face come with a weapon? On POTF cards, he came with the same staff as Barada and Nikto. There are reliable reports that he also came with a Luke Jedi gun. Most Yak Faces came with no weapon since the bulk of them were originally on Tri-Logo cards. 14. What is the best way to store carded figures? Your best bet to avoid yellowing and other damage is to store your carded figures in comic bags with a comic backing board. When you buy boards and bags from a comic shop, ask for "Silver Age" bags and "Current" boards. This allows the bag to be slightly larger than the board so that the average SW carded figure can fit inside. Some larger SW figures (e.g. Amanaman) require a "Golden Age" size bag. Place the board behind the card inside the bag and then seal the bag with tape along the bag (taping the bag to itself). Comic boxes make convenient storage units for carded SW figures stored in these comic bags. Sealing carded figures in comic bags reduces damage due to light, temperature, humidity, etc. 15. What does it mean when a card is punched? It means the piece of cardboard for the rack hole is missing from the card. 16. What does 12, 20 ... Back mean? This refers to the release of figures as determined by the back of the card that the figure came on. The first release of figures had only 12 figures on the back (of US cards). On the back of the card are pictures of all 12 figures. After that, there was a release that had 20 figures on the back and so on. The final card back showed 92 different figures, with Yak Face missing. ---- III. Loose figures 17. How many figures were made? This depends how you count. There were 93 regular action figures, and 96 if you count the Max Rebo Band. The number goes into the hundreds when you start counting variations like blue Snaggletooth, vinyl cape Jawa, telescoping Luke/Ben/Darth, blue saber Luke Jedi, etc. Chris Nichols has a list of 120 different loose figures including ones found in playsets. If interested send a message to (anichols@bucknell.edu). The list is by no means complete, but it does cover many of the painting variations and subtle differences. An extensive list of action figure variations is available on the SW Collectors Web Page: http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/lopez/all-figs.html 18. What does mint mean? Mint means new, unused, and as if you bought it fresh from the store in an undamaged state. 19. Did anyone else get one of those neat Rocket Firing Boba Fetts? It has been confirmed by Kenner that *no one* received a rocket firing Boba Fett from Kenner via the mail-in offer. The figure only exists in prototype form and never made it past Kenner's legal department, and hence never went into production. A detailed story about the rocket firing Boba Fett can be found in Tomart's Action Figure Digest #20. There are about three dozen prototypes of this figure known to exist and they are valued at approximately $3000 each. Several people have gone into the business of making replicas of the rocket firing Boba Fett. The most expensive (but highest quality) ones are made by the Earth (513 561 8697). These run from $150 on up. Chris Georgoulias makes a high quality one for a fraction of the cost. Contact Chris via email at chris.georgoulias@amp.com It is extremely common to run into people who swear they received a rocket firing Boba Fett from Kenner via mail-in. One net user has offered a free Yak Face to each person making such a claim if they can just *prove* they received said figure from Kenner. This Yak Face has continued to acquire dust ever since this offer was first mentioned. 20. What are some rarer figure variations and how can one tell the difference? Blue Snaggletooth- This figure was released in the Sears Cantina Adventure Set and is rarer than it's red counterpart. The difference is simple to tell, one is much taller and blue while the other is small and red. Vinyl Caped Jawa- The first Jawas released on 12-Back cards had plastic or vinyl capes instead of cloth ones. The cape is not the same color as a Ben Kenobi (much to some people's dismay) and also has a very faint texture on one side where as the Kenobi cape has none. It is unknown how many were actually made. Since these figures are worth a bit of money it is common to find fakes (in fact more common than finding originals). Always examine vinyl cape Jawas with skepticism. Another way to examine for fraud is to inspect the armholes of the Jawa to see if it looks to be the right size. The cape should not reach the Jawa's feet, but rather end a few mm above. Telescoping lightsabered figures- Some of the figures with the lightsabers that extend out of the arms of the Luke, Ben and Darth figures were made out of two pieces of plastic instead of one. In the telescoping version, the thinner part of the saber is actually a second piece of plastic that slides in and out of the thicker lightsaber piece. The Lukes are the most common (still quite rare), then the Ben followed by Darth. The sabers were most likely changed because the telescoping ones were expensive and offered little to the figure other than a longer lightsaber. It is common for people to believe they own a telescoping saber figure without a complete understanding of the terminology. When buying a telescoping figure, always ask if the saber has two separate parts. Rocket Firing Boba Fett- See Question #2 Luke Jedi Knight with blue lightsaber- A smaller number were released with a blue lightsaber which was made from the same mold as the green one. A more complete listing of variations can be found at: http://www.cs.washington.edu/homes/lopez/all-figs.html ---- IV. Buying Selling, Pricing 21. Are my old toys worth anything? Old Star Wars toys are usually worth something but often they're worth less than most people think. There are price guides available to give you an *idea* of market value. The value of a collectible is what someone is willing to pay for it. If you have a collectible and the price guide says its worth $100 for a mint one (which you happen to have) then you might be able to sell it for $100 to *the right buyer*. There is never a guarantee you'll get that much. If you try to sell your collection as one lot, expect to get much less than list price for everything. It could take you months to sell your whole collection at list price. It's always easier to sell SW toys, but such things as paper items and household goods are almost impossible to sell. Also, many price guides are notoriously overpriced or underpriced. The best way to assess value is to have a good idea of the going market rate for the item(s) in question. When most people ask this question, they are usually asking it with regard to the action figures they had as kids. Loose Star Wars action figures average around $5-8 if they are mint and complete with all accessories. No matter how many flea market bozos you see with $20+ price tags on common figures, it is *easy* to find most common Star Wars figures for under $10 each. Only a few select figures (POTF figures, blue Snaggletooth, some rare variations, and a couple of early figures) command prices over $10. If a figure is missing its accessories or has any damage (e.g. paint wear), then price drops dramatically. Keep in mind that Kenner made over 250,000,000 Star Wars action figures. To get an idea of that magnitude, that's about as many pennies as the US Mint issues in a given year for the US population. They're not as rare as some people think! 22. What's a good price guide/publication for SW collectibles? The Tomart's guide for Star Wars Collectibles is by far the best guide. It is thorough and lists about every single known licensed Star Wars collectible. Tomart's Action Figure Digest (bi-monthly magazine) updates the values of items in this book. Get the Tomart's guide! It is the most essential book in Star Wars collecting. You should be able to order the Tomart's guide through your local bookstore. Here are the publishing details: title: Tomart's Price Guide to Worldwide Star Wars Collectibles author: Stephen J. Sansweet and T. N. Tumbusch publisher: Tomart Publications, Dayton OH, 1994 ISBN: 0-914293-23-0 Tomart's Price Guide to Worldwide Star Wars Collectibles is available by mail from Tomart Publications, 3300 Encrete Lane, Dayton, OH 45439-1944. The book is $26.95, plus $2.75 for P&H (shipping costs outside the U.S. vary...call us at 513-294-2250 for exact cost). You may pay by check or money order (sorry, no credit cards). All funds must be in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S. bank. Some collectors prefer using the monthly price guide for action figures in Action Figure News and Toy Review. Some price guides are available on the Star Wars Collectors Web Page in the "Text Files" section. Although, not a price guide, an excellent source for information on Star Wars collecting is The Star Wars Collector. This is a bi-monthly fanzine devoted exclusively to Star Wars collecting. Subscription information is available on-line at http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/~thurn/SWC/ Or, send email to Martin Thurn at thurn@cis.ohio-state.edu 23. Why is there such a large range in values for POTF figures? POTF figures are extremely popular with collectors leading to some fairly high prices for some. Some of these figures are much easier to find than other POTF figures and hence the huge price variance. Also, the demand for figures like Han Carbonite, Yak Face, and Luke Stormtrooper is much higher than say ewoks like Romba and Warok. 24. Do fan made figures go up in value over time? Usually not. It depends if the creator of the fan made figure does "limited run" or is well known in the collecting community. On the other hand, if you look at GI Joe and Barbie collecting where custom figures have grown to tremendous markets, custom figures by well-known designers can fetch some high prices. It remains to be seen if the same will happen with Star Wars custom figures. 25. How is an auction or sale usually conducted on the net? Well, the best way to do this is to observe several and watch how they are conducted and then to post on your own. Several guidelines usually serve to help things run smoothly like: 1. Make clear the currency that you wish to recieve payment and the form in which you would like that money (Money order, check or credit card [haven't seen any of these yet]) 2. Post accurate descriptions of the pieces you are selling. This limits problems down the line with miscommunication based on what was being sold. 3. If you have an idea of a price that you will not sell below then post a minimum bid for the item in question. 4. Post or mail frequent updates so that bidders know where things stand. 26. Where are good places to buy/sell/trade, physical and virtual? rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting is a great place to find out about sales and auctions on the net. Toy Shop magazine is the premier forum for buying and selling Star Wars collectibles. It also lists toy shows in different areas. The best possible prices for Star Wars toys are usually found at local toy shows. ---- V. Non-Kenner Merchandise 27. Is it true that there is a C-3PO penis card? How much is it worth? Yes. Some collectors are willing to pay up to US$20 for this curiosity, even though it is as plentiful as any other Topps Series 4 card. This card was created when a mischievous Lucasfilm employee "enhanced" the artwork to give 3P0 a "chromie" before it was sent to Topps for printing. 28. What about Foreign Star Wars figures? Several manufacturers packaged the same figures that Kenner Produced in their own packaging with a different language. An examples of this is: Meccano in France. Other manufacturers actually put out different figures like the Japanese ones put out by Takara. For more information on these sort of things, Tomarts Price Guide to Worldwide Star Wars Collectables is the best source to see. ---- VI. Other Information 29. What are the other rec.arts.sf.* newsgroups for? rec.arts.sf.starwars.collecting Topics relating to Star Wars collecting. rec.arts.sf.starwars.games Star Wars games: RPG, computer, card, etc. rec.arts.sf.starwars.info General information pertaining to Star Wars. (Moderated) rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc Miscellaneous topics pertaining to Star Wars. 30. Where can I find out about the new movies? Read the FAQ for rec.arts.sf.starwars.misc ---- Thank you for reading the FAQ, hopefully we have been able to answer some of your initial questions. Once again, please direct any comments to: anichols@bucknell.edu (Chris Nichols), or lopez@cs.washington.edu (Gus Lopez).