What are your Favourite Collectables?
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There was great excitement among Star War fans when the Phantom Menace was released in 1999, more than 20 years after the first Star Wars film. Now there was a new hero, a young lad destined to become Darth Vader. This was a prequel and Luke, Leia and Han were not yet thought of. Instead there were characters like the fearsome Darth Maul with a scarlet and black face and devil type-horns. Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi Master and a beautiful handmaiden called Padme Naberrie and Queen Amidala were the stars of this movie.
The toys from Phantom Menace soon ousted the memorabilia from the previous trilogy. The shops were filled with mugs, books, rucksacks, pencil cases, sweet tins and mousemats bearing pictures of Darth Maul, Anakin Skywalker, Queen Amidala, Qui-Gon Jin and, most of all, Jar Jar Binks. Jar Jar was everywhere; for a while he seemed to be the ‘in’ figure from the film, the crazy character kids would go for. That’s what the manufacturers had hoped and they were completely wrong. Darth Maul turned out to be the hit and when the first wave of action figures arrived, it soon transpired that there were not enough to meet the demand.
The price of a piece of Star Wars memorabilia can be doubled if the original box, instructions, decal slips and associated paraphernalia are all included. If the item has never been removed from the box it could be very valuable indeed.
While the majority of Star Wars memorabilia collectors are quite happy if the box has been opened, or even if it is missing altogether, the serious Star Wars collector will demand absolute perfection and is prepared to pay fantastic sums for figures and toys in Grade A shop condition. The box has to be as mint and perfect as the toy inside.