Tag: Collecting

  • Star Wars Collection Additions from Emmitt’s Toy Emporium and eBay

    vintage star wars action figures arranged for display on a table

    While I was in Georgia visiting my parents this past month, I acquired a few more Star Wars action figures, playsets, and a vehicle to add to my collection.

    I knew that I needed to drive my mom to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida for tests and doctor’s appointments while I was there. I figured that I could visit comic shops or antique stores to look for Star Wars action figures for my collection.

    During my online research, I stumbled on Emmitt’s Toy Emporium and a photo of a glass product counter with a Kenner Star Wars Rebel Command Center in it. The photo was dated three months ago. I had been trying to find one of these at a fair price on eBay for a long time without any luck. I figured it was worth checking out even if the playset had sold before I arrived. Thankfully, he still had it in stock and the price for the playset sans action figures was $119. Emmitt and I worked out a deal for the playset and some figures.

    While I was there, Emmitt showed me some of his other items for sale, and he let me fire the motorized cannon on a complete Y-Wing Fighter (1983).

    kenner rebel command center playset

    Before the third trip to Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, my dad asked to see the toys that I scored, so I showed how they were setup and explained their release history. I suppose he saw how happy they made me and he acknowledged that I had done a lot of work (and there were still more left to do in the next two weeks), so he gave me his blessing to get a few other things that I had seen at Emmitt’s shop–the complete Y-Wing Fighter with motorized cannon (1983) and the Creature Cantina Action Playset (1979). It was a pleasure dealing with Emmitt, who knows how to bargain fairly.

    kenner creature cantina action adventure playset
    y-wing fighter and box

    I had a $10 off $50 purchase coupon from eBay, which I used to reduce the price on the Rancor monster (1984) from Wheeljack’s Lab. Now, I need the Rancor Keeper action figure (1984).

    rancor monster toy

    I’ve still got a ways to go, but I wonder if I can rebuild my collection to be as robust and interesting as the collection that I had to sell off in the early 2000s.

  • My Humble Star Wars Collection

    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models


    Panning around my desk at home is the Star Wars version of the original opening toThe Ray Bradbury Theater. My favorites are the Kenner line of action figures. To the left of my computer monitor is Sy Snootles and the Rebo Band set, which is sealed in its original box and blister pack, but the cover plastic has yellowed and Max Rebo’s skin has faded to a lighter blue. To the right and behind my home-built mini-AI workstation is Jabba the Hutt smoking hooka and reclining on his throne. Klatuu, Amanaman, Bib Fortuna and others mill about. Slave Leia, a Kenner-inspired action figure by Stan Solo Creations, completes the scene. A 1/144 scale Bandai Millennium Falcon (ESB version) swoops away from Jabba’s den around my computer. Directly in front of my keyboard are The Emperor safely sealed in a mail-away baggie, and bearing arms in a row are the bounty hunters contracted by Darth Vader aboard The Executor to locate the Millennium Falcon—Zuccuss, IG-88, Bossk, Dengar, and 4-LOM, but wait, Boba Fett should be here. Oh, he’s just above my monitor in the cockpit of Slave I that is posed mid-flight thanks to a LEGO Technics stand that I built for it. To its right is the Millennium Falcon on another custom LEGO display stand. The Dagobah Playset completes the shelf with Luke, R2-D2, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi looking across at an X-Wing Fighter with Battle Damage stickers applied (Darth Vader awaits hidden in the Cave of Evil). To the right of my trackball are two Stormtrooper from Hasbro’s updated 3 3/4”-line called The Vintage Collection that I fondly think of as Tag and Bink. To my right is The Emperor’s Thone Room playset and the huge box containing an unassembled Bandai Perfect Grade 1/72 scale Millennium Falcon (ANH version).

    Living in a one-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn requires creativity when it comes to one’s hobbies. My simple solution for my Star Wars collecting is to surround my desk area with my action figures and models. I have a mixture of original Kenner 3.75″ action figures, vehicles, and playsets; Hasbro re-issued “Retro Collection” figures; Stan Solo Creations re-issues and originals; Hasbro modern 3.75″ figures including “The Vintage Collection;” LEGO minifigures and sets, and Bandai Millennium Falcon models (1:350, 1:144, and 1:72 scale–the middle one is built, the other two remain to be assembled and painted).

    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models
    star wars action figure collection of assorted figures, vehicles, playsets, and models