Unfortunately, they're only planning to produce a limited number of these items, and quite a few have already been claimed. So move fast if you want one. The price is $30 each plus $10 for air mail shipping from Down Under, and I assure you it's worth it. This will really make a great addition to your collecting library.

Email toltoys@hotmail.com if you're interested.

(November 8, 2001)
Useful Video Release Checklist at Davis DVD
A site by the name of Davis DVD recently posted a nice checklist of all the different editions of the Star Wars films on video tape, laser disc, etc. It should prove quite useful to anyone trying to put together a collection of this material. The checklist can be accessed by clicking here. Thanks go out to TheForce.net for pointing this out.

(August 19, 2001)
Vintage Homage in Hasbro Power of the Jedi Line
Archive contributor Dan Flarida points out that Hasbro's new Snaggletooth (his new name is Zutton, but we all know he's Snaggletooth, right?) figure features a molding detail that should be familiar to most vintage collectors. Specifically, the figure's belt buckle is adorned with the same abstract symbol that can be found on the vintage Snaggletooth figure. Click here for detailed photos of the new figure found at CollectStarWars.com. Then compare it to the vintage figure's buckle, information about which can be found here. Pretty cool!

(August 19, 2001)
Cool Custom AT-IC at RebelScum
RebelScum.com recently showcased a customized Action Fleet AT-AT made in emulation of the All Terrain Ion Cannon conceptual prototype that we featured on the Archive a few weeks ago. The customized version, which was created by Norm Walker, can be seen here.

(August 19, 2001)
It's official: Star Wars Celebration to be in Indy
The official Star Wars web site recently announced that the second Star Wars Celebration will indeed be held at the Indianapolis Convention Center from May 3-5, 2002. No further information regarding the convention is available at this time. Click here to read the announcement.

(August 10, 2001)
Gus to Be Featured on A&E's The Incurable Collector
Our very own Gus Lopez is scheduled to have his collection featured on the A&E channel's The Incurable Collector program on Sunday, August 12. We believe it'll be on at noon, but you should have a look at your local listings to be sure of the time. For more information, check out A&E's web site by clicking here.

(August 10, 2001)
Coin Article in Lee's #106
The latest issue of Lee's Toy Review (I guess they've dropped the Action Figure News part) contains an article written by Archive editors Gus and Ron. It's basically a re-worked version of the Special Feature located here. It deals with the production process behind the Power of the Force coin line. Check it if you so wish.

(August 10, 2001)
News from Around the Web: Downloadable Palitoy Death Star, Vintage Commercials
Sites such as RebelScum and CollectStarWars have been reporting about a number of cool vintage sites of late. First of all, vintage supersite Palitoy.com is back up and running after being down for awhile. Among the cooler things they've added are tons of commercials from the vintage Kenner line. Additionally, a site called Gadders.com has popped up of late. It bills itself as "the ultimate Star Wars insert resource," and, as this billing implies, it offers images of a lot of instruction sheets, stickers and other similar things. Among the cooler features on the site is a Palitoy Death Star, which can be downloaded and printed out.

(August 10, 2001)
Krause Purchases Altantique, Revamps Toy Shop
The new issue of Toy Shop (#260) features an all new cover design as well as an expanded range of content. While the publication used to contain only advertisments from toy dealers, its emphasis now seems to be on articles focused on the world of collecting. Is this a good or a bad thing? Well, we all know that Toy Shop is virtually useless these days as a forum for purchasing toys; for better of worse, it's been supplanted by Ebay in that department. So I guess the new article-heavy format only improves the periodical. But, in the age of the Web, Toy Shop will probably never again be the vital link to the hobby that it once was. In addition to the new content, the latest issue also features a look back at Toy Shop's evolution over the years (remember when it used to weigh in at almost 300 pages?), which will come as a bit of fun to anyone who's a longtime subscriber.

The issue of Toy Shop in question also mentions that Krause Publications, the publisher of Toy Shop, has purchased the Atlantique City Megashow, the huge indoor antique and collectibles show that takes place twice a year in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It's hard to say what effect this purchase will have on the show, but Krause promises to "to grow the show using the expanded resources of Krause Publications."

(July 11, 2001)
Star Wars Film Props for Auction
Some material alleged to be from the original production of Star Wars is now up for auction at the Fleetwood Owen web site. It looks like the auction, which includes items from a lot of different films, takes place on July 31, 2001 in London, England. The Star Wars material includes some blue prints and conceptual sketches. Head on over there for more info (click on the "at the movies" link on the site's main page).

(July 11, 2001)
New Forums on Rebelscum.com
Star Wars-collecting supersite, Rebelscum.com has recently added some discussion forums. Included is one for the discussion of vintage collecting. Pop on over if you get a chance.

(June 28, 2001)
Star Wars on A&E's Incurable Collector, Sunday July 1
Collector Martin Thurn informs us that Star Wars collecting will be a featured topic on the A&E channel's Incurable Collector program of Sunday, July 1st. Check your local listings for show times. You may also click here to obtain more information.

(June 28, 2001)
The Canadian Star Wars Gallery Debuts on Web
Archive contributor and Canadian collecting expert, Scott Bradley, has just launched his site dedicated to the Canadian Star Wars experience. It boasts a pretty awesome toy gallery and some other great stuff to boot. The Canadian version of the plush Chewbacca was slighter larger than it's U.S. counterpart. Who knew!? Check it out at http://www.ncf.ca/~cn333/starwars.htm

(June 13, 2001)
Web Site Makes Vintage Kenner Commercials Available for Download
A person going by the name of Konas/2002 recently posted a few of Kenner's commercials for vintage Star Wars product on his web site. They can be downloaded by visiting the page found here.

(June 8, 2001)
Star Wars Collectibles Program on HGTV
According to collector Martin Thurn, Home & Garden Television will soon air an episode of their Collectible Treasure show, which is focused on Star Wars memorabilia. It's scheduled to air on June 12 at 1:30 PM. Martin also points out that HGTV has a web page devoted to this episode which can be found at http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,CRHO_project_4997,FF.html. Check it out if you can.

(June 8, 2001)
Star Wars Article at X-Entertainment
X-Entertainment recently posted an article about all the great memories that Star Wars merchandises have left us with over the years. It's pretty funny. Check it out by clicking here.

(May 23, 2001)
ArchiveLive! Chat Feature Debuts with New Main Page
The Archive's chat feature has now been linked from the main page of the site. We'd like to invite all our regular visitors to stop in for some hobby-related discussion with other collectors. Nights after 10:00 PM EST are usually when the chat room is most active. Click here to check it out!

John has also reconfigured the main page in order to make it a bit more concise and cause it to load faster. You'll notice the new "Features" category. This contains Archive staples like the poll, "Special Feature," "Relics of the Outer Rim" and the Nostalgia section. Along with these changes, you should expect to see an updated look for most of these secondary indexes in the very near future.

(May 23, 2001)
A Cool German Book on Collecting
Belgian collector Steve Morlion was nice enough to send me (Ron) a really great German book, which covers the vintage and Hasbro Star Wars action figure lines quite nicely. Published about a year ago, it is entitled SW Preisfuhrer 2000: Actionfiguren von 1977-2000. It's published by Shrage & Hansen and authored by Harald Niedermeyer. Unfortunately, the text is all in German, but the huge amount of color photos more than makes up for this. There are images of virtually every piece from the vintage Kenner action figure toy line, including some nice shots of European carded figures. My only gripe: there are no photos of the Droids and Ewoks figures. But since these toys were not widely released in Europe, I suppose I can overlook this. Still, it's definitely worth picking up if you can locate it. Maybe a European friend can be persuaded to snag you a copy.

(May 23, 2001)
Photos of Hasbro TIE Interceptor Hit Web
CollectStarWars.com recently posted photos of the TIE Interceptor toy that Hasbro is planning to release as an exclusive in the upcoming months. As was expected, it appears to have been made using molds developed for the vintage version of the toy. So add this to the list of re-worked vintage toys in the Hasbro line.

(May 23, 2001)
New Vintage Site: BlueSnaggletooth.com
Today, CollectStarWars.com mentioned a new web site devoted to vintage Star Wars toys. It's called BlueSnaggletooth.com and it looks pretty cool!

(May 8, 2001)
Vintage Star Wars in AFD No. 87
There is a lot of interesting material in the latest issue of Tomart's Action Figure Digest, including some great photos of rare Kenner store displays. Most interesting of these is a large wrap-around version of the "Star Wars Is Here" display, the first example I have seen. Also included is a diagram illustrating how Kenner's first assortment of Star Wars store displays was intended to be assembled and used at retail.

Lovers of prototype material will also be interested in the large feature on Super Powers that appears in the magazine. Several unproduced toys and pieces of conceptual artwork are shown in the feature, as are a couple of prototypes of unproduced figures. Collectors of the vintage Star Wars Micro Collection line will be especially pleased to see a photo of a Super Powers Micro playset, including figures mocked-up from actual Star Wars Micro pieces.

All of this is in issue number 87, which features Superman on its cover.

(May 8, 2001)
Vintage Star Wars Figures at Hasbro.com
Archive Collector Connection Forum regular Lanny Billups points out that Hasbro's official Star Wars web site features some terrific photos of vintage Kenner Star Wars product. The photos are mixed in with material focused on the newer line of Hasbro products. Click here to take a look.

(May 8, 2001)
Reproductions of RocketFett Missile, DT Lightsaber Surface
Several sources, including Rebelscum.com, have pointed out the web site located here, which advertises extremely accurate reproductions of two grail accessories from the vintage Star Wars figure line, the 4-sided missile that is associated with the L-Slot RocketFett and the DT, or double-telescoping, lightsabers that were packaged with the earliest versions of the Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi action figures. Some collectors will likely greet this news happily as such reproductions will allow them to fill holes in their collections, but others will surely become concerned over the prospect of counterfeiting that it raises. I don't know much about the site, the seller or the product, so take it as you will.

(April 14, 2001)
New Archive Column Debuts
We've just launched a new regular feature of the Star Wars Collectors Archive. It's a regular column, penned by long time Archive contributor Pete Vilmur. The column is entitled Relics of the Outer Rim. And, as the title suggets, it's focused on the obscure and neglected areas of the Star Wars collecting realm. The first edition covers a rather strange combination of Star Wars and the automotive industry, a Toyota Celica that was decorated with Star Wars graphics and offered as the prize in a sweepstakes. We hope the column will run for a long time and cover a lot of unique topics. It can be viewed here.

(April 14, 2001)
Vintage Star Wars Article at X-Entertainment
The hilarious pop-culture site X-Entertainment has struck again with an article focused on the Sears Jabba Dungeon playset. It's a lot of fun. Check it out by clicking here

(April 12, 2001)
Official Site Re-Design
The Official Star Wars web site has been entirely overhauled. Take a look over there to see what changes have been made. Of particular interest to collectors is a new Collecting section, which looks to be promising. The introduction even mentions that there will be some coverage of vintage collectibles! Specifically, it says "This section of the starwars.com is dedicated to Star Wars collectibles, from the newest action figure releases to the vintage classic toys."

(April 12, 2001)
Big Sale at Cloud City Collectibles
Star Wars super dealer Tom Derby and his Cloud City Collectibles, Inc. have a huge two-page ad in the April 20 issue of Toy Shop. The ad is headed up by the words "Cloud City has just acquired over 1/2 million in high condition Star Wars inventory. Read below and find almost every Star Wars toy ever made." If you're looking for a specific item, this might be worth checking out. Cloud City can be reached at (770) 451-7868

(April 3, 2001)
New Humor Site Lampoons Star Wars Collecting
Collector Bill Cable and some friends recently launched Creature Cantina, a site dedicated to the funnier side of the Star Wars hobby. The site features humorous "news" stories, as well as a comic strip. Check it out at www.creaturecantina.com.

(March 31, 2001)
Original Star Wars Animation Artwork for Sale
Sunday Funnies of Los Angeles, California is currently selling some of the original animation art used to produce the cartoon sequence from The Star Wars Holiday Special, a segment known for including the first appearance of Boba Fett. Some examples of their product can be seen at the below links:

Boba Fett
Luke Skywalker
Stormtroopers

Pretty neat stuff! They also claim to have some animation cels from the animated Droids and Ewoks series. While I (Ron) have no idea what they're asking for these items, it might be worth checking out.

They can be reached by phone at (800) 693-2369, or via e-mail at sales@sundayfunniesllc.com.

Update:
Regarding the cels from the Droids and Ewoks series that are alluded to above, Jay West, the Senior Animation Art Consultant for Sunday Funnies, specifies that they have "the most extensive and comprehensive availability from these two series." So, there you go.

(March 31, 2001)
Super Cool Vintage Star Wars Screensaver and Wallpapers
A collector known as Rouge 3 has recently made some PC wallpaper designs and a screensaver available to collectors. They include some great images of vintage Kenner Star Wars toys. Check them out at the following URL: http://members.home.net/rogue3ky/collection/showcase.htm.

(March 27, 2001)
Star Wars Celebration II Information-- Is it Indianapolis?
For a few weeks now, rumors have been placing the location of the next official Star Wars convention, or "Celebration," in Indianapolis, Indiana. Well, now theForce.net is reporting that the Indiana Convention Center has set aside May 1-6 of 2002 for a "Wizards of the Coast Star Wars" event on its internet schedule. This schedule can be seen here. For those who didn't make the last Celebration, it was an absolute blast, even though it was rather poorly planned and very rainy. We're already looking forward to the next one!

(March 27, 2001)
New On-Line Fan Club Store Opens
The web store of Wizards of the Coast's Official Star Wars Fan Club is open and ready for business. It is located at the following URL: http://swfan.wizards.com/.

(March 27, 2001)
Vintage Re-Issue Update
In the below news item, we speculated that Hasbro might have some vintage re-issues on its drawing board. Well, a good source recently told me that this is definitely not the case. The "anniversary" two-packs referred to are known to contain newly-sculpted versions of classic characters, not reproductions of classic toys.

(March 6, 2001)
Vintage Repro Two-Packs for 2002?
Recently, new information regarding Hasbro's upcoming Star Wars releases has become known, including the names of quite a few planned Eposide 2 action figures. Also included in this information were the titles of some interesting sounding "25th anniversary" two-packs that are on the drawing board for the future. Their inclusions and product numbers are as follows:

Luke/Leia 26588
Han/Chewie 26589
Vader/Obi-Wan 26590

The release dates are noted only as being in May through June. Since 2002 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, I'm assuming these dates fall within that year; but I suppose they could debut in 2001. The information is ambiguous.

How is this intriguing from the vintage collecting perspective? Well, it's possible that these two packs will include re-issued vintage-style figures, similar to those issued a few years back in the Toys 'R' Us exclusive four-pack. In fact, four of the figures listed here (Han, Luke, Vader and Chewie) were included in that pack, so it'd be easy for Hasbro to re-issue them. It should also be kept in mind that Mattel has had considerable success of late in re-releasing their '80s Masters of the Universe line. Then again, it is perhaps more likely that these will simply be re-issued POTF2 figures in special "anniversary" packaging.

Interesting information, to say the least. More news as we get it.

(March 6, 2001)
Vintage Star Wars in AFN #101
The second installment of Lee's Action Figure News and Toy Review's vintage Star Wars build-a-guide is now on shelves. It's in issue 101 of the periodical, and it includes tons of carded action figure photos, including many in Tri-Logo packaging. Pick it up if you wish.

(February 28, 2001)
New Guide to MonoLogo European Figures on StarWarsArchive.com
Archive contributer Stephane Faucourt has added a guide to "MonoLogo" carded figures from Europe (basically, the precursors of the ever-popular TriLogo) to his excellent site, the Star Wars Archive. Check it out by clicking here: http://www.chez.com/swguide/index/idxvrotj.htm.

(February 28, 2001)
Vintage Star Wars in AFN #100
If you don't yet have it, you might want to pick up the latest issue (#100) of Lee's Action Figure News and Toy Review. It contains an extensive "build-a-guide" feature on vintage Kenner Star Wars toys.

(January 31, 2001)
March Atlantique City Show
The spring installment of the Altantique City antique show is set for March 24 and 25 of 2001. As the title of the event suggests, it is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in the New Atlantic City Convention Center. Boasting 1600 dealer booths, Atlantique is one of the largest indoor collectibles shows in the world, and it typically features a few Star Wars dealers. I (Ron) and a few collecting friends usually attend the show, and we're always up for meeting other collectors. Tickets can be ordered by calling 1-800-526-2724. Those interested in attending may also want to check out the promoter's web site, located at www.atlantiquecity.com.

(January 23, 2001)
New Indiana Jones Toys
Reports of the release of a new line of Indiana Jones toys have been eagerly welcomed by Lucasfilm fans around the world. The line, which includes a super-cool 4.5" action figure, is exclusive to Disney theme parks and is believed to have been produced by Applause. According to Raving Toy Maniac, the merchandise can also be purchased directly from Disney by calling 407-363-6200. The action figure can be viewed at Raving Toy Maniac by clicking here. No word yet on when we can expect the Howard the Duck figures.

(January 23, 2001)
New Insider and Jawa Trader Online
The long-delayed new issue of the Star Wars Insider is finally hitting subscribers' mailboxes. As we reported last month, the official Star Wars Fanclub was acquired by Seattle-based gaming company (and Lucasfilm licensee) Wizards of the Coast. The new heads of the fanclub have recently set up an online version of the Jawa Trader catalog of merchandise, which is available at the following URL: http://store.wizards.com/jawa/.

(December 9, 2000)
Official Fan Club Acquired by Wizards of the Coast?
It's now being reported in quite a few places (including theForce.net) that the official Star Wars Fan Club has been acquired by Star Wars gaming licensee Wizards of the Coast. This seems confirmed by the appearance of a page on WOTC's web site, which claims to be the "temporary home of the Star Wars Fan Club". Among other things, this page states that the new Fan Club web site will be debuting some time in early 2001. What would this mean for vintage collecting? It's hard to say at this point, but it looks as though the next Star Wars Celebration may be organized by a different entity and held in a different location (both good signs, in my opinion).

(November 27, 2000)
Star Wars Galaxy Collector Magazine is No More
Well, it happened several months ago, but it's been pretty much confirmed since collectors began having their subscription checks returned to them from Topps: Star Wars Galaxy Collector magazine has stopped being published. It's certainly a sad event for collectors, as each issue always contained some great information. It's especially sad for the editors here at the Archive because some of us occasionally wrote for the publication. But, apparently, not enough people were buying the magazine. Maybe a new collector-oriented periodical will pop up by the time Episode II rolls around. Keep your fingers crossed.

(November 5, 2000)
Vintage Prototypes in Tomart's AFD
If you're interested in vintage Kenner prototype material, or just in the development of toys in general, you'll want to pick up the latest issue of Tomart's Action Figure Digest (issue #81, with Beast Wars on the cover). It features some very interesting conceptual sketches for unproduced toys, as well as some concept work that went into the Droid Factory playset. Also included are a couple of 12" figures with complicated paint jobs.

(October 18, 2000)
Archive Stuff Featured on X-Entertainment
We've mentioned X-Entertainment in the past as being a cool site with a penchant for funny Star Wars articles. Yesterday they struck again, this time with the help of some photos we let them use. The article focuses on foreign Star Wars collectibles and bootleg toys in particular. Funny stuff! Click here to read it.

Thanks to Matt and X-Entertainment for the image credit and for making us laugh!

(October 13, 2000)
Grand Opening of PA Collectible Toy Store
Archive contributor James Gallo has recently opened a collectible toy store in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, just 20 minutes outside of Philadelphia. It's called Toy Heaven and it's stocked with a wide selection of Star Wars toys both old and new. If you're interested in visiting, contact James using the fax and phone numbers provided below, or e-mail him at Jgallony@aol.com.
Phone: (610)649-8161
Fax: (610) 649-5891

(October 13, 2000)
Kenner: R.I.P.
Some sad news has come down the pike today. Soon, due to financial troubles caused in part by decreased demand for Star Wars toys, Hasbro will close the doors of their offices in Cincinnati, Ohio, the traditional headquarters of Kenner toys (which was bought by Hasbro in the early '90s). Rumours that a Cincy shut-down was imminent have been circulating for months, but it's now official. According to Yahoo! Finance:

...offices in Cincinnati, and in Napa and San Francisco in California, will be closed, up to 550 jobs, or 5 percent of its work force, will be cut and some product development will be moved near Hasbro manufacturing sites in Asia to bring toys to market faster.

The rest of the article can be read here.

Kenner holds a special place in the hearts of many people now in their twenties and thirties. They were the producers of Strawberry Shortcake, Playdoh, Carebears, The Six Million Dollar Man and, of course, the Star Wars toy line. Even though the company has technically been defunct for years, this shut-down serves as its final death knell.

I guess nothing lasts forever.

(September 30, 2000)
Review of New Vintage Collecting Book
We mentioned James T. McCallum's new book Irwin Toys: The Canadian Star Wars Connection a little over a month ago. I finally got a chance to see it just yesterday. It's not often, unfortunately, that we vintage toy collectors get a book that's solely dedicated to our hobby. But that's just what this book is: no new stuff, no oddball collectibles, just page after page of detailed vintage toy material. In fact, the greatest strength of Jim's book is its strict focus: it deals only with Canadian toys, and so it can afford to cover every nook and cranny of this fascinating but limited arena of collectibles. There are a ton of color photos of rare Canadian carded figures, catalog specials such as the legendary General Veers figure, and so-called "Special Offer" toys, which came packaged with free figures. This material is supplemented with history regarding the formation of Kenner Canada (a union of American Kenner and Canadian Irwin Toys), and it's not without its revelations (who knew that the Japanese disc-firing R2-D2 was issued in Canada?). I particularly like the full-page reproductions of the Sears and Consumers Distributing Christmas catalogs. Impeccably researched and handled with a collector's flair for minutiae, this is a book that the vintage collector won't want to miss out on. It's published by CG Publishing; the ISBN is I-896522-38-6.

(August 31, 2000)
Archive Collector Connection Goes Live
We recently launched a new feature on the Archive. It's a discussion forum, where vistors can discuss different aspects of the hobby and meet people, as well as post want ads and sell things. We hope this will get a lot of attention and generate some interesting discussions. Click here to access the SWCA Collector Connection

(August 25, 2000)
New Splash Page
John has designed a new splash page (the collage that greets you upon entering the site). It's worth a look if you usually visit the Archive via a bookmark to "what's new" or the main menu. Check it out by clicking here.

(August 25, 2000)
Hilarious Article on 12 Greatest Vintage Figures
Recently, one of my favorite pop-culture sites, X-Entertainment, ran an article on the 12 greatest vintage Star Wars figures of all time. I have to admit, I was laughing out loud. Give it a look by clicking here. You won't regret it. If you have the time, you might also want to search through the archives of the site, as they've run quite a few funny Star Wars pieces in the past.

(August 19, 2000)
New Poll Feature
It seems that every site has a poll these days. And Poland and barber shops have had them for years. Now the Archive does, too. We're hoping to update with new polls every few weeks. You can check out this new feature and cast your vote here.

(August 19, 2000)
Worthwhile Web Sites
The internet keeps expanding, and Star Wars collecting coverage has been expanding with it. A lot of great new collecting sites have popped up recently, including KennerToys.com, a site dedicated to all things Kenner; KennerCanada.com, covering Canadian Kenner Star Wars stuff; and the Cincinnati Toy Museum, which features some interesting prototype items. Check out them and other sites on our Related Sites section.

(August 19, 2000)
VJB Update
Long time Archive visitors are no doubt familiar with Virginia Jarvis Brooks, the woman who accused the editors here of 1) being involved with producing counterfeit Micro Collection toys, and 2) being responsible for devaluing common unpainted Micro figures. Since we haven't heard from her in awhile, we figured the issue was dead. But we were more than a little astonished to hear recently that not only had she not let the matter die, she still had lawyers working on her "case" and had gotten her story aired on a television news show. We aren't seeking to give her more publicity by mentioning her on this site, merely trying to inform people of the situation and get our side of the story out for folks to see. For those unfamiliar with the saga, Ms. Brooks has a bunch of unpainted Micro Collection figures that she believes are worth thousands of dollars. In truth, these figures have been available on the collectors market for years and, with a few exceptions, have never been worth much at all. A notable priceguide, published in the early '90s, listed them at a few dollars each; and this was long before we had a chance to "devalue" them. Even today, these items are available via Ebay and the Earth for around $5 each. Anyway, we've updated our section on Ms. Brooks and her claims to include the new information. It's available here.

(August 19, 2000)
Kenner Canada Book Published
Archive contributor and Canadian collecting expert, Jim McCallum, has recently published a book on Kenner's Canadian affiliate and their involvement with Star Wars. It's entitled Irwin Toys: the Canadian Star Wars Connection. I (ron) haven't had the opportunity to check it out yet, but it promises to be a worthwhile purchase for the vintage Star Wars enthusiast. Check out Jim's website, located here, for ordering details.

(March 2, 1999) A few of the people affiliated with this site, as well as several of those who have heavily contributed to it, have been working on some articles lately, all of which should be published in an upcoming Star Wars issue of Collectible's Universe Magazine. The issue should be out by May, so look for it on newstands at that time.

(January 20, 1999) Steve Denny is sponsoring the 2nd Star Wars Art Contest. Here is a great chance to use your artistic talents to win valuable and rare Star Wars collectibles or even cash prizes. Click Here for details!

(January 15, 1999) Happy 1999 everybody! 1999 marks the Archive's fifth year, and with the debut in May of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, along with the first official Star Wars convention in over ten years, it promises to be a good one. We're also happy to announce a new section of the Archive called the Special Feature. This new section will allow for outside collectors to act as "editors" of their own specialized areas of the site, and to publicize their collecting interests and expertise. These contributions may be in the form of charts or guides, articles, or anything else that focuses on a specific area of collecting. Our debut feature is Stephane Faucourt's Gallery of Meccano Advertisements. Stephane is a French collector who has collected quite a few interesting print ads from '70s/'80s French toy licensee Meccano. The included ads are colorful, interesting and often pretty goofy. We hope you enjoy them. We're currently looking for good ideas and submissions for future special features, so if you have something you'd like explore, please email Ron.

(November 24, 1998) Amazon.com just launched a new Star Wars store on their web site [www.amazon.com/starwars]. The Amazon.com Star Wars store contains gifts, books, comics, music, videos, and games.

(November 9, 1998) Hasbro announced today it is launching HasbroCollectors.com, a Web site developed for the millions of toy collecting households. The site, which goes live November 10, will provide collectors with a steady stream of information about toy collecting and Hasbro's collectible brands, including G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Starting Lineup, Batman, BeastWars Transformers, Action Man and Winner's Circle. In addition, collectors will be able to purchase a select number of products directly from HasbroCollectors.com.

The Web site kickoff will be highlighted by an online auction of one-of-a-kind Hasbro collectibles, including the opportunity to bid for an autographed Mark McGwire Starting Lineup action figure and a G.I. Joe figure made in your likeness. The online auction, which will be hosted by leading online auction provider eBay, will begin on November 10 and culminate in the announcement of winning bids on November 17. All proceeds from the auction will go to the nationally recognized Hasbro Children's Hospital in Providence, R.I.

"HasbroCollectors.com leverages our powerful portfolio of collectible brands, our expertise and understanding of action figure collectors, the growing popularity of toy collecting, and the power of dynamic Internet technologies," said Wendy Riches, Hasbro's President of Global Direct Marketing and E-Commerce. "We believe that this site will result in better informed, even more enthusiastic collectors -- which is good news for our retail partners."

(November 6, 1998) Well, if you've gotten this far, you probably noticed that the Star Wars Collector's Archive has a new look. We decided to make this place better organized while still keeping the same detailed information as before. The old style served us well for the past few years, but I think you'll like the new look and feel even better.

(June 9, 1998) I just received a copy of the new hardbound Tomart Star Wars Guide. Let me just say this book rocks--it has loads of unproduced Star Wars toys that have never been pictured anywhere: boxed White Witch, Droids "companions", Bespin World "six pack", lots of Star Wars packaging concepts, many unproduced 12" figures and outfits (I didn't realize how many Luke and Leia disco outfits they considered), unproduced micro collection playsets, a boxed talking Yoda doll, unproduced plush ewoks, and a lot more. The price tag is high, but it's well worth it for die hard Star Wars collectors. You can order it from www.tomart.com.

(June 2, 1998) We just launched a new web page called The Star Wars Traveler. This page contains information such as: a detailed tour of the prequel sets in Tunisia (including original photos never seen before on the web or in the magazines), a live web cam image of Finse (where ESB was filmed), directions and GPS coordinates to all of the Episode I and IV locations in Tunisia, virtual tour of the Art of Star Wars held in San Francisco n 1995, and images of ANH and prequel props from the filming sites. This page will continue to be updated in the months to come.

(May 26, 1998) Pam and I recently returned from a trip to Tunisia where we visited all of the A New Hope and Episode I filming locations. There is so much to say about this trip, but in a nutshell, I'd say it's an experience every diehard Star Wars fan should try once in their lives. We'll have a ton of cool info and pictures available soon, but for right now, Pam wrote a brief synopsis of our trip on her page at http://www.chibi.simplenet.com/tunisia/tunisia.html and I placed a bunch of prequel prop and krayt dragon bone photos on the Archive (look in www.toysrgus.com/new.html). Some of these prop photos are of pieces acquired by Lionel Noetzlin on a trip to Tunisia last Fall.

(May 18, 1998) The Star Wars Scrapbook by Steve Sansweet (Chronicle Books) has just been published. This book is one of the finest Star Wars collectibles books ever compiled. It features photos and descriptions of a wide range of unusual Star Wars collectibles and is heavy on the paper items. There are some repros of Star Wars collectibles bundled with the book including a Boba Fett Revenge proof card, Blue Harvest stationary, foreign decals, a punch out X-Wing from Lucky Charms (or Trix) and much more. If you liked Star Wars From Concept to Screen to Collectible, you'll love this book.

Chronicle books posted an interview with Steve on their web site at www.chroniclebooks.com.

(April 13, 1998) A great selection of vintage Kenner items recently became available through a former Kenner employee. In addition to the many Revenge of the Jedi proof cards he currently has for sale, there are alot of carded figures and boxed Kenner toys available. Prices are not set, but the seller is open to offers. Please click on the below links to view the lists of available items:

page 1, page 2, page 3, page 4

Please email the seller at hk15@juno.com if you have a question or would like to place a bid.

(March 5, 1998) I just got this incredible book on Star Wars action figures and toys that was written by Eimei Takeda and Seiji Takahashi. It's called "Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive" and is currently only available in Japanese. It does for SW toys what the SW Chronicles book did for props.

I guarantee people will be talking about this book in the months to come as word spreads on it. It's about 170 pages of glossy photos of vintage and current Star Wars toys with weapons, card backs, prototypes, proof cards, rare movie photos, etc. The photos are breath-taking! Mark my words, you will want to buy this book if you are a Star Wars collector.

You should be able to order it from bookstores that stock Japanese books. The ISBN number is 4-87366-512-4.

Chronicle Books (San Francisco) is expected to issue an English-language version of the book in March 1999. It is expected to have a special section updated with nearly all the Hasbro/Kenner releases for 1998. The English edition is being prepared by Steve Sansweet and Josh Ling. Price information isn't available yet.

(February 26, 1998) The "love letters" keep rolling in...several months ago, I received some strange email from some guys calling themselves "Lou" and "Tim" who claimed that a great deal of the information in the Star Wars Collector's Archive is erroneous. Eventually, I brought Chris Georgoulias and Ron Salvatore into the loop for the discussions with Lou and Tim, but it became apparent that Lou and Tim weren't listening about what we had to say about documentation on some of these Kenner pieces pictured on this web site. They spoke of grand conspiracies behind micro collection prototypes. We just blew it off and thought that was the end of that.

A couple of months had passed. Then on February 13, 1998, I received this email from someone by the name of "Virginia Jarvis Brooks". Several days later, an article (placed on the wire by the Associated Press) appeared in a few Florida newspapers (the story originated in the Winter Haven News Chief) .

There's more to the story that I'm not at liberty to discuss right now, but more will follow as it develops. I have been in contact with a number of people who Ms. Brooks has "notified"...

Read all about it here.

(February 15, 1998) It seems that my warning against Philip Taylor on this web page has had some effect. My ISP informed me that Philip Taylor contacted them about silencing me for my statements against Philip's apparently illegal actions. Philip threatened my ISP with legal action if they didn't stop me from posting about Taylor's activities.

So with the imminent threat of lawsuit and the relentless harrassment from Philip, I am forced to do the only thing anyone can do when faced with such a situation...

...I decided to increase the font size on my warning against Philip. (see below).

(February 3, 1998) I just read an advance copy of this new book by G. Wayne Miller, titled "Toy Wars--The Epic Struggle Between G.I.Joe, Barbie, and the Companies that Make Them" (ISBN 0-8129-2984-5). This book describes the history of the toy market battles between the two large toy giants, Hasbro and Mattel. If you ever wanted to hear the stories behind the players that run these companies and all the dirt on the layoffs, the buyouts, the failed ideas, the corruption, and the success stories--this is the book!

Every action figure and doll collector should read this book. There's a great deal of information on the concepts and marketing behind GI Joe, Star Wars, Barbie, Jem, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Mr. Potato Head, Sindy, Batman, and Disney. Hasbro gave Miller an open invitiation from the very top of the corporation to chronicle and document the happenings at the company. Mattel, in their infinite wisdom, was not very open to this project, and thus the book has a stronger emphasis on the personalities and products at Hasbro (and not surprisingly, the book has stronger slant towards action figure products rather than fashion dolls).

Toy Wars examines the rise, fall, and rebirth of GI Joe, the rise and fall of Ruth Handler (from the creation of Barbie to her indictment on mail fraud and conspiracy), Hasbro CEO Stephen Hassenfeld's secret struggle with AIDS, and the transition of the toy industry from a mom and pop business of novelty gadgets and experimentation with newly emerging advertising media to a big business culture of Fortune 500 firms, focus groups, and market research. I was pleasantly surprised to read how some of the original founders of the big toy companies were extremely socially-conscious and worked hard to better the lives of their customers and their communities.

If you're fascinated by toy companies, you'll definitely want to get this book. It will appear in bookstores tomorrow, Febuary 4. Check it out--once you start reading this book, you won't want to put it down.

I'm wondering if our litigation-happy friends at Mattel are going to attempt to sue Miller and Random House for showing a picture of Barbie on the cover of the book. :^)

(January 31, 1998) IMPORTANT:     A dealer from England who goes by the name "Philip Taylor" has appeared on the net trying to get people to buy "authentic Star Wars prototypes". It is not certain whether Philip Taylor is his real name or an alias, but this individual is the same one who was banned from Toy Shop for selling fraudulent goods and for not delivering merchandise after receiving large sums of money. He has reportedly pocketed thousands of dollars from collectors in the US alone. Philip Taylor's activities are the topic of discussion in Steve Sansweet's latest column in The Star Wars Insider. See the current issue for details. In my view, Philip is a smooth talker and a conman, so be very careful of you talk to this individual. He has been appearing in the Star Wars collecting newsgroups and on the tomart.com web site.

An excellent web page for beginners interested in learning about Star Wars toy collecting is the Star Wars Toy Resource Page with lots of images, part lists, and other information. Another great Star Wars action figure collecting web site is the Star Wars Action Figure Web. A comprehensive poster of all the vintage Kenner Star Wars action figures toys can be obtained from Bounty Hunters Collectibles. There are other interesting Star Wars collecting sites listed in the Related Sites gallery.

There is a recent rash of fake carded 12-back vinyl cape Jawas hitting the secondary market. Even to the trained eye, these look like originals. For further information on this, please check out this link. Feel free to spread this information and copy the particular text and images to your site.

For information about entering the Star Wars art contest, then click here. The winners will receive rare Star Wars collectibles. For full information about the contest, consult the art contest web page.

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