Yahoo UK on the enduring charm of vintage Star Wars figures

The first thing you'll notice about this article is that the accompanying photo is NOT of vintage Star Wars action figures. Despite that false note at the outset, this is worth a look. From the piece:

Early in production, Kenner decided that the Luke Skywalker figure should have a telescoping lightsaber made of two distinct parts that would extend from the figure’s forearm. This feature was replicated for the Obi-Wan and Darth Vader figures but was quickly phased out due to fragility and difficulty in production. Kayleigh Francis of Aston’s Toy Auctions values this figure at £6000… with a whopping £7000 to £8000 for the Obi-Wan and Darth Vader versions.

Yahoo! Movies UK and Ireland: The enduring charm of vintage Star Wars figures

New clip from upcoming Star Wars toy documentary

Here's some footage from the upcoming Star Wars toys documentary, Plastic Galaxy. It includes interviews with Steven Sansweet, John Booth, several former Kenner employees, and more. This documentary has been repeatedly delayed but is now set to come out in September 2013. I look forward to it.

Results of the 2nd SWAFDWTDB photo contest

‘An Evening with the Ewoks’ by Chiktabba (via SWAFDWTDB)It occurred to me today that I hadn't visited the world's greatest web site in ages. So I surfed over and found all sorts of new SWAFDWTDB material. For one thing, Rather Childish has begun adding buying notes to some of his photos (eg this photo of Leia in Combat Poncho). Even if you're not a collector, the notes are interesting. 

Rather Childish has also held his second annual action figure photo contest. The winning entry is above, but there are some great runners-up, too. Follow the link below to see them all. I only wish I had caught this earlier. I would have encouraged you all to vote. 

Star Wars Action Figures Doing What They Do Best: The 2nd Annual Photo Contest 

Want more SWAFDWTDB? Previous posts in which I praise SWAFDWTDB beyond all reason

Star Wars toy exhibit coming to the Louvre

ArtandCoinTV.com reports that the Louvre Museum in Paris will be hosting a Star Wars toy exhibit:

Through March 17, the Louvre is sharing its hallowed halls with a rather unlikely special exhibit, featuring hundreds of toys and memorabilia from the Star Wars franchise. Action figures, Yoda-masks, plastic lightsabers, film posters, Chewbacca coffee mugs and C-3PO tape dispensers are just a few of the items on display, according to the AFP. The three-room exhibit is housed in the Les Arts Decoratifs museum in a wing of the Louvre, and features more than 450 items from the last 35 years of Star Wars history.

The collection belongs to Arnaud Grunberg, a toy vendor and collector, who fell in love with Star Wars after seeing the first film at age 11 in 1977. Grunberg tells the AFP he has thousands of toys in his collection, and that while the saga is a youth phenomenon and “an expression of childhood,” it’s an exhibit for everyone.

ArtandCoinTV.com: Star Wars Exhibit Comes to the Louvre

Wooden Star Wars action figures by Amanda Visell

Complete with wooden blister packs. Follow the links for many more pictures, including Obi-Wan, Vader, Chewbacca and IG-88.

Amanda Visell

BoingBoing: Amanda Viesell's wood Star Wars figures

The world's best web site tackles the world's best toy

Over at Star Wars Action Figures Doing What They Do Best, or, as I like to call it, the world's best web site, @ratherchildish has been running a six-photo series devoted to Kenner's AT-AT. All the shots are good, but the final shot (shown here in reduced format) is terrific. Click on the photo to see the image in its full glory, or follow the link below to view all RC's latest work.

Star Wars Action Figures Doing What They Do Best

I hadn't regretted missing Celebration VI until I saw this...

Facebook: KG's Vintage Star Wars Corner

Another recent discovery: IGrewUpStarWars.com

On Monday I posted about the Space: 1970 blog, wondering on Twitter how I had managed never to see it before. Then today the indefatigable Kevin Gawthrope (of KG's Vintage Star Wars Corner) posted about my book on various sites, including the Facebook page of something I really ought to have known about already: IGrewUpStarWars.com.

In case you, like me, have somehow missed it, IGrewUpStarWars.com is partly a collectors' site for Kenner Star Wars fans. But it's broader than that. In particular it has a great collection of photographs of boys living out their Star Wars obsesssions in the 1970s and early '80s (including the picture above). From the site's blurb: 

Do you remember playing with your STAR WARS figures in the sandbox? Do you remember running around the schoolyard at recess on a snowy day pretending you were riding atop a Taun Taun? Do you remember talking your parents into watching STAR WARS at the theater just one more time, because nine times just wasn’t enough? Do you remember begging your Mom for that Stormtrooper figure you walked past at the grocery store? If you remember any of those things, you have come to the right place. Since I was 7 years old, STAR WARS has been a part of my life...

Surf over for more photos, a large number of videos, and more.

IGrewUpStarWars.com

See also @TomBerges (author of the site)

All Fours: the latest from Rather Childish

Here's a snippet from the latest post on the world's greatest web site. Follow the link for the full image.

Rather Childish: All Fours

Kenner Early Bird Certificate Package for sale on eBay

Only US$1500...Follow the link below for photos of a mint-in-box Kenner Star Wars Early Bird Certificate Package. I had never seen one before. Thanks to @CollectAll21 for the tip.

eBay: Vintage Star Wars Early Bird Kit Sealed Figures DT LUKE Mailer Acrylic Display