One of
the things I love as a Star Wars collector is being at a collector fair and
finding a gem of an item for a crazy low price. It doesn’t happen all that
often, which makes it all the more special when it does. I recently found this
rare ‘Revenge of the Jedi’ promotional pull-out from Variety magazine for only $1. For those that don’t know,
'Return of the Jedi' was originally going to be called ‘Revenge of the Jedi’
until George Lucas concluded that it is not a Jedi trait to seek revenge. A
very small amount of items were created with the ‘Revenge’ title on before this change of heart.
Revenge of the Jedi promotional pull-out, Variety magazine, 1982
Back
in 2002, running up to the release of Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Toys R Us
in the UK had a midnight opening for the release of the new merchandise. As
part of the event, the first one hundred customers that made a purchase would
receive a very rare Silver Darth Vader figure. I wanted it so badly, but I had a
very early presentation at work the following morning. Bradley, my hero, left me at home asleep, lined up for two hours in the cold, and got me one. Now that's true love!
Silver Darth Vader, 2002 New York Toy Fair exclusive, Hasbro
Growing
up in the UK in the 70s and 80s, and in a world before the Internet, I had
little knowledge of the much bigger Star Wars world outside of my small hometown.
However, my cool Auntie Frances, who lived in Houston, Texas, would send me a Star
Wars gift for my birthday and Christmas each year. I was always excited about
these, as they were always something that I had never seen before. This made me aware that there was much more Star Wars merchandise out there than I could find in the tiny toy stores in my home town. This collector case in my
collection was one of those gifts from the US. It was never available in the UK.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back collector's case, Kenner, 1980
I am
very particular about what is added to my collection. I don’t buy Star Wars
items for the sake of it. However, I do have a few official
items in my collection that I have purchased over the years that I keep in a
category called: ‘I can’t believe Lucas Licensing approved this’. My favorite of these is
Darth Vader on a chopper motorcycle. Why would you?!
Darth Vader's Imperial Chopper, Star Wars "Customs", Hasbro
I am
fortunate to work with many talented people, who are also incredibly kind
and thoughtful. My reputation as a Star Wars fan with my colleagues is well known and over the years they have showered me with
wonderful hand-crafted Star Wars gifts, all of which find a special place in my
collection. I even have a plush of myself wearing a Star Wars
t-shirt!
For
those of you that don’t know, Steve Sansweet is a legend in the Star Wars
community. He worked for Lucasfilm for many years and is renowned, among many
things, for having the world’s largest Star Wars collection, which he keeps at Rancho Obi-Wan, a museum Steve established in Sonoma county, California. I
finally got to meet Steve when he interviewed me for his blog on StarWars.com.
A moment I will treasure.
