Need just a few Vintage Star Wars to finish the collection!

hitvideos · Post by **hitvideos** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 5:49 pm

Looking to buy the following figures on factory sealed cards (building an AFA U85 and better set), so card condition is not important, so long as factory sealed...these are the last I need to have them all:

Bespin Luke
Hoth Leia
General Lando (POTF)
Lumat (POTF)
Romba (POTF)
Han in Carbonite (POTF)

Shoot me a message or email (larry@huntsvillelafirm.com) if you have any of these available! thanks, larry

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:01 pm

Do you have the rest on cards?

If so..... please, how about some pics?

hitvideos · Post by **hitvideos** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:58 pm

no, there are none on the cards...They are Uncirculated Loose, which means that AFA removed them from the cards (only way to get the "U" grade)....my best one is probably the brown hair New Hope Luke which is a U90...i think there are only like 2 of them...

I passed on a U90 Vinyl Cape Jawa...probably never see that one again offered, but I just couldn't drop the coin on that one ($2000). I'm awaiting my Yak Face back as we speak. I have a few variant figures (brown hair luke, all three Yoda's with the different snakes, Short mask Biker Scout, etc..) Once I finish the core set, I'll get a few of the more known variants (Blue snaggletooth, hollow cheek sandpeople, and tri-logo colored Boba Fett, are the main 3 I really want)...

Once Yak Face gets back, I'll try to get some pictures...I'm not sure, but it may be one of the very few uncirculated complete sets once I'm finished...I just want to finish the set before the prices get TOO ridiculous!

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 7:17 pm

Is there a website that has all the info on variant figures and what not? I am kinda of interested.

And..... how are the figures graded? And they take them off the cards? Really?

hitvideos · Post by **hitvideos** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 8:23 pm

probably the best site for the listing of the basic figures is the rebelscum.com. The variants are a bit tougher, as there are just so many. there are a bunch of noteable ones (big head vs. little head Han, white hair vs. gray hair Obi Wan, Green bow Chewy, etc.), then there are tons of others like painted face color vs. molded face color, etc...too many to keep up with. A guy named Kevin Sparks (ke_toys on eBay), has an out of print book that he sells that runs around $100...well worth it. it has virtually all variantions.

and yes, to get an "uncirculated" grade, the figure must be submitted to AFA factory sealed. They won't give it a "U" grade if it's a recard, reglued, etc...it seems odd that people would send in carded examples to have removed, but there is a tremendous push for loose figures lately. If you have some on a dinged up card, its a great way to maximize your value. Alot of dealers just assume that a beat up card is basically "worthless", and there are some real bargains to be had. Some of the figures (especially the white ones), are SUPER tough to find in high grade loose.

The encase them in a hard acrylic custom fit case, and assign it a grade. They grade on 5 point increments. AFA 75, 80, and 85 are "silver" level, and AFA 90 95 and 100 are the "gold" levels. They do grade carded figures, as well. If you are going to collect carded figures, I think they are a great investment, as you are assured (well, as assured as you can be, i suppose) that it is an original, factory sealed item, and not a bootleg, repro, reglue, etc...if they suspect tampering, restoration, etc., they either won't grade it, or they assign it a qualified grade (new development of theirs). For more info, you can go to their website, www.toygrader.com.

A few years ago, I toyed with the idea of trying to get all the figures on the card, without attention to card condition, because a Mint figure is mainly what I'm interested in. I bought my first AFA loose figure from Kevin Sparks (it was a Jedi Luke), just because I thought it was sort of neat...then I got hooked.

Right now, the common guys in U85 can be picked up in the $35 to $45 range...with the heavy hitters, obviously being more...if you choose to step up to the U90 grade, get ready to pay...it's about the difference in a CGC 9.6 comic vs. a CGC 9.8 comic! some of the figures are so hard to get in U90 i have doubts as to whether a full set could be compiled...best example is probably the Death Star Droid...as U85 its about $125-$150...as a U90 it's about $450-$500. So I decided to get the U85 set...i bought most already graded, but have submitted about 20 or 25 myself (including the Yak Face that just went in). The best one I personally sent in was the Stormtrooper Luke. I have a few that are U90 like the Boba Fett, the Green Bow Chewbacca, etc..

collecting this way is a lot of fun. I set up and do a lot of shows, and there aren't too many people dealing in the "U" figures...but when you find them, its great. if interested I can get you the names and phone numbers of the main dealers. Besides the ones I've submitted, I would say 85% came from Kevin Sparks. Most others came from Ron Wallace (wormhole collectibles), with a few from Brian's Toys...

Elveen · Post by **Elveen** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 9:21 pm

Thanks for that post. I have a few figures that I need to sell. Not a big deal, I have just been curious. They are all loose, but most have their weapons. SO thanks.

Just for the record. I can still remember going to the Sears with my Mom and getting the Blue snaggletooth (of course not knowing anything at that time.) If I remember I got Greedo, blue Snaggletooth, hammerhead and walrusman. Not sure what happened to him, but I did have him at one time.

hitvideos · Post by **hitvideos** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 7:36 am

not sure if i mentioned it, but they WILL NOT grade a loose figure unless it is 100% complete (i believe there are some exceptions for truly rare figures).

Great memory for you on the Blue Snaggletooth...i never had one as a kid (but have had several as a dealer). my biggest regret was a few years ago before knowing anything about vintage Star Wars prices, i bought this incredible high end collection through the store on a whim...we were selling Beanie Babies and making money hand over fist, so i spent like $800 on this collection...turns out it was all the good stuff...a dead mint Blue Snaggletooth, Double Telescoping Luke, 12" IG 88, jawa sandcrawler, Palitoy Deathstar, and bunch more...i sold it all on eBay...made good money, but had I known how rare some of that stuff was, i would have held on to it!

JohnnyRnR · Post by **JohnnyRnR** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 10:27 pm

Wow. All but four POTF, and only one of the big ones missing. Nice. Good luck finishing! You mentioned you were a dealer. I'm looking for Slog from Transformers, complete, unstressed gold plastic, preferably with full cardback. Anything? (I know it's your hunting thread, but I didn't think it was worth a full one of my one)

hitvideos · Post by **hitvideos** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:58 am

Sorry JohnnyRnR...no such luck...i'll keep an eye out when I go to the next few shows, but surprisingly, I'm only running across Transformers stuff down in my area at bigger shows, and ususally it's all the classic G1 stuff boxed (megatron, optimus, etc...).

but I'll keep an eye out.....

and yeah, the POTF figures were among the hardest...it's to the point now, I'm better off just buying them when I find them without regards to price, as opposed to spending hours and money searching...maybe I pull the trigger on the Han in Carbonite that is on eBay....i've just spent a little more at the moment than I wanted (the Yak Face wasn't cheap!)

JohnnyRnR · Post by **JohnnyRnR** » Thu Apr 30, 2009 9:34 pm

I know he's not, I still need one.

But him, Anakin, and General Lando are the only last 17 figs I need (just loose complete, but all with coins, and purchased from original owner, who is a friend of mine. Just wish I had the cash at the time for the sail barge.)

maraxusofkeld · Post by **maraxusofkeld** » Fri May 01, 2009 6:41 pm

I might have doubles of all those you need in strightly graded C-9.5 condition, shoot me a pm.