New Foci for Vintage Collectors
or
"All the cool stuff is taken dammit!"
Posted by: Baldy 04.07.04 12:01am
Ever notice that the focus collector is on the rise? It doesn't matter if it's a character, playset, cardback or country of origin, EVERYONE is getting into a focus of some sort. Except me, I just traded in my Ford Focus for a Mustang ! Helllloooo midlife crisis ! Anyways, seeing as this is the thing to do nowadays, more and more people are trying to stand out and try something new. For those of you not familiar with a focus QUIT READING NOW. Thank you. Below are some ideas for those of you that want to be different but remain "coo" in the eyes of your fellow collectors.

Paint Variations: Always a neat thing to go after. Especially the hard to find ones like the Ledy Redheaded Squidhead. He is a bitch to find loose and complete since he is SUCH the prude. Also, skin tones are a good thing as they are easily spotted. Examples are Whitebread Lando, Blackface Luke, Tanning Bed Red Leia and the popular Pink Admiral Ackbar.

Weapon Variations: These are for the daring collector as there are too many versions to list. Here are a few of the more popular ones though. Chewbacca with My Little Pony brush and saddle, Emperor with bedpan, Biker Scout with training wheels, Emperors Royal Guard with Umbrella, Darth Vader with Sword of Power from He-Man series, and R2D2 with Duracell battery and earplugs.

Carded Misprints: Although these were thought to be fakes at first it seems that certain characters of the vintage line were actually made for other lines, ie; A-Wing Pilot for Droids series. This is the only series thus far found and only two figures have surfaced, both with artwork along the lines of Droids/Ewoks but just a bit different. The two examples are Bossk and Chewbacca. No others have shown up...............yet. Questions have been asked but no real answers have been found. Strange.......

Food items: Most people know about Gus Lopez and his cereal collection but others have tried to one up him with different things. Some have been successful, others have not. One collector in Arizona tried to collect the line of Juicy-Pops but they kept soaking his rugs and basically disappearing after a day or two. He says no way was it a thief as no trace of forced entry was found. Another collector of that same line has had no trouble with is collection. He does say however it is getting hard to find people willing to ship to Antarctica.

Clothing: We all know clothes were big back in the day and if it was wearable it had a SW logo on it. Some people have brought this to light in different ways by focusing on certain types of garments. One such collector who wanted to remain anonymous says his greatest thrill is to find vintage Underoos and panties, particularly used ones. Most guys want mint examples but this Chicago native prefers them used. He says it gives them more of a story or past than something new in package. Whatever dude....

The above are just a glimpse of what SW collectors are finding to focus on these days. All sorts of things can be made collectible, although some should not. Please use this guide to help yourself to the ever-expanding world of Focus Collecting and remember:

IT ISN'T ILLEGAL UNLESS YOU ARE CAUGHT !!