Vintage Loose Figures - Ben (Obi Wan) Kenobi

As I mentioned last time, I purchased some vintage figures in an attempt to complete the whole vintage set by collecting all of the loose figures. I have three down, and a lot more to go.

Stamping Information
Date: 1977
Location: Hong Kong

What we have here is an original Ben (Obi Wan) Kenobi with a 1977 stamp, produced in Hong Kong. There are different variations on these models with the hair color, either being white or gray. This one is gray (hey, just in case you're color blind!). The included lightsaber is the variation that is more commonly found - the single telescoping version. There is a double telescoping version, as well.

This piece is in pretty good condition. The vinyl cape has no tears and seems to have held up pretty well over the years. It does, however, have a small blemish on it which you can see in the picture below.

You can see the blemish just below his left hand. 

I have a few more figures that I will update shortly.

Go get 'em, Ben!

Focus Collecting and Starting Up Again

I've been collecting Star Wars memorabilia since the early to mid 90s. The first figure I ever received was a vintage Luke Skywalker in Hoth Battle Gear which I got from my best friend on my birthday. He introduced me to the world of the Star Wars films as well as Star Wars action figures. Him giving me that figure started something that has been my hobby for nearly two decades. Being an elementary school student when I first started out, it was unfeasible for someone with my low level of income ($5 allowances can only go so far!) to collect carded vintage at the time, so I focused on buying as many Power of the Force II figures that I could and tried to get as many of the vintage figures from my friend as possible. It was an exciting time. 

Fast-forward to now. I have a relatively large collection, consisting of a lot of neo-classic and modern pieces. I have a number of loose vintage figures and vehicles, and even three vintage carded Return of the Jedi figures (all in pretty bad condition) and one vintage Power of the Force Luke in Combat Poncho. For the past couple of years I haven't really done a lot of collecting, however, I've been inspired to lunge back into the hobby. The source of the inspiration comes from listening to an awesome vintage focused Star Wars podcast, called the Star Wars Collector's Archive Podcast, also known as, "The 'Chive Cast." If you have any interest at all in Star Wars memorabilia, this is the podcast for you. 

Being in Japan thousands of miles away from all of my Star Wars stuff, I've decided to start a couple of different focuses so I can have a taste of Star Wars where I am in Japan right now. I've come to the decision that I'm going to try to collect ALL of the original vintage figures, loose. I'm not going to be a stickler for variations or anything like that. I just would like to own every one of the figures from the original line. I've already started. I just ordered a few pieces from a collector on the Rebel Scum forums and am in the process of completing the sale. Rest assured, as soon as I have the figures in my hands, I will post some pictures and show you what I've obtained.

The 'Chive Case has also introduced me to something that I never really though about before in the world of Star Wars collecting - focus collections. If you don't know, basically, these are collections that are focused around one specific character. I'm thinking about doing this as well, but am trying to decide which figure I'll do. I would like to pick something that nobody else is doing and also a figure that wouldn't be super expensive to collect. Money is going to be tight for the next few months, so it's possible that I'll get started out in November or so. Of course, if I make a decision, I'll post it here. 

Until next time, which will be soon. I'll just be waiting for some figures to arrive. Happy collecting!