Masks

 A long time ago, well, the turn of the century, I picked up these Star Wars masks whilst on holiday in Orlando. I bought them from Tatooine Traders at Hollywood Studios. I got the Vader mask in 1999, and then the Stormtrooper mask the following year. 

Now, with the Darth Vader mask I disposed of the packaging in Florida, and put the mask in my hand luggage. With the Stormtrooper mask I once again carried the mask in my hand luggage, and had the cunning idea of putting the packaging in my suitcase. Why I didn't think of that first time round I don't know. 🤦

Anyway, they've been sat on a shelf for a long while just gathering dust. Every so often I'll take them out and put them on - I tried to scare my kids in their early years, however, because they'd seen Star Wars very young (gotta start them early) they were not phased. In fact they just walked up to me, said something like "cool, can I have a go" whilst pulling the mask off my head!

Anyway, here they are. They're in cupboard gathering dust, but every so often I get them out, wipe off the dust and contemplate wearing them for trick-or-treaters on Halloween! 🎃

Darth Vader Figure (Silver Edition) - Original Trilogy Collection

A silver Darth Vader, released in 2004.

Star Wars Darth Vader school pencil case

I picked these Darth Vader head plastic pencil cases in the 1990s.

They're still in the original shrink wrap, which is probably the reason why they didn't photograph too well!

They remind me of the Darth Vader Collector's Case which were on sale in the early eighties to keep Star Wars action figures in.

Spiderman and Zoids comic

Spiderman and Zoids? What's that got to go with Star Wars?

Only the dark Lord of the Sith himself; Darth Vader.

Issue 14 of Marvel UK Spiderman and Zoids comic featured Vader, and the front cover was a work of art. Well, for me, quite literally. In 1993 I purchased this beauty above. It's the cover artwork of Spiderman and Zoids #14 and is one of my favourite bits of Star Wars memorabilia that I own, probably because it is so unique. It is signed by artist Robin Bouttell too, so, it's a decent thing to have on my wall.

I also have the comic too - here it is!

It's difficult to place a value on a piece of art, though I think it would take a three 0s (before the decimal point!) on the end for me to part with this. Comics from the UK from the mid-1980s typically don't hold the same value as U.S. comics, but prices still can go high. As ever, condition, rarity and how sought-after an item is will affect value. The Spiderman and Zoids ones range from a few pounds to £30 and more. My gut feel is  I think there is room for growth in the comic collecting market for UK editions.

Vintage Star Wars Rubbers and Pencil Toppers

Rubbing Up The Right Way With Must-Have Star Wars Stationery

As a kid, I collected a lot of knick-knacks. As a Star Wars fan, I had to have pretty much anything I could afford to buy. These Star Wars rubbers and pencil toppers were a good way to spend my pocket money. 

These were collected in the early 1980s, with the possible exception of the old R2-D2 pencil topper (you'll know which one I'm referring to when you see it). This one is older. 

Of course, pencil toppers were great for covering up the chewed end of your pencil!

Gamorrean Guard rubber

Star Wars Luke Skywalker rubber

Ewok - Chief Chirpa pencil topper

Luke Skywalker X-Wing pilot pencil topper

Admiral Ackbar pencil topper - "It's a trap!"

Ewok - Wicket W Warrick pencil topper

Very old and very damaged Artoo Deetoo (R2-D2) pencil topper

Bib Fortuna (Twi'lek) pencil topper (Jabba the Hutt's henchman)

Gamorrean Guard pencil topper

Artoo Deetoo (R2-D2) pencil topper

Jedi Master Minch Yoda pencil topper

Han Solo Hoth outfit pencil topper

Chewbacca (wookie) pencil topper

Darth Vader and two Emperor's Royal Guards