[BeachheadMatt]

So, as I've mentioned before, I'm on eBay ALOT. I watch auctions and sales everyday. I've noticed that vintage GI Joe army builders sell for quite a bit more than vintage Star Wars army builders. I'm mainly comparing original Cobra Troopers, Officers, Vipers & B.A.T.'s, with original Empire Storm Troopers, Snow Troopers & At-At Drivers. Any theories on why this might be the case?

A friend of mine guessed that maybe it was because there were so many different versions of Storm Troopers, that it flooded the market. I'm not so sure. Sure there are at least 60+ versions of Storm troopers, but there are also 29 different versions of the original viper. One thing I did notice, is that a lot of the different versions of the original viper, are an assortment of colors, where damn near every version of the Storm Trooper is white and black.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

[Sean_C]

The Viper's not being classic colors is one reason.

Vintage star wars troopers not being as a breakable and in some cases available for years (Stormtrooper might have shipped every year from 1978-1985!) might be a factor.

On the other hand, try army building Kenner Imperial Gunners. Probably not cheap.

Also,

"Modern" Star Wars figures have remade since 1995. GI JOE has had it's ups and downs, and as we know, not everything got constantly upgraded in newer styles...not even close, actually. Anyone collecting vintage Star Wars (70's-80's) is doing so for nostalgia. There's been newer and better versions of almost every vintage Kenner figure and most of the vehicles/beasts, too. GI JOE never achieved that level of revival and might not ever. The scale change from 3 3/4" to 1:18 didn't help...modern figures don't mesh with a lot of ARAH items, meaning you are left with collecting old or modern and both can be pricey for new collectors.

[BeachheadMatt]

Great insight, thanks. I have noticed that the the modern star wars figures do blend in pretty well with some of the vintage star wars stuff. While the modern GI Joe figures don't really mesh with the vintage figures.

[jscott991]

I have to disagree with the premise that modern Star Wars figures fit with vintage much better.

In fact, I think vintage Joes (particularly vehicles) are much more likely to fade into the background of a modern display.

Vintage Star Wars figures are, to put it bluntly, terrible. No articulation, very little detail, sloppy paint apps. Many vintage figures (particularly the stormtrooper) don't even have necks!

Here is a picture:

[BeachheadMatt]

I agree that it's pretty damn lame that the vintage Star Wars Storm Trooper Figures have heads that don't move. However, if you put a V1 Viper side by side with a 25th Viper, I think you'd see more of a difference than the difference between those two storm troopers.

[momaw nadon]

I think the biggest difference that is being over looked with the comparison would be the time in which these came to out. There was 8+ years between the Stormtrooper and Viper. Most of the toys that were popular when Star Wars figures hit shelves were 12 inch scale. Now if it wasn't for the early 4 inch figures, we wouldn't have GI Joe. Though RAH was going strong at the time the Viper was offered. Star Wars was fading away as in terms of play/fun the Viper/RAH is leagues above anything offered from Star Wars. Also the Stormtrooper was offered on nearly every card version from the start to the end and there was no change. The Viper didn't have that treatment and anything offered after was different which builds demand. Then you have the repro weapons/accessories that cuts the value down and without having the item in hand would be easy to pass off as original. The vintage Viper/RAH community doesn't have that problem as much as in the vintage Star Wars community. As I have noticed that even some loose ultra rare vintage Star Wars go for factions of what you would think they should in terms of the carded versions values. I think this all is the biggest reasons for what you are seeing.

momaw nadon

[lsyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jscott991

I have to disagree with the premise that modern Star Wars figures fit with vintage much better.

In fact, I think vintage Joes (particularly vehicles) are much more likely to fade into the background of a modern display.

Vintage Star Wars figures are, to put it bluntly, terrible. No articulation, very little detail, sloppy paint apps. Many vintage figures (particularly the stormtrooper) don't even have necks!

Here is a picture:

this

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[books]

Do you know about Black Major and Red Laser? They exist precisely because of this problem, plus a bit of a collector's kink for eccentric variations.

As for the general question, gotta agree with the other commenters. Vintage SW = nostalgia, vintage Joe = nostalgia + timeless awesomeness! Don't get me wrong, there is something very lovable about a lot of old SW, for me Yakface in particular, but there's a cartoonyness too.

IMO the AT-AT driver and TIE pilot are two of Kenner's worst sculpts in that classic line, and the stormie I don't find too hot either. The Snowtrooper is pretty nice though. Probably a combination of sculpt quality and the fact that these figures were reissued for so many years is the explanation.

[Dake]

I think the simplest answer is volume. GI Joe was huge, but can't compare to the sheer numbers that Star Wars sold, especially considering nearly the exact same figures in some cases being available for sale over the course of six plus years.

[SwampViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dake

I think the simplest answer is volume. GI Joe was huge, but can't compare to the sheer numbers that Star Wars sold, especially considering nearly the exact same figures in some cases being available for sale over the course of six plus years.

Joe was ridiculously popular. I often wonder just how many of the rarer figures are out there owned by people other than collectors. In the case of say, Tiger Force Outback, there must have been a fair few of those produced. As someone who lives in Europe,I see them for sale pretty damn often, and as part of "spring cleaning" lots fairly regularly. In the case of say, Tiger Force Blizzard, there must have been far fewer made because you see him far less often as he goes for a crazy amount these days.

I imagine in the case of say, a Stormtrooper, you can get them a dime a dozen. Getting one without any scuffs, marks, etc. is a lot harder. But if you're just going for quantity, the amount of Stormtrooper and Stormtrooper variants produced over the years must be insane.