|
Community Links |
Social Groups |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
03-17-2017, 05:38 PM | #1 |
$9.99 for THAT on eBay!?
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Seattle http://cobraworkshop.tumblr.com/
Posts: 49
|
Yes, I know it was click-bait. Imagine how I felt in '97 when it arrived in the mail.
There I was, newest ToyFare, Collecting Toys, Toys and Price, I truly don't remember, in hand and right in the back in the classifieds printed in black letters was "Star Wars Turkish Uzay Blue Stars for $200." Most of the time there was a small, fuzzy picture of varying shades of gray staring you in the face and if you squinted enough you could make out some more detail. This was just letters in a list of Star Wars carded figures this particular person was selling. I grabbed the phone and impulsively my credit card and called, hoping he still had it. In 1996, after buying my first computer with internet access, I became obsessed with Star Wars. The world wide web was full of ideas about where the story of Star Wars was headed. There was talk that new movies were coming and just typing in Star Wars in a search engine, of course after looking for porn, would bring up a plethora of fringe information and ideas about where each writer believed the story was going to go. I, sadly, would print off everything I found to read later. It was not only a drain on my printer ink but also annoyed my girlfriend at the time. I at least "wasn't printing off the porn I found" I'd say to her. It was at this time of my obsession that I came across the other side of Star Wars collecting. The search for more rare items was being made easier with the help of the internet and Stephen J Sansweet on QVC. I was quickly discovering items I never knew existed. I spent hours, one night, going over all the bootleg Star Wars figures that were known to exist at the time. There was one line of bootleg figures and one figure in particular that fascinated me. The Blue Stars figure from the Turkish Uzay line. It was so cool! The Snowtrooper was always a favorite, I still had my original and there was this figure, all blue except for the red, green and yellow highlights with an all white rifle and a silly scene on the card. All that combined sold it for me. I had to have one. Sure, Headman was cool and the Death Star Gunner had his calculator but for some reason The Blue Stars figure was instantly my Holy Grail. It was what I had to get my hands on. I dialed quickly and was thrilled when the guy answered. If I correctly recall he actually had a sports card shop based on how he answered his phone. I was nervous asking if he still had the figure available. Twice, previously, I had attempted to get my hands on other Uzay figures, a Stormtrooper and a Royal Guard (no, not that one, just the boring old regular Star Wars Uzay Royal Guard) only to have my heart broken both times when the person on the other end of the line told me that it was sold. Slowly, I'd put my credit card (it's cash or trade only these days for me) back into my wallet and start the process of finding Star Wars bootleg figure all over again. This time, however, he said "yeah, I've got one." I was shocked! There it was! The Holy Grail for $200! Both the Stormtrooper and the Royal Guard were around $125 when I called asking about them and here I was, for only $75 more, going to not only get my hands on an Uzay figure but also get the one I had obsessed over. Please keep in mind at this time I really had no idea HOW rare any of these Uzay figures were and how rare the Blue Stars actually was. How nonchalant, the guy on the other end of the line was about it should have been an indicator but I didn't care. It was a Blue Stars for $200. Also, remember at this time not every collector of Star Wars knew about the Uzay line or other bootleg lines so a steal of a deal was possible and did happen from time to time. The guy had a baseball card shop. Not a toy shop. $200 seemed completely legit. I placed the order and waited. A few days later it arrived. For some reason I grabbed it from the mailbox and headed to my girlfriend's. Today, I have no idea why I did that. Why I didn't just open it as soon as I pulled it out of the mailbox. Most likely I wanted to either annoy her with a toy I spent money on or have someone there to share in my excitement in finally getting my hands on my Holy Grail. Most likely it was both. A combo of annoyance and excitement. Right away I knew there was a problem. The card felt funny, almost like a vinyl. Nothing like I'd expect a carded figure's backer card, even a bootleg's card would feel like. It was, however, after seeing the gun in the bubble that I knew my search was doomed. The gun was clearly NOT the Snowtrooper rifle that came with the figure and it was clearly just painted white weapon from some other toy line. To this day I have no idea where the gun in my Blue Stars came from. I grabbed the phone and called the guy to find out what exactly I had bought. He answered right away and when I explained that I didn't believe he had sold me an authentic Uzay Blue Star figure he said, "I thought you knew it was a custom. Those things normally go for a thousand bucks." I, for some reason, thanked him for giving me an answer and hung up. He never even offered to have me return it for a refund. Today, I would NEVER let a fellow collector or dealer get away with that but at the time I was much younger (Clearly! I was putting expensive toys on a credit card) and thought that if originals went for $1,000 then $200 for a custom was a good deal. There have been lots of changes in my life since 1997. New relationships. New careers. Kids. A few wins on the collecting front (I got a carded Hungarian Wicket and a Vinyl caped Jawa on a trade for some carded, late 90's, POTF figures) and I've had a few losses too like the Blue Stars. In 2001 the FX_Master Dutch bootlegs got me. (Fx_Master Fake - Star Wars Collectors Archive) along with a lot of bootleg collectors. My Blue Stars, though, has moved everywhere I have moved over the past twenty years since that phone call, at times living on a shelf but mostly in a box. I had thought about taking it off the card a few times, when it was entirely blue and still looked like an original Blue Stars figures. The card itself is a copy of an Uzay backer card but it is a poor custom job probably created on some cheap version of a late '90's Photoshop knockoff. It is that damn gun though that drives me crazy and why I never really liked to display it. Over the years it's arms and legs have slowly turned a white/light blue and now it is nothing more than an oddity of my collection living with a few other odd pieces in the box it shares with them. I keep it just to relive the week or so that I thought I'd finally found my Holy Grail after a year of searching (I say twenty years later). I also probably keep it to remind me to not always jump on the good deal and do some research. I even have new Holy Grails now. I pretty much have left Star Wars collecting and have moved back to my first toy love, G.I. Joe ARAH (which is why I'm posting this on a Joe message board and not a Star Wars message board). Now my searches involve international Joe releases from the 80's and early 90's. I am also into restoring my old vehicles. However, perhaps some day, I'll win the lottery and finally be able to buy my Blue Stars and even the Headman currently up on eBay for $7,000. Gone are the days though believing that I will find an MOC Blue Stars for $200. |
03-17-2017, 05:45 PM | #2 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Val Verde
Posts: 2,345
|
Well, the gun is from the '96 POTF2 Sandtrooper, if that's any consolation...
__________________
Needs : AOCI Lamprey Vests, (or similar), ROC Flash helmets, ROC Shipwreck flippers, 25th Dusty Torsos (or similar), BBTS Bull (Taurus) head, Snake Eyes V.52 forearms. |
03-17-2017, 05:55 PM | #3 |
$9.99 for THAT on eBay!?
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Seattle http://cobraworkshop.tumblr.com/
Posts: 49
|
|
03-17-2017, 06:15 PM | #4 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Athens AL
Posts: 4,023
|
I haven't heard of the Uzay figures until I looked at a Toyfare magazine or Tomart's action figure digest back in the mid 90's. Yeah I would have to saw off all your arms legs and head if you wanted to get one carded.
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Star Wars bootleg/knock off collection | Picmover | Toys | 4 | 03-17-2017 12:37 PM |
Vintage Turkish Star Wars UZAY Bootleg RARE SnowTrooper | supermarines | G.I. Joe on Ebay | 0 | 02-25-2017 02:34 AM |
Rare Turkish Star wars Uzay and Slayer Design Products. | supermarines | G.I. Joe on Ebay | 1 | 05-01-2012 09:31 AM |
Rare Turkish Uzay Star Wars figures for sale! | supermarines | G.I. Joe on Ebay | 0 | 09-06-2010 09:20 AM |
Rare Spirit UK exclusive with cardback and Star Wars Turkish Uzay figures.. | supermarines | G.I. Joe on Ebay | 2 | 04-21-2010 11:28 AM |
|
|