Collector spotlight – Robbie the Robot
12-inch stormtroopers: can’t shoot straight and can’t stand up by themselves! How many do you have to have to call them an army?
My collection includes a wide range of Star Wars and non-Star Wars 12″ scale figures (including the Gammorean Guard and Sandtrooper with Dewback shown below), a near complete vintage 4″ figure collection, and an array of action fleet vehicles (including the very cool AT-TE shown below).
This is the pride and joy of my SW collection, a full set of six silver figures (don’t tell me there is another, I might cry). Although not the only full set in NZ, there aren’t many out there. In rough order of appearance, from we have Darth Vader and R2D2 from 2002, Boba Fett and Clone Trooper from 2003, and Darth Vader and Sandtrooper from 2004. I should probably get some star cases and display them, but they spend their time in a closed box, which is a shame. It is interesting to not the slight changes in manufacture through the range, with the first couple have some coloured bits (like the red sabre for Vader and the blue details on R2) through to the last two that are plain silver.
I find my lack of space disturbing.
I am not sure this is the largest collection of Vaders in captivity, but it should be in the top ten. It is a shining example of how far one can go with someone before admitting one has a problem. Many of the items were sourced locally but some were gathered from the US on visits over there.
This is most, but not all (sadly), of my Vader collection. The full collection includes:
- Six twelve inch Vaders (Vintage, 1996 Collector Series boring shrunken head, same on Dragon body, Sith Lord version with removable helmet, Ep III Ultimate Villain, and Obi-wan Light up sabre two pack).
- Kotubukiya Episode III
- Transformer (not shown)
- Dark Helmet Man (an Unleashed Vader with a bigger helmet on)
- Epic Force on turntable (not shown)
- 500th Hasbro (not shown)
- About ten different four inch Hasbro Vaders of varying versions
- Bobble head
- Giant Pez dispenser (it dispenses PACKETS of Pez, not individual lollies)
- Lego Technic
- Complete Galaxy in Death Star
- Bendem
- Burger King and other giveaway ones
- Darth Tater
- Vader Trick or Treat bucket, which is shown housing the Mpire Plush Vader
- Talking bank and talking clock
- Chupachup head and chupachup holding (that spins when you press chest plate)
- Figure carry case (not shown)
- Life size suit (not shown)
- Action Fleet figure
And a few others that I can’t remember names for.
I suppose I should also mention the heavily customised Darth Geek, which began life as an Ep III Ultimate Villain. PitYak Studios (based in Wellington, I think) customised this figure heavily. They gave it a new face, which some would say bears a close resemblance to me. It has white socks, three-quarter pants, a midriff top, the chest plate has now got a pocket protector, there is a cellphone on the belt, and it comes with a notebook PC, it’s own scale 12-inch Vader, and Vader’s Tie Fighter. It has broken out of the 1996 Collector Series box to point at something. The box has also been customised on the sides and rear. A one-of-one collectible, which I am yet decide to prominently display or hide in a dark corner.
