Original vintage Vs Reproduction

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AaroKin
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Original vintage Vs Reproduction

Post by AaroKin »

I recently got sent down an internet wormhole when reading up about reproduction weapons and accessories. Not that long ago spotting a repro was pretty easy especially the ones that were painted, had no detail, wrong plastic, didn't float/did float, didnt pass the drop test, and so on.

But now after seeing just how good the repros being produced are I'm starting to wonder if I do actually have a complete 'Vintage' set. I've always tried to buy my vintage accessories from trusted sellers so am 99.9% positive that my collection is all original but that 0.1% of doubt is really starting to bug me lol.

I have no problems with reproduction parts at all.....just as long as I'm told that they're not original when buying them. Ive been pretty lucky with buying pieces from overseas and have only been sent reproductions twice when I was expecting originals (R2s pop up lightsaber and a Prune face cape) and both were replaced with originals.

So what I guess I was wanting to know is how do others feel about reproductions.....people used to avoid them like the plague but now if they're identical in everyway to the originals are they going to become the norm that no one really cares about.

I talked to one collector in the States who sells reproductions and he seems to think that 90% of loose figures on eBay have repro weapons.
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MattG
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

Post by MattG »

AaroKin wrote:...Not that long ago spotting a repro was pretty easy especially the ones that were painted, had no detail, wrong plastic, didn't float/did float, didnt pass the drop test, and so on. ...
Personally, in terms of preserving classic collectibles, I like to try and ensure that the accessories associated with the figures in my collection are real, or at least that I confidently know where any replicas are within a display. I am unreservedly against the notion of replica items being used for display purposes if a collector chooses - having said that, it is dismaying that replica manufacturers have, in more recent times, gone to such lengths to make them indistinguishable from original components, which implies an intention to deceive rather than display.

I consider myself fortunate that I have a lot of my original weapons/accessories, and most other figures I have picked up were acquired so long ago that if they do include replica weapons that they are of the older, easily-identifiable type (or their provenance can be traced back to that point in the history of the hobby). Not sure what the future of the hobby will be if/when a lot of "high quality" replicas have been dispersed into the wild.

I assume you're familiar with https://www.imperialgunnery.com/ as a resource for keeping up to date with the features that can be used to ID replicas, but it is worth reiterating the link for anyone else keen to check out such info.
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

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Cheers Matt, I've used the Imperial Gunnery in the past and it's been a great help to identify replicas but as you said with the reproductions being produced being such a high standard it won't be long until it's near impossible to tell the difference.

I'm a bit of a vintage collecting snob lol and I'd much rather rather have one if my figures incomplete then have a repro part.

How are you with variants.....I have a complete vintage set and have tracked down around 50 variants
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

Post by MattG »

Yup, I collect variants based on paint/colour differences, and major sculpt differences.
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

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Bespin Luke has to be my favourite figure....I have 4 versions of him plus an odd ball one I got off trade me a while ago.

He has no COO and seems to be made of a softer plastic then the others. I know that there are 'shorts' that can leave off detail but on the one I have all the detail is there it's just the COO is non existent. It might just be a lack of plastic when he was molded but he's still a favorite of mine
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

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Here's the odd Luke Bespin figure I have (on the far right). He's had the entire COO taken off and is made with some kind of sub par plastic.

One of his legs is so much longer then the other but only from the knee down because his belt matches up with the other and the gap between the joints isn't warped in any way. I've have figures that don't stand because they're joints are so loose but never one that has a longer leg.

Like I said he might just be a poorly made Kenner figure but there's just so much wrong with him lol either way he's my favourite vintage figure

The other two are a couple of my 'normal' Luke's, the brown haired one is a single line COO while the blonde has the double lined COO
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

Post by MattG »

Nice. What else ya got in terms of variants?
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Re: Original vintage Vs Reproduction

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Well after always saying Id never get pulled into variant collecting I've managed to compile a few lol

Most everyone pretty much has.....

- Admiral Ackbar.....white and red arms
- Bespin Guard (White)....3x Moustach lengths
- B-Wing pilot.....nipple/non nipple
- Darth Vader.....Hard, Soft, Glossy head
- General Madine....moulded, painted head
- Leia (Bespin).....crew neck, turtle neck, green trim
- Luke Skywalker.....Brown, blonde hair
- Ree Yees.....painted hands, painted arms
- Han (Hoth)....single leg, double leg, No COO
- Gamorrean Guard.....HK, No COO
- Chief Chirpa.....raised COO, double leg
- Chewbacca.....4x COOs

I have a complete vintage set plus around 50 variants. Unfortunately they're packed away because I'm getting ready to move but as soon as they're on display I'll get a heap of pictures up. The ones I listed were just the ones I could remember off the top of my head lol.

As I'm sure you're aware variant collectors can be a funny breed and there can be some pretty heated debates on what does and doesn't class as a variant. I go for actual (in my opinion) factory variants so paint, moulding, and COO differences and not for fading paint or plastic issues.....so pale face Dengar and green liked Chewy are out (though I do own both of them lol) I have broken that rule with the green trimmed Leia, I will display her with my other two but it's more because I like the figure more than it being a variant
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