This summer I decided to sell some old toys I had on E-Bay, and soon began poking around some of the merchandise in order to find out what I had was worth when I found him... my long-lost 15" Kenner Darth Vader Doll for $20.00. I bought him with the money I earned from selling some of my wares. He was in really good condition and complete minus his lightsaber, which I found a replacement (reproduction) for on Ebay as well for $10.00. Not bad.
I then found about some other toys that brought back some childhood memories, namely Mattel's 8" D.C. Retro Action action figures, that reminded me of the old Mego World's Greatest Heroes line from the 70's- an old favorite! I bought two on Amazon.com, then four more. After that I discovered the 90's line of Marvel Famous Covers 9" figures by ToyBiz that featured cloth outfits much like the old Megos- I bought fifteen of them within two weeks. Before I knew it, I had bought some MORE action figures by other manufacturers, and a glass curio case to hold them all is on the way as we speak, and I guess I just became consumed... I had even began keeping up with action figure blogs!
I 'll post pictures of these toys in future blog posts on Super Duper Toy Box, share some thoughts on them, and we'll see where this all goes. And for my first observation, the one that started it all...
I was chatting with my pal Darrell about a 7th grade picture of his, and how MY 7th grade picture featured an insecure kid who wouldn’t smile because of the braces in his mouth. And I went on to say that if I could go back in time and talk to that boy, I’d tell him everything was gonna work out, that he’d be OK. Darrell went on to say that Dr. John Bradshaw’s book "Homecoming--Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child" suggests doing exactly that: go back into your memories and telling "little you" that it's going to be OK. And Darrell believes some kind of deep level healing like that would keep society from having so many angry children walking around in adult bodies. I like that idea.
When my brother and I were kids, we LOVED Star Wars, and collected/played with all the George Lucas merchandise we could get our hands on. And played with them we did- some of it didn’t survive, including Kenner’s large-scale Star Wars figures, of which we had at least three if my memory serves me correctly: Boba Fett, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader. Not a trace of them was left among the toys up in my mother’s storage closet- Lord only knows their fate, but as mother says, we actually played with those toys. We probably destroyed them! Ha! When I stumbled across my favorite, Darth Vader, in decent condition, I snapped him up for $20.00. He probably cost almost that much in 1978, and I’ve seen him recently for $75.00 complete, mint (but without the box). The 15” Vader I purchased came without his lightsaber, but I was able to get my hands on a replica for ten bucks. He was a little dusty with some light scuffs on his helmet when he arrived, but his cape was in excellent condition and he cleaned up nicely. I was extremely pleased!
Darth Vader is so interesting in that he is a symbol of lost innocence, and how such promising beginnings can go so very wrong. Inside all of us is the ability to do such great things as well as very terrible things- and so many factors are at play, making it a miracle that there ARE so many good people. I went back in time when I saw that silly thing- I went and won that back for that good little boy in me. He deserved it.
...some other fun shots I took of Vader:
When my brother and I were kids, we LOVED Star Wars, and collected/played with all the George Lucas merchandise we could get our hands on. And played with them we did- some of it didn’t survive, including Kenner’s large-scale Star Wars figures, of which we had at least three if my memory serves me correctly: Boba Fett, Chewbacca, and Darth Vader. Not a trace of them was left among the toys up in my mother’s storage closet- Lord only knows their fate, but as mother says, we actually played with those toys. We probably destroyed them! Ha! When I stumbled across my favorite, Darth Vader, in decent condition, I snapped him up for $20.00. He probably cost almost that much in 1978, and I’ve seen him recently for $75.00 complete, mint (but without the box). The 15” Vader I purchased came without his lightsaber, but I was able to get my hands on a replica for ten bucks. He was a little dusty with some light scuffs on his helmet when he arrived, but his cape was in excellent condition and he cleaned up nicely. I was extremely pleased!
Darth Vader is so interesting in that he is a symbol of lost innocence, and how such promising beginnings can go so very wrong. Inside all of us is the ability to do such great things as well as very terrible things- and so many factors are at play, making it a miracle that there ARE so many good people. I went back in time when I saw that silly thing- I went and won that back for that good little boy in me. He deserved it.
...some other fun shots I took of Vader:
Nice vader. I have not seen Mego in Singapore retail yet. Wonder will this ever come to Singapore. Keeping my finger cross.
ReplyDeletecool, looking forward for your next post! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the obsession!
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and an awesome post, look forward to more!
ReplyDeleteHey, is this a Mego by any chance? Looks like one eh?
ReplyDeleteNo, it's a Kenner- Mego TURNED DOWN THE STAR WARS MERCHANDISING FRANCHISE- can you believe that??!! Big mistake- Doh!
ReplyDelete