I initially tried just cleaning the box with a damp cloth and nothing came off. I then decided to try a Q-Tip dipped in Goo Gone and it came right off. I swear by this stuff and sometimes you can even find it at a dollar store.
I have been toying around with the idea of adding an original 8-bit nintendo to my collection for some time. I had one, but with all my other systems I don’t have really any room to hook it up, so I sold it. I was then thinking about it and the Nintendo was probably the console I owned the longest out of any of them. It was originally released in 1985 and it was probably around 1987 when I got mine and had it until 1991 when I got a Sega Genesis.
A little over a week ago I started looking at a few auctions and added them to my watch list. I was mainly trying to gauge about how much they were selling for. There were a ton of buy it now auctions for boxed ones that were $100 and up. Being the collector that I am I wanted to try and get one with the original box. There was also a site that I have bought a few things from and they want $65 for a boxed one which really isn’t too bad. I lucked out and found one where the auction title was just Nintendo Action Set. As it got to the final minutes of the auction I figures why not place a bid. I put a max bid at $10 and figured no way I would get it. The auction finally finished and I was the only bidder, so I won it at the starting bid of 99 cents. I did have to pay shipping which was $20 but still $21 for a boxed Nintendo with all the original inserts and manuals is a steal. At Savers and D.I. when they show up they want around $15 for one and it usually doesn’t have all the hookups.
The original box does have some marks on it that I am going to try and clean, but even if not it isn’t a big loss. It is in really great condition. Now I just need to get some games for this thing. Here is the auction link for anyone interested.
Something common among collectors once they finish their basic set of figures is to move on to focus on one particular figure. There are many variations out there for each figure which include factories where they were produced, accessories, and mold variations. The figure that I decided to focus on in my collection is Luke from Return of the Jedi. Many people have various reasons as to which figure they choose. My reasoning was this was a figure that I had as a child, still have that original one, and was always my favorite. Yesterday I received one of the last loose variations on the figure that would have been available in the U.S.
Here is a general representation of the figure. You get Luke dressed in black, cloth hooded cape, lightsaber, and blaster. You would think they would all look the same right? Very Wrong.
The cape comes in two variations. The earlier capes had a snap that clos-
ed the cape around the figure. Later on it was changed to a sewn cape that just slid over the figures head. My guess is this was changed to cut production costs. The snap cape is harder to come by but can be picked up on ebay without too much hassle.
The blaster also has a variation. Some of them are grey, while others are a tan brown color. It has been determined by collectors that the grey ones all came with Lukes that were made in Taiwan. The tan ones came from all the other factories.
The lightsaber also has a color variation. Some Lukes came with a blue lightsaber and others came with 
a green one. I believe the reason for this was Luke’s lightsaber was originally going to be blue in the movie like the previous ones. This can be seen in some of the old trailers when it was still called Revenge of the Jedi. From what I have heard ILM was having difficulty with the blue looking good in the desert scenes on Tatooine, so the decision was made to change the color to green. So therefore while Kenner was making the figures for the movie they originally had them blue and then later it was changed to green to match the final movie. The blue one used to command a premium over the green one but that has since changed. A complete Luke with the Blue saber is now only a few dollars more than one with a green one.
Now on to the figure itself. Luke’s head has 3 major variations. The first and hardest to come by is what is called the moulded head variation. With this variation the figures head was moulded in the color of plastic as his face with the hair painted. This variation has only been on figures Made in Taiwan. 2nd is the pale painted face version which is the most common version. The plastic color was the color of the hair and then the face color was painted on. It is common with this version to have specs of paint missing from his nose where you can see the original brown color of the plastic coming through. This variation can be found on figures from Taiwan and Made In Hong Kong figures. Finally is another painted face variation but it is more of a reddish color like Luke got a sunburn on Tatooine. This variation can only be found on figures from Hong Kong but they do not say “Made in” like the previous one mentioned. I lucked out with my moulded face Luke. I bought it from a dealer in Vegas for $12 and this was before I knew of the variation. The main reason I bought the figure was because it had a blue lightsaber with it and I didn’t have that version yet. A complete moulded head Luke can sell for close to $60, but you can find them on ebay from sellers that do not know what they have.
Moulded, Painted, Reddish Painted
Finally there are the country of origin on the figures which are different and were somewhat mentioned earlier. On the back of the figures right leg it states where the figure was made. There are Made in Taiwan, Made in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, and No Country of Origin figures out there. The ones from Taiwan seem to be the most common. The figures with no country on the right leg are usually ones from Europe. The crazy thing is that my childhood Luke doesn’t have a country on the leg. I have seen figures from Europe that had Kaybee Toy stickers on them, so somehow they ended up there. My guess is that is where I got my original Luke. They would have been either packaged on a card from England or the Tri Logo packaging that has 3 languages on the front. Below are pictures of all my loose Luke’s. I tried to make it so the country could be read, but also typed the text out.
Now on the packaged versions. First up is Luke sealed in a plastic baggie. These baggie figures w
ere available at department stores like Montgomery Ward, J.C. Penny, and Sears in multipacks. They usually have the Kenner name on the bag and what country the figure is from. The one I have is in a Made in Taiwan R.O.C. (Republic of China) bag. There is also a Made in Hong Kong bag and another one with the Blue Lightsaber.
As far as carded figures go I have two different versions. I have a 65 back (number of figures on the back) and a 77 back. There are a number of different versions that can be picked up. There is a 79 back that I need to get and the earlier 65 back that had the Ewoks blacked out, so it wouldn’t spoil the surprise for kids. They can also be picked up with 3 offers that were available from 1983-1985. These include the mail away Emperor, Anakin, and free coin offers. The figure was also offered in 1985 on Power of the Force 92 back packaging that included a Luke Jedi coin.
65 Back
77 Back
Here is the coin that was available either in the mail away promotion or on the Power of the Force Luke card.
Finally to finish off is the Luke Jedi shipping box that I found a few months ago. This box at one time had 96 carded Luke figures in it. I was told it had the Power of the Force carded figures in it. Just one of those figures sells for around $150 a piece today. I hope to add one someday, but right now have a few other things I am pursuing.
There you have it. It seems like I have quite a bit on this character, but I have only made a small dent. There are other collectors that focus on this character that have huge collections. One of these that I like is lukejedi.info He has some great overall collection pictures and individual ones. He liked that shipping box and had me send him some pictures of it for his site.
The iMac is 10 years old today. I remember when it was first released in 1998. The two main things I didn’t like about it were the hockey puck looking mouse and that it didn’t have a floppy drive. The iMac though is a big milestone for Apple. It was the first computer released after Steve Jobs came back as Apple’s CEO. It was also at this time Apple was considered pretty much dead. Below is the quote of the full article on Electronista and some pictures of the 4 revisions of the iMac.
“Apple’s famous iMac turns 10 years old today, marking an important milestone. The computer – which first began shipping on August 15th, 1998 — helped usher in the modern Mac era, distancing Apple from an era of Performas and Quadras. It was also the first major new product from the company following the return of co-founder Steve Jobs, and broke with previously standard Mac technologies at the time such as ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) in favor of those like the then-new USB format.
The original computer has been noted for its radical, gumdrop-like design, which was aesthetically unlike any other system, and restored the concept of an all-in-onedesktop. The system was further equipped with built-in modem and Ethernet connections, which helped feed into an Apple marketing campaign, observing that it was far easier to get online with a Mac than an equivalent Windows PC.
The first iMac proved so successful that while Apple lost $878 million in 1997, by the end of 1998, it had turned a profit of $414 million, and made the iMac a cultural icon.
The computer has since undergone a number of revisions, such as a switch to a lamp-like configuration in 2002, followed by a flat, rectangular shape in 2004. Apple has also switched from PowerPC chips to Intel processors, and ditched much of the plastic once used in preference of aluminum and glass. Operating systems have progressed through many versions, from Mac OS 8.5 to Mac OS X 10.5, and rumors hint that future iMacs may even incorporate touchscreens.”
Some new pictures have surfaced showing the new G1 Optimus Prime reissue we are getting here in the U.S.A. The figure is rumored to be released on black Friday this year. I haven’t heard if it is going to be exclusive to one store like the previous Toys R’ Us reissues or if it will be available everywhere. It was also supposed to come with a DVD of the first 3 episodes of the original cartoon and a comic. This new picture doesn’t show anything about the DVD, so maybe that idea was nixed. The pictures also show some variations in the figure that previous ones didn’t have. The blue and red colors are now brighter which actually make the figure look more like Generation 2 Optimus Prime. Also, roller is the blue variant where as the Toys R’ Us reissue from a few years ago came with the silver version. Finally like all of the U.S. prime reissue the smokestacks have been shortened to comply with current U.S. toy safety laws. Luckily reproduction long ones can be purchased fairly cheaply for the fan that wants Prime to look like the original.
Hopefully this means we might get some more reissues for the 25th anniversary next year. This figure is supposed to be a preview of the anniversary event.
