No, it doesn't all suck. And what better way to remember that it doesn't suck than celebrating the Archive all...year...long! For the first installment of our Editor Interviews, we're joined by Gus Lopez and Ron Salvatore. Loading the player... WATCH ON YOUTUBE DIRECT LINK DOWNLOAD   ..read more

David writes:  Do you remember discovering The Star Wars Collectors Archive for the first time?  You may have clicked on it during the early days of the internet, when the site’s creator, Gus Lopez, introduced it to the online world in 1994 as “Toys R Gus.” Or, you may have found it in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as you searched for the latest breaking news on the production of the prequel films.   If the promise of a sequel trilogy reignited your interest in Star Wars, you may visited the Archive in 2015, along with a wave of collectors eager to reconnect with the fran ..read more

Jonathan "Johnny Too-Much" McElwain joins the pod to talk about this ever expanding world filled with shirts, bottles and geography (as featured in his incredibly in-depth blog post that was recently published). Loading the player... WATCH ON YOUTUBE DIRECT LINK DOWNLOAD ..read more

  Jonathan writes: The Basics Star Wars was released in Japan on June 24, 1978, more than a year after it premiered in the United States. A massive promotion involving Coca-Cola brand beverages (Coca-Cola, Fanta, and Sprite) coincided with the film’s highly anticipated Japanese release. This advertisement, from the pages of Weekly Shōnen Magazine, dated July 2, 1978 announced the campaign. During the campaign, which ran until the end of August, glass bottles of Coca-Cola brand beverages were topped with collectible metal bottle caps, also known as crown caps or crowns.  The ..read more

Steve pays a Spring Break visit to Skye in snowy Rochester and they get stuck in a Prius at the bottom of an icy hill - the perfect situation to record an episode! We have an on-the-fly MarketWatch from a recent Hake's auction and discuss the current fervor for custom Droids carded figures made by Bill Cable. Loading the player... WATCH ON YOUTUBE DIRECT LINK DOWNLOAD Hake's March 2024 Auction Results ..read more

Who killed the funk? Has collecting Vintage Star Wars gotten worse? If so, why? (Next episode: why it HASN'T) Loading the player... WATCH ON YOUTUBE DIRECT LINK DOWNLOAD ..read more

  Gather round the fire to hear a harrowing tale of authentic rarities, clear fakes, questionable fakes, false identities and "tricycle sales." Plus a charity auction! Loading the player... WATCH ON YOUTUBE DIRECT LINK DOWNLOAD Show Note Links: BASA Vader Charity Auction - Deal or No Deal World Bicycle Relief Charity CC investigates: Is Ed Dtoke MJ actually Luis Gonzales? - CreatureCantina.com CC investigates: An Ed Dtoke MJ follow-up - CreatureCantina.com BASA Items - SWCA Database ..read more

Ron writes:  For many constituents of Generation X, memories of Kenner Star Wars toys are interwoven with memories of the holiday season, that special time of the year when we celebrate religion, solstice, and the wonders of consumerism  -- and not necessarily in that order.  In the '70s and '80s, walking into a store during the holiday season was like walking into a new world -- you felt a little like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, as she opens that monochrome door and beholds the Technicolor vista of a more glamorous realm.  There was the sense that, for a few weeks ..read more

Ron writes:  Star Wars licenses have been granted for all manner of products. But how many official licenses are associated with alcoholic beverages? None that I can think of. Though I'll happily admit I'm no expert in this area, I just can't think of any official Star Wars product that's tied to beer. That paucity of official alcohol product makes this article by guest blogger Daryl Whitlow particularly interesting. If you love beer and Star Wars, and you want to collect something that bridges those interests, you might consider seeking out the Sapporo products that Daryl discusses ..read more

Ron writes:  Intro  Do you remember Star Wars in the funny pages?  No, I'm not talking about the comic strip created by Russ Manning (and later Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson); I'm talking about Kenner advertisements that were printed in the funny pages of the local newspaper. I realize, not without a degree of melancholy, that some of you may not understand what I'm talking about. Allow me to explain. Back in the '70s and '80s, nearly every home received a newspaper on its doorstep each morning. That's how people stayed informed. You needed the newspaper to stay on top of th ..read more