Celebration Japan 2025 Collecting Track Panel Breakdown

Steve writes:

 For those attending Celebration Japan (and for future posterity!), here's a handy summary of the always incredible Collecting Track panels and giveaways (more details on those here).

GIVEAWAYS

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY APRIL 18

9:30am - 10:30am
Collectors Social

11:00am - 12:00pm
The PBP First Shots Find
Jordi Gasull
When The Empire Strikes Back was released in Spanish movie theaters on October 3, 1980, kids still weren’t able to get their hands on action figures from their favorite saga. They had to wait a few more months until May 1981 when the Spanish firm PBP began distributing the first figures in Spain. Luckily for collectors, one of the technicians involved in the toy line saved “first shots” and final product samples that were given to him by PBP in recognition for his work. We will review the history of the PBP Star Wars toys and this amazing find, covering previously unknown figures and the transition process in the manufacturing of these toys.

12:30pm - 1:30pm
Star Wars Coins & Medallions
Mark Salotti, Will Grief, Gus Lopez
As a global phenomenon, Star Wars has been immortalized in coins and medallions all around the world - from the familiar Power Of The Force Coins that accompanied Kenner's Vintage Action Figures, through to the lesser-known Japanese Toho medallions and Kotobukiya ArtFX coins. Mark, Will & Gus will present a showcase of Star Wars coins from around the world through the last four decades.

2:00pm - 3:00pm
Very origin of Japanese Collectibles 1978
Eimei Takeda, Takeo Yuda (STARCOTT), MC GEE Dylan Patrick
Focused on the 1978 Japanese merchandising with truly rare collectibles.

3:30pm - 4:30pm
How the Star Wars Collecting Age Began
James Swearingen, Kevin Liell
While still in production of Star Wars - A New Hope George Lucas and Twentieth Century-Fox were seeking a toy partner for their licensing efforts. After being turned away by many of the larger toy manufacturers they pitched the movie to Kenner Toys, a middle tier company at Toy Fair in February 1977. Rather than rejecting the license because it was a science fiction 'movie' opening in just a few months the representatives from Kenner agreed to take a look. Waiting in Cincinnati was a designer that was primed to receive the license. Jim Swearingen was that designer. He was the first person at Kenner to read the screenplay and look through the accompanying book of photos from the completed live shooting.

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Japanese Vintage Toy Oddities
Shuichi Kimura
This is an interesting dig into the history of Star Wars toys & the origins of secretly produced Japanese vintage bootlegs.

SATURDAY APRIL 19

9:30am - 10:30am
Collectors Trading Event

11:00am - 12:00pm
Homemade Star Wars Crafts: Tips and Tricks
Matthew Mulinaro, Amber Mulinaro, Elaine Grief, Earl Bergquist, Amy Sjoberg, Anne Jenkins
Among the overwhelming choices of factory-made Star Wars collectibles, the hand crafted gift stands out. Small batches of items can be made, customized to a specific event, group, or individual. Not only do these items show a level of craftsmanship not often seen among mass-produced items, but they can be produced at a fraction of the cost. This panel will demonstrate the types of items that are possible to produce at home and on a budget, as well as how to create some of them. You don’t have to be an accomplished artist or professional designer. All that you need is a little time, a few common materials, and the desire to create something unique.

12:30pm - 1:30pm
The Colorful World of Vintage Keshi Gomu (Rubber Erasers)
John Hallam, Andy Takara, Duncan Jenkins, Andy Loney
When Star Wars came out in Japan in 1978, one of the core toy types was keshi gomu (rubber erasers). Because of their low cost, every family could afford them. And, their small size made them uniquely suited for Japan’s small homes. Keshi were made by well known toy companies including Takara and Maruka. They also appeared in Morinaga’s candy premium line. And, keshi were made in a spectacular variety of sculpts and colors by a range of bootleg operations. Despite their popularity, keshi remain one of the least documented areas of vintage Star Wars collecting. Over the decades, our panel of experts has painstakingly pieced together much of this collecting puzzle. We are ready to share our knowledge with the Star Wars collecting community for the first time. Panelists will provide photos that break down every vintage Japanese keshi line, both licensed and unlicensed. We will finish with a brief look at modern keshi, showing how keshi collecting carries on after nearly half a century.

2:00pm - 3:00pm
GET!! Star Wars Bottle Caps
Paipu (Takaya Yoshino)
I would like to look back on that "hot" summer when I drank cola with you again. Introducing STAR WARS × PEPSI's amazing campaign in Japan.

3:30pm - 4:30pm
Galactic Toy Story
Yuji Ueda, David Santana
The panel explores why Stormtroopers are loved in Japan, featuring passionate fans and rare merchandise. It highlights a local cafe with the country's only permanent Stormtrooper exhibit, with monthly cosplay events, and a Stormtrooper-themed Barbie outfit. Additionally, it includes two exclusive trailers, one featuring Brian Muir.

5:00pm - 6:00pm
Vintage Japanese Diecast Delights
Andrew Norton, Peter Davis, Jason Smith
Join us for a retrospective look at all things Japanese and diecast. Andy, Jason and Pete take a look at the wonderful world of Japanese diecast Star Wars toys from the 1970s and 1980s. We explore Kenner’s licensing of the Star Wars brand to Takara, and their Japanese range of diecast ships and key packaging changes; find out which toy advert changed colour just for the Japanese market and which US Kenner exclusive could be found as a Japanese bootleg. We also review Takara’s exclusive range of diecast and plastic rocket firing toys, and whether The Rise of Skywalker really was just an excuse to pay homage to Takara’s diecast C3PO. We discuss Takara’s Zetca range of finely detailed Space Alloy models, which would not look out of place in a 21st Century toy shop, and also take a look at Takara’s line of diecast pin badges and packaging. Takara weren’t the only player in town and we’ll also take a look through Tsukuda’s finely detailed metal model kits.

SUNDAY APRIL 20

10:30am - 11:30am
I'm your father - Vintage Star Wars toys vs. Lego Star Wars
Mattias Rendahl, Elliot Rendahl
Join long-time Swedish collector and collectible book author Mattias Rendahl, along with his son Elliot, as they discuss their journey of collecting Star Wars toys together. Hear how it all began and what it’s like to share a hobby and passion across generations. Most importantly, they’ll dive into an epic battle, comparing vintage Star Wars toys with LEGO Star Wars items, including some rare Japanese pieces from both categories. Which line had the best ship, figure, gift-with-purchase, exclusive, and more? It’s the old vs. the new generation of Star Wars collectors!

11:45am - 12:45pm
From Collecting to Visual Storytelling – Star Wars Toy Photography
Raymond Montemayor, Susan Damon, Richee Chang, Jax Navarro, Trevor Williams
Toy photography is a rapidly growing hobby and is becoming an art form in its own right. Some collectors get into it initially to share their latest haul, but soon find themselves drawn to the work of accomplished toy photographers and start down a path to taking the hobby more seriously. Panelists include popular toy photographers Trevor Williams (@onesix_shooter), Jax Navarro (@plasticaction), and Richee Chang (@noserain). Moderated by Susan Damon (@bloosusan), the panel will discuss the hobby itself and some of the forms it takes, and then delve into how to take your smartphone 'snapshots' to a higher level with the equipment, techniques, and tricks involved in the art. The panel will close with an audience Q&A.

1:00pm - 2:00pm
Star Wars Around the House
Jonathan McElwain, Duncan Jenkins
It seems that Star Wars really is forever...and it is everywhere! Many fans fill their homes and kitchens with products from a galaxy far far away. In this panel presented by Jonathan McElwain and Duncan Jenkins, you’ll learn about everyday products with a Star Wars twist. This is a fascinating area to collect, with many obscure items. Did you know that there was a Star Wars promotion on bottles of Pine Sol household cleaner? How about Star Wars toilet paper from Germany? Is your collection of vintage Dixie Cups complete? This panel will cover these and many other household and kitchen products.

2:15pm - 3:15pm
Star Wars Fragile Items, Especially Ceramics
senoboo
Of all the Star Wars products, the figures, including Kenner, are the most famous and popular. There are also many things around us that are related to Star Wars. This time, we will focus on pottery that has a connection with Japan.

A Makeover for Luke Skywalker

Jonathan writes:

I’ve previously written about the Coca-Cola campaign of 1978, which coincided with the release of the original Star Wars in Japan. You can find that post here. I’ve made some running changes to the post since it was published to make a few minor corrections and add information about a few aspects of the campaign, so check it out if you are so inclined.

There’s quite a bit of material from this promotion that I am still actively collecting, especially advertising material. As part of that pursuit, I recently picked up a publication called Refreshing Wife, Summer Edition (No. 3), published on 20 June 1978. 

The back cover of this publication features a very early advertisement for the Japanese Star Wars Coca-Cola campaign.

The Refreshing Wife advert predates this one from the pages of the 1978 Weekly Shōnen Magazine issue 27, published on 2 July 1978, by nearly 2 weeks.

The advertisement is similar in composition to the so-called “Blowdry Luke” poster and the tri-fold flyer published by the Kinki bottler. But, there are some notable differences.

The poster and flyer are similar to one another, but the information presented at the bottom differs. The larger scale of the poster allowed for the inclusion of detailed information about the available prizes that wasn’t possible on the smaller flyer.

The composition of the advert is different from that of the poster and the flyer. Rather than showing images of 13 bottle caps, the advert shows only 9 bottle caps, with the Luke Skywalker bottle cap in the 12 o’clock position, rather than the Princess Leia bottle cap. Most of the bottle caps (or crowns) shown on the advert are a subset of those from the poster and the flyer, however there are some differences. The advert includes the Stormtrooper and Star Destroyer bottle caps, which are not included on the poster or the flyer. Additionally, the C-3PO bottle cap on the advert is the alternate pose C-3PO bottle cap, not the one that is featured on the poster and the flyer.

The information included at the bottom of the advert is not bottler-specific, which suggests that this publication may have been intended for more widespread (national), rather than regional, distribution. The bottom of the advert is stamped with identifying information for the retailer that presumably distributed this particular copy. The information in the lower left corner of the advert notes that there are “lots of chances to win.” The R2-D2 AM Radio lottery is featured in the lower right corner, without specifics about available quantities that were included on the various bottler-specific versions of the posters.

I can’t blame you if you don’t find the minutiae of these differences all that interesting. But, take a good look at Luke in the comparison below. What I didn’t realize, until I had the advert in hand and was able to examine it in detail, is that the advert features an earlier version of Luke. The artwork was apparently reworked between the printing of the advert and the printing of the poster and flyer, with Luke receiving a complete makeover!

It’s debatable whether or not the reworking of Luke’s face and hair in the poster is an artistic improvement. But, without the reworking, we wouldn’t have the infamous “Blowdry Luke” poster that we all know and love.

The pose and composition of Luke’s body seems to be consistent between the renditions, however, it appears that the poster image was reworked to enhance shadows. There are some differences between the poster and the flyer image, but I chalk those up to differences in printing methods/quality.

While staring at this image of Luke, it dawned on me that, although Luke is obviously holding a lightsaber above his head, he also has a lightsaber strapped to his belt. Long before the Revenge of the Jedi Teaser Poster, the lightsaber that Luke is wielding is red! I suppose his father’s blue lightsaber is the one that is strapped to his belt.

To round out this discussion, here is an image from the Hokkaido Coca-Cola Bottling Co., Ltd. - 25 Year History retrospective book, which was published in 1988:

This image features the early rendition of Luke from the Refreshing Wife advert, but in a composition that is consistent with the poster and the flyer. The retrospective book was published by the Hokkaido bottler long after that fact. It is possible that this image was taken from an archival image that shows an early composition that wasn’t actually produced. So far, I haven’t found or seen images of the poster or other paperwork from the Hokkaido bottler. But, I am intrigued to find out. So, if you’ve got a poster or other paperwork from the Hokkaido bottler, please let us know!

Crazy Rare Star Wars Food Packaging

Gus writes:

 Over the past couple of years, I've been seeking out rare, and in some cases, previously unknown, Star Wars food packaging from the vintage years. It is hard to believe that after so many years we are still discovering new food items from the early years of Star Wars, but some of these promotions were so limited and very few were saved, that this area is ripe for new discoveries. In some cases, I've consulted food collectors and experts in other countries to get information and confirm instances of early food packaging. In other cases, we were able to reasonably conjecture the existence of packaging examples based on a Star Wars premium known from that time, since people generally save the premiums, but not the packaging. 

Here are some examples of these discoveries from the past few years, starting with Allen's Grape Drink from Canada. This is a fruit drink that existed in Canada in the late 70s and is still available today. The labels on the cans promoted a Star Wars "fighter contest" in English and French with prizes such as t-shirts and other Star Wars memorabilia. Allen's also came in other flavors of fruit juices at the time, but it is unknown whether this promotion extended to those flavors in addition to the grape drink.

Star Wars wasn't released in the United Kingdom until late 1977, but was heavily promoted leading up to and following the December 27, 1977 release. One of the early promotions was on cans of Heinz baked beans. Labels on the 220g and 447g cans featured a mail away offer for Star Wars Helix school sets. The Helix school sets were also sold at retail in a plastic case with Han Solo and Chewbacca on the cover.

Now for something really weird and unfortunately, highly offensive. In all my years covering Star Wars collectibles, I've seen some controversial stuff, but I've never felt compelled to censor an image. Until now. This product is so bad that we don't want it shared publicly in its original form. It's a cookie wrapper from France from the late 1970s from Brun's brand of Papou cookies that sadly used a racist caricature that remarkably they found acceptable for the French market at the time. Moving on from that, the wrapper shows a radio-controlled R2-D2 as a contest prize. Brun's contest on Papou and Palmito cookies offered the chance to win one of these R2-D2 toys or Star Wars posters. Brun continued to do food promotions on their Palmito brand for The Empires Strikes Back in France in 1980.

The next image shows two items: a 4 pack bag for Oh Henry! candy bars from Canada with a Star Wars mask promotion from the late 1970s along with a Lowney's Oh Henry! candy bar wrapper from the same period. Unlike the U.S. where the Oh Henry! brand was owned by Hershey's, in Canada, Oh Henry! was marketed by the Lowney's corporation. These bags contained four 50g bars of Oh Henry! and also promoted the Official Star Wars Fan Club. 

For The Empire Strikes Back, Express Dairy did a promotion on milk containers in the U.K. The premium for this promotion is a cool AT-AT Walker Hoth Battle poster which is fairly difficult to find. But an even more challenging piece is this milk ring packaging promoting the poster mail away offer. This ring went around glass bottles of Express Dairy milk. It also promoted The Empire Strikes Back soundtrack by RSO Records that was sold in Woolworth and Boots stores in the U.K.

One of the best examples of the disparity in scarcity between the premiums and the packaging occurs with the York Peanut Butter promotion in Canada for The Empire Strikes Back. The six character discs that were found on the insides of York Peanut Butter lids are still easily found today, however the jars promoting this offer are extremely scarce. This is a 500g jar of York "Crunchy" Peanut Butter. There was also a jar of "Smoothy" peanut butter shown in promotional literature but I'm not aware of one of those jars in a collection.

For Return of the Jedi, Konga did a tie-in with PBP in Spain where kids could enter to win Return of the Jedi action figures. The action figure line was shown on bottles of cola, lemon, and orange drinks. So far, we know of two 2 liter bottles of Konga Cola that sit in collections featuring this promotion, and there may be more out there, but have not documented any known examples of Konga Limón or Konga Naranja.

The Doriana margarine containers from Argentina are arguably the toughest Star Wars food packaging set to complete. I don't know a single collector who has ever assembled the entire set of 14 margarine tubs. The containers were also the premiums as the lids were meant to be cut out to create plastic character standees. So when they are found, they are often cut from the lids. An uncut, intact lid is super difficult to find, and an entire margarine container with a Star Wars lid is next to impossible.  

And finally, Crecs potato chips in Spain offered stickers for the Droids and Ewoks cartoon series. The cartoons were widely popular in Spain with a large variety of product. Similar to other food packaging, people don't typically save potato chip bags from almost 40 years ago, but they do save stickers. These bags are super fragile with a flimsy foil banner across the front with the Droids and Ewoks characters.

Celebration Japan Collecting Track Giveaways Revealed!

Steve writes:

 Our own Chris Georgoulias recently unveiled details on the appropriately themed and very vintage Collecting Track giveaways for Star Wars Celebration Japan. To keep up with all the latest, be sure to join the Collecting Track Facebook Group and follow along on Instagram.

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Chris writes:

The Collecting Track is proud to present its exclusive giveaways for Celebration Japan 2025 - Acrylic Stand Figures!

The retro-vintage designs are inspired by the uniquely Japanese Popy World Hero boxed action figures from 1980. Featuring hand-drawn character artwork by Topps sketch card artist Dan Tearle with additional artwork by Jeff Correll, each full-size Galaxy Hero acrylic figure is accompanied by its own colorful acrylic box. With a two-position baseplate, the figure can be displayed inside or outside of the box, allowing full view of the beautiful character artwork.

These distinctive items will be distributed exclusively to Collecting Track attendees after each presentation. With 14 different designs available over the three-day convention, there will be daily opportunities to walk away with some of your favorite characters so be sure to spend time with us at the Celebration Collector's Stage learning about Star Wars collectibles and starting a collection of your own.

Got (Blue) Milk?

Gus writes:

 For the completist collector, there is nothing more nerve-wracking than a regional promotion. It’s hard enough to track down international items, but finding variations within a country are a whole other level of madness. 

For May the 4th in 2024, the Dairy Farmers of America brands did a nationwide milk promotion in the U.S. The most prominent item offered was “Blue Milk” under the TruMoo brand which was sold across most of the country, like the blue milk seen in the original Star Wars in 1977. But the promotion went far beyond one national brand with Star Wars-themed 1% lowfat, 2% reduced fat, fat free, and whole milk across 22 regional brands with labels featuring Chewbacca, Yoda, Leia, and Luke, respectively. There were also some size variations, the blue milk appeared on some regional brands, and there was even a nuanced 1.5% fat milk for those milk connoisseurs who need that precise balance between lowfat and reduced fat milk! Some of these brands were only available in one or two states such as Alta Dena in California, Cass Clay in North Dakota, Country Fresh in Illinois and Michigan, Creamland in New Mexico, Gandy's in Texas, Hygenia in Texas, Oak Farms in Louisiana and Texas, Oakhurst in Maine and New Hampshire, Price's in New Mexico and Texas, and Tuscan in New Jersey and New York.

We documented 97 different milk containers across this promotion. Because it was so daunting to assemble a complete set, I only went after them opportunistically where I knew friends who might be able to find them for me, since it was impossible to find them all on my own. This photo shows 44 of the known 97 milk containers from the promotion, and since taking the photo I have increased my count to 49 different milk jugs, which is just over half of the set. Also, two of these pictured here (the Turner's blue Bantha milk containers in the bottom right) are from a promotion in Pennsylvania from a couple years ago. 

Why Toy Shows Matter: Five Major Benefits For Star Wars Collectors

David writes:

 As we trudge through the winter months, the proverbial light that awaits us at the end of a long, cold, snowy tunnel is the start of another toy show season.

Do you remember the first time you visited a toy show?

I attended my first Star Wars-themed toy show in the summer of 1992 or 1993. It was held on a Sunday in Long Island, New York, in the basement of a synagogue. In a small, dimly lit and musty room, among vendors stocked with tables of Star Wars collectibles, I faced the stunning realization that somehow I had missed the release of Kenner’s Power of the Force figures in 1985. Discovering that the line did not end with the 79th figure and Return of the Jedi, but continued with characters like Luke Skywalker in his Stormtrooper and Endor outfits, or Han Solo and his Carbonite block, made me desperately excited to be a young collector, with new territory to explore.  

But at the time, as a middle school child without a job, taking home a four hundred-dollar carded Luke or loose Yak Face was impossible. I was able to buy my first Star Wars pieces as a collector that day, ending up with a bagged Luke Hoth figure for five dollars, a five-dollar loose Luke Jedi, complete with cape and blue lightsaber, and a twenty-seven dollar carded Return of the Jedi Darth Vader figure on an alternate photo cardback.

That trio of beloved Kenner examples was the start of my collecting journey. However, the trek paused almost as quickly as it began, as I didn’t have the funds to continue collecting at the time. And since this was a few years before the internet became a household staple, toy shows occurring in my area never appeared on my radar. Years passed before I attended another collector event.

And approaching high school, other interests jostled for my attention: girls, music, art, friends, and most of what was covered on shows like Saved by the Bell, Beverly Hills 90210 and My So-Called Life.  

When I revisited collecting Star Wars memorabilia in 2011, I sought out toy shows as a place to learn about and to acquire the figures, vehicles and playsets from my childhood. And unlike eBay, these experiences afforded me the opportunity to handle these items in person, inspecting them for flaws and issues, and selecting the ones in the best condition for my collection. And most of the time, the dealer was kind enough to give me a discount on my purchase.

A Star Wars haul from a 2014 ToyCon NJ Show

I drove to nearby, smaller shows on the weekends, arriving with the early buyers and entering as the doors to the venue opened.

The night before a show, I would struggle to fall asleep, pulsing with anticipation over what I might discover, or what I might bring home. And those mornings, I’d leave as the sun rose, driving on roads that felt quiet and untraveled, as the rest of the world was still asleep. The hues on the trees and the buildings along my path changed with the growing light, and my GPS counted down the time until I reached my destination. I fully embraced the excitement around each toy show adventure.

Since then, my toy show trip radius has expanded greatly. I’ve traveled to other states and to other regions of the country not only to find Star Wars prototypes and production pieces, but to connect with others within our community who share a similar passion for collecting.

And as we enter a new toy show season, I wanted to highlight some of the aspects that make attending local and out-of-state shows worthwhile experiences.

*****

1. The Thrill of the Hunt

Very simply, the thrill of the hunt is often why collectors frequent toy shows.

In some ways, toy shows recreate the feeling of visiting Toys “R” Us or any of the toy retailers as a child. The anticipation of walking into a large building boasting aisles of action figures, not knowing what you’ll find and what you’ll bring home, recaptures those life-shaping moments of being a young Star Wars fan.  

The thrill of the hunt is the catalyst. It’s what pushes us to leave our homes and to explore. It’s the idea that something could be waiting for us in a bin or on a table at a vendor’s booth. But it may not be there for long -- we need to find it and claim it before someone else snatches it. 

Scoring a mint Vinyl Cape Jawa at Pennsylvania's 2015 Retro Con

And that item assumes many forms. It may be the last piece we need for our run, or it may be the one that triggers a new focus. It could also be something as simple as a desired collectible at a price too good to turn down. It might be something we didn’t even know existed, or something that is part of Star Wars’ vibrant history. Or it might just be the grail we never thought we’d see in person, let alone own.

A prototype surfaces at the Cincinnati toy show room sales event.

The addition of the year. The score of the century. That is the possibility when you attend a toy show. And it’s why we return, again and again. It’s the thrill of the hunt.  

2. The Chance of Landing a Better Deal

Today, many of the sales of Star Wars memorabilia take place online. But purchasing items from a vendor at a toy show has its benefits.

When it comes to auctions, a good deal may surface once in a while, but the competitive model often works against the buyer. On sites like eBay and through the auction houses, each bid drives the price higher, and those who get caught up in the momentum of the moment risk overpaying, and sometimes by multiples of the collectible’s reasonable value.    

At a toy show, a dealer generally has a fixed price on an item. And that price can be negotiated down to a place where both the seller and the buyer are happy with the result. 

And paying for an item in-person eliminates the need for the extra fees associated with certain platforms. Most auction houses add a standard buyer’s premium to the price, usually landing at fifteen to twenty-five percent of the winning bid. Some even charge the consignor a seller’s premium to host the items. And when it comes to transactions, eBay and PayPal take a substantial portion of the total sale in exchange for the use of their services, affecting a seller’s cut before taxes.  

Purchasing a collectible at a show eliminates the need for premiums and fees. Many dealers prefer to receive payments in cash, and will reward buyers with a discount for paying with currency instead of processing a sale through an app. 

And for larger or more fragile memorabilia, an in-person exchange removes the concerns that an online transaction may draw. It gives the potential buyer the chance to inspect the item with the vendor, to make sure it is authentic and to address any issues or questions before the purchase. It removes the costs associated with mailing and insuring an item, which can be substantial depending on the size and the price. And without the need for an item to be shipped, it also quells concerns about the item surviving its shipping journey and arriving safely.

3. A Place to Use Your Knowledge to Your Advantage

As collectors, we obsess over the details. Our understanding of the action figures and the collectibles extend far beyond what the average Star Wars fan knows. We study figure variants, their countries of origin, the different mold cavities used to produce them, and the accessories. We log the differences in paint and appearance, and the specific cardbacks on which they were packaged. We learn about multipacks and mailers, international figures and bootlegs, vintage and modern lines, and prototypes and production pieces. We feed that desire to digest as much as possible with platefuls of information.  

And that knowledge can make our toy show hunts even more successful. Spending time among the tables, digging into bins and examining the contents of a vendor’s booth may unlock some of the variants and rarer items that a more casual collector may overlook.

And the toy show is the perfect place to find these nuanced treasures. It’s where a hollow tubes Tusken Raider is discovered in a five-dollar figure bin. Or a “Red Bar” R5-D4 droid -- where one of the white rectangles on its sticker label is filled in red and sells for hundreds of dollars -- is sold for the price of a regular version. Or a solid black Endor blaster, which also sells for hundreds of dollars and was only released with two 1985 Power of the Force figures, is packaged with a common B-Wing Pilot or AT-ST Driver instead. 

Note the small red rectangle on the figure's decal

I’ve witnessed many of these finds over the years. At a winter toy show a friend picked up a Luke Skywalker figure for twenty-five dollars, only to find out later that the accessory inside of its arm was a double-telescoping lightsaber with a beautiful inner filament.  

Others have purchased Lily Ledy international figures that resembled their domestic counterparts, but were sold at a fraction of the price. And when you’re dealing with a box of toys, there are always some desirable parts and accessories waiting for you at the bottom.

And certain action figures are simply tougher to find on specific cardbacks. In 2017, I purchased a carded Return of the Jedi Bib Fortuna for forty-five dollars from a vendor at New York Comic-Con. Months later, as I researched the figures I owned, I realized that the Bib Fortuna was packaged on a 79-B cardback, with the Anakin Skywalker sticker, and was one of the tougher characters to find on that particular card.  

A 79-B ROTJ Bib Fortuna

Being cognizant of these rarities is part of the fun of learning about a toy line. And the reward for our research and knowledge is finding what would otherwise be an expensive or rare example at a toy show, and for a very good price.

4. A Locale to Establish Friendships and Connections

I mentioned the previous three points first because they are often what incentivize us to travel to a toy show. But I think this one is the most important, and the most rewarding.  

Collecting Star Wars memorabilia can be a hobby done in isolation. A person can pick up items online and with very little interaction with others. And some people enjoy it that way, taking a similar approach as one would to other singular hobbies, like running, gardening, woodworking or learning an instrument.  

And the online groups and social media have given us the illusion of interaction, through transactional relationships and digital conversations. But spending time face-to-face with those who share our interests brings us the connections we long for as humans, and can literally change our lives.  

When I returned to collecting in 2011, the first show I attended was the Wayne Toy Show, which was a monthly event at a firehouse in Wayne, New Jersey. As a smaller show, it afforded me the opportunity to get to know the dealers and collectors, and to become a familiar face to others. A number of established and newer Star Wars collectors routinely gathered in front of a dealer’s table, sometimes for hours, sharing photos of recent purchases and talking at length about the toys and their fascinating histories.  

The rapport at this local show soon became as much of a draw as the hunt for the toys. And the monthly reunions gave us the time not only to learn about the toys and memorabilia we loved, but to learn about one another in the process.  

A 31-A ESB Han Solo in Hoth Outfit.

In 2015, I had purchased a carded Han Hoth figure from a vendor at the show, and another collector stopped me a few minutes later to ask me questions about it. We chatted for a while, exchanged phone numbers, and I told him to contact me if he ever had any other collecting questions. Over the next few months we talked regularly about Star Wars and the collectibles, but we began to build a friendship. And two years after that first toy show encounter, the two of us drove from New Jersey to Florida, to attend our first Star Wars convention together. And it all started with a simple conversation about Star Wars action figures.

Toy shows serve as hubs for collectors. And your circle of friends will eventually overlap with another collector’s circle of friends. As a result, those circles merge through connecting and networking. It’s an organic way to grow your group of friends, ones who share the same passion for Star Wars and collecting. 

And I’ve met some of my dearest friends at toy shows. And I’ve traveled to different regions of the country with them and have attended meetups and events that defy anything I could have expected from being a Star Wars enthusiast.

One of my favorite things to do at a toy show is to tour the floor with another collector. It’s a great way to discuss the hobby and life in general, while exploring the aisles of vendor booths, as the bustle of the crowd becomes a peaceful white noise. And a random run-in with other collectors or finding something special during a walk only makes those strolls even more memorable.

And over time, certain locations within a toy show become significant. They mark the places where friendships began, or where moments occurred along the timeline of a friendship. They serve as both reminders of fantastic finds and those electric, unforgettable days spent in the company of fellow collectors.

5. An Experience That Becomes Meaningfully More

Toy shows can also serve as spaces for both impromptu and planned collector activities that often take us beyond the walls of the venue.  

For Star Wars fans, a regional show can become a neutral meeting site, a logical place to gather as a group without having to worry about accommodations or hosting. And being surrounded by Star Wars memorabilia for sale in a large space is the perfect setting to draw established members of a local club, and also to engage with potential future members.

When a show morphs into a meetup, the backdrop will always be the collectibles, but the in-person connections become the true focus. 

Some of the first examples I encountered of these meetups occurred in my travels to Ohio, for the Columbus Toy Show. I’d arrive the day before the show, attending the vendor setup, and would get to know the various dealers running more than 450 tables. After setup that evening, I would join a group of collectors and dealers for a dinner at a nearby restaurant. Or our group would schedule an activity in advance for that day, like a meetup at a collector’s home, or practicing golf swings at a driving range. And we’d meet up the following day to hang out together at the toy show. 

Venturing beyond my region in the search for Star Wars collectibles, those Columbus trips became the starting points for many of the friendships I have today.  

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Every October, the Cincinnati Toy Show draws collectors from all over the country, and from around the world. As a toy show in the heart of what was formerly Kenner country, it has become one stop along a very packed and exciting collectors’ weekend.  

Attendees generally arrive to Cincinnati a few days ahead of the show. They visit collectors in the area, viewing some incredible vintage and modern Star Wars collections in the process. They frequent the antique malls where some notable prototypes were discovered over the years, and shop at some of the toy stores famous for their vintage selections. And being in Cincinnati for a few days affords collectors the chance to take group tours of some important Star Wars sites, like the Kroger building that formerly served as Kenner’s headquarters, or the multi-story Kenner Mural depicting some of the most iconic toys ever created.  

And each day, attendees gather for meals together, sometimes taking over entire restaurants. And the night before the toy show, the lobby of the host hotel transforms into a room sales event, where collectors buy, sell and trade rare prototypes and production items.

Produced and unproduced POTF proof cards for sale at the 2017 Cincinnati room sales.

Spending full days together rapidly forms bonds between collectors. And for the ones who return to a place like Cincinnati year after year, those weekends truly feel like family reunions.

The 2019 room sales during the Cincinnati Toy Show weekend.

And this tradition of extending the toy show experience has continued with the regional clubs and local shows as well.  

Zolocon, a Pennsylvania toy show that kicks off the season each year in the northeast, has become a meetup for collectors from Star Wars clubs based in Pennsylvania, New York, D.C. and Connecticut. 

Zolocon 2024

Halfway through the day, collectors would drive to a barbecue restaurant down the street, spending a few hours away from the show. These lunches became just as important as attending Zolocon itself, and developed into an annual tradition that brought collectors together over a hearty meal.  

In May of 2021, after being away from one another due to the pandemic and the resultant quarantine, thirty collectors from the Empire State Star Wars Collectors Club took a break from shopping New Jersey’s ToyCon NJ show to take over an Italian restaurant for a few hours. These moments together provided laughter and longer conversations, but more importantly gave us a sense of normalcy that had disappeared over the previous year. And it’s a blessing to say that a group meal or an extracurricular activity has become a staple of the toy show events for many Star Wars club members.  

Transforming time at a toy show into a collectors’ meetup often makes it a more meaningful experience. It creates real relationships beyond transactional ones. And it gives us a chance to share our love for Star Wars and the memorabilia with others who share that same passion.  

And in the same way the 1977 Star Wars film opened a door to decades of stories around the characters we love, these toy shows and meetups are the key moments that lead to further adventures together, often ones that stretch beyond what we can imagine.  

So this year, seek out toy shows in your area, and attend as many as you can. Get to know the dealers and the collectors who frequent these shows. Introduce yourself to other collectors with something as simple as a conversation around a certain item on a vendor’s table, or with the best ice breaker in the hobby: So, what do you collect?

Link up with members from your regional Star Wars club. Plan meetups and meals together around an upcoming event, and see where those moments take you.

And you never know what figures you’ll find and what friendships may form from a day at a toy show.  

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*If you'd like to hear more about the toy show experience, as well as moments from the shows over the years, check out episode 211 of the Star Wars: Prototypes and Production podcast here.