How many of you did or still do open and play with your SW toys? I for one do. Many of them are lets say.....well loved. Some didn't survive my childhood, some did, some are permanently battle scarred. When the merchandising started for Star Wars I was right there and was on my way into the world which would dominate my destiny for years to come. You've seen the bulk of my collection in a past blog here but lets now talk about the things you couldn't see in the photos as well.

In this picture you see some of my original figures that didn't make it.
broken bodies The R2D2 was my first figure ever. The decal is a replica ( in fact all of my four R2's and one R5D4 except the sensor scope R2 has replica decals) The dome has many scratches in it. This C-3P0 (one of three or four) was cut in half after ESB. Later they came out with the removable limbs version which I still have. The Death Star Droid was victim of a magnifying glass in the sun to make him battle damaged for being Jawas junk. Small head Han Solo. well he was a victim of heat and stange circumstances. One leg bends sideways (bad storage) and his face and arms are blue from being place in the back window of a friends car in 79. The upohlstry was blue. I don't know how it absorbed it. Bespin Luke and Vader both lost their heads to age. Lukes head is lost. Vaders' saber is a replica. I have replaced the Luke but I have not been able to find a Vader or small head Han to replace it yet. I've also replaced some others. Many assesories were lost when my parents turned my room into their office. I still have 75% of them.

Here you see the inside of the Falcon.
inside of the Falcon I removed the cardboard insert (would love to find a replacement) to make the cockpit accessible. The seat was removed but now put back. The training ball is gone. The landing don't quite lock anymore from age plus sound doesn't work (which is true for all but two vehicles)

The Death Star is one of the worst.
Death Star The supports are glued in. The trash compactor is missing the windows (I have no idea) the foam was gone a long time ago. The rope is gone. The cardboard inserts are creased and torn up.

This is my original landspeeder.
landspeederThe window and seat came off and were lost in the same room purge told of earlier.

This Tie fighter had a battery left in it and was stored that way. The acid leaked out and melted the plastic in the rear.
DV Tie Fighter Some decals came off ( the case with many of the vehicles). I have them and will reattach them eventually.

There are others. The dagobah playset's foam rotted. Along with missing pieces. Droid factory parts gone in the purge. My dog ate the ears of Salcious Crumb. The original X-wing's canopy and guns are lost. The troop transport's sounds barely work anymore. The snowspeeder's landing gear spring has sprung. A friend and myself would make crash landings on the floor of the day care we were at in the summer. When they hit the carpet edge they would flip in the air. His X-wing suffered the most. It's wings top and bottom ended up glued together and permanently pointing downward.

I would love to have my collection in perfect condition but it's not. Some damage was not in my control some were. Every scar or rubbed off paint is part of the memories. These things were my childhood. I wouldn't trade them for the world.