You can probably tell from my previous posts, that I'm a collector of vintage Star Wars action figures and related items. I've been into them since childhood and I guess thats why I like them so much.

But do the 'modern' figures capture my imagination in the same way? Well, when I first got back into collecting, I took a look at the modern range of figures (Power Of The Force 2 were the only ones out at the time) and laughed. I laughed a lot. The figures were utter rubbish. The were over-developed muscly figures, and frankly they were so naff it was unbelievable. So I completely ignored the range. As time went on, the figures got a bit more realistic and less muscly, but I still didn't like them. They weren't as good as the originals and had no character. I did however, pick up the "real fur" Bantha and "real feel skin" Rancor. These two were superb items.

Things changed when the Power Of The Jedi range came out. First off, the backing cards they came on looked a bit nicer and less tacky. And the figures themselves were very good. They were more in line with the style of the vintage ones. Another bonus was the fact that there different characters available from the vintage line, whereas the POTF2 mainly rehashed vintage figure characters. I managed to get hold of most of the range, although am missing a few and might have to have a look on eBay to fill some gaps. I didn't bother with the range of vehicles, instead I focussed purely on the figures.

Prior to the POTJ range though, there was the Episode 1 range. I eager picked up a flyer from Toys R Us and sent off for my "Sneak Preview Battle Droid and Staap" figure set, prior to the Episode 1 range being released. Our local Toys R Us had a midnight opening to launch the range, and I was there at opening along with numerous other collectors of a similar age and older, scouring the shelves for all available figures and trying to get hold of all 4 Battle Droid variants. Yes, its sad I know, but its true. I was lucky enough to get one of each figure and one of each of the available ships. Whilst I had concentrated purely on the action figures and related items, other collectors were piling shopping trolleys full of anything with the Episode 1 logo on.

Over the course of the coming months I'd make regular visits back there to check for new figures. Eventually I managed to get them all, complete with all ships and creatures. There were some nice items amongst it all. A couple that spring to mind were the Royal Starship Cruiser and the Fambaa (even if it didn't really do anything).

After POTJ came the Episode 2 figure line. Prior to the release of the main line, there were 4 preview figures available. I got these and started collecting the figures, ships and playsets. It was during this run that I stopped collecting modern figures. I do have a valid reason - my girlfriend and I bought our first house together, so all my money was going towards the mortgage. In fact this pretty much killed off my collecting as it was. Since then I've only picked up the odd item or two.

So when the Episode 3 figures came out, I only purchased the sneak preview figures. Since then, I've picked up one or two vintage pieces nothing of any real note.

It would be nice to go back at some point and complete my Episode 2 and 3 collections, and pick up all the figures released thereafter, but having moved to a bigger and more expensive house, its not going to be happening anytime soon. Especially with a wedding just around the corner. I think I'll be restricted to picking up one or two items here and there.

And now for a round up some of my other modern figure items:

Somewhere along the line, I also picked up the Limited Edition, Classic Edition 4-set. Which was a Power Of The Force 2 branded set of 4 figures made from the original vintage moulds. Very nice.

Other notable modern figures in my collection include the 300th Edition Boba Fett, silver R2D2 and silver Darth Vader (of which I somehow have 2).

I've also picked up the Muftak and Kabe mail only figure set, as well as Obi-Wans ghost. I hope to pick up the Theatre Edition Luke at some point too.

But my main passion has always been vintage. I've even considered selling off my modern collection at various points in time. But I just can't bring myself to part with any of my collection. Not just yet...

One positive about the house move is, my entire collection is currently boxed. So I'm going to enjoy unpacking and rediscovering it all. I'll be sure to take and share photos when I do finally get round to it.