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Five of the weirdest collectibles I own
Mar. 12th, 2009 08:28 pmThere have been many strange collectibles produced over the years, both officially (Jar Jar tongue candy) and unofficially (oddball knockoff action figures from Mexico and Turkey). Of course someone could argue every SW merch is in its own way weird.
I admit I love strange and kitschy collectibles. Here are five of the oddest I own:
5. The Official Star Wars Fishing Pole And Tackle Kit
Is there anything they haven't slapped a SW logo on? Feel the Force as you use this small pole to lure the fishies! Produced around the time ROTS came out, I bought it for five bucks at Marshall's a couple of years ago. You can find fishing kits for other licensed properties at Target.
4. The Darth Vader Lawn Sprinkler
Another artifact from the ROTS bonanza, this was designed to water lawns through Darth Vader's extended lightsaber blade. But the way Vader is posed, it looks like he's peeing on your grass. I bought this at Target on clearance a few years back.
3. The Official TPM Japanese Curry
I bought this on eBay back in 2000. The box has all of your favorite characters pictured around a bowl of curry 'n veggies. Mmm. Open the box and there's a nice colorful foil bag with the food inside of it. This brought about a dilemma...should I open the bag and ruin it to get rid of the curry or should I leave it as it is and risk it leaking all over the place? I even wrote to Steve Sansweet to seek his sage advice, which he nicely answered in the pages of SW Insider. I've kept everything in pristine condition and it survived the trek out to the West Coast.
2. Of Mice And SW Characters
Every summer I used to go to a convention in Hunt Valley, MD called Shore Leave and there was always a lady who sold small clay mice figurines she made herself, fashioned to look like various sci-fi t.v. and movie characters. Strange but cute in a way and at two bucks apiece, the price was right. Over the years I got Luke Mouse, Leia Mouse, Han Mouse, Indiana Jones-Mouse, Padawan Obi-Wan Mouse, and Queen Amidalamouse. I tried to get the Qui-Mouse Jinn but he was always out of stock. For extra strangeness, the paint on those mouse figures was and remains tacky and sticky.
1. A Really Small Piece of SW History
Some high roller collectors have actual SW props and models. Super collector Gus Lopez has the Death Star II in his living room. Well, the only prop I have in my collection is a pretty modest one. Some years back, my friend Derek sent me a packet of stuff and I found a small piece of carpeting among the items. I thought Derek might have had some carpet samples or clippings lying around, and a piece accidentally fell into the envelope. Before I could throw it away, Derek contacted me and asked me if I'd found the carpet piece. I said yes. He then explained that a buddy of his retrieved a large swath of carpet from the dumpsters at Leavesden Studios soon after filming on TPM was completed. This guy decided to cut up the carpet into pieces and sell them but yours truly got a small free sample. I'm not 100% sure in what scene the carpet was used, but the color seems to best match Palpatine's apartment.
I admit I love strange and kitschy collectibles. Here are five of the oddest I own:
5. The Official Star Wars Fishing Pole And Tackle Kit
Is there anything they haven't slapped a SW logo on? Feel the Force as you use this small pole to lure the fishies! Produced around the time ROTS came out, I bought it for five bucks at Marshall's a couple of years ago. You can find fishing kits for other licensed properties at Target.
4. The Darth Vader Lawn Sprinkler
Another artifact from the ROTS bonanza, this was designed to water lawns through Darth Vader's extended lightsaber blade. But the way Vader is posed, it looks like he's peeing on your grass. I bought this at Target on clearance a few years back.
3. The Official TPM Japanese Curry
I bought this on eBay back in 2000. The box has all of your favorite characters pictured around a bowl of curry 'n veggies. Mmm. Open the box and there's a nice colorful foil bag with the food inside of it. This brought about a dilemma...should I open the bag and ruin it to get rid of the curry or should I leave it as it is and risk it leaking all over the place? I even wrote to Steve Sansweet to seek his sage advice, which he nicely answered in the pages of SW Insider. I've kept everything in pristine condition and it survived the trek out to the West Coast.
2. Of Mice And SW Characters
Every summer I used to go to a convention in Hunt Valley, MD called Shore Leave and there was always a lady who sold small clay mice figurines she made herself, fashioned to look like various sci-fi t.v. and movie characters. Strange but cute in a way and at two bucks apiece, the price was right. Over the years I got Luke Mouse, Leia Mouse, Han Mouse, Indiana Jones-Mouse, Padawan Obi-Wan Mouse, and Queen Amidalamouse. I tried to get the Qui-Mouse Jinn but he was always out of stock. For extra strangeness, the paint on those mouse figures was and remains tacky and sticky.
1. A Really Small Piece of SW History
Some high roller collectors have actual SW props and models. Super collector Gus Lopez has the Death Star II in his living room. Well, the only prop I have in my collection is a pretty modest one. Some years back, my friend Derek sent me a packet of stuff and I found a small piece of carpeting among the items. I thought Derek might have had some carpet samples or clippings lying around, and a piece accidentally fell into the envelope. Before I could throw it away, Derek contacted me and asked me if I'd found the carpet piece. I said yes. He then explained that a buddy of his retrieved a large swath of carpet from the dumpsters at Leavesden Studios soon after filming on TPM was completed. This guy decided to cut up the carpet into pieces and sell them but yours truly got a small free sample. I'm not 100% sure in what scene the carpet was used, but the color seems to best match Palpatine's apartment.
