theswca blog

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 w...

http://blog.theswca.com/2024/04/chive-cast-blog-log-pod-episode-19-rich.html

  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 b...

http://blog.theswca.com/2024/04/drink-coca-cola-star-wars-japanese-coca.html

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 M...

http://blog.theswca.com/2024/03/chive-cast-127-snowbound-in-hothchester.html

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 ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2024/03/chive-cast-126-vintage-star-wars.html

  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 pl...

http://blog.theswca.com/2024/01/chive-cast-125-peruvian-horse-hockey.html

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 r...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/12/the-hottest-thing-agoin-is-star-wars.html

RON writes:  I've never won a sweepstakes, have you?  Come to think of it, I tend not to enter sweepstakes, possibly because I assume the chances of winning a prize are so low that it's ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/06/when-stakes-were-super-mpc-sweepstakes.html

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 happ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/05/when-star-wars-met-sapporo-r2-d2-like.html

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...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/04/kenner-star-wars-and-sunday-funnies.html

RON writes:  We haven't featured much poster content on the blog over the years. So when I saw that Danny Katzel posted some interesting poster-related content on a Facebook group , I thought ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/03/was-happy-birthday-poster-nearly-sold.html

RON writes:  What do you reckon is the best book on Star Wars collecting ever published? I think most will agree there are several legitimate contenders for that title.  Undoubtedly, most...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/03/look-at-size-of-that-thing-interview.html

YEHUDA writes:  Character watches have been ubiquitous with playground fashion since the 1930s. Often dominated by the Disney cast, watch faces typically feature popular characters of the ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/03/vintage-star-wars-watches-texas.html

RON writes:  A while back I published a blog post about consumer and retailer reactions to Kenner's 1977 Early Bird Certificate Package . It was pretty well received. I even dropped by a c...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/01/managing-sentiment-introductory-letter.html

JONATHAN writes:  Most collectors are familiar with the Star Wars bread promotion of 1977 which included Wonder Bread and at least one other regional bakery brand. If you are looking for...

http://blog.theswca.com/2023/01/store-wars-1990-return-of-star-wars-to.html

It's the end of the 79 Back season (and an era of archaic 'Chive Cast technology) as Skye and Steve explore the surprisingly many facets of Ewok Scout and speederbike-stealing hero Paploo....

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/12/chive-cast-124-paploopalooza.html

RON writes:  The Early Bird Certificate Package casts a long shadow upon the history of the Kenner toy company's involvement with the Star Wars license.  Even those uninitiated into the...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/10/not-just-any-robot-kenner-and-star-wars.html

Which vintage (and modern) Star Wars collectibles "won" the new Obi-Wan Kenobi show on Disney+? Join Skye and Steve as they break it all down with the traditional Top 10 countdown. Load...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/07/chive-cast-123-obi-wan-kenobi-disney.html

The short 79 Back season begins with Ewok Bowman and Woodcutter, Lumat. Mattias Rendahl joins to talk about "mechanicals," foreign carded figures, unlicensed ceramics and an epic, conseque...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/05/chive-cast-122-lumats-ewok-junk.html

RON writes:  INTRO  If you've read my other articles, especially this one , you know that Kenner, the principal Star Wars toy licensee, was in a bit of a pickle come late 1977.  Thou...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/05/turn-on-your-force-light-great-knock.html

Join Skye, Steve, Ron and Yehuda as they discuss the wonderful world of early, unlicensed miniatures. For highly recommended further reading, be sure to check out Ron and Yehuda's definiti...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/03/chive-cast-blog-log-pod-episode-18-all.html

RON (with YEHUDA riding shotgun) writes:  PREFACE This article is the product of many years of research and collecting adventuring with my dear friend Yehuda Kleinman, who should be ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/03/adventures-in-miniature-nevile-stockens.html

Join Skye and Steve as they identify which vintage Star Wars collectibles won and which ones lost the Book of Boba Fett. Luke, Tuskens, 8D8, Rancor Keepers and all the Boba you can shake a...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/02/chive-cast-121-book-of-boba-fett_16.html

RON writes:  Quick, off the top of your head, name the rarest Star Wars item produced by Kenner for sale to the public. Here's a picture of Rian Johnson to antagonize you while you think ove...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/01/a-match-made-in-capitalism-kenner-star.html

Join Skye and Steve as they discuss the only toy based entirely on the emotion of grief: The Rancor Keeper. Ron Salvatore joins to teach about rough clay sculpts, Palitoy ads, Dixie Cups ...

http://blog.theswca.com/2022/01/chive-cast-120-keep-rancor-keeper.html

Skye and Steve chuck the AT-ST Driver out of the cockpit in this episode which reveals a shocking conspiracy about the character. Hardcopies, sculpts, alternate photoart, lots of beautifu...

http://blog.theswca.com/2021/11/chive-cast-119-truth-about-at-st-driver.html