“There and Back Again; A Mystery Chunk Tale”

[scottjua]

Same as Chris... I posted B grades on FB first since it was easier those went quick... then some here from that one post. Now I have only 2 A- left... The rest I have held for myself or close friends. That number is in the single digits. All the rest went first come, first served.

 

[teecrooz]

I do have more in transit. I will have a sales/run thread here on the rpf, but I still have a back order list of people who have asked me that I couldn’t guarantee one from the first boots. In fact, I have 10 PMs that I haven’t even read yet because I know I can’t allocate a chunk to them.

What’s harder is people want multiple. 1 for a Saber, 2 for a ROTJ bunker mine, 6 for a Lando helmet. If I had someone contact me first and ask for 9, should I sell them 9 or just 1?

 

[chazzychaz]

If you want to remove zinc, or basically any other plated metal from steel use muriatic acid. It can be bought at home depot as PH down, for pools. Have some in a glass container (like a mason jar) and then dip the chunk in there with some tongs or wire. It will strip the zinc without damaging the steel. You can try it on galvanized steel wire which is everywhere if you want to see how well it works. You should only have to dip it for a few seconds. After that you can boil the part in baking soda and water for a few minutes to neutralize whatever acid is left, and then wire brush to clean them up. Make sure not to do the muriatic acid inside, as its somewhat noxious and can rust metal tools if you're in a workshop. I used to keep an orange home depot bucket outside of the forge for cleaning things so that it wouldn't rust anything inside.

It's a gloves only sort of acid, but it works so well for cleaning of zinc coatings that I always have it around. Especially if you're going to be doing welding or something, a quick dip can save you all of the zinc poisoning. Hope that helps!

Be careful muriatic acid can cause severe rash and burns. I would dilute it 30% water 70 % acid. it may take longer but its safer.

 

[Dewy]

Let me first say I am not trying to point fingers, and I’m not blaming anyone for taking care of their own.

In the V2 thread after it was announced the chunk was found, but before this post telling the masses what it actually was, I got the impression that a select few from the RPF were scooping up these boots in order to distribute them to the RPF on the open forum. This would give everyone an equal chance at them. I think many of us abstained from messaging anyone directly, because we assumed this would be the case.

 

[thd9791]

I will say i havent been checking the JY or run threads and only saw Roys on FB after they sold out so i see the frustration - but if we check the available things regularly... folks there are plenty in good hands that wont scalp and theyll be available in time. Im super excited for the replicas too!

 

[Dewy]

I will say i havent been checking the JY or run threads and only saw Roys on FB after they sold out so i see the frustration - but if we check the available things regularly... folks there are plenty in good hands that wont scalp and theyll be available in time. Im super excited for the replicas too!

Yeah, I guess I’m out of touch, the RPF is the only place I even know to go for prop related stuff. I haven’t really crossed the gap to other social media platforms with the exception of somewhat recently discovering [mention]scottjua [/mention] ‘s awesome Patreon and [mention]Halliwax [/mention]‘s awesome YouTube channel.

 

[Halliwax]

Yeah, I guess I’m out of touch, the RPF is the only place I even know to go for prop related stuff. I haven’t really crossed the gap to other social media platforms with the exception of somewhat recently discovering [mention]scottjua [/mention] ‘s awesome Patreon and [mention]Halliwax [/mention]‘s awesome YouTube channel.

Appreciate the support buddy

 

[AndrewJ]

A lot of valid/constructive discussion regarding best practices in revealing a new discovery. From the outside, it all seemed to be handled beautifully. I'm a lurker here and as such can't claim this community as my own. That said, the camaraderie on display in the lead up to this reveal was... (searching for the right word)... refreshing, maybe?

But what I'm really here for is to turn attention back towards heaping praise on for the amazing find!!! Who knew little boot-metal bits would be a bright spot in 2020? Great work. I look forward to installing my (now much more rad) replica chunk in the near future.

 

[BRRogers]

A lot of valid/constructive discussion regarding best practices in revealing a new discovery. From the outside, it all seemed to be handled beautifully. I'm a lurker here and as such can't claim this community as my own. That said, the camaraderie on display in the lead up to this reveal was... (searching for the right word)... refreshing, maybe?

But what I'm really here for is to turn attention back towards heaping praise on for the amazing find!!! Who knew little boot-metal bits would be a bright spot in 2020? Great work. I look forward to installing my (now much more rad) replica chunk in the near future.

Thanks for that

 

[Drew Baker]

But what I'm really here for is to turn attention back towards heaping praise on for the amazing find!!! Who knew little boot-metal bits would be a bright spot in 2020? Great work.

Yes, I agree. Thanks very much to all involved for finding the chunk and sharing the source! I think after this flare up things will settle down, and normal lurker folks like me will have access to the part for a reasonable price. That's much appreciated!

 

[Gregatron]

Appreciate the support buddy

Seconded! My favorite prop-themed channel, bar none!

 

[Halliwax]

Seconded! My favorite prop-themed channel, bar none!

You guys!

 

[Frogfreak]

I'll jump on the halliwax YouTube channel appreciation train!

 

[DaveP]

Well done and congrats on an awesome find! Love the fact that it's linked to the Dagobah set! Awesome work

 

[andyroo]

I don't think the guys that made the discovery or acquired the parts could have handled it any better. Any spares they have are being sold at cost.

I think the best way to keep the prices down would be to not buy any that are priced above 12usd.

If the prices of wellies start going through the roof on eBay maybe a group buy will be the best way to go. After all I don't think one person will need 46 studs for themself.

In reality the guys could sell these for 30 dollars apiece and no one would really bat an eyelid. But they've set the market price which is a good thing.

 

[Mouse Vader]

for the weirdo boot folk collector set.

Which of us is the kettle & which the pot ?

 

[Clutch]

I really appreciate what you guys are trying to do in controlling the supply in a way that benefits all. However it is a little frustrating to read that some of the studs on the boots acquired by the select inner circle are already sold. I haven’t seen a post in the Junkyard or Project Runs forum. If we’re going to nominate a few members to buy these boots and sell them to the community than it really needs to be 100% aboveboard.

Nature of the beast dude. The ring of friends always get first dibs. The Vader mafia are 100 times worse. I also seriously doubt that we're holding elections on the rpf...

 

[Zombie Killer]

Thats the benifit of spending 100's+ of hours of research to find unfound items , you get to sell them to the people who you collaborate with on said item or with people who you have collaborated with on other items. I've found the only way to get real SW prop parts for cheap is to do the leg work of finding the stuff and buying what you need before telling anyone else. Once word gets out there are always people with deeper pockets then me.

 

[xwingercrash]

Congratulations on the discovery Bryan! What an awesome story of tireless detective work, and catching the right break at the right place and just the right time. I’d also like to thank you for giving us all something to get excited about, and a first class reveal presentation as well.

While the discussion carries on about distribution of the initial supply, just remember that everyone that wants one for their v2, detonator charge or Lando helmet will eventually have them and this will fade over time. The important thing that we’ll all actually remember is how we were “there” when the white whale “mystery” that eluded an entire community for years was finally solved.

One of the lessons I’ve learned in my years is to savor the victories in life. So I say...savor the chunk!

 

[SethS]

I don't think the guys that made the discovery or acquired the parts could have handled it any better. Any spares they have are being sold at cost.

I think the best way to keep the prices down would be to not buy any that are priced above 12usd.

If the prices of wellies start going through the roof on eBay maybe a group buy will be the best way to go. After all I don't think one person will need 46 studs for themself.

In reality the guys could sell these for 30 dollars apiece and no one would really bat an eyelid. But they've set the market price which is a good thing.

Exactly

scottjua and BRRogers took the best path they could. Were they supposed too keep it completely secret and spend who knows how long to buy every boot they could to make sure the entire community could buy one? That's not realistic. Go to the V2 thread and see people coming unglued just knowing somebody else had figured it out and wasn't immediately telling it to the world.

They waited to have them in hand to confirm, they gave some to the guys who will do runs of them, they sold them not even trying to make a profit, then they shared the info with everyone.

There's no other way to do it. if somebody is mad, they are mad because they wanted to either know, or buy in before anyone else. They're basically mad because they couldn't do to others what they perceive was done to them.