I've been thinking a lot recently about my Lightsaber collection and I'd like to hear some outside perspectives to maybe give me some insight on what I want to do.
For some background: I grew-up a die hard Star Wars fan. I was born in the early 1970s and SW ANH was the very first movie I saw in a movie theater (it was a 1978 re-release getting ready for ESB in 1980). As a kid my brother and I had all the toys and we watched and re-watched the movies 100s of times on cable TV and on VHS video tapes.
When the movies and toys were re-released in 1997 I was in my 20s and I started collecting again, OT stuff and then PT stuff as the new movies came out starting in 1999. I remember seeing the ICONS lightsabers in the SW Insider and to me that was the ultimate- metal replicas of the movie lightsabers. I never got any of the ICONS versions, but in the early days of the internet I discovered ASAP in 2001 and that lead me to joining the RPF in 2002.
Back then in the early 2002s good lightsaber replicas were hard to come by. There was makers like Marco and Parks but those were lacking the accuracy we wanted. Then Master Replicas came along and started making officially licensed lightsaber replicas and all I needed was $250 for each saber and instantly I had an awesome lightsaber collection. MR sabers were far from perfect, but they were accurate enough for me and mixed with real Graflex replicas and a real parts Obi-Wan ANH I filled out a good sized lightsaber collection with a version of each characters saber from each film (all the Luke's, all the Vaders, all the Kenobi's, etc...)
Master Replicas lightsabers always seemed like a trophy to me, a prize, lightsaber versions held above 3rd party replicas because of their materials, finish, and (honestly) their status among collectors. Accurate or not when MR sabers go for sale they command a high price, triple or more their original cost, because MR sabers are still prized by collectors.
When I bought many of my MR sabers there were no other good alternatives available. No one was making a good Luke EP4/5/6 Vader EP4/5/6, Anakin EP3/2, or Obi-Wan EP1/2/3 that compared to the MR versions. Now, of course, there are several saber makers that make replicas of those lightsabers (and more) that look as good or better than the MR version and some that are more accurate then the MR version.
All I ever really want was a good version of the lightsabers I want in my collection. MR used to mean something to me because of their status but I'm starting to re-think how I think about what I want.
Part of me says, I've already got the MR version of X lightsaber and I'm happy with the MR version. Another part of me says, I could sell the MR version of X lightsaber for $XXXX and buy this really nice 3rd party replica of the same saber for $XXX and pocket the difference. But, on the other hand, owning the Master Replicas version means something in the collector community, and I'd be giving up my status as an 'old school' collector who was in the game before 'Big Bang' and pop-culture made Star Wars popular again.
I have never seen collecting as an investment and I have only ever sold 2 lightsabers since my first lightsaber purchase 20 years ago. I don't 'need' the money and the MR versions are already paid for, but on the other hand I have joy from having a version of that character's lightsaber and not because I have the MR version of that character's lightsaber.
My conundrum is I can't decide if I should just keep all my MR lightsabers because selling and re-buying is a lot of hassle and I'd lose the 'status' of owning the MR version, or sell off all my MR sabers and re-buy new versions of the same sabers to keep my collection where I want it with character sabers.
What do you think? Do you still own and prize your MR lightsabers or did you sell yours off? Would you never sell your MR sabers if you didn't need to?
For some background: I grew-up a die hard Star Wars fan. I was born in the early 1970s and SW ANH was the very first movie I saw in a movie theater (it was a 1978 re-release getting ready for ESB in 1980). As a kid my brother and I had all the toys and we watched and re-watched the movies 100s of times on cable TV and on VHS video tapes.
When the movies and toys were re-released in 1997 I was in my 20s and I started collecting again, OT stuff and then PT stuff as the new movies came out starting in 1999. I remember seeing the ICONS lightsabers in the SW Insider and to me that was the ultimate- metal replicas of the movie lightsabers. I never got any of the ICONS versions, but in the early days of the internet I discovered ASAP in 2001 and that lead me to joining the RPF in 2002.
Back then in the early 2002s good lightsaber replicas were hard to come by. There was makers like Marco and Parks but those were lacking the accuracy we wanted. Then Master Replicas came along and started making officially licensed lightsaber replicas and all I needed was $250 for each saber and instantly I had an awesome lightsaber collection. MR sabers were far from perfect, but they were accurate enough for me and mixed with real Graflex replicas and a real parts Obi-Wan ANH I filled out a good sized lightsaber collection with a version of each characters saber from each film (all the Luke's, all the Vaders, all the Kenobi's, etc...)
Master Replicas lightsabers always seemed like a trophy to me, a prize, lightsaber versions held above 3rd party replicas because of their materials, finish, and (honestly) their status among collectors. Accurate or not when MR sabers go for sale they command a high price, triple or more their original cost, because MR sabers are still prized by collectors.
When I bought many of my MR sabers there were no other good alternatives available. No one was making a good Luke EP4/5/6 Vader EP4/5/6, Anakin EP3/2, or Obi-Wan EP1/2/3 that compared to the MR versions. Now, of course, there are several saber makers that make replicas of those lightsabers (and more) that look as good or better than the MR version and some that are more accurate then the MR version.
All I ever really want was a good version of the lightsabers I want in my collection. MR used to mean something to me because of their status but I'm starting to re-think how I think about what I want.
Part of me says, I've already got the MR version of X lightsaber and I'm happy with the MR version. Another part of me says, I could sell the MR version of X lightsaber for $XXXX and buy this really nice 3rd party replica of the same saber for $XXX and pocket the difference. But, on the other hand, owning the Master Replicas version means something in the collector community, and I'd be giving up my status as an 'old school' collector who was in the game before 'Big Bang' and pop-culture made Star Wars popular again.
I have never seen collecting as an investment and I have only ever sold 2 lightsabers since my first lightsaber purchase 20 years ago. I don't 'need' the money and the MR versions are already paid for, but on the other hand I have joy from having a version of that character's lightsaber and not because I have the MR version of that character's lightsaber.
My conundrum is I can't decide if I should just keep all my MR lightsabers because selling and re-buying is a lot of hassle and I'd lose the 'status' of owning the MR version, or sell off all my MR sabers and re-buy new versions of the same sabers to keep my collection where I want it with character sabers.
What do you think? Do you still own and prize your MR lightsabers or did you sell yours off? Would you never sell your MR sabers if you didn't need to?