Yesterday, I went to the opening of the newest exhibition at Leicester’s New Walk Museum. I first went to the museum when I was a boy in the 1970s and fell in love with the displays of dinosaur skeletons and ancient Egyptian artefacts. It used to have a pair of big Russian guns out front, captured during the Crimean War, but sadly they were removed a few years ago.
The latest exhibits have a flavour of both past and future about them – a collection of Star Wars toys from the 1970s and 1980s. Like most boys of that era, I loved everything to do with Star Wars, and I still do. Not having much money, I only owned a few toys when they first came out; but when Star Wars fell out of fashion in the 1980s, I decided to buy up the collections that people were selling off in the small ads section of the Leicester Mercury. Having seen the prices people were paying for Dinky Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet toys at the time, I guessed that when my generation grew up they would be spending large amounts on buying up the Star Wars toys they had as kids. So I stored them up in my parents’ attic until the 1990s, when the craze for vintage Star Wars toys started. I sold them all at a handsome profit, though I dread to think what they’d have been worth if I had kept them until now.
As an added bonus on the opening day, there were a group of people dressed up as Star Wars bad guys, so I had a fantastic time getting my photo taken with them. If you’re a fan of old toys, or just love the Star Wars movies, this makes for a great day out. And I make no apology for the gallery of toy pics below. I hope they’ll bring back a few memories for some of you, too.
