Darth Vaders Star Destroyer Restoration (UPDATED 11.02.16 Finished)

back in june 2015 i went into a local junk shop. i casually asked the owner do you have any old starwars toys as you do. he said 'No sorry'

as i walked out i noticed what looked like the star destroyer playset. tucked away high amongst some tat! see below

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cut a long story short i paid £5 for my 'spaceship'

its missing everything bar the escape hatch and gun holder the rest is the shell even the stickers are missing ripped bar 1 and 3/4   out of 20+ . I couldn't leave it there could i?

spin on 18 months till now, i have now have all the parts to bring some life into this old playset.

i know i could of bought a pristine one for the price i paid in parts. but thats no fun

the only thing im gonna swap out of the initial purchase is the back blue panel and top panel as they are very yellowed

the main play base and chamber unit will remain and be cleaned with old sticker residue removed and original decals reapplied bar the 1 sticker that has remained intact and the 3/4 of another sticker as i like its patina and is original to its roots from it was first played with.

To be Continued................

Chris, I'm looking forward to seeing it come to life.

Glad you rescued it from the shop and will bring it back to life, I imagine the parts are pretty expensive to buy, but as you say its part of the fun in restoring it

cant wait to see it either , if its anything like your vc jawa fix it should come out stunning

I look foreward to seeing the build Chris

Nice job sourcing all the parts, what do you mean by "original decals reapplied"? Surely you weren't able to source an unused sticker sheet? lol

the89thchris wrote:Nice job sourcing all the parts, what do you mean by "original decals reapplied"? Surely you weren't able to source an unused sticker sheet? lol

old stickers can be lifted off using lighter fluid. I have used a hair dryer in the past to lift old stickers. These are previously lifted stickers from a knackered dvsd presumably. That I'm going to reapply see.

That's advanced

chamber fix update

assembled the mediation chamber (bulb,batteries, spring button) there was no light

button batteries and bulb are fine so its the terminal inside the chamber housing. tried the vinegar trick by soaking some paper towel and pressing it against the electric terminal for a few hours.  the terminal now works and we have light.

beater vader was most pleased with my efforts

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beater vader inspecting the working metal terminal

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I didn't even know that thing had a light inside! Hats off

poncho wrote:chamber fix update

assembled the mediation chamber (bulb,batteries, spring button) there was no light

button batteries and bulb are fine so its the terminal inside the chamber housing. tried the vinegar trick by soaking some paper towel and pressing it against the electric terminal for a few hours.  the terminal now works and we have light.

Well done. This shows the new collectors what a little bit hard work will do.

What a great find!

Must be a lot of fun restoring it. I'm so impatient I'd give up after five minutes....

update.....had a spare a hour away from the kids

i cleaned the main playing base today. i cleaned it thoroughly with wet wipes and scrubbed the old worn stickers with mentholated spirit.

if i just washed it all in the wash basin the remaining few stickers would come off/ shed away. so this is why i scrubbed an wiped. it would of been easier i know

my goodness it was dirty the wipes were grey when i finished

beater vader was pleased with my efforts and even chipped in and then took a rest is soon to be operational mediation chamber!!!!

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great job chris and the photos are hilarious and well done

Beater vader inspecting the working metal terminal That was a great pic mate

It's coming on nicely Chris I'm getting ideas of maybe doing something similar myself

Chris, It's looking good.

nicely done mate, glad you got it working again, the pics are great

Great to see it come together. Haven't had a nice find like that in a local store.

get reapplying those old decals beater vader

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Woop - Finished

The reveal

before
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The Reveal

After

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one of the original stickers kept i liked its patina. all other stickers are original just been reapplied
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Awesome restoration Chris Thanks for sharing the journey mate

Very Cool

It turned out nice and you did a awesome restoration job

That turned out fantastic. Well done.

Any plans for another restoration?