Echo Base Live is a fan run event which began as a small group of sellers and admins from the Echo Base Facebook Star Wars toy groups page that buying and selling toys in the Midlands a couple of years ago. Yesterday I attended Echo Live IV which took over part of the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch which was incredibly well attended.
Not only was there a vast array of vintage carded and loose figures, vehicles and ships, there were also plenty of examples of items that are seldom, if ever, seen in public. All ranges of budgets were catered for.
Most of the items shown in the gallery above showcase just an assortment of the items brought from collector Jason Joiner, and it is always worth asking Jason if he has brought anything extra of interest to show. This time he had this fantastic poster advertising the yoghurt promotions from 1983, some of the yoghurt cups, a screen used miniature of the Millennium Falcon and one of three copies of Carrie Fisher’s contract for Star Wars, countersigned by Debbie Reynolds as she was still a minor!
As I wondered around the show floor it was a pleasure to not only meet dozens of people I’ve only chatted to online, but also to absorb the generations of those attending and see their collecting journeys. There were families with young children carrying figures from Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Star Wars: The Last Jedi, cosplaying as Rey or Leia, or even adding items to Power of the Force 2 lines.
For those whose collections have gone beyond the toy line the ‘Toys of Tatooine’ stall had their ever expanding merchandise of vintage items from badges to toothbrushes (including the very rare Jedi Spirits Oral-B brush!) to shoelaces all at very reasonable prices.
The team behind Echo Live are well known for their charity work and there was merchandise which could be bought to help various charities such as mugs, lanyards and exclusive posters. The team from TSW Podcast had a bargain hunt challenge and raffles all for Cancer Research UK.
This is the first time I am aware of Star Wars actors attending an Echo Live event and it was great to see Paul Blake (Greedo), Kenneth Colley (Admiral Piett) and John Simkin (Klaatu) sharing stories and signing autographs for old and new collectors throughout the day. As was reminded to me several times, the younger generation will be the ones keeping Star Wars going and events like this do a lot to promote it. Looking forward to the next one.