We here at From 4-LOM to Zuckuss are complete suckers for nostalgia-inspiring Star Wars t-shirts. So it goes without saying that we had to ask graphic designer Andrew Morley to share a little bit about himself, his action figure fandom and his fantastic new line of Kenner cardback t-shirts!
Like most children of the 70’s/80’s I was a Star Wars fan… nothing strange… almost everybody my age was!
I have fond memories of taking bus trips into town with my Grandmother, visiting the local toy store and having a real hard time choosing
between which Star Wars figure I would get as a treat… often coming home with two, I imagine because my Grandmother could get me out of the store or get on with what she needed to do! Not because she didn’t understand my love of Star Wars or that she was mean… far from it! She loved me more than words can say… and I loved her far more than a few plastic figures. Sadly she is no longer with us… but my love for her and Star Wars still remains!
Over the years my collection grew… every figure, every ship, every accessory…up to the age of 15 or 16 (1984). Trust me… it wasn’t that cool collecting Star Wars toys at that age in my school – and of course you can’t impress a girl with a couple of inches of plastic!
Unfortunately…but quite rightly… I call this moment in my life “the stupid years”
Stupid being that I, against my mothers wishes, who did rightly warn me that one day “I’d regret what I was about to do” sold my complete Star Wars collection…
My only consolation I carry from “the stupid years” is that the infamous last 17 figures had yet to be released… and I had never owned any of them! Can you imagine how I could have made a really stupid decision into a cataclysmic event that I would never have recovered from. It’s hard enough as it is…. let alone… Well I can’t bare to imagine!
The years passed by… “the dark years” I like to call them – when the words “Star Wars” were whispered in hushed tones between self confessed geeks!
During this time I worked hard, got married (to my ever tolerant wife Michelle) and had two boys… we enjoyed the Star Wars movies together of course but it wasn’t until 1995 when my children could enjoy Star Wars toys as much as I did when I was there age.
The Power of the Force range was great….some people may disagree! I have a complete collection….a substitute for “the stupid years” The vast ma
jority are in a display cabinet right next to where I’m writing this….
I say a substitute… of course not! They are new and shiny and complete and never been touched by anyone other than myself…. but they just don’t compare!
Every time I see a vintage figure I am instantly transported back to my childhood… endless hours of space battles in a galaxy far far away…. scanning the toy store shelves for new figures to add to my collection… and of course my Grandmother!
It’s these factors that keep us cherishing Star Wars… its part of our lives to the point that its impossible to think of a time when it wasn’t there… Obi-Wan Kenobi certainly summed it up; “the force will be with you…always”
I have grandchildren now of my own. I introduced the youngest (almost 3 years) to his first Star Wars figure just yesterday… an old R2-D2 that was spare from my POTF collection.
I enjoy the collecting scene… sometimes buying and selling around car boots and flea markets and selling my Star Wars related T-Shirts at conventions.
I have yet to embark on starting a collection of vintage figures… I know what my wife would have to say about it for sure!
But you know what they say….Never say never….
The idea for the shirts came from undoubtedly my experiences written above… the idea seemed great, and there was nothing out there like 
them as far as I knew!
Being a graphic/web designer by trade – coming up with the design wasn’t hard…. although I was limited to what you can achieve with the heat press vinyl process. I started with an exact reproduction of a Star Wars card and stripped it back as much as I could so to keep it both recognisable and still be able to be done using the heat press process! Of course everyone has their favourite figure/character and so having them as T-shirt choices was unquestionable. I have 15 designs at the moment… and another 6 lurking in the background.
I then started creating other T-shirts around certain groups of figures like the droids!
Will I ever replicate the entire collection, I doubt it… that would be absurd!
I’d like to get all the bounty hunters done though…. that would make a great t-shirt wouldn’t it!
Regards
Andy
Thank you so much Andrew for sharing with us your trip down memory lane! And of course the great Star Wars action figure nostalgia and inspiration of these great designs. Now we have already pruchased a t-shirt but for others who have yet to do so, here are the details of how to place an order:
Carded Figure T-Shirt (Black)
AVAILABILITY
Orders taken until July 12th only
PRICE
UK Orders – £10.00 inc p&p
Outside UK – £13.00 inc p&p
SIZES (all sizes are approximate)
S 35” – 37”
M 38” – 40”
L 41” – 43”
XL 44” – 46”
XXL 47” – 49”
XXXL 50” – 52”
XXXXL 53” – 55”
XXXXXL 56” – 58”
GUIDELINES
Wash T-Shirt at 40 degrees. Do not iron directly on print (for best results iron inside out.) Do not spin dry or dry clean.
ORDER/PAYMENT DETAILS
Please pay by Paypal
Log into your own Paypal account and send a payment to:-
andrewdavidmorley@ntlworld.com
In the message box provided; please state your name and address, plus the required shirt and size. Under ‘What’s this payment for’ – select friends or family as Paypal may charge you.
DELIVERY
Please allow 7 days for delivery after the final order date. Some orders may be fulfilled sooner if required sizes are in stock.
Please ensure you order the correct size, as all items are on a made to order basis and non-returnable unless faulty.
You can also chat with Andrew directly via the Vintage Star Wars Action Figure page on Facebook and until next time,
May the Figures be with you!
