Now lets turn to the uk, and the impact of the pandemic on young peoples education. In a huge policy reversal, affecting hundreds of thousands of pupils, england, wales, and Northern Ireland have all announced that a level and gsce results will now be based on teacher assessments rather than grades generated by computer modelling. The education secretary gavin williamson, who last week said the system was robust and fair, apologised for the distress caused. Our education editor branwenjeffreys has more. Im steph, i was predicted a and two as by my teachers and i was given a , b, b on results day. Steph has lost a place at cambridge, first from her family in birkenhead to go to uni. This morning, she told me teacher grades should stand. And we have to work extra hard for where we are and we still havent got anything out of it. I know obviously my grades are still very good, but ive still missed out on brilliant opportunities. Out of anyone in this, we should just be trusting the teachers. Now, five days after a level results, teacher estimates will replace lower grades. A change made, only after huge pressure. An apology finally to students from the regulator. Id like to say sorry, we have recognised the difficulty that young people have faced coping with the receipts of grades that they were unable to understand the basis on which they had been awarded. And i would like to say sorry for that and we are now taking steps to put that right. Universities had closed some courses, theyd been told not to offer to too many. Now the limit on places in england, lifted. Incredibly sorry for all those students who have been through this and we are removing those caps on every Single University in the united kingdom, so they have the ability to expand the number of places welcoming more students into those universities, as many as possible. The next political challenge, school returns. But not before this row plays out. This problem has been there for months and the government hasnt sorted it out. It then came to the wrong decision last week, refused to change its mind until today and now theres a huge amount of unravelling thats got to be done. But dont underestimate the stress and anger that this has caused thousands of young people who have seen their futures all over the place over the last few days. In birkenhead, the college principal, not impressed. For some of his students, this came too late. Theyre going to unleash a different set of problems now. So this is not going to be the Silver Bullet thats going to cure all of the ills which have been developed in the last week. Were going to have a different set of problems, different people upset, different disappointments and different anxieties. This thing is an almighty mess but it didnt have to be. The turmoil isnt over yet, sixth form colleges like this have to decide this week who to let in to do difficult a levels like sciences, when many students might end up with similar gcse results. And for universities, difficult decisions too. How many more students can they admit, while at the same time, keeping their campuses covid secure . Steph has accepted a place at another university. Changes today, too late to get her to cambridge. Other students now weighing up their options. Branwen jeffreys, bbc news, birkenhead. Now on bbc news, superfan David Whiteley celebrates how an unassuming band of designers and factory workers in leicestershire created the toys which were to define a generation. Archive the princess has been captured. Theres one. Set for stun. Our heroes are threatened by an imperial troop transporter. Will the mighty force of the millennium falcon be enough to smash darth vader . Will luke be able to save the princess . Only you can decide. Look for the new palitoy star wars models in toy shops now. Ominous voice but hurry the 19705. Film maker george lucas is about to launch a visionary new film that will revolutionise cinema. This is not that story. This story is actually about this place. Im David Whiteley and im a massive star wars fan. And growing up, the toys were as much a part of my childhood as the films. They became the must have toys of a generation, and what was once bought with pocket money now sells for thousands of pounds. But it almost didnt happen. Back in the day, as the name suggests, coalville was a coal mining town, but also, a toy town, home to palitoy, makers of tiny tears, mainline and action man. Action man and his transport command. Tough, realistic models specially designed for action man. Action man was one of the biggest toy brands in britain, thanks to the team of designers at palitoy. Action man came out in 1966. Ijoined in 1967. This is the very latest toys that you can find in the shops, and he is, in fact, called action man. I sculpted the gripping hand. Based on this one. Action man fans called it the hand of bob. But there was Something Else on the horizon that was potentially bigger. Archive star wars, a billion years in the making. And its coming to your galaxy this summer. The problem was, we didnt know what it was. Wed heard of star wars and we knew there was a lot of hype around it and we knew george lucas was making the film, but the first time i actually knew what star wars was at the preview in london in 1977. One day, geoff maisey, he came up to me with two tickets and he said, you must go and see this film, bob, down in london. Alright, sounds good. And it was star wars. I was a Science Fiction fan. So i thought, well, if theres a lot of hype in america about this film, it must be pretty good. So i was quite excited about it, yeah. Id never heard of star wars, but they said, theres a film, we can give you a quick looksie. I said, well, lets have a wee looksie. So i went down to london and saw it in a little sneaky cinema. It blew my mind when it started, when the spaceship went on and on and on and on and on. I was amazed. It was just a toy makers dream. Palitoys sister firm in the us had bought the rights to star wars. Archive the star wars early bird certificate package, new from kenner. Kenner really wanted palitoy to take it on for the uk and europe. But even though the managing director of palitoy was really optimistic about the potential of star wars, he wanted to give it to another toy company in the group who he felt needed it more than palitoy. I was also looking after denys fisher and chad valley, who are soft toy manufacturers. And i said to bernie loomis, who was peddling this product. I said, well, this is great. Ive seen the film, its superb. But ive got to think in terms of do palitoy need it . because they are underpinned by action man. Denys fisher, on the other hand, theyve only got the spirograph, so they could do with a kick upstairs. But then i said, ill come back to you, bernie. So i then spoke to the management at denys fisher and they said, huh no, we cant possibly take that on. I said, why not . He said, well, were doing a deal with. I think it was man from atlantis, some water. Underwater thing and i said, yeah, i like star wars. Ive seen the film. I think its magnificent. And they said, well, its only one film and thatll fade away. We should. Weve got 12 tv programmes coming out on the strength of this man from atlantis. I said, are you sure youre doing the right thing . And they said, yes. I said, ok, well, palitoy will end up doing star wars, then. So i get back to bernie and he said, im glad youve done that. He said, youve given them the option, theyve turned it down. He said, theyre fools and. If you do the job with star wars that you did on action man, well. Well laugh all the way to the bank. I said, ok. Start laughing little did denys fisher know what theyd passed on. Well, palitoy had the deal now. The next thing was to work out how they were going to make those toys. But kenners design template for the star wars range, which they had to follow, wasnt perhaps quite what they were expecting. The problem we had was it was a very small action figure, it was a 3. 75 inch action figure. It had to be because of the scale of the vehicles. And usually, Action Figures were in the 9 inch to 12 inch range. Action man was a 12 inch action figure. So the trade looked at us and said, here you are, trying to launch a space themed action figure line tied to a movie with an action figure size thats not common. We dont want to know. But we knew from our Sister Company in the usa that lucas was already planning a trilogy of films. So we knew there was a longevity to the concept. But we also knew that the toys themselves, with the movie backing, were tremendous. But the trade buyers didnt share our enthusiasm. We had nothing to sell. We actually had resin models of some of the key product, photographs. And of course, that didnt help because the trade looked at that and said, well, youll never ship it anyway. Why should i list it . If youre at this stage now, you wont be able to ship finished product. Already under pressure, two of the team headed off on a Fact Finding Mission to kenner hq in cincinnati, ohio, for a bit of inspiration. We got a letterfrom kenner, saying, we want some guys to come over. So it was roger and i who went over to kenner. Roger was the tooling manager. While we were there, its the time when they were getting the first shots of the tie fighter and the x wing fighter. It was great. We were the first ones to see some of these mouldings. And, then, obviously, meeting friends and colleagues in the kenner organisation, who obviously told me what was being made and what was going to be made, obviously, in europe as well. So you got an idea of what to expect when it came over to the uk, both from the point of view of manufacturing the plastic articles, but also any problems that they might have had in their production. So id gotten the component drawings, ie, the bits of plastic that youre going to make the toy from, to make the tools in the uk. What we would normally have from kenner usa would be market data of their sales, play testing results and Cinema Box Office takings, which we could then go to our major customers and say, this is how successful this thing is. The problem was there was no toy line yet. So we had no information to give to them at all. Ironically, action man came to our assistance. That was the leading toy brand at the time, and it was also the key competitor to star wars. And what we did was we tied discounts to their orders on action man to get them to take star wars. And that was too generous for them to refuse. And thats how we got it onto the shelves. But retailers were still sceptical about star wars and reluctant to invest. So palitoy had to come up with some Cost Effective ways of making the toys. You have to remember, this was a film that people werent sure about. The retailers and shops, they were reluctant to take stuff cause it was a. What they thought was a b movie. You know, Science Fiction, all that business. So we had to be very careful how we designed things. So those first things, we had to make them as cheap as possible, really, but. Palitoy had no money to develop anything. On the star wars range. The american death star was. Well, it was a great big lump of plastic, really. Injection moulded. And, of course, they got a big market in the states. About ten times the uk market. So they could make thousands and thousands of these death stars and get it sold at a good price. If we borrowed their tools to do it over here, we wouldnt, you know. Wed mould perhaps a tenth of what they did, so our price would be even more expensive. We had a brief to design it in cord, because we hadnt got all the tooling money. We did a sort of half dome. So it looked more like a death star, in my mind, and it had little rooms where you could go round and play out the scenes in the film. We just came up with different ideas, different themes within it, like the tower in the middle. But then i felt, when id seen the film, it seemed to go on forever. And so we decided to put a mirror at the bottom to give that same effect. You know, its sort of never ending. Put a bit of silver paper there, and hey ho. And also. And a little chute for him to go through. Make sure the figures went through that part. And the corridor across. Youve got to have it so it does, in fact, work easily. And the cord is not going to tear and break. The death star box. I designed that from scratch. I got a mock up of the actual product. So it was reallyjust showing the product mainly, but put a kid in there, playing with it. And we used my son as the model. Seemed easy to use my lad. In the run up to christmas of 78, almost a year after the films release, the toys were still flying off the shelves, and that was putting real pressure on the team at the palitoy factory. Theres only one word to describe it and that was manic, because were under so much pressure to get so much out in such a short period of time. But it was something that was different. It wasnt hosiery and knitwear, it was toys, and toys are fascinating. Every time you made a figure put the back on, grab two legs, grab two arms, grab the head. Push it down, put it on the belt you had to click how many you had made. So whatever youd made in a day, you would make so much of that money. The supervisor was a lady named wendy. She was rather like a school mistress, actually, because most of the girls. We were young girls, 17, 18, and, you know, if you were flagging, what are you doing . Come on. Weve got to get this quota out. So you couldnt sit and chat. Thanks to their hard graft, the targets were being met. And now, those previously reluctant retailers finally wanted a piece of the action. I had the guy from john menzies, and he did like the odd drink of scotch, and we put a bottle of scotch in front of him and a glass and said, have a think how many star wars figures youre going to have. And star wars figures at that time were selling forabout £1. 12, £1. 20. I think it was £1. 12. And so. I went back to him about 20 minutes later, half an hour later, maybe, and he was only about a third of the way down the bottle, which was quite good for him, really. And i said, right, bill, how many figures are you going to have . And he said, i think im going to have a million. And i said, oh, right, good. The star wars range had revolutionised toys, and now the Marketing Department was trying Something Different as well, but only if they could get it past the advertising standards authority. One of the breakthroughs we had was in the advertising campaign. What we were trying to do was to capture all the action and the excitement of the movie into the advert. So what the advertising agent came up with was well take a ten second clip from the movie of the product were going to sell and then tag it with a 20 second product sell of the product itself. The asa said, no, you wont. Thats illegal because your products dont do what it shows on the film. So in the end, we had to show which we had storyboarded anyway we had to demonstrate to them that the snowspeeder attacking the at at could be replicated by the kid doing that with it. Luke im coming in announcer can luke in his snowspeeder halt the imperial walker . And thats how we got it through. And it made a tremendous difference to demand. Announcer return of the jedi the death defying speeder bike chase. The speeder bikes battle it out with these terrific star wars models, adjustable cannon, manually operated speed flaps, breakaway front end. Who will triumph in this daredevil race against all odds . Only you can decide with star wars toys. But behind the scenes, there were other forces at work. Palitoys Parent Company food giant General Mills was starting to question why they got into toys in the first place. It just got to the point where they couldnt really accept losses from some parts of the business that they werent used to in particular, for example, Parker Brothers in the us decided to enter into the video games area, which was, a, very expensive and, b, highly volatile. And i think they actually came to grief and lost a huge amount of money, which i think, for General Mills, was the last straw. We were actually. We were put onto the stock market, basically, and bought. In just under ten years, the Company Changed hands three times. But their destiny had already been written. Toy giant hasbro were the very last to own the factory in coalville when it closed 119911. It was a good time. As i say, i think i did my growing up here. But, yes, i always look at it with fond memories. Any otherjob . Its never been the same as palitoy. But the legacy of palitoy and their star wars range is celebrated by fans and collectors who were captivated by star wars all those years ago. As a seven year old kid, 1977, i was lucky enough to see it in Leicester Square with my mum and dad. And i wasjust like, what is this . You know, what have i come to see . And of course, it was. At that time, it was manic. It was mania. Everywhere was star wars. It was star wars everything. And it was just so much excitement, so much excitement. Ive never forgotten it. I was just blown away by it because it was so different to Everything Else that had been offered before it. As a child, there was just nothing that was even related or comparable to it and it was all consuming. And so i think as soon as you walked out of the cinema, it was just like, how can i connect back to this . Whats my journey. You know, now that ive seen it, now that ive attached myself to this, now im totally sold on it. And it was the merchandise. So it was those first Action Figures as they started coming out. It was just like, yeah, ive got to get that. You know, i just. No matter what happens, ive got to have some of those. Stephen has channelled his passion for the movies, which started with star wars and its toys, into a Global Company specialising in selling movie props and merchandise. And he started it all by selling his own collection. A lot of the star wars toys the Action Figures and things that i held on to when i first started the company that i run today, they got sold. It was all about making the decision to let them go and reinvest that money in film props and costumes. And that was some of the first things that went, and i shudder to think what i sold them for now by comparison to what theyre worth today. Today, palitoy star wars toys, which were bought for pocket money in the 70s and 80s, have a unique value in the star wars collecting world. So in the auction room, weve got neil, our auctioneer, taking bids from people in the room. Weve got phone bidders, weve got internet bidders. Literally, this is a worldwide procedure. And, yeah, its a two day bonanza of toys. Palitoys are massively popular. I think theres a palitoy tax referred to just because theres so few items made by palitoy compared to kenner. Theres a definite slant towards people of a certain age who were young at the time the films came out, and i think its a little bit of a chance to go back to their childhood and just capture a little bit of the fun that they had when they were 12 years old, playing little jedi battles. But its. The collecting mentality has really taken off in kind of the past decade, and this is something thats very manageable to display and to, like, have in your house. Everyone can see it. They know exactly what it is. And itsjust something really heart warming to see people get so passionate about it. As stephens business grew, he was able to buy the palitoy star wars toys for himself all over again but this time, theyd be preserved as part of his own special collection. Im not interested in selling them. I dont look at what the market values are for them. It took me so long to get back to the point where i could actually acquire them again and have them. But. You know, ijust turn on the lights in the display case and stand there and just sort of stare, really. Its seeing them in that pristine condition thatjust draws you right back to when you were in the toy store, seeing them just as theyd come out of the box. And it. It just doesnt get any better than that. I think theres still a huge amount of love for palitoy, and i think theres a huge amount for palitoy globally now as a brand and i think that what we see now is collectors from all over the world who strive to own some of those rare palitoy Action Figures so beautifully branded and it becomes central and pivotal to a lot of those collections as well. So i think all of that work during that period that was done, all of that creative that came about, is going to live on for so many more years. And my palitoy figures are encased in acrylic now. Theyre going to be preserved forever. I mean, these things are going nowhere. Hello and good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the prop store, our vintage toys and collectables sale. Lets get us going, then. Were going to start, of course, with lot one, which is your y wing fighter. We can go 70, 75 to start this off. Youve got 125. Weve moved straight on, on the saleroom. 150 now. And onto lot 134, which is a palitoy c 3p0 this time. Thank you very much. 500 now. 500 . 600 . 700 . 800 . Lets move on. Boba fett here. There we are, ladies and gents, with tri logo version. 1,200,1,300,1,400,1,500, 1,600,1,700,1,800, 1,900 and £2,000 straight in. Hammers up. And selling, then, at £2,000. Sold to you there. Lets move on. The death star play set. 500,600,700. 800. £900. 1,000,1,100. 1,200, 1,300. Gentlemans bid in the room. Yours, sir well done. Well, yeah. I mean, iwish i put a few in the garage. He laughs ive always thought that i got, yeah, about six figures. No death star. If anybodys out there got one, want to give me one, ill gladly take one. Even though the palitoy team ended their time together at coalville in 1985, theyve kept in touch. They created a toy empire, one to be treasured and loved as part of our childhoods in that galaxy far, far away. Ifind it incredible, actually, that star wars ever made it. When you look back, you think how fragile that start was. You know, the trade didnt want to take it. We were pushing and trying to get things, we couldnt get product. But behind it all, the consumer was desperate for it. There were tremendous products at palitoy, not just star wars figures. And what did i do with them . Theyve all gone. I couldve sold it for lots of money by now, but. Hey ho. Its still very, very highly thought of, isnt it, by collectors and enthusiasts . And i suppose children who had them in the first days are collectors now, arent they . Even now this might sound really sad, and my wife thinks its exceedingly sad i dream about what we used to do here. Yeah, you sort of look at each toy, and youve given time to think about. Youve got the history of the problems, you know, what went on with it, and some of the personnel that you had on it. I think that weve a lot to be proud of. You know, we actually launched star wars and made it what it is. Other companies now have taken it and extended it. But without those efforts in the early days, it wouldnt be here. So, yeah, im really proud. Tuesdayis tuesday is set to be another day of heavy downpours across the uk but they will be hit and miss and dry weather out there as well. Persistent rain to start off across parts of north wales, Northern England and cloudy across the northern half of the uk. Scotland brightening up of the uk. Scotland brightening up with some sunshine but heavy showers which could cause localised flooding. Not as many clouds further south but when they do occur it could be thundery. 23 degrees at the top temperature. Tuesday evening, most of the showers will fade but into the early hours of wednesday, rain will start to swing its way up from the south west signalling an u nsettled south west signalling an unsettled spell of weather. Low pressure firmly in charge. Bands of rain and quite a few white lines on the chart. It will be windy, but actually for Western Cross with gusts of 4050 Western Cross with gusts of 40 50 mph at times. Welcome to bbc news. My name is mike embley. Our top stories the us president ial Campaign Steps up a gear with the start of a very Unconventional Convention for the democratic party. Opposition protesters in belarus have held a ninth night of protests against president Alexander Lukashenko whose re election has been widely condemned as fraudulent. Brazils Vice President has defended its handling of the coronavirus pandemic despite being the worst hit country outside of the united states. In the beginning, everybody was afraid that we would have people dying in the halls of the hospitals, and this did not happen. Feeling the heat californias death valley has registered the highest ever temperature recorded on earth
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