Star Tech/FBN Video- Anybody remember

[palitoy]

Does anybody remember the mailing list company from the back of Starlog called Star Tech?

I have really fond memories of dealing with it's owner Bill Anchors, if you got chummy with him he'd send you his VHS trading list. Dude had EVERYTHING on fifth generation VHS dubs, it was amazing.

I traded an entire season of "The Starlost" to him on a four to one basis, he'd send me eight hours of stuff for two hours. I got the entire season of Logan's Run (they were taped right off CBS, this was ten years before the TNT rebroadcast).

As much DVD box sets are amazing now (and they are) I kind of treasure the times I traded tapes with that guy. The anticipation of getting Space:1999 and UFO reruns with local hosts was fun. I still can't bring myself to throw them out.

[Mikey]

I never had anything for trade but I did buy Star Trek bloopers VHS from him.

The plus was the cast of Trek on the Tom Snyder show and Kevin Pollack doing Shatner in his 80's stand-up act.

I think the tape also contained all the SNL Trek sketches.

The box had a homemade copymachine black and white cover on green paper

[palitoy]

When I was a bootleg VHS dealer I created some real masterpieces with photocopies

[johnmiic]

I remember ordering from Star Tech. I thought that guys company was great! His sales were awesome. I scored sets of back issues for Doctor Who Monthly, Doctor Who Bulletin & Future Life in the `80's at a great discounts. When Doctor Who was cancelled it seemed he supplied the only up to date info as Starlog being the azz-kissers they were ignored the whole thing after the first report of trouble.

I bought my Spirit of Light Sonic Screw-driver from him. I also managed to get Star Trek model kits at greatly reduced prices in the `90's too. He seemed to be connected with Lunar Models as he would always have updates on their most recent offerings. I never could afford anything Lunar Models made-way too expensive. I also recalled the story of how his kid got sick and he sold a lot of stuff on eBay when eBay first caught-on to get rid of his stock & pay for his child's medical bills.

[palitoy]

I bought my Spirit of Light Sonic Screw-driver from him.

Me too!

I also recalled the story of how his kid got sick and he sold a lot of stuff on eBay when eBay first caught-on to get rid of his stock & pay for his child's medical bills.

Oof, sorry to hear that.

The last I recall reading his name was in the 90s when he was publishing episode guides of various tv shows. He sincerely hated Ultra-Man and really dismissed it.

[kennermike]

I remember Star Tech back in the late 80's early 90's loved that mail order store ordered the first 2 issues of Epi-Log magazine from them

[Mikey]

I too got my Spirit of Light Sonic Screw-Driver from Star Tech.

Besides normal common stuff I also bought some things from Star Tech that were impossible to get anywhere else including ......

Gerry Anderson huge book - made by Star Tech

Land of the Giants book - made by Star Tech

Space 1999 Technical notebook with ringed binder

Dr Who Police Box model kit (cardboard) ... made by Dr Who Fan Club of America

Various buttons - UFO, Prisoner, Gerry Anderson shows

Gerry Anderson lead and vacuuformed models (probably not licensed)

.......

Star Tech was GREAT back in the day

My only complaint was AT THE TIME they didn't have a phone --- so you had to deal with them through mail only with an order form .... This made ordering take twice as long and you weren't sujre if something was sold out...

[johnmiic]

Me too!

I also recalled the story of how his kid got sick and he sold a lot of stuff on eBay when eBay first caught-on to get rid of his stock & pay for his child's medical bills.

Oof, sorry to hear that.

You never heard about that? I even saw an eBay seller gave him a negative review for an item not shipped fast and Bill responded to the negative feedback with, " Buyer more concerned about late merch, than my child dying of cancer!"

Can you get in touch with him Brian? Maybe invite him to join the MM and participate in the general topics areas. He might like conversing with people about SF & stuff again-unless he already belongs to a board.

...Besides normal common stuff I also bought some things from Star Tech that were impossible to get anywhere else including ......

Space 1999 Technical notebook with ringed binder

Was that the leftover stock from the Starlog edition?

Dr Who Police Box model kit (cardboard) ... made by Dr Who Fan Club of America

I remember those. That fan club was "The" club to join in the early `80's.

Various buttons - UFO, Prisoner, Gerry Anderson shows...

Got my U.N.I.T. membership badge from him. Still have it in a box somewheres. I laminated it, Lol!

I think he's also friends with tech illustrator Shane Johnson and may have assisted in the publications of Shane's Jupiter 2 blueprint set.

[Mikey]

Was that the leftover stock from the Starlog edition?
.

I think so,

When I bought it I never knew that but later read about it on the net.

I paid like 15 dollars for it back in the day and later sold it for like 75 on ebay

[The Nawd]

I bought stuff from Star Tech every so often. Love my Spirit of Light TARDIS key (had to put it on a longer necklace though), and my Doctor Who theme song 45 RPM record with Tom Baker on the sleave.

Never got close enough to Bill to get that VHS trading list.

Thinking about it. Except for one or two small items that got trashed by my mom back in the day I believe I still have all the stuff that I bought from Star Tech.

[greenguy]

WOW! Star Tech!

I started ordering from the company in the early 80's.

I bought a ton of TV British Annuals, scripts, various books, several model kits, etc.

Always had good luck ordering from the company, not so much with Anchors himself.

I still have his massive trading catalog, and at some point he started selling of his entire video collection, first come first served. I eagerly sent my cash in for his Project UFO episodes. I never did get the tapes, nor my money back.

In the late 90's early 2000 I tracked down his wife Gloria, who claimed she was now his ex-wife and had no idea where Bill was. That must have changed because she now runs a website selling books (new and old) written by Bill.

Anchors books were usually written about various Irwin Allen television series, usually with badly xeroxed photos, and most of the time they were nothing more than glorified episode guides along with press kit info. However, I loved Epi-Log with it's extensive episode guides, with the best features being actual interviews with cast or crew from various series done by freelancers.

However some of the most interesting reading in Epi-Log were Anchors editorial rants and his intense dislike of Beauty and The Beast actress Linda Hamilton which it seemed like he was always writing about.

It's awesome reading about others that have their own Star tech memories.