Star Tech
| Name: | Star Tech |
| Date(s): | early 1980s-1990s |
| Profit/Nonprofit: | profit |
| Country based in: | |
| Focus: | models, VHS tapes, |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Advertised at the back of Starlog, sold many fannish items (much of it bootlegged and/or unofficial).
Involved in a 1988 Fracas
In 1988, fans discovered that five UK Blake's 7 zines had been reprinted in the United States with substituted authors, stolen artwork, and were being sold with different titles. All for a hefty profit.
Horizon, a Blake's 7 fan club created a leaflet called "Bootleg Information Leaflet" as one response. The club also published a lengthy expose in several issues of their club newsletters, mainly #20-#22. Some of this information was printed in Freedom City Gazette #4, along with An Open Letter to Fandom by Deb Walsh (1988).
The Horizon Newsletters also published a letter they had received from both Terry Nation, who'd been contacted regarding the situation, as well as from the publisher of said-pirated zines, a company in Tennessee called "Star Tech."
See more at The 1988 Blake's 7 Bootlegged Zines Discussion.
Some Fan Comments
1990
Bill Anchors, a guy in Dunlap Tennessee ((He's the one who runs Star Tech — Ed.)) has all the episodes of our favorite show on tape and will trade them for things he wants (I am still missing seven episodes, darn it!). He has such high taping standards, though, that I couldn't strike a deal for the stuff that I have on tape. I guess he can afford to be picky when he has several hundred tapes, but I'd enjoy seeing VTBS again, anywhere, since Channel 26 from San Francisco quit broadcasting them. [1]
2012
\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. [2]
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:) [3]
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... [4]
2014
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. [5]
2019
Like you, I had good luck with Anchors (and his Star Tech company) until he announced his 'retirement sell-off'. I sent money for his S-VHS Logan's Run tapes and maybe a few others and like you, never saw the money back (or the tapes). First (and last) time he ever ripped me off. Tried to make contact for a few years before finally giving up.
He certainly did seem obsessed with the Irwin Allen stuff (particularly Lost in Space). Like you, I found some of his rants hilarious. I've still got a couple issues of Epi-Log that I'd purchased specifically for the in-depth guides to a few certain shows.
I'm surprised to hear Anchors only passed away a couple years ago. I'd assumed he went over a decade ago! [6]
- ^ from Up Bubble #7
- ^ from Star Tech/FBN Video- Anybody remember - Mego Talk, Archived version (April 2012)
- ^ from Star Tech/FBN Video- Anybody remember - Mego Talk, Archived version (April 2012)
- ^ from Star Tech/FBN Video- Anybody remember - Mego Talk, Archived version (April 2012)
- ^ from Star Tech/FBN Video- Anybody remember - Mego Talk, Archived version (March 2014)
- ^ from Collecting Poll, Archived version