2017-09-25 Mon

Royal Mail will be releasing three stamp booklets along with its second Star Wars set. 10 stamps featuring aliens and droids will be released on 12th October to celebrate the latest film Star Wars: The Last Jedi. One of the booklets will be released on the same day. The other two booklets will be issued on the release date of the film in Great Britain - 14th December.

Six non-denominated first-class stamps including four Machin definitives with Queen Elizabeth II and one each of the Maz Kanata and Chewbacca stamps from the new issue will be featured on the first booklet named “Aliens & Creatures”. The retail stamp booklet that will be issued on 14th December is called “Droids” and will have the four Machin stamps along with the new BB-8 and R2-D2 stamps.

The third 26-page booklet is called “Star Wars: The Making of the Droids, Aliens and Creatures”, featuring all eight stamps from the new Star Wars set, four from the 2015 Star Wars set (Han Solo, Princess Leia, Rei, and Yoda), and a unique pane of definitive stamps which includes eight Machin stamps and a central label depicting R2-D2 and Princess Leia in a scene from Episode IV. The booklet is accompanied with text and illustrations of alien and droid characters and how they are created. Original storyboards and concept drawings are also included. First-day cancels, first-day covers, postcards, and a presentation pack with mint examples, along with images and information about Star Wars droids and aliens are also offered.

Special “display sets” are also available, out of which, two are shaped like droids when put together. Lightsaber designs are featured on other two sets. “Generic collectors’ sheet” and the “ultimate collectors’ sheet” are also offered. The generic sheet has 10 stamps comprised of eight stamps from the 2017 Star Wars set, two each of the BB-8 and Supreme Leader Snoke designs. 10 labels showing stills from the Lucasfilm archives are also included. The “ultimate” sheet is a pane of 20 stamps with Great Britain’s 2015 and 2017 Star Wars stamps. Droid stamps have elements which are visible only under ultraviolet light.