NEWS

Industry stalwarts hope to meet The Light Fund’s 2022 goal with Top Gun jacket auction

Published on: 7th September 2022

Mark Kingston and Richard North are trying to raise £5,000 by auctioning a Top Gun Maverick Avirex Leather replica flight jacket plus premiere ticket and programme.

Top Gun jacketTwo leading figures from within the toy and licensing communities are hoping the auction of some Top Gun: Maverick movie memorabilia will help industry charity The Light Fund achieve its £250k English Channel Relay Swim Race 2022 fundraising goal.

The Top Gun jacket bundle, which Mark Kingston and Wow Stuff’s Richard North hope to auction for around £5,000, comprises a Maverick Avirex Leather flight jacket (retail price €1,200) and protective jacket cover, plus an original programme and ticket from the London Royal Premiere for Top Gun Maverick which took place on 19th May 2022.

100% of the sale proceeds from the auction will go to the charity. The Light Fund raises monies to fund worthwhile charity projects that help children and adults. Since its inception back in 2004, The Light Fund has raised over £1.7m and funded hundreds of different charity projects. This year, the charity’s major fundraising event was a cross-channel swim which took place in June by two teams, one of which included Mark Kingston. However, The Light Fund’s fundraising target remains just shy of its £250k goal – something Mark and Richard hope can be rectified by selling this special jacket and premiere goodies.

Top Gun: Maverick is the biggest grossing movie of 2022, taking $1.4b at the box office and surpassing Avengers Infinity War and Titanic to become the sixth biggest movie of all time in the US. The replica Maverick jacket being auctioned is made by Avirex, the official supplier to the US Armed forces, which became famous thanks to the original Top Gun movie. Made in goatskin leather in a very dark brown, the jacket sports 17 patches, a sheepskin collar, wool waistband and cuffs, a nickel plated front zipper, two patched pockets with button flaps, a bi-swing plated back, armpit gusset, side seams, and a rayon satin lining. More details about the Top Gun jacket can be found here.

“We’ve already had a number of bids, and the top slot is currently jointly held by Rick Derr of Learning Express Toys, USA and Will Stewart on behalf of ThePoint1888. Both bid amounts will be revealed in an update to the post at 2pm today,” Richard told Toy World. “The bids were sent in via LinkedIn Direct Message and were accompanied by the most beautiful, heartfelt support and blessings and a real empathy for the situation I had described in the post. Will and Rick are both inspirational individuals and great leaders that we can all learn something from.”

To place a bid on the Top Gun jacket, email Richard North (Richard.North@wowstuff.com) or comment on his LinkedIn post here. Comments will be visible to other users. The highest bid secures the lot, so dig deep (or fly high) and help The Light Fund reach its target. Bidding will finish at 2pm GMT Friday 9th September and the lucky winner of the Maverick Avirex Leather flight jacket, premiere ticket and programme, be that an individual or company, will be announced on the night of the Licensing Awards, Tuesday 13th September.

Readers wishing to make a smaller donation for The Light Fund’s English Channel Relay Swim Race 2022 efforts can do so via Just Giving here.

Good luck and thanks to all those who can donate.

RECENT ARTICLES

Countdown to Hong Kong International Licensing Show

The Harlem Globetrotters signs with IMG

Paw Prints Publishing signs Fraggle Rock deal

Pip and Posy come to life at Bandai Namco Cross Store

Moonbug launches Blippi & Friends MENA channel

Loud Luxury confirmed for Licensing Expo Closing Night Party

Thomas & Friends Autistic friendly clothing launches at Tesco

BBC Earth and Zynga announce new Words With Friends game

DreamWorks and Nutriburst partner on Trolls kids’ vitamins

A dog’s dinner? Home Chef partners with Bluey