Since first starting this blog almost fifteen years ago there has been a huge amount of change in the Star Wars universe. The generation of kids who grew up watching the prequels – episodes I to III – are now adults and the action figures they played with back in the day have officially crossed that magical albeit arbitrary line of twenty-years, the minimum requirement to becoming ‘vintage’. Meanwhile, many of the Generation X-ers who derided the prequels so much, are now revisiting them. Hating Episodes I-III was the cool thing to do, right? Maybe it took a series of even more divisive sequels in the shape of J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens and The Rise of Skywalker, and Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi – episodes VII-IX for those of you who are still counting – to provoke a prequel reappraisal. And there is nothing quite like a powerful injection of nostalgia to kick-start a Renaissance!
Kenner
Ghostbusters Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man …signed by Sigourney Weaver!
I recently had the very good fortune of attending the European première of the brand-new Ghostbusters movie, Afterlife (or Ghostbusters: Legacy as we call it this side of the pond here in Italy). It was my first time back in a packed cinema since the pandemic, so this gathering of fans felt like an extra special experience. Shown as part of the Alice nella Città children’s film festival on the opening night of the Rome Film Fest, it was a spooktacular affair, with screenwriter Gil Kenan, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Jason Reitman, in attendance to introduce the screening. I won’t reveal any spoilers here, other than to say that this Ghostbusters fan left the theatre happy with an unapologetically nostalgic film that skilfully passed on the torch to a younger Stranger Things generation of viewers.
Indiana Jones, the daring archaeologist and world adventurer of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark!
Harrison Ford seems to have an incredible knack for being cast in cult classics – his portrayal of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner alone would have been enough to ensure him enduring cult status. Most recently, of course, the entire planet has been focussed on his reprisal of the role of Han Solo in JJ Abram’s billion-dollar-grossing sequel to the original Star Wars trilogy – Star Wars: The Force Awakens – an appearance which saw him reclaim his crown as Hollywood’s highest earning actor. Personally, I’ve got a soft spot for yet another much beloved embodiment of a different George Lucas creation – Indiana Jones – so when I spotted this vintage 1981 Kenner 12 inch Raiders of the Lost Ark action figure at a toy fair recently, I just had to add it to my collection!
Wonder Woman the Amazing Amazon – Kenner Super Powers
The Super Powers Collection by Kenner remains one of my favourite 1980s toylines. These perfectly designed vintage figures were so well constructed that some thirty years after they first hit toy store aisles their secret built-in “super power action” features almost always still work. Wonder Woman has long been top of my list of must-have figures in the line so I was thrilled when I tracked one down in full working order recently. She was missing her Magic Lasso accessory, but this particular vintage part proved very easy to reproduce. In DC Comics lore the original lasso was forged by the god Hephaestus from the Golden Girdle of Gaea. Thankfully our prop merely required a quick trip to the local haberdashery for a short length of thin gold cord, which was then looped around itself and tied with a knot, to create a home-made Lasso of Truth. For display purposes it’s extremely hard to tell the difference from the original part.
Send in the Space Marines! Lt. Ripley from Aliens by Kenner
When Ridley Scott’s ground-breaking sci-fi horror movie Alien first opened way back in 1979, toy maker Kenner – fresh from the unprecedented success of its Star Wars action figures – was perhaps the obvious choice to create a line of tie-in merchandising. Not surprisingly, however, given the adult film certificate on the original movie, Kenner’s initial attempt at creating an Alien toy in the shape of a not-so-cuddly and fearsomely huge 18-inch Alien “doll” didn’t go down too well with parents and was quickly withdrawn from sale.
The Emperor – The Dark Side of the Force
It’s a strange thought now, looking back at the original Star Wars trilogy, but Darth Sidious aka Dark Lord of the Sith, the biggest baddie and antagonist of the entire series, didn’t have any live action screen time until Return of the Jedi in 1983 (although a hologram did make a flickering appearance in the earlier The Empire Strikes Back). The archetype for hooded evil, Emperor Palpatine was played by Ian McDiarmid, who has had the very good fortune to reprise his role in all three of the prequels, which chart the character’s devious political career from Senator, to Supreme Chancellor, and eventually Emperor. Back in the 1980s, however, when Kenner still held the keys to the action figure toy chest, he was simply known as The Emperor.
Meet a ‘Return of the Jedi’ Hero – Nien Nunb!
When Kenner started out on its 3 ¾ inch Star Wars action figure adventure in 1977 the popularity of the movie caught the toy company by surprise. It would be unthinkable today, where a marketing frenzy surrounds every film released with a potential toy franchise, but back then Kenner were so unprepared that they were unable to deliver any Star Wars action figures to toy stores in time for Christmas! The solution they came up with would become the stuff of collector legend – Kenner pre-sold empty boxes with an “early bird” order card, which could then be mailed away and redeemed for figures (Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2 or Chewbacca) when they became available. Kenner not only got away with this stunt, but seeing its success would repeat the idea later down the line with several “mail-away” or “mail-in” special offers.
Princess Leia in combat poncho on Endor
This blog has been running a little low on girl power recently, so let’s fix that right away with a truly wonderful vintage figure from Kenner’s legendary 3 ¾ Star Wars line – Princess Leia Organa sporting her Endor combat poncho. It’s a staggering thought today, but of the entire list of 93 characters immortalised in the original Kenner line, Princess Leia is the solitary female. As if to make up for this, besides her iconic white robed figure as she appeared in Star Wars, Princess Leia was issued in several different guises, which charted her progress through the three original trilogy movies: from beautiful princess in need of rescue, to this tough rebel in combat gear.