• Home
  • TV & Movies
    • Star Wars
    • Battlestar Galactica (1978)
    • Indiana Jones
    • Star Trek
    • Planet of the Apes
    • The Real Ghostbusters
    • The Six Million Dollar Man
    • Universal Monsters
    • Doctor Who
  • Comic Book Heroes
    • Kenner Super Powers
    • Mattel Secret Wars
    • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    • The Uncanny X-Men
    • Spider-Man
    • Batman
    • Superman
    • The Incredible Hulk
  • Mego
  • MOTU
  • G.I. Joe
  • Transformers
  • Wrestling

Vintage Action Figures

Reviews of collectible action figures inspired by comic books, TV shows and movies from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989)

Whilst George Lucas' surprise box office smash Star Wars movie may have reinvented the science fiction genre, the collection of Star Wars action figures also spawned its own sub-genre in the field.

Since the advent of the Star Wars prequel movies (which did not always thrill hard-core fans of the original series), the collection of Star Wars action figures has been subdivided into three distinct eras: Vintage (1977–1989), Neo-classic (1990–2000) and Prequels (1999–present). The vintage era covers the three original movies - Star Wars (aka A New Hope), The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

Vintage action figure collectors have targeted Star Wars figures for investment purposes for many years, but many more choose to focus on them because of sheer nostalgia and a real love for the series of movies. It may seem strange today when every cinema release is preceded by a huge merchandising campaign, but when the Star Wars action figures first came out, giving fans the opportunity to recreate scenes from the films and even invent adventures of their own at home, it was an entirely new movie merchandising concept!

With the release of the J. J. Abrams' directed Star Wars: The Force Awakens in December 2015, a new era of Star Wars movies begins with a trilogy of sequels. And with it, a brand new generation of action figure collectors...!

Remembering Princess Leia Organa

December 31, 2019

We're back! Surprise! Did you miss us?! This blog may have been on an extended hiatus for a few years, but never fear, dear reader, the vintage action figures collection has continued to grow, albeit with greater focus on specific toy lines. With The Rise of Skywalker, the third and final Star Wars reboot movie (making number IX in the entire series if you insist on counting the prequels) recently hitting cinemas just in time for Christmas, and the Disney Channel's small screen offering The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Princess Leia, Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989)

Green-haired General Madine variant figure

February 8, 2015

General Madine by Kenner

When Kenner issued General Madine as part of its first wave of Return Of The Jedi 65-back carded figures in 1983 the resulting action figure followed the company’s hit-or-miss track record of movie-likenesses, with only a vague resemblance to the actor Dermot Crowley who played him on screen. Instead of Crowley’s fair beard and hair, Kenner opted instead for a thick grey Kenny Rogers-style beard and mane! This turned out to be of little concern, however, when sadly for Kenner - not to mention … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: General Madine, Return of the Jedi

The Emperor – The Dark Side of the Force

September 29, 2014

The Emperor by Kenner

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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Kenner, Return of the Jedi, The Emperor

Meet a ‘Return of the Jedi’ Hero – Nien Nunb!

December 10, 2013

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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Kenner, Nien Nunb, Return of the Jedi

Princess Leia in combat poncho on Endor

September 13, 2013

Princess Leia Organa

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 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Kenner, Princess Leia, Return of the Jedi

The Palace Guard formally known as Klaatu!

July 17, 2013

Klaatu

I seem to have added quite a few aliens from the original Star Wars trilogy to my vintage action figure collection this year, particularly henchmen of Jabba the Hutt seen fleetingly in the palace scene and the various guards riding the desert skiffs in the Sarlacc Pit Battle scene in Return of the Jedi. Whilst these figures may have enjoyed only split seconds of screen time, they were still important players in the imaginary Star Wars universe created by kids back in the day. Bewilderingly, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Kenner, Return of the Jedi

Weequay aka Queequeg – Skiff Guard from ‘Return of the Jedi’

May 29, 2013

Weequay

One of the most well-loved of the minor characters in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick is surely that of the cannibal Queequeg, the archetypal “noble savage”, and dab hand with a harpoon. It's no surprise, therefore, that during pre-production of Return of the Jedi the crew nicknamed this Weequay skiff guard “Queequeg”. After all, he brandishes a harpoon-like pike weapon, swaggers up the deck of a Desert Skiff like a pirate on a sloop upon the high seas, and even forces Luke Skywalker to walk the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Vintage Star Wars (1977–1989) Tagged With: Kenner, Return of the Jedi, Weequay

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 5
  • Next Page »

Action figure search

Vintage Star Wars on eBay!

“Early Bird” Star Wars Figures

If Star Wars changed the way movies were made, then the Kenner Star Wars action figures reinvented the toy industry with the popularization of the small 3 ¾ inch action figure. Amazingly, however, in 1977 when the film was first released, the success of the film caught Kenner (and Palitoy in the UK) entirely by surprise and they were unable to produce any Star Wars action figures in time for Christmas, meaning they might well have missed out on the peak gift giving period! In what was undeniably an audacious move by Kenner, they created the very first of what would later become prized collectibles, when they pre-sold the so-called “early bird” certificate packages which were essentially empty boxes with an order card that could be redeemed for figures of either Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2 or Chewbacca when they were ready. The kit also contained a cardboard fold-out which illustrated the first 12 figures which would be made available. True to their word, these “early bird” figures were the first figures Kenner then produced and posted out to customers who had ordered them.

Neo-classic (1990–2000)

Han Solo in Carbonite with Carbonite Block

Han Solo in Carbonite with Carbonite Block!

Nabrun Leids

Nabrun Leids – Cantina Alien

From Kenner to Hasbro

The figures were later released individually and just about any vintage Star Wars action figure still found in its original packaging sells for considerable sums nowadays. Loose figures are still readily available, however, and you'll find a large selection of Star Wars action figures on these pages. Budget obviously influences the choices any collector makes, but tracking down the 90 odd vintage Kenner Star Wars figures is a great place to start - whilst Hasbro continues to produce toys and merchandising for all six Star Wars films, the original Kenner or Palitoy items are arguably the most sought-after by serious collectors.

Prequels (1999–present)

Deluxe Darth Maul by Hasbro

Deluxe Darth Maul by Hasbro

Recent Posts

  • Ghostbusters Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man …signed by Sigourney Weaver!
  • It’s Clobberin’ Time with The Thing by Mego!
  • Up, up and away! Comic version 12-inch Superman by Mego
  • Remembering Princess Leia Organa
  • Indiana Jones, the daring archaeologist and world adventurer of the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark!
  • Stunning C-3PO sixth scale figure by Sideshow Collectibles
  • It’s Alive! The Monster Frankenstein from Mego’s Mad Monster Series
  • Wonder Woman the Amazing Amazon – Kenner Super Powers
  • Grrr…it’s Grizzlor! The Hairy Henchman of the Evil Horde
  • Ming the Merciless – The evil emperor of Mongo by Mego

Archives

Copyright © 2009-2023 · VintageActionFigures.net · All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the Poster and opinions expressed are those of the Poster and do not necessarily represent the views of VintageActionFigures.net · Please read our Privacy Policy, GDPR Compliance Statement, Affiliate Disclosure and Cookies Policy - We know...Zzzz!!