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 … [Read more...]
Remembering Princess Leia Organa
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...]
May the Force be with you this Christmas!
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....Chewbacca, with Han Solo along for the ride, is heading back home for Life Day, the Wookie equivalent of Christmas. Don't remember this from the movies? Believe it or not, this scene was actually filmed! But not for the big screen. The Star Wars Holiday Special was televised at the height of Star Wars mania in 1978. Directed by Steve Binder of the Elvis 68 Comeback Special fame, the Christmas television special took the now legendary characters from … [Read more...]
The Man in Black…Darth Vader!
During 1978 to 1985 Kenner created over 100 action figures based on characters in the original Star Wars movie trilogy. These 3 ¾ inch Star Wars action figures became legendary and are enormously popular as collectibles even to this day. But for the fledgling collector, where to begin? Concentrating initially on the first twelve releases – known as “12-Back” figures because the original packaging cards featured a picture of all 12 characters in a row on the back of the card – is certainly a … [Read more...]
It’s Ol’ Blue Eyes himself…Squid Head!
If poor old Walrus Man was a rare example of a Kenner Star Wars action figure which saw the toy company cutting corners on movie-likeness accuracy in the design, their work on Squid Head shows just how good they could be when at the very top of their game. Making his first outing on the Return Of The Jedi 65 back cards in 1983, this may be a later figure in the Star Wars original trilogy figures, but he's certainly on my list of must-haves thanks to the sheer attention to detail. And if don't … [Read more...]
Goo Goo G’Joob…It’s Pink-tusked Walrus Man!
Whilst almost all of Kenner's 3 ¾ inch Star Wars action figures were pretty accurate movie-likenesses by the standards of the day, Walrus Man here – later revealed as being called Ponda Baba when secondary characters were issued with colorful back stories too - stands out from the crowd as being one of the least like his movie counterpart. Walrus Man's screen time may be brief, but it is certainly a memorable moment when Obi-Wan Kenobi slices off his arm with his light saber during the famous … [Read more...]
Star Wars Variations: Sand People aka Tusken Raider
George Lucas just can't stop meddling with those Star Wars movies! Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace will be hitting cinema screens all over the world AGAIN this weekend - only this time in 3D. The 2D version was already bad enough, so I think I'll pass on that one...Instead, let's take a look back at a vintage Kenner Sand People action figure from the original trilogy, indeed from the very first Star Wars movie, which is nowadays known as the rather less catchy Star Wars Episode IV: A … [Read more...]