Epic Win: Kenner Star Wars Action Figures
Submitted by J Chadwick
It’s a trap!
Kenner released the original Star Wars action figures between ‘77 and ‘85 and sold over 300 million (ridiculous!). These also became popular again when the line was reintroduced alongside the Star Wars: Special Edition trilogy. Kenner was eventually absorbed by corporate toy machine Hasbro.
These also fetch a pretty penny now, as long as you didn’t remove them from the packaging. But I guess that means you didn’t have any fun as a kid, now did you?
Here’s a cool site where you can see all the figures and learn more than you would ever care to know about them. (It’s kind of funny how under News it says “no current news.”)
I would still have so many of these if not for them ending up in random garage sales throughout my childhood. Best toys ever!
As a kid I was simply in awe of these figures, but the only one I HAD to have was R2-D2. I still have him and he still gives me the warm fuzzies.
My mother threw out my complete star wars trading cards set, first edition. Obviously I had no interest in them since they were so carefully packaged and wrapped and hidden under my bed.
Aw, poor you. *Sympathy*
I found an old Boba fett when I was cleaning out my grand parents house…. and my newer Luke Skywalker still rides shotgun with me in my car. ^^
Didn’t they make a Millenium Falcon where all the action figures fit into it?
My brother would still have his Star Wars figures if not for tragic circumstances: several were lost at sea (read: flushed down the toilet), a few were crushed to death in a cave-in (read: buried in multiple holes around the back yard), and there were even martyrs who were tortured to death (read: had firecrackers strapped to them & set on fire). If he’d know then how much those suckers would be worth now, they’d have never seen beyond the confines of a locked safe, lol. (^_^)
1977? NO. The original SW action figure line didn’t hit stores til ‘78. No one had any idea (except maybe Marvel Comics) that the movie would become the biggest thing ever. Pretty much everyone thought it would be a total bomb and run George Lucas out of the biz. When it became a big hit, Kenner didn’t have time to produce toys to meet the demand before Christmas so they issued the infamous “early bird kit”. Kids opened up a package Christmas morning that contained a sheet of paper promising them 12 new SW figs in the mail as soon as possible.
I just found Lando Calrissian’s head under my oil tank. Guess my brother and I had a little TOO much fun with that one! And yes, they did make a Millennium Falcon where they all fit — the only thing I wish I still had, and might actually pay real money for now.
I still have all of my figures, Imperials in the Darth Vader case and Rebels in the C3PO.
I also had the Darth vader carrying case. I labeled the ones I had but ended up putting them in two to a slot to stuff as many as I could in it.. other wise they were in a shoe box. boring.
My older cousin sold me his death star playset for $10 pre-garage sale. I don’t know if that was a good deal or not…I was 9 and he was my hero.
Best. Toys. Ever. I think my parents saved up for a year once to buy me an AT-AT. It was bigger than our dogs. It might even have been bigger than our Ford Pinto. I got the AT-AT in September of either first or second grade. Needless to say, my grades suffered that quarter.
Who on God’s green Earth could vote these down! I still have all of my figures and some of their weapons. I even have a Jawa with the plastic robe!!! Yes, I am a dork, and I’m okay with it. If you like Star Wars and several other movies from our generation, you’ll love Fanboys! It’s a great comment on us.
I still have all of the collector cards from the original three series (with the replacement C3PO card, not the nearly-impossible-to-find original) and the Coca-Cola set, but not the Burger King set. There is also a set that fits into a plastic model of the Millenium Falcon, which is the one I enjoy the most.
I have 2 of “that” card, they’re not hard to find on eBay now : ) – though I collected mine at the time….
I think we had the Max Rebo figure, which was OBVIOUSLY the coolest one to have.
I had the Han Solo in carbonite, Old Ben, Chewie with exploding C-3P0, X-wing Luke, some ewoks, and an officer from the Hoth base. There might have been more, but I don’t remember cuz I was born the same year “Jedi” came out :/
woah! hahaha I loved these things. I think I still have like 3 or 4.
I wasn’t really a star wars fan (still not), but I do know when to appreciate awesome toys xD
I loved these toys. I still have them stashed somewhere in the basement.
oh wow…my dad has like 20 of these still in the packages….:D He used to sell toys at shows when I was a kid. I remember him selling a Han Solo to someone for a few hundred bucks…wonder how much they are worth now o_O
I am honestly surprised by one thing folks the most obvious thing to say here….
“I bent my wookie.” Raplh Wiggum.
Indeed, truly awesome toys. Although, it only took about 10 seconds to lose those blasters. My mom had Yoda in her shadowbox for a long time, complete with orange snake and little cane. We were not allowed to play with it.
A friend of mine had a bunch of these and I loved going over to his house and playing with them. My favorite was the Tauntaun with the trapdoor back so Luke or Han could actually “ride” them and the “open belly rescue feature”.
…and I thought they smelled bad on the outside…!
I have nearly a complete collection, in completely NON-collectible condition, because I PLAYED with them, thank you very much. My first Luke Skywalker–the original figure, in the outfit he wore throughout most of Star Wars–and you revisionists can BITE me, the name of the effin’ movie is STAR WARS, not Episode whatever, not “A New” ANYTHING, it’s STAR WARS!!!
…
Um, but I digress…my Luke Skywalker appears to be severely balding, as most of the yellow paint has rubbed off of his sculpted hair and the base plastic is fleshtone. The decal on the barrel of my R2-D2 is alternately missing in spots or faded and muddy, and his dome is tarnished and dented–I call him my “R2 with realistic, post-being-eaten-by-a-Dagobah-swamp-monster damage”. All of my Princess Leia figures are missing their tiny little pistols, which are no doubt gathering dust in the air vents of the house where I grew up. The only figure I have in pristine condition is a Dengar that I came across in the three-peg “toy section” of a convenience store while on vacation, some years after Return of the Jedi, and picked up on a whim. It’s still in the package only because I already had a Dengar to play with–I “saved” him in case I ever lost the other one. (And yes, I played with my Star Wars stuff well into adulthood–I don’t do so now only because I don’t have the room anymore to pull it all out. And hey, it enhanced my cool factor among younger relatives when I brought out the Star Wars toys.)
If a so-called “true collector” came across my “collection”, they would scream like a little girl about what I’ve done to these “priceless collectibles”….at which point, I would smack them and throw them down my front stairs. I play(ed) with and display my toys, and I don’t leave them in a package to rot, just like how I actually read and enjoy my comic books rather than seal them immediately in plastic and stick them in a box to gather dust.
I totally had a really similar experience with my star wars toys as Pennyforth. I have at one time or another had almost 80 percent of the star wars toys that came out along with the movies. I played with them, broke them, super glued them back together and broke them again. I travel a lot for my career, and two things keep becoming a constant. My Darth Vader case full of my remaining figures and my Darth Vader Coffee Mug always make it into my car to go wherever my next job/educational opportunity/slave labor position is. The mug is so people at whatever shop I’m working in know whose mug not to use, but the figures are kind of like the essence of my childhood. They are a symbol of Innocence and creativity that reminds me not to ever grow up completely, or I lose the whimsy an artist needs to continually create. I’m so lame.