Ewok Assault Catapult Accessory and Ewok Combat Glider

OK, we're back with some more RotJ "last gasp" toys - the Ewok Assault Catapult and Ewok Combat Glider. These were certainly part of the last wave of Jedi toys and were pretty inexpensive back then, attracting parents who wanted to pick up something for their kid but weren't up for the Millennium Falcon or Imperial Shuttle. Retail price on these wouldn't been much more than buying a couple of figures.

First up, we'll look at the Assault Catapult. Like I said earlier, this was essentially a mini-rig... but importantly for the purposes of my own collecting, (unlike mini-rigs) it was actually seen on-screen in the movie!

Here's the toy assembled. Of course it comes with two "simulated rocks" - these are specially made for the toy, as they need to be molded with holes to fit into the spike at the tip of the catapult arm (you'll see).

Thread goes on the hook, which attaches to the underside of the arm.

Only one box shot tableau. You can see how the arm spike fits into the hole in the rock.

Fortunately mine came with the instruction sheet as the toy requires some assembly.

"Pay attention kids!"

Next, here's the Ewok Combat Glider. Again, a low price point here akin to mini-rigs... but unlike mini-rigs, it logged some actual screen time in the battle on the Forest Moon.

Interestingly, this one has a Palitoy sticker. From this I surmise that it would originally have been retailed in the UK.

"Made in Mexico" though! And with all the Kenner USA info too.

Here's the toy in parts. Of course the "boulders" are plastic and simulated, they're different from the rocks that came with the Assault Catapult - these have loops molded in for the thread ropes.

Only one "play" photo on the box and here it is! I have to say, though, that it takes some real dexterity to loop the boulder threads onto the lever piece on the wings, then through the Ewok pilot's hands. I can imagine some parental swearing as their kid made them put this together.

Instructions were also included. A little ratty, but included.

Well that's it for these two. Pretty simple and straightforward toys, designed and built to a price point, but with interesting action features - especially the catapult. These two items were redesigned and reissued in the mid-2010s by Hasbro too, bringing them to a new generation of kids and collectors. But really if you want these there's no reason to settle for the new versions. These were inexpensive when they were new, and are still inexpensive on the collector market.  

Micro Collection X-Wing and TIE Fighter

The two classic Star Wars ships... X-Wing and TIE Fighter. They've appeared in several iterations in the Kenner line - 3 3/4" scale (in two variations each), diecast, and now, Micro Collection! 

Looks great doesn't it? The great thing about the Micro Collection ships is that they seem less... compromised, and more accurate, than the full-size 3 3/4" scale versions.

I think this is due to practical reasons... the larger scale ships have to be a bit undersized when compared to the figures, just for cost. A larger ship requires more material, a bigger box, and a larger footprint on store shelves. All of those things cost money.

But the smaller scale ships require less of all those things, so there's a bit more flexibility to reflect screen accuracy.

Unfortunately the "action feature" of this ship does require a compromise - that large handle sticking out of the ship's behind.

"Lock S-Foils in attack position!"

And here's that pilot outside his cockpit.

Manipulating that handle at the back releases the elastic cord and activates battle damage. And speaking of battle damage... the ship of course includes battle damage stickers with clear backing. They look good.

Instruction sheet.

Here's the copyright information. Made in Macau, interesting eh?

Now the nemesis of the X-Wing - the TIE Fighter. Another really well-done toy, so accurate to the screen version. Battle damage stickers here too. You often find these ships missing the wing stickers as the glue loosens after 40 years... fortunately this example required little work. I was able to make good photocopies of the detached stickers and stick them back on with white glue.

The battle-damage lever is much better integrated here than it is on the X-Wing. It's the button on the back of the cockpit pod. 

Hatch opens at the top, just like on the 3 3/4" version.

Copyright info on the inside of the hatch.

TIE pilot is a bit harder to find. My ship didn't come with one when I bought it years ago so I had to find a loose one, which can be tough. This one came in a lot with a bunch of other Micro Collection figures. I've seen sellers ask up to $45 for a TIE pilot but I got this one for less than that, and it came with a dozen other random figures to boot.

Pressing the button simulates the battle damage.

Instruction sheet is great to have!

Nice detail on the cockpit right?

Here's the two pilots. They look really good.

Not super-visible in the pic but trust me, the figure bases have copyright info, as well as a unique code that identifies the figure and what set it came with. There's a handy list of the figures and their codes on the Star Wars Collectors Archive, here.

Till next time! 

Book Review - Gus & Duncan's Guide to Star Wars Micro Collection Toys

There's nothing I like more to foster a new collecting obsession than reading about it. So when I started to get into the Star Wars Micro Collection, I read A LOT about it on the Internet, and even found a podcast where it was discussed. The podcast was a fun listen but not too deep - however one thing the podcasters mentioned was Gus and Duncan's Micro Collection book. WHAAAAAAAT???

So no sooner did I hear about, than I went on the web to try and find it. And here it is. I got it from lulu.com, which I highly recommend, especially since it was $25 less on lulu than on Amazon and $20 less than on ebay. Not sure why anyone would get it from those bandits, maybe free shipping on Amazon? But lulu shipping, even to the hinterlands of Canada, was pretty reasonable.

ANYWAY... you're wondering what the book is like. Well it's a high-quality glossy hardcover 148-page book, full of information from Gus and Duncan, photographs of toys, packaging, and prototypes, and is very attractively laid out by friend of the hobby Mattias Rendahl (and that's his very cute little boy on the cover).

The book takes a comprehensive look at each of the released Micro Collection playsets and ships of course. These are the Death Star Compactor and Escape playsets (collected into the Death Star World set), the Hoth Ion Cannon, Shield Generator, Wampa Cave, and Turret Defense (the first three comprising the big Hoth World set), and the Bespin Freeze Chamber, Gantry Walkway, and Control Room (Bespin World), as well as the X-Wing, TIE Fighter, Snowspeeder, and Millennium Falcon vehicles.

The great thing about Gus and Duncan's books is the unproduced stuff they include - and there was plenty of it for the Micro Collection. The Hoth Bacta Chamber nearly made it into production and the prototypes and packaging are amply illustrated in the book. Likewise the Bespin Torture Chamber and Dagobah sets, although they didn't make it quite as far towards production. But we see the figure sculpts and prototypes all the same and that stuff fascinates me.

Anybody who thinks the Micro Collection figures are crude or lack detail needs to check out the four-up sculpts in the book. These are four times the size of the production figures and the detail on them is just incredible.

So if you're a fan of the Micro Collection, or just of Star Wars toys that are a little off the beaten track of 3 3/4" action figures, you'll love this book. Gus and Duncan know what they're talking about, write about the toys with humour and love, and the book showcases some truly remarkable prototypes and "what-might-have-beens" from the Micro Collection range. Highly recommended!

Gus & Duncan's Guide to Star Wars Micro Collection Toys by Gus Lopez and Duncan Jenkins

Completist Publications, 2015

$50 from lulu