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.  

"Brown Snake" Yoda with RotJ Cardback plus GW Acrylic Case!

                                                        

So a twofold post for today - a new figure and a review of the case I picked up for it. The figure is straightforward of course, just a variant of the familiar ESB Yoda. The main difference is the accessory, and it gives its name to the variant - "Brown Snake Yoda". This example is a very nice one, correct figure, correct accessories, complete, and with the original cardback. Score!                                            

                                                  

The cardback is actually quite nice, unpunched, intact POP, and not too badly damaged around where the bubble was torn off.

This is a 77-back RotJ card, of course. Near the end of the vintage run.

Let's have a closer look at the case, it's from GW Acrylic. This is a really cool way to display a figure with cardback. 

There's an internal "platform" that positions the loose figure right where it would be if this was a sealed MOC, and a small indentation in the stand to fit a one-inch base. It all fits together quite seamlessly and is really a great display solution. Cost is about $30USD.

Now let's look at the figures! This of course is the "usual" orange snake variant. Note the lighter green skin and light brown cane.

The brown snake variant is most often found with darker green skin and a dark brown cane, and has distinctive "pac-man eyes". According to jeditemplearchives.com these are correct for the brown snake variant, which has been found on all but ESB-32B and -41A, B, and -D cardbacks.

Here are the two together. Quite different looking aren't they! And the snakes are different in ways other than colour. The orange one is pretty stiff while the brown snake is much more rubbery and flexible.

The orange-snake Yoda is from my own childhood collection, but nowadays genuine brown-snake Yodas command a significantly higher market value than orange-snake examples. Accessories for both are also super-expensive, I've seen people asking $60USD or more for just a cane. Best to buy one complete and if you can get a cardback with it like I did, so much the better!

Darth Vader and C-3PO Carrying Cases

Some unsung heroes of collecting here - the infamous carry cases. Seems like you can't swing a dead tauntaun sometimes without hitting a Darth Vader case with one broken hinge, but when you find one with the inserts and sticker sheet it's still something special for a production completist like me. As for the 3PO case, these were never sold in Canada and have been something I've always been on the lookout for. Finally found one!

This ESB Vader case is a Canadian version (you'll see) and as with many finds in my collection, I have Mike Freeman of 4th Moon Toys to thank for it. Mike spotted this one in Winnipeg on Facebook Marketplace, and while he didn't have an interest in picking it up for his shop stock (mainly due to shipping cost), he very kindly sent me the ad. As I didn't have a case with inserts in my collection I quickly made a deal with the seller.

The seller was a woman about my age whose mother had bought her Star Wars toys when she was a child. This case was the last remnant of her collection and was essentially unused. It came with the insert and an unapplied sheet of stickers.

The insert is nice and crisp with great lithography.

Here's the sticker sheet - note the rather untidy borders, which I am advised are a peculiarity of the Canadian version of the case.

Back of the sheet with manufacturer identification ("Mactac") and "Made in/Fabrique au Canada".

Interior of case with no stickers applied, ever.

Note bilingual identity on the insert. No "L'Empire Contra-Attaque" there though!

Which brings us to this definitely minty RotJ C-3PO carry case with its distinctive vacuum-metallized finish. This special gold finish is infamous from the cover of the book that brought many of us old-timers (back) into collecting - Steve Sansweet's "From Concept to Screen to Collectible." This book featured a very cool  shot of a Darth Vader case done up in gold vac-metallizing ("one of less than 100 originally created by Kenner Products as a packaging sample") and it looked awesome!

In any event, I've always wanted to add a nice 3PO case to my collection. I just picked up this one from Mike at his shop on a recent trip to Toronto and although it wouldn't fit in my checked luggage, it made the trip back with me as a carry-on.

This one also came with its insert showing 65 different figures then-available in the range. 

I just think these inserts are really cool.

Stickers are mostly unapplied...

... as the original owner got about halfway through applying them and obviously lost interest!

The 3PO case includes a lengthy statement and 1983 date, but the Vader's is limited to some faint chicken-scratchings on the inside of the front.

Interestingly, period catalog advertisements describe the C-3PO carry case as "life-size"! I guess that could well be the case, as it's noticeably much larger than the Vader case.

So that's it for these two cases. As noted, Vader cases are super-common but 3PO cases much less so. I did find a good use for busted Vader cases though - you can use a Dremel to cut off the hinges and separate the two halves of the case, polish up the front with Plexus or another quality plastic polish, and hang the front half of the case in your collecting room... or in my case, give it to your Star Wars-loving nephew to hang on his bedroom wall :-) 

"Battle Damaged" X-Wing Fighter

Continuing the last post's "battle damaged" theme, here is the Battle Damaged X-Wing Fighter. Unfortunately the box is pretty trashed (battle damaged?), but as you'll see, the toy itself is very nice, and the set even includes the cardboard insert. It's a good thing too, as without the insert the box would barely hold itself together without collapsing!

The box side has another nice tableau featuring some of the Hoth rebels, and a picture demonstrating the retractable landing gear.

Another side panel has a cool pic with Bespin Luke, Chewie and the droids.

Demonstration of S-foil deployment and retraction.

As noted above, this toy came with the cardboard insert. I'm always impressed with how cleverly designed these die-cut cardboard pieces were.

Here's how the X-Wing fits into the insert.

Tableau time! Bespin Luke waves a greeting to Chewbacca and the droids. Note the distinct lack of "battle damage" on the ship... I guess the original owner couldn't bring him- or herself to apply those stickers.

Luke popping up the canopy as in the tableau photo. Interesting that all of the tableaux show the X-Wing with S-foils deployed, even though the ship is sitting on the ground.

Here's the "Hoth" tableau, replicated. Nice usage of the Hoth-themed figures that by the Jedi era, had been in general release for awhile.

Close-up of Luke having a wave...

And of the rest seeing him off.

The box front tableau - Luke arrives on Dagobah, greeted by Yoda and the (ghost of?) Ben Kenobi. 

Interesting that while Yoda seems to have a plethora of variations (not only snake colour, but also eye colour, eye shape, etc. etc.), Ben only has three - grey hair, white hair, and double-telescoping saber. I have two out of the three variations in my collection, you can probably guess the one I'm missing :-)

A good look here at the main differences between the Battle Damaged X-Wing and the original - the BD version is cast in grey plastic (as opposed to the white of the original) and its canopy had a noticeable smoke tint, quite different from the clear (or more likely nowadays, yellowed) canopy of the original release ship.

I really enjoyed setting up the tableaux on this one, it seems like some boxed toys featured more "play images" than others and the BD X-Wing certainly does that. I've had this in my collection for awhile but have only just gotten around to featuring it, but despite not owning this toy myself as a child, I think I prefer it to the original, just for the more realistic grey colour and the cool smoked canopy. The battle-damage stickers would just be icing on the cake. An awesome toy all around!