A regularly updated blog about my vintage Kenner Star Wars toy collection. Some stuff that I've recently acquired; some stuff that I've had since I was a kid. Some rare, some common, but all sharing the warmth, charm and character of the "first generation" of Star Wars toys - the ones we played with as kids in the late '70s and early '80s.
More plush goodness! This time I'm featuring a rare Regal Toy (Canada) Chewbacca plush toy (at right) in a side-by-side comparison with the Kenner (USA) version (at left).
There's an interesting story about how this Regal Chewie came into my collection. A good friend of mine found a plush Chewbacca she'd been given as a child in the '70s. I wasn't that interested in adding it to my collection as it was missing its bandolier. I advised her to just put it up on Facebook Marketplace. A day or so later a collector friend of mine in Toronto messaged me to say he'd spotted a Regal Toy Chewbacca plush on FB Marketplace right here in Winnipeg - it was my friend's ad!
Kenner tag at neck
"How do you know it's a Regal?" I asked. He said that the definitive "tell" is that the Kenner version has a tag on the back of the neck, while the Regal version has its tag at the waist. So needless to say, I messaged my friend immediately and picked up this Regal version from her. As noted, it was missing the bandolier but I lucked out and found one on eBay, albeit missing two of the ammo cartridges. I addressed that issue by having a friend 3D-print me some cartridges for display - don't worry, they are a slightly different shade of grey and are marked "Reproduction" on the backs :-)
Regal Toy tag remnant visible at waist
Remnant of Regal Toy waist tag
I love these two guys! The other key differences are that the Regal toy (right) is somewhat taller (1-2") and has a larger, higher forehead. These variations can be tough to judge if you don't see them side by side though - but the one sure sign is the waist tag on the Regal version as opposed to the neck tag on the Kenner.
I've never really been a carded figure guy, but I certainly see the appeal. While loose figures are great because you can look at them from all angles and even (gasp) PLAY with them, carded figures hold a different attraction. For me it's mainly the packaging and cardback art, as well as the intricate advertisements ART DIRECTION on display on the backs of the cards.
At one point in my collecting journey I thought it would be cool to have some more MOCs, but to focus that part of the collection in some way... like maybe just stick to a run of 12-backs. HA! I guess if you're prepared to spend $30-50K on a run of 12-backs nowadays, this might be the thing for you... but it ain't for me. That's new-car money.
Which brings me to this alternative - a way to collect 12-backs without mortgaging your home. Just collect the cardbacks themselves! The added bonus is that they are easy to display this way and I think, look rather cool (sorry about the reflections).
The cardbacks are relatively easy to find and as noted, don't cost the Earth either. Most are available for $50 or less and very rarely up to $100. This means a nice run of 12-back cards can be had for well under a thousand bucks, and there's not much you get in 12-back-land for less than that (well maybe - I have another post in the works on that).
And they're easy to display too. I got these Studio Decor 14x20" float frames at Michaels for $20 each (remember to use your 30% off coupon!) and they fit four cardbacks pretty well perfectly.
The bonus of a float frame is that you can easily see the backs of the cards as well - just as cool as the fronts!
You'll notice a mix of Canadian and US Kenner cardbacks in this run, which actually reflects my own childhood collecting. While most of my figures were bought here in Canada, some were brought back from the States by my dad (who took summer courses at Purdue University) or were bought there on family vacations.
Six of the Canadian cardbacks were purchased in a lot from my friend Mike's store, 4th Moon Toys, in Toronto, and the Canadian Luke Skywalker cardback came from Ontario buddy Chris P. Thanks guys!
The others came in a lot of two and a lot of three from eBay sellers. The cards are all encased in plastic bags before mounting in the frames as I didn't want the cardboard touching the glass. So now I just have to find some wall space to hang them up.
I really enjoyed putting this run together - it was nice to have a deliberate objective and collecting target to achieve. I think they look pretty cool and are a fun way to feel the 12-back vibe without too outrageous an investment. Perhaps some further targeted card runs are in the future... bounty hunters perhaps - but staying mindful that the Fett Tax is still in effect, even on cardbacks ;-)
And now for something completely different... how about these vintage Kenner stuffies? First appearing in the Kenner retailer catalog in 1978, these plush toys were a cuddly way for young fans to express their enthusiasm for Star Wars.
First up, R2D2... unfortunately, while it was unquestionably hard-wearing, the white cloth used to make R2 tended to stain and over 40 years, well... even after a good wash and spot-cleaning, it's gonna look like a 40-year old stuffie. The toy did have another cool feature though - a "squeaker" that made a noise when you press the red spot on his dome. This one still works!
R2's legs are on plastic swivels, and can turn around.
There's also a small velcro patch to keep each leg in place. Unfortunately the Kenner fabric tags are no longer with this piece. R2 is about 10" tall.
Isn't Chewbacca cute?? While there have been plenty of plush Chewbaccas over the years, few have come close to the charm of the original. He stands about 20" tall.
Kenner fabric tag is still present on this example...
... as well as the often-missing bandoleer and cartridges. I wanted to show some close-up details here - these three plastic pins hold the bandoleer in place on Chewie's shoulder.
The bandoleer itself is fastened together with a snap.
The bandoleer holds four plastic cartridges. It's not unusual to see tape (or tape residue) on the cartridges, as seen on this example.
"Wookies (sic) need love too!"
Thanks to Lantern Lad of the OG13 Forums for the image
Here's the page from the 1978 Kenner retailer catalog featuring the plush toys. They really are super-cute aren't they?
I love these two plush toys as a throwback to the earliest times of Kenner's Star Wars involvement. And the best part about them is that you can still pick them up for relatively little money, if you don't need to have an example with sale tags. Around $50USD should secure a decent complete Chewbacca or a really nice R2. But be sure your Chewie is complete, as the bandoleer was NOT meant to be removable, and they never seem to come up for sale separately!
One of the more unusual toys in the Star Wars vintage line was the Sonic Controlled Land Speeder. Unusual for the technology used in its design and functionality, unusual for its rarity today, and unusual because it replicated with near-exact detail an identical but much less expensive toy in the range!
The "sonic control" was of course the defining feature of the toy. The Speeder incorporated an electric motor which ran a shaft driving the front wheel. Some rudimentary control was allowed by incorporating a microphone in the top engine nacelle. The "remote control" was just a loud clicker... when the microphone picked up the clicking sound, it engaged a motor to turn the front wheel through ninety degrees.
Tough to find a boxed example of this particular toy. This box is missing one end flap but it's not the end of the world by any means.
A little bit of an illustration here on how the sonic control works.
Very clever of Kenner to design the sonic controller to look like Artoo-Detoo!
Now to the tableaux... not a very creative play scenario on the box art I'm afraid, so I've just replicated a few of the box photos showing the toy and figures from different angles.
Only two components to this toy: the speeder and the sonic controller. Watch out for yellowed and broken windshields as they are commonly seen on loose examples. Note also the pegs on the rear deck allowing figures to be secured to the toy.
A couple pics here showing the detail sculpted into the cockpit dashboard by the Kenner designers. Unlike the regular landspeeder where the dash detail was provided by a sticker, the sonic controlled version got some really neat sculpted detail on the dash and the console. "On-off" switch can be seen in the centre of the console.
See what I mean? Dials and gauges galore... pretty cool.
Some more of the dash detailing.
Here's the bottom of the speeder. You'll note I've photographed two different examples here as neither one has a complete set of warning stickers. The driving wheel is at the top right of this photo. You'll note that it's mounted to allow directional rotation.
Note the two battery covers at left and right of image - these are often missing from loose examples of the toy.
The sonic control itself is just a little marvel of industrial design. Fortunately the sticker is quite white on this example - they tend to get quite ragged and yellow on loose examples.
Some copyright information included on the controller.
Here's a comparison shot showing the Sonic Controlled Land Speeder (R) and controller alongside the regular Land Speeder (L). As you can see there's really no mistaking one for the other - aside from the size difference, the Sonic Controlled model is distinguishable by the vented centre engine nacelle, non-retractable wheels, and battery compartments!
Now here's what you've been waiting for - some video of the Land Speeder in action. Listen for the clicks and note the response of the toy, quickly turning 90 degrees with each click.
I want to send out my thanks to JJ, a local collector who sold me this Speeder. He fixed the electronics and motor but a problem remained for me to address. The motor drives a shaft that extends vertically down through the Speeder body. A plastic gear fits onto the shaft and drives the toothed driving wheel in a bevel configuration. However a design flaw in the toy means that most will fail - over time the plastic gear slips on the shaft and while the motor might still drive the vertical shaft, no rotation is transmitted to the rubber driving wheel. This can be remedied by simply using superglue or JB Weld to firmly re-attach the gear to the vertical drive shaft. It's easy to see what needs to be done once you take apart the mechanism - there's a good video on Youtube that shows it all.
OK, so back to this blogging thing after some time away from it. As I'm sure many of you also feel, 2020 has been the worst year I can remember so far, and it still has four months to go... Oh well, I guess the thing to do is just keep putting one foot in front of the other and making the best of it. And that includes some Star Wars toy blogging. So here goes.
Honestly the Ewok Village playset had been pretty low down on my list of stuff to get. Although I do have vivid recollections of seeing Return of the Jedi in the theatre (our family traveled down to Minot, ND to see the movie at the Dakota Square Cinema 9 or whatever it was called) and later ransacking the local Target for mini-action figures (my mother got Chief Chirpa, and I got a Biker Scout), I have never been a big Ewok fan. I still have both figures though. But we digress...
"Contents: One playset with elevator, throne, prisoner poles [?], escape chute, simulated boulder, net trap."
So I never found the Ewok Village playset to be particularly compelling... although the Endor scenes with the speeder bike chase were SO COOL, the encounters with the Ewoks never really excited me. But in the spirit of completism I picked up a Canadian boxed example of the toy, and maybe it's started to grow on me just a tiny bit.
The box is bilingual of course, with French as well as English text. There aren't so many tableau-worthy play images on the Village box as there are on some other earlier Kenner toys, but that's OK. The Village actually has some pretty neat aspects to it.
Of course the net trap our heroes get swept up by is a main feature of the playset. Later on in the post I've photographed detail of the intricate way in which the strings are set up under the base of the playset. This did cause me some consternation as I was restoring the playset in pieces to its former glory. The elevator feature is also shown above.
The coolest thing is probably the "spit" that Han gets (nearly) roasted on over the firepit. The "escape chute" is merely a hollow trunk with openings at top and bottom.
The reverse side of the box is a line drawing of the same image as appears on the front, again with bilingual text.
The box ends alternate English with French text.
The opposite long edge has some interesting line art and bilingual text.
On to the photos! I've set up the playset outside as it was a nice summer day yesterday and the greenery adds something to the background. Also this playset is quite large! Threepio's throne/litter/sedan chair is one of the cooler inclusions in the playset. It's pretty awesome. But one of the strange things about the box art is the homogeneity of the Ewoks... only Chief Chirpa and Logray were featured on the box. However I only have three Chirpas so I had to substitute Lumat... can you spot him?
The net nestles underneath the playset base and easily scoops up Luke, Chewie and Artoo as seen on the box front.
I find this hilarious... roasting Han on a spit. You'd expect that even our friendly peace-loving Rebels would have shot their way out of this mess before it came to this, but no. Faith in the power of negotiation (and Threepio the Golden God of course).
The "spit" itself is made of a kind of flexible rubbery plastic that holds the figures well. Note that I'm missing the "fire" sticker in the firepit... aaargh.
One from the box art here.
And another one.
Elevator with a Chirpa.
Threepio's litter. I like how the chair part separates to be used as a throne. Overhead view of the toy. When you get one, be sure that it includes all of the railing pieces (there are three) and the brown wooden platform support pieces (example shown at lower right under the platform)... plus the boulder, stool, firepit, elevator car, spit and supports, net...
Detail shot of the underside of the platform with strings from the net.
Here's the copyright information. And HERE is a piece that's often missing. It's the piece for the end of the strings from the net.
It's actually a really important part for the function of the playset, as the pegs on the bottom of the playset deck (seen in the "string thread this direction" photo above) fit snugly into the round hole on this part, holding the strings securely in place.
Well, that's the Ewok Village for you. Takes up lots of space, is only marginally cool, but no production toy collection is complete without one :-)
OK, so back to this blogging thing after some time away from it. As I'm sure many of you also feel, 2020 has been the worst year I can remember so far, and it still has four months to go... Oh well, I guess the thing to do is just keep putting one foot in front of the other and making the best of it. And that includes some Star Wars toy blogging. So here goes.
The box is bilingual of course, with French as well as English text. There aren't so many tableau-worthy play images on the Village box as there are on some other earlier Kenner toys, but that's OK. The Village actually has some pretty neat aspects to it.
Of course the net trap our heroes get swept up by is a main feature of the playset. Later on in the post I've photographed detail of the intricate way in which the strings are set up under the base of the playset. This did cause me some consternation as I was restoring the playset in pieces to its former glory. The elevator feature is also shown above.
The coolest thing is probably the "spit" that Han gets (nearly) roasted on over the firepit. The "escape chute" is merely a hollow trunk with openings at top and bottom.
The reverse side of the box is a line drawing of the same image as appears on the front, again with bilingual text.
The opposite long edge has some interesting line art and bilingual text.
Threepio's throne/litter/sedan chair is one of the cooler inclusions in the playset. It's pretty awesome. But one of the strange things about the box art is the homogeneity of the Ewoks... only Chief Chirpa and Logray were featured on the box. However I only have three Chirpas so I had to substitute Lumat... can you spot him?
The net nestles underneath the playset base and easily scoops up Luke, Chewie and Artoo as seen on the box front.
I find this hilarious... roasting Han on a spit. You'd expect that even our friendly peace-loving Rebels would have shot their way out of this mess before it came to this, but no. Faith in the power of negotiation (and Threepio the Golden God of course).
The "spit" itself is made of a kind of flexible rubbery plastic that holds the figures well. Note that I'm missing the "fire" sticker in the firepit... aaargh.
And another one.
Elevator with a Chirpa.
Overhead view of the toy. When you get one, be sure that it includes all of the railing pieces (there are three) and the brown wooden platform support pieces (example shown at lower right under the platform)... plus the boulder, stool, firepit, elevator car, spit and supports, net...
Detail shot of the underside of the platform with strings from the net.
And HERE is a piece that's often missing. It's the piece for the end of the strings from the net.
It's actually a really important part for the function of the playset, as the pegs on the bottom of the playset deck (seen in the "string thread this direction" photo above) fit snugly into the round hole on this part, holding the strings securely in place.