I haven’t written a “Star Wednesday” article in several months because all of my Star Wars collectibles are tucked away in a storage unit. “Out of sight, out of mind,” so to speak. Last weekend, my wife helped put together a fundraising garage sale for the Girl Scouts. While we were dropping off donations, I spied these two miniature X-Wing fighters in a bargain bin, and picked them up. After doing a bit of research, I found that these X-Wings were released in McDonald’s Happy Meals back in 2010. There were eight toys in all: four figures (Anakin, Yoda, Darth… (read more)

By 1979, Kenner must have been panicking. Owning the toy rights to the Star Wars franchise was essentially like being able to print their own money. Kids were lining up at toy stores across the country with cash in hand, eager to purchase any and every action figure the company released. We’re not just talking Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader here. Some of the first figures released included Power Droid, a small box with legs whose only line in the movie was the noise “gonk,” and Death Star Droid, a silver robot who had no dialog at all. And while… (read more)

Star Wars is just about the last movie people should associate with Father’s Day. Young Anakin Skywalker didn’t even have a father (unless you count midichlorians). In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin attacked and mortally wounded his pregnant wife, Padme. Later, as Darth Vader, he attempted to kill his children (Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa) on multiple occasions. Leia’s son, Ben Solo (aka Kylo Ren), murdered his own father, Han Solo, in cold blood. Which makes this hand-painted sign from my daughter so much more enjoyable. The least interesting items in my Star Wars collection are the things without… (read more)

Sometimes it’s hard to believe I didn’t own every single Star Wars toy produced by Kenner as a kid. I suppose it had to do with the finite number of birthdays and Christmases that fell between 1978 and 1985. Truth be told, as early as 1983 I was already beginning to lose interest in the Kenner toys, which narrows that window even further. The AT-ST, which goes by several names, is one of those vintage toys I didn’t own. AT-ST stands for All Terrain Scout Transport, but the original box identified it a Scout Walker. Colloquially, most people know the… (read more)

About a month ago, I found myself wandering through what remained of my local Toys R Us. The shelves weren’t completely bare, but I certainly wasn’t the first middle-aged nerd to show up in hopes of getting a good bargain. I told my wife I was only there to look, but when I ran across this thing… “look,” I said as it jumped right into my cart! Speeder Bikes, ridden by Imperial Biker Scouts, have always been my favorite vehicles from the Star Wars universe. They’re essentially hovering motorcycles with jet engines — what’s not to like? If (somehow) you… (read more)

Kenner was truly a marketing genius, realizing early on that kids buying action figures would also need things to hold, store, and transport action figures. In the late 70s and early 80s, Kenner made several different types and styles of carrying cases for kids. The earliest cases were essentially little vinyl briefcases that held two dozen action figures. Then there were those large plastic sculpted busts of Darth Vader and C-3P0 that opened up and held even more figures. Kenner made lots of different storage cases, some more successful than others. One of the oddest ones they produced was this… (read more)

I told myself I wasn’t going to buy any Star Wars collectibles in 2017 and for the most part I haven’t. Then, last week, I saw this for sale at Dollar General and caved. This R2 unit is, in fact, a ceramic piggy bank. It’s all one piece, so there’s no articulation. His legs don’t move and his head doesn’t swivel. He just stands there at attention, waiting to accept your spare change. In the 1970s pottery and ceramics were all the rage, which led to a lot of bootleg Star Wars items. Garage sales were full of misshapen Vaders,… (read more)

The Biker Scout is arguably my favorite Star Wars action figure. Introduced in Return of the Jedi, the Biker Scouts (at least at first) came off as more elite than the typical bumbling Stormtrooper. Everything about these guys, from their helmets and armor to their unique pistols, was simply cool. To top it off they had super fast Speeder Bikes, on which they raced at break-neck speeds (sometimes literally) through the forest moon of Endor. Unfortunately, the Biker Scouts (along with the rest of the Empire) were overtaken by a small group of Rebel Commandos with help from an army… (read more)