Hopeful Figures

Today I will once more describe a toy collection that is more well-rounded than it is large. I will imagine more than just what a kid could own. Rather I will also imagine what a company could produce. And I will confine my musings to the only truly stand-alone movie of the Star Wars saga - the one that we as kids simply called Star Wars (1977).

Kenner themselves only managed to get the action figures into stores the following year and only then the most central of characters were depicted. The collection soon expanded but there were some arbitrary decisions as to what was and was not made. In my revised lists I hope to provide something that makes more sense for action play. Onto the list moreorless in order of appearance within the original movie. Figures maintain the limited articulation and somewhat approximate likenesses that made the original 3 & 3/4 inch figures distinctive.

R2D2 & C3P0 - These are pretty much the first active things we see and wondefully depict two very different visions of what a robot or android could be.

Rebel Trooper - These helmeted crew members defending the Rebel blockade-running spaceship were never made into an action figure within the entire original trilogy toy line. For me the later Cloud Car Pilot was an effective substitute (and it was odd that they made that for someone pretty much never seen).

Imperial Stormtrooper - The Stormtrooper is a must for any collection - what more need I say?

Darth Vader - Lord of the Sith (whoever or whatever they are). Most impressive and I would maintain the quirky gimmick of a hollow arm for deploying his sliding red light saber.

Princess Leia - Or Senator Organa as I prefer to think of her.

Luke Skywalker - I cannot decide if I would maintain the sliding yellow light saber gimmick for our intrepid farmhand turned hero. Luke never fights with a light saber in the oriignal movie but it does give him extra play value.

R5D4 & RA7 - Two droids for sale for kids that just love living machines. One is a malfuctioning astromech and the other a bug-faced protocol droid.

Jawa - Short and shroud in more than just shabby cloaks. They seem to lack faces and only have points of light for eyes. This look is cost-effective but also evocative - just what are they? Apparently they are distantly related to what comes next.

Tusken Raider - Tall and kind of shroud in bandages and bits of tech. Nicely menacing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi - The only Jedi Knight in the movie - definitely keeps the sliding blue light saber gimmick.

Cantina Musician - From a band of quintessentially 'grey' aliens called the Modal Nodes. Which one? They all look the same. Package it with a small wind instrument to identify it.

Chewbacca - The Wookie that proves aliens can be heroes too.

Han Solo - The smuggler who shot first.

Greedo - The bounty hunter who shot last. In the movie was played in part by a woman so I would go with an alternative smaller mould for the toy. Also the original toy lacked a vest which I would add for a more accurate frontier look.

Long Snoot - This alien spy working for the Empire never got a toy in the original line. Has a nicely creepy look accented by hood and goggles.

Govenor Tarkin - Peter Cushing gets an action figure. Basically a black Imperial Commander toy but with the correct grey uniform and the cap-free head of a severe old man.

Imperial Security Guard - The open-helmeted 'Star Destroyer Commander' but with an all-black uniform. Serves the purpose of getting shot at in the Death Star detention centre.

Imperial Gunner - What an odd closed helmet but I loved it as a kid. Was made for the third movie but should have been made for the first as they get to fire the ultimate doomsday device in science fiction cinema.

Imperial Fighter Pilot - Do they only fly TIE Fighters or can they operate other craft too? Looks like a Stormtrooper but cooler in every way.

Rebel Fighter Pilot - Could be Luke but could also be Wedge. Could be anybody with that helmet on - best to keep it vague.

With all that listed I can now say "collect all twenty two" but there's more to it than that. Several of these figures represent generic uniformed roles and you neeed more of them to get battles happening. Discount two-packs come to the rescue.

Rebel Two-Pack - Trooper & Fighter Pilot

Alien Two-Pack - Jawa & Tusken Raider

Imperial Detention Centre Two-Pack - Security Guard & Stormtrooper

Imperial Gunnery Two-Pack - Gunner & Stormtrooper

Imperial Docking Bay Two-Pack - Fighter Pilot & Stormtrooper

Boost your collection to a total of thirty! There are now two each of several moulds and four each of the overwhelming Stormtrooper army.

But these collections were always more than just the figures. There were also vehicles and playsets. And they did make a bunch of them. Kenner even invented new designs and if you have a some old Star Wars figures I recommend a few 'mini-rigs' as a cool way of enhancing a small collection.

For what I'm imagining here I will just propose two vehicles and one playset that correspond to the three factions of the movie. There would be...

X-Wing Fighter with Yavin Docking Bay Diorama

TIE Fighter with Death Star Docking Bay Diorama

Cantina Playset

The vehicle dioramas could just be effective use of the box interiors and have artistic depictions of other fighters or bombers in the distance. The cantina playset would be somewhat representative of both the venue interior (front side) and exterior (back side) and include diorama depections of other customers and the rest of the Modal Nodes.

My own collection is smaller so this one is fun to imagine. I will finish by presenting the same information as lists by faction of the toys so far discussed.

Rebels: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C3P0, R2D2, Rebel Pilots (two), Rebel Troopers (two)

Imperials: Govenor Tarkin, Darth Vader, Security Guards (two), Gunners (two), Fighter Pilots (two) and Stormtroopers (four)

Others: R5D4, RA7, Long Snoot, Greedo, Cantina Musician, Jawas (two) and Tusken Raiders (two)