Princess Leia Kenner 1978/Forces of Destiny Endor Kitbash

 Inspired by another Star Wars 12" Kenner kitbash doll I picked up earlier in the year, I assembled my own Return of the Jedi Endor Leia using the '78 Kenner Leia body, with outfit and parts from a 2017 Forces of Destiny Endor Leia/Wicket the Ewok set. I like the Carrie Fisher likeness on the '78 doll. but the '17 outfit offered a unique twist in presentation. The latter also included the Ewok Village dress, which the base figure from that set now wears, sacrificing her Rebel Fighter outfit to my '78 Leia.

The clothes are barely if a fit on this larger '78 buck, but the poncho covers a little of the trousers inadequacies in that department. The older Kenner figure also can't get a dependable grip on the pistol included with the Forces of Destiny figure, but I made it work long enough for the photograph. Otherwise, she has a serviceable holster. For some months I'd unsuccessfully approached braiding the 1978 figure's rooted hair but ultimately concluded it didn't matter with the '17 helmet on anyway.

The 1978 Kenner face sculpt on Leia really captured actress Carrie Fisher's portrait 

and retains the spirit of late '70s line of  12" Kenner Star Wars dolls.

Leia, below, with her brother Luke Skywalker- another Return of the Jedi 12" kitbash

 in my collection that I treasure, and the inspiration for the kitbash Leia...

A big part of what sealed the deal on this idea in my mind was the flocked Wicket figure included in the Forces of Destiny set. He's a faithful representation of the famous leading Ewok. A spear, bow. and arrow are included with Wicket. 

Wicket with my Mattel Masters of the Universe Origins Moss Man and Panthor...

And finally, Leia with some of her fellow Rebels in Return of the Jedi: Chewbacca, C-3PO and R2-D2, and Jedi Luke Skywalker. I feel like this kitbash works great with other '78 figures in my collection. I can't decide if Wicket is too small or R2-D2 is a slight too large, but it's not glaringly egregious. Overall, I'm happy with the modest investment and results of this endeavor! 

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Kenner POTF Dewback, Sandtrooper, Jawas

 I'm collecting more of the conventional 5POA-type Star Wars figures than I am the later 1995 Power of the Force figures, but there were a lot of vehicles from that line that are compatible with the '70s/'80s Kenner figures and new Retro Collection figures. This Dewback isn't really, but fun nonetheless, and I got him for south of twenty bucks shipped on a recent eBay auction.

The action feature on this Dewback is pretty fun- 

watch my video below to see it in action...

I picked up a regular, carded POTF Sandtrooper with orange pauldron to supplement my Tatooine Dewback patrol detail, The figures have different construction and paint deco but complement each other well enough.

Below, the Sandtroopers with my POTF Stormtroopers...

I'd already created this scene in my post on the POTF Landspeeder, 

but had to circle back and shoot one with the Dewback and Sandtroopers...

Since I was showcasing the Dewback, I thought I'd stick with the Tatooine theme and crack open these POTF Jawas with fantastic light piping that illuminates their eyes to great effect...

Below, the slightly larger POTF Jawas with my 

Stan Solo vinyl cape Jawas and my Retro Collection Jawa...

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Kenner POTF Landspeeder, Retro Collection Tusken Raiders

My original Kenner Landspeeder from 1978 has long been lost to time, but I was lucky enough to find this POTF Landspeeder for twenty bucks in a local resale store, unopened. This 1995 revamp of the earlier version features an updated, distressed deco, and bouncier suspension.

It must have been a real squeeze fitting the bulkier 1995 POTF 2 figures into this Landspeeder- even these more slender Retro Collection reissued figures are somewhat of a tight fit...

The bouncy suspension on this updated Landspeeder really 

gives it the same feel as the vehicle portrayed in the movie Star Wars:

"These are not the droids you are looking for..."

 

Circle back to see my posts on Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO,

and the Stan Solo Vinyl Cape Jawas...

Adjacent related, I found a Retro Collection Book of Boba Fett Tusken Warrior to add to my Tusken Raiders! He's just a repaint with a soft goods cape, but he adds some variety to my photos...

Now I can have Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker fend off 

the Tuskens on my Land of the Jawas playset ...!

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Kenner Land of the Jawas Base, Cardboard Galaxy Tatooine Backdrop

For some time, I had contemplated buying a vintage Kenner Land of the Jawas playset, but after purchasing a couple of the more modest figure backdrops from Cardboard Galaxy, I opted to supplement a base and escape pod I found on eBay with one of theirs made to fit. While it didn't have the impressive size of the cardboard Sandcrawler on the 1979 playset, the Cardboard Galaxy backdrop gave me two options and save me space and money.

I could hardly wait to put my Retro Collection C-3PO, R2-D2, 

and Jawa on this set, as well as my Stan Solo vinyl cape Jawas ...!

Below, R2-D2 and C-3PO inside the escape pod that took them to Tatooine in Star Wars (1977). The sample I found on eBay did not have the stickers intact, but it was otherwise in good, working shape...

Check out the action feature on the base, 

enabling the Jawa to stun R2 with his ion rifle:

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Star Wars Jawas

My journey to building a Jawa collection had been slow up until recently, purchasing a 7" 3-D printed vinyl cape Jawa from Rad Vintage Toys on eBay, as well as two 1:18 scale Stan Solo vinyl cape Jawas. 

Rad Vintage has several of these 1:6 scale Kenner style figures that help collectors fill in the gaps in their Gentle Giant 1:6 scale Star Wars collections. The characteristic silken texture of 3-D printing is less jarring on the Jawa's monochromatic palette than some of the other figures offered by Rad Vintage-  posed on a shelf, it's not distracting.

Below, a comparison of the 1:18 scale Hasbro/Kenner Retro Collection Jawa and Stan Solo Jawa, sans robe/vinyl cape. The "SS" stamped on back lets collectors know the Stan Solo figure is not the highly coveted vintage vinyl cape Jawa. At about $23.00 each, including shipping and sales tax, these SS figures were much more affordable.

I found this 1979 8" Jawa on eBay for a competitive price, with robe, but no bandolier or ion rifle. He was a decent purchase of a clean but not complete sample I supplemented with a 3-D printed blaster. I've not yet secured a vintage bandolier nor 3-D print of considerable quality to complete the figure, but I'm happy as it is, regardless.

Below, a comparison of all these Jawa's ion rifles, the top two 3-D printed, evident by their silky texture. The Jawas used these rifles to capture droids- when fired, they attached a restraining bolt to the droid which ordered a stop command. Its maximum range was about 12 meters, and while it wouldn't kill most organic creatures, it could administer a painful sting.

Below, my vintage 8" Kenner Jawa with C-3PO and R2-D2 from the same line of 12" figures...

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