Star Wars Retro Collection: 10 of First 12

 I've only acquired ten of the first twelve Kenner Star Wars figures released again in Hasbro's Retro Collection, but this post will cover the first twelve figures released by Kenner in 1978 - the remaining two I actually have vintage samples of. I had every one of these figures as a child, and though I sold off or gifted them all since, I've had fun rediscovering them as an adult. There were a lot of complaints about how Hasbro's Retro Collection were distributed and released, beginning in 2019, but I'm just glad to have a few.

I only recently acquired these three Stormtroopers, all vintage samples. Two are stamped Hong Kong, the other China. According to Perplexity.AI, the Hong Kong are considered among the first production runs of this figure, Chinese Stormtroopers having been produced later as Kenner's outsourcing throughout Asia broadened.

Below, Kenner's original Stormtroopers and Darth Vader with their later 

Power of the Force line Stormtroopers and Darth Vader from 1995...

Kenner's Death Squad Commander was a somewhat odd choice for Keener to include in the original twelve, but he has his own thing going on and fills out the troop lineup nicely....

My vintage Obi-Wan Kenobi can finally do battle with my Retro Darth Vader ...!

I actually have two vintage Obi-Wan Kenobi figures, both outfitted with replica lightsabers, one the coveted telescoping model ...

It's been a while since I've had a 3.75" Princess Leia in my hands! 

She can now load the Death Star plans into R2-D2 while C-3PO looks on ...

Luke Skywalker was a coveted figure in my youth- having a clean Retro Collection sample is fun! The Bespin Luke figure took his place in 1980, followed by Jedi Luke Skywalker in 1983, but Farmboy Luke was my first in 1978!

The Retro Collection Chewbacca and Han Solo look just like I remember them in 1978! You can probably see some putty holding Han's blaster in the picture below- sadly, he cannot hold his weapon at all. Really unfortunate! Regardless, they'll handle Greedo and Walrus Man easily with their smuggler's swagger!

And last, but certainly not last, the Tusken Raider and Jawa, mysterious inhabitants of Tatooine. Both captured my imagination seeing Star Wars for the first time in the '70s!

When returning to collecting actions as an adult several years ago, 3.75" Star Wars figures were oddly not my main point of interest, though they occupied a lot of my play time as a child. But with the 50th anniversary quickly approaching, I was reminded how much Star Wars meant to us '70s kids and it's fun to have this classic lineup once again!

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Kenner 2" Retro & 4.75" Action Collection Yoda

I've collected a couple of Yoda figures recently: a more recent 2" Kenner Retro Collection Yoda and a 4.75" Action Collection Yoda from '97. I really wanted a 3.75" scale Yoda like I had as a kid and lucked upon the Retro Collection Yoda at a decent price- better than I could find a clean vintage sample for. Cracking open a fresh Yoda like I had in youth was kind of a thrill in spite of some collector's misgivings about this line of re-released Star Wars figures.

Below, Yoda with my vintage Obi-Wan Kenobi, and some other Empire Strikes Back figures I've collected recently- some vintage, some from the Retro Collection...

I found this 4.75" Kenner Action Collection Yoda loose on eBay for a good price a few months ago while building out my 1:6 scale Star Wars lineup. I don't think the larger scale Star Wars figures form '97 and onward have the same charm as the late '70s figures Kenner produced, I thought this was a pretty faithful representation of the Jedi Master.

The Action Collection Yoda didn't come with a snake, but I found some cheap on the internet to make him feel more comfortable, like on his home planet Dagobah...

I picked up this larger Yoda to compliment some of my earlier '78-'79 Kenner 12" Star Wars figures, like Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Kenner Star Wars figures Kenner produced didn't have quite the detailed paint that the '97 Yoda has, but his scale is perfect and he's an overall good fit with them.

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Blokees Champion Class Darth Vader

I had such a great time building the Blokees Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise, that I had to circle back and scoop up the Champion Class Darth Vader- a magnificent looking and well-articulated model with lots of extra hand options and even an alternate "swooshing" lightsaber blade.

There were just a few less parts than the Luke and Han Stormtrooper Blokees I put together, 90 to be exact, but now that I'm familiar with their build, assembly went relatively quick. I found the process engaging and enjoyable.

And finally, Vader with my Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Stormtrooper Disguise...

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Blokees Skywalker/Solo (Stormtrooper Disguise)

 

For some time, I've been curious about these fantastic Blokees model kits- all the rage currently, some of the collector community claiming their superiority over the 6" Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series due to their high detail and great articulation. While I don't collect Star Wars Black Series, the sight of both Han Solo and Luke Skywalker in stormtrooper disguise finally pushed me over the edge. and I walked out of a local Walmart last weekend with them last weekend.

The seven bags of parts, 103 to be exact, was a little intimidating, but I soldiered on, carefully following the instructions step by step. The first one took me about an hour and a half.  A word of advice: don't clip all the parts off the sprue prior to assembling- their corresponding numbers will help identify where and in what order they need assembled. You will need a small set of hobby clippers, and I used some magnifying glasses to help me see the small pieces better.

Each figure includes a special heel piece that pegs them onto their display base, and an interchangeable part so the helmet can be pegged onto the body for Luke and Han to go in disguise as Imperial Stormtroopers. A larger laser rifle was included with Han while Luke came with a small mouse droid (MSE-6) with rolling wheels.

The head portraits look like animated versions of actors Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford- they capture the essence of each, and their stylized presentation works great in this format. I'm curious what other Star Wars actors might show up in Blokees Champion Class format. I think they need to drop an R2-D2 and C-3PO, but the company is juggling A LOT of properties, so I'm unsure how soon it will be before we see more Star Wars.

Could not be more delighted with these! The look and feel are spectacular, and for fifteen bucks a pop, an extraordinary value. I was trepidatious about my ability to assemble them initially but grew more confident after the first. I'm certain you will see more of these here on the Super-DuperToyBox in the future!

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Kenner Cantina Creatures & Death Star Droid (1978)

As I began collecting a few 3.75" Kenner Star Wars figures awhile back for the first time since childhood, these four denizens of the Mos Eisley cantina were a priority in my book; I had them all as a kid, and they were some of the 2nd wave of Star Wars figures released by Kenner in 1978. I bought the Mos Eisley Streets backdrop from Cardboard Galaxy of eBay- it's somewhat flimsy for the expense and took the seller over two weeks to finally mail it out, but I like how it flattens out for easy storage and shipping here in the U.S. was free.

 Bespin Han Solo isn't really the correct match to do battle with Greedo, but he'll do...

Walrus Man's fate when facing Obi-Wan Kenobi is the stuff of legend! I have two vintage samples of the famous Jedi Knight, this on sporting a reproduction telescoping lightsaber, which I mad for!

Like Greedo and Walrus Man, these newly acquired Snaggletooth and Hammerhead figures are much cleaner samples than my well-loved childhood figures, which I sold many years ago now...

My childhood friend had this Death Star Droid, while I had C-3PO- was fun hunting one down as an adult. While this one has missing black paint in one eye, it's in relatively good shape and has tight joints. I put him in front of my Cardboard Galaxy Death Star Hallway backdrop I picked up the Mos Eisley Streets backdrop.

I couldn't resist throwing my Power of the Force 2 Darth Vader and Stormtroopers in there while I was all set up. I didn't have any of these '95 POTF figures back then, but I find them charming...

But if I understand correctly, the "Death Star Droid" was really the RA-7 Protocol/Inventory Droid was first seen in the original Star Wars movie aboard a Jawa sandcrawler in this reflective finish. So for my childhood memories he belongs on Tatooine, but I digress. It's fun going back to some of my earlier childhood action figures- Star Wars was everything to us back in the '70s!

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