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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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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