Tag Archives: Marvel Star Wars comic

Star Wars Figures – Return of the Jedi Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

May 2023 saw the 40th anniversary of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. I went to see the film again in the cinema, with my family. As always, there was a tear in my eye watching several scenes in that magnificent movie, particularly at the end. I shouldn’t need to worry about spoilers, surely, but we’ll leave the detail obscure. Jedi may not be considered the best of the Original Trilogy, but it’s a fabulous film that concludes the storyline brilliantly.

I was ten years old in 1983. I’d seen both previous Star Wars episodes in the cinema, but this time I was a little older, and the excitement of a new instalment was building. I can remember much more about that build up, as I ravenously absorbed every picture I could find in any magazine, newspaper or television show for clues about the new movie.

The Marvel UK Star Wars comic had kept me intrigued, but I recall catching tantalising sights of new characters that excited me. Brief glimpses of Bib Fortuna, Admiral Ackbar and Biker Scouts. I couldn’t wait to find out more about them.

Of course the real anticipation was with regard to the action figures. Star Wars fans everywhere could not wait to see what new characters – and old favourites in new guises – we would get.

Some characters began to show up on promotional literature, but the first ROTJ figure I ever had (I think) was Admiral Ackbar. I won Ackbar in a Palitoy drawing competition: third prize (there were probably hundreds of third prize places). He turned up without a card and became an instant favourite.

The first character I bought off a toy shop shelf was General Madine, if I remember correctly. He looked like a cool new character who must have a big role in the new movie, being amongst the first releases. How wrong I was! Never mind, I always was a sucker for troops.

The main heroes now had cool new outfits. Luke Skywalker (Jedi Knight) came equipped with a blaster and green lightsaber. Green?! All would be revealed… Luke also had a cool removable cloak. But the big news really, as revealed by the name lozenge, was that Luke was a Jedi. At last! A cool figure which I still have complete.

Princes Leia was in “Boushh Disguise”, including a removable helmet which was all very intriguing and looked great. Originally my sister bought all the Leia figures, I finally bought my own right at the end of the line in 1985. This meant that my own Leia Boushh is still in excellent condition.

Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard Disguise) is an absolute classic action figure. Great design, another removable helmet – he was an early purchase in this wave. I still have mine complete.

Nien Nunb, Lando’s co-pilot on the Millenium Falcon, is a great looking figure. The character design for the movie is fabulous, and it carries over well to the toy version. Another lifelong favourite!

Again, I loved the Rebel Commando figure, because I love to build up troops! Over the years I managed to add a few duplicates to my collection, as you can see here in my Ewok Village Playset display.

When the first wave of Jedi figures were released, the card backs tried to hide some of the new major characters: of course, I’m talking about the Ewoks. Logray, the Ewok Medicine Man, and Chief Chirpa were both “blacked out” on the reverse to retain some mystery. I remember my Mum suggesting using an ink eraser to gently rub away the black covering. Believe it or not, it worked – kind of. Two ghostly shapes could eventually be seen, which in retrospect vaguely resembled Ewoks. I still have the card somewhere, so one day I’ll prove it!

Logray and Chief Chirpa are both complete, and I’ve got duplicates of each to fill out that Ewok Village I mentioned earlier.

The only Imperial characters in the first batch of figures were two of the best looking of the whole range: the Biker Scout and Emperor’s Royal Guard. The Biker Scout is just an awesome design, add him to his speeder bike (sold separately, I’ll add photos one day) and you have an iconic 80’s toy from one of the best scenes in the film. Even his blaster is ace (still got the originals).

Likewise, the Royal Guard is amazing, a flamboyant flash of bright red amongst all of the white and black Empire troops. I remember being really disappointed (as many others were) that the Royal Guards didn’t have a bigger role in the movie. Sadly, the figures staff has not survived.

Finally, we get to another of my favourite subsets of Star Wars figures: aliens. Return of the Jedi had a plethora of weird looking creatures in Jabba’s palace. The creature designers really did a wonderful job, letting their imaginations run riot, creating these thugs for the Hutt’s throne room.

First up was Bib Fortuna, with those bewildering tentacles emerging from the back of his head. A great figure, Bib is a really good example of how far the toy moulding had come. Bib has a removable cloak (just leave it on, please) and a redundant staff. Another figure that is unmistakably iconic.

Next, the Gamorrean Guard. Not as clever a design as other Jabba goons to my eyes, but never the less a great figure. I added a couple extra over the years, complete with weapon, to build up the pig palace guard.

Ree-Yees (the name came from his “three eyes”) is another odd looking character. Still, the species design has remained popular enough to show up in later instalments. I still have the gold coloured gun for this guy. It’s very Flash Gordon.

Squid Head is a far better design – I mean, what a brilliant idea! He’s a great figure too, accurate features and lots of soft goods accessories that make him an absolute must-have. Cloak, skirt and separate belt all add to the finished look. I have at least one without all the accoutrements, just for use as a background figure.

Klaatu (now known by his original ILM production name, Wooof – I’m not going into that here!) is an all time classic alien design. The species was used multiple times on ROTJ and other Star Wars episodes/series since. Awesome looking character, nicely rendered with that fur skirt.

Finally, we have Weequay – possibly my favourite of Jabba’s goons in the film. He just looks cool – and mean, with that unique stance/hand position for holding his staff. Great facial detail, too.

There are a lot of memories regarding these wonderful toys, if you’ve read this far, thanks for staying with me. That’s enough info for now, I’ll be back soon with a Part 2 to examine the next wave of Return of the Jedi action figures. For now, enjoy these amazing toys, and May the Force be with you!

Please note: all figures are original 1980s Kenner versions. All accessories are original.

Micronauts

Posted on by
Reply

Micronauts were originally cool Japanese toys that were picked up in the USA and then in the UK too, where they were marketed by Airfix.  A fantastically designed selection of sci-fi toys in the late seventies, Micronauts were endlessly playable and very cool.

There seemed to be loads of different variations, all intriguing and very desirable.  The premise was that the toys were interchangeable; they could be built and re-built into numerous designs.  In this way Micronauts toys inspired imaginations and creativity.

The first Micronaut toy I ever had was a Time Traveller, who was the basic start off figure.  I later found out that there dozens of similar characters – such as Space Glider and Acroyear – that were also available.

At times it seems as though the Micronaut toys were infinite in number, though I don’t remember that much being available in toy stores.

As a keen Star Wars fan, my collecting was focused on the Kenner line of action figures back in those days.  However Star Wars would help consolidate my fascination with Micronauts, too.

Mobile Exploration Lab – note Time Traveller figure

Marvel comics in the US picked up the Micronauts property and started creating stories featuring characters based on the toys.

In turn, this series started to appear as a back up strip in the weekly black and white Star Wars reprint comic, published by Marvel UK.  With engaging stories by Bill Mantlo and wonderful art courtesy of Michael Golden, I was instantly smitten with these tiny heroes.  The Micronauts became an instant comic favourite, and soon I’d manage to pick up the American colour comics when and where I could.

Battle Cruiser
Boxed Baron

The unique idea with Marvel’s Micronauts was that when they emerged from their home, the Microverse, onto Earth, they were still only small.  The team of heroes are, in a novel twist, the size of action figures.  They interact with numerous Marvel superhero characters in their fight against the evil Baron Karza.

Unfortunately Marvel no longer have the property rights, so we’re unlikely to see the Micronauts appear in a movie.  Which is a shame – they would be awesome as guest stars in Guardians of the Galaxy.

Maybe, with Disney’s financial backing, that could change.  Some characters were derived specifically by Marvel, rather than the toy line, so there’s some possibility there…

Enjoy my (limited) collection of Micronauts toys.  For more information on all things Micronauts, check out this site.

Microtron with all the trimmings
Alternate head

Various vehicles – not complete!
Mobile Exp Lab

Star Wars Figures – the First 12

Posted on by
Reply

img_20170115_153009884

Star Wars Figures – the First 12

I’m lucky to be old enough to have seen the first Star Wars film – Episode IV: A New Hope as it’s now known – back when it was first released.  I was five years old and the film was a sensation with everyone I knew in school.  It’s very hard to explain just how big a deal Star Wars was to us back then: absolutely everyone was captivated by it, and I was no exception.

Back then, we were a good few years away from video players and there was no way to view the film repeatedly.  There were stories of teenagers who saw the film twenty times at the cinema, but that wasn’t going to work for a tiny kid my age.

So other than the Marvel UK comic, the only way to relive the movie that I loved was with Kenner Star Wars figures. img_5012

I can remember first seeing the toys and being fascinated by them.  They looked really cool – we’d never really had action figures of this size, and straight out of a movie, like this before.  I was desperate to get R2-D2.  Just R2, if I couldn’t get any of the others.

After a long while I managed to persuade my parents to buy me an R2-D2 toy.  I can still recall seeing the figure, on the card, in the shop window.  There was a cycle and toy shop on the high street in Connah’s Quay in those days, known to us as the Bike Stores, which was the place to get your fix of 1970’s toy goodness. img_5013

So I got R2 and I was set.  Except it didn’t stop there.  I started collecting all the figures, and as many of the spaceships and playsets as I could, over the years.  Star Wars figures became an obsession that I still have today.

I can still remember how and when I acquired these toys, for the most part.  I remember R2 was first, I chose him as he was my favourite character.  Then I got Chewbacca from the same shop some time later, and eventually Luke from a shop in Flint.

Photos here are of the first twelve figures released from the film.  In the UK, they were all produced by Palitoy, rather than Kenner. And yes, I had them all on cards and opened them up to play with them.  Most of the figures on these photos are the original ones I collected in the late 70’s to early 80’s.  Some are replacements I bought around twenty years ago, so I could have better quality examples in my collection.

R2 and 3PO
R2 and original R2

Unfortunately, my first R2-D2 figure got a bit wrecked.  There was a story in the aforementioned comic about the heroes being trapped on a water world.  So I took them all in the bath with me.  The detail on R2 was made from a paper sticker, which surprisingly (to five year old me) came off.  Luckily my friend Brendan later gave me his R2 and C3PO, shown here.  I repaired my R2 with a home made sticker, and gave this one a different colour so he could be a different droid.

Luke and Leia
Han and Chewie

Luke is a replacement I picked up in the late 90’s.  I bought Leia as the line was coming to an end in the mid 80’s, to replace my sisters battered version, so I’d have a good quality figure of my own.

Chewie still looks pretty good, and I still have his bowcaster all these years later.  There are two versions of Han Solo shown.  The “big head” version is mine from the late 70’s, the small head I picked up years later so I would have the variation.  The big head is my favourite of the two!

Han variation
Obi-Wan hair colour variation

I’m not really a collector of variations, but I’ve also got two different hair colour Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figures on show here.

Finally, I didn’t have this many stormtroopers when I was a kid.  I could only dream about having a whole squad!  I’ve picked the others up occasionally over the years at carboot sales and so on.  You always need troops!

Thanks Brendan O’Neil for R2-D2 and C3PO, and hours of playing Star Wars figures. img_5020