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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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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Empire Strikes Back Bespin Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Lando Calrissian, IG-88

I sold the remaining childhood Kenner Star Wars figures I had six years ago, but the forthcoming 50th anniversary of Star Wars has stirred some nostalgia in me. The Empire Strikes Back might have made a bigger impression on me as I was a little older, and it's probably my favorite of the original trilogy for the same reasons as a lot of fans.

Bespin Han Solo

Not my childhood Bespin Han, but a clean sample from an eBay seller at a good price. The legs are a slightly different shade, and he didn't come with the original Bespin blaster, so I bought a reproduction DL-44 blaster, Han's actual sidearm. 

Bespin Luke Skywalker

Also not the same figure I had in 1980. I actually had a brown hair version, but this eBay sample has overall better/more even color and less paint loss. Again, I paid far less for a figure without accessories and bought repro weapons, including a gray DL-44 blaster just to make him my own. Probably my favorite Kenner Luke Skywalker figure, kinda on the lookout for another.

Retro Collection Lando Calrissian

Not a vintage figure, but a Hasbro reissue that looks very much like my 1980 Lando. I have a much deeper appreciation for the Bespin Cloud City figures like Lando, Lobot, and the Bespin Security Guard now, Lando the most colorful in his bright blue shirt. A complex character in the Star Wars Saga!

Retro Collection Empire Strikes Back IG-88 and Mandalorian IG-11 

I compulsively purchased a Retro Collection Mandalorian IG-11 around the same time as the IG-88. In fact, I felt I knew him better anyway, as we barely get but a passing glance of IG-88 in The Empire Strikes Back, but got a fully fleshed out character in IG-11 in The Mandalorian. I'd swear that one leg on both these figures is shorter than the other- they seem a little flimsy in general, to be frank. But they do like nice together.

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