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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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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12in. Kenner Obi-Wan Kenobi (1979)

Continuing with my 12" Kenner Star Wars collection, I present my 1979 Obi-Wan Kenobi, mentor to both Anakin and Luke Skywalker. Mine is a pretty good sample with only some wear to the belt buckle and a few loose stiches in his turtleneck. His paint is clean, robe in good shape and has his original yellow lightsaber. Obi-Wan was not among the larger Kenner figures in my childhood collection, so it's fun to have him as an adult!

From the year prior, Kenner's 3.75" Obi-Wan Kenobi, debuting in 1978. Neither are from my childhood collection and sport reproduction lightsabers, one a telescoping version! I feel like this figure doesn't get the love it deserves- I appreciate it more as an adult, especially the through-the-arm lightsaber design. Brilliant!

Below, Obi-Wan with the kitbash custom X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker...

Obi-Wan along with some of his other Kenner Star Wars friends: 

C-3PO, R2-D2, and Chewbacca...

...And finally, 12" Kenner Obi-Wan Kenobi with my 15" Kenner Darth Vader, a figure I did have as a child, and in my opinion, likely the best of this short-lived like of oversized figures. Now I can recreate the famous lightsaber battle from Star Wars that started it all! Be sure to check out the Toy Collector's Guide on Kenner's 12" Line, 1978-1980!

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Star Wars X-Wing Pilot

 The Star Wars X-Wing Pilot and I go way back- Kenner's original 3.75" figure from 1978 was one of the first of that scale I had. He wasn't my favorite Star Wars figure back then, but as an adult I have a much greater appreciation for his detailed sculpt and bright orange flight suit. This post will showcase the figures of that character in my collection.

When I found Epic Heroes Series Force Strike X-Wing for ten bucks shipped from some warehouse closeout seller on eBay, I knew I wouldn't find a lower cost option for the fighter anywhere again. Its wing expansion function is clunky, constantly causing the wings to pop off when opening them into attack position, and there's no lights and sounds, but it looks a lot like the Kenner version I had as a child. I might not have bought it at the original retail price of $30.00, but it makes a great display piece for my X-Wing Pilot collection, and it even came with a figure.

I got this 12" Gentle Giant Jumbo X-Wing Pilot (Luke Skywalker/Red Five) on sale from BBTS, the second version of this figure that comes with a removable helmet, blaster, and two lightsabers- far superior to the first release. This is the only Gentle Giant Jumbo figure I have, but I'm absolutely mad for them! Yes, his hair is already scuffed from squeezing the helmet on, but there's no way I was going to leave him in the package and not take him out to play with. I love the options on this figure!

That Gentle Giant figure was based on the O.G. Kenner 3.75" X-Wing Pilot figure, of course, two well-loved samples of which I have in my current adult collection. Mine are outfitted with modern reproduction blasters and lightsabers. 

I also have a 1:6 scale Kitbash Custom X-Wing Pilot based on the original Kenner 12" Luke Skywalker outfitted with a later '90s flight suit and custom reproduction lightsaber. I bought a few custom figures from the same seller, this one priced very attractively. He removed the foam from inside the helmet to fit this earlier figure better. The earlier 12" Star Wars figure bodies were basically Ken/Barbie dolls with little in the way of useful articulation, but the faces were so much nicer.

X-Wing Pilot Luke Skywalker with my other kitbash custom Return of the Jedi Luke Skywalker:

... and my Kenner Luke Skywalker with the Gentle Giant X-Wing Pilot ...

...and finally, the display of this small collection in my home! There's not a great deal of room for expansion, but I'm satisfied with this. 2027 will be the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, so I'm feeling a lot of nostalgia for it ahead of this milestone- a movie that had an impact on our culture that's hard to quantify.

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