While it could be said that Kenner was caught with it's pants down when meeting demand for toys based on Star Wars in 1977, nobody would call them slouchs when it came to the sequel, the Emprie Strikes Back. They were more than prepared to meet the demand they created by offering mysterious new characters like "Boba Fett" and "Bossk". Seeing that I was 9 at the time this stuff came out, I can honestly remember the fever it caused.
Click on the images below to be transported again to the 1980 Kenner Star Wars offerings
1980 Kenner Empire Strikes Back Catalog
More Star Wars Toys
6 comments:
Extremely happy memories! I was 4 at the time, and had just seen the New Hope/ESB double feature two times at the local theatre. The toys came out, and I was in heaven. Fortunately, my Granma worked at an Eaton's and was able to get the toys directly from the stockroom. I remember getting the Slave I and Boba Fett, as well as multiple Ugnauts.
Happy times.
I posted a 40 minute long (or so) DIVX video on my blog that was a compilation of Star Wars toy commercials:
http://cool-mo-dee.blogspot.com/2009/08/kenners-star-wars-toy-commercials.html
I remember having the droid factory. It wasn't in any movie. But it was very cool. You could make all kinds of droids which made for toy goodness! Some kid I met once had the cantina. What a boring piece of junk. "Oooo, watch my action figures dance and drink booze. Exciting!"
Anyway, the days of the original Star Wars trilogy were such happy ones..
I had forgotten how horribly inaccurate the cardboard Imperial Walker was.. Once the large AT-AT came out, the Hoth Ice Planet version was a distant memory. :)
This was the first time I actually remember being excited over toys. The Empire Strikes Back toys still to this day is among my most prized possessions.
Nice find with that TV spot. I'm not sure if it's impressive or sad that they roped in Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew to be in the commercial.
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