Two thoughts: One, Darth Vader and the Bounty Hunters look like they're going "Hooray!" which is probably what they did at the end of "Empire". Two, the Rebel Command center looks like minutes of play.
At 1st glance it looked like Pennywise the clown had joined Darth Vader's axis of evil! "Beep Beep Solo!!,They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!" Vader starts having second thoughts....-Mark J
You nailed it with the Rebel Command Center. I still have mine from childhood and the cardboard is pretty much brand new because I never played with it LOL The figures were awesome though, it was the first time those three figs were offered and I played with Hoth Luke until the cows came home!!
This catalog page is pure joy for so many reasons.
The photographer took a posing cue from the "Raise You Hand (if You're Sure)!" deodorant commercials popular at the time. R2 with Sensorscope was the coolest version of all the original astromech series droid figures, though he did suffer from the stowed Sensorscope interfering with his dome rotation. That pleased click-clacking you might be hearing is R5-D4 proudly showing off there's nothing wrong with -his- dome rotation, bad motivator or not. Maybe R2 with Sensorcope was a Sears exclusive "through the Christmas season", after that he was fair game for everyone. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/01/b5/c1/01b5c1af6535d5e1a8ebb8429098da00.jpg
Empire Strikes Back also saw the introduction of action figues with much more variety in blasters/ accessories. IG-88 came with a rifle and a pistol. Bossk, Rebel and Imperial Hoth troopers each had different rifles, so did IG-88 who carried a rifle and a pistol... just in case a berserk killer robot with a rifle wasn't scary enough. Yoda had a cloak, a pet snake, a belt, a cane (and a partridge in a pear tree which was available only in the Sears Exclusive version of Yoda's Dagobah playset).
The Star Wars Imperial Cruiser was even better the second time around. Instead of a bulky audio player disguised as toy, it became a cargo/ paddy wagon/ APC with a truly cavernous capacity. Still not quite sure which scene in the movie it was in, though. "Holds 12 figures"... uh-uh. The "prisoner area" held 12 figures (at least) by itself. With little dudes like Jawas, that number went waaay up. The Imperial Cruiser turned into the Imperial Clown Car.
The smaller vehicles were exactly what the catalog said: diecast metal -and- plastic, not the other way around. Today's children have to settle for builds that are badly proportioned and less-detailed. On Hot Wheels Slave 1, Boba Fett's pilot window is simply black paint applied to the chassis. The ship's blasters are ill-defined tiny stubs.
As for the Hoth play-set, *shakes head* play-sets like this were the reason my folks did't buy me play-sets. Thrifty parents immediately recognized The Imperial Cruiser was the same price as the Rebel Command Center and a much, much better value. They were right, too... even by today's collector value standards.
That HOTH Playset is utterly ridiculous - they just repurposed the mould to the TATOOINE LAND OF THE JAWS Playset. It's 100% the same exact mould, just with a new (crappier) Hoth-centric backdrop. Unbelievable.
5 comments:
At 1st glance it looked like Pennywise the clown had joined Darth Vader's axis of evil! "Beep Beep Solo!!,They ALL float down here. When you're down here with us, you'll float too!" Vader starts having second thoughts....-Mark J
Great post I would love to have even just a tattered copy of one of these original catalog ads.
You nailed it with the Rebel Command Center. I still have mine from childhood and the cardboard is pretty much brand new because I never played with it LOL The figures were awesome though, it was the first time those three figs were offered and I played with Hoth Luke until the cows came home!!
This catalog page is pure joy for so many reasons.
The photographer took a posing cue from the "Raise You Hand (if You're Sure)!" deodorant commercials popular at the time. R2 with Sensorscope was the coolest version of all the original astromech series droid figures, though he did suffer from the stowed Sensorscope interfering with his dome rotation. That pleased click-clacking you might be hearing is R5-D4 proudly showing off there's nothing wrong with -his- dome rotation, bad motivator or not. Maybe R2 with Sensorcope was a Sears exclusive "through the Christmas season", after that he was fair game for everyone.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/01/b5/c1/01b5c1af6535d5e1a8ebb8429098da00.jpg
Empire Strikes Back also saw the introduction of action figues with much more variety in blasters/ accessories. IG-88 came with a rifle and a pistol. Bossk, Rebel and Imperial Hoth troopers each had different rifles, so did IG-88 who carried a rifle and a pistol... just in case a berserk killer robot with a rifle wasn't scary enough. Yoda had a cloak, a pet snake, a belt, a cane (and a partridge in a pear tree which was available only in the Sears Exclusive version of Yoda's Dagobah playset).
The Star Wars Imperial Cruiser was even better the second time around. Instead of a bulky audio player disguised as toy, it became a cargo/ paddy wagon/ APC with a truly cavernous capacity. Still not quite sure which scene in the movie it was in, though. "Holds 12 figures"... uh-uh. The "prisoner area" held 12 figures (at least) by itself. With little dudes like Jawas, that number went waaay up. The Imperial Cruiser turned into the Imperial Clown Car.
The smaller vehicles were exactly what the catalog said: diecast metal -and- plastic, not the other way around. Today's children have to settle for builds that are badly proportioned and less-detailed. On Hot Wheels Slave 1, Boba Fett's pilot window is simply black paint applied to the chassis. The ship's blasters are ill-defined tiny stubs.
As for the Hoth play-set, *shakes head* play-sets like this were the reason my folks did't buy me play-sets. Thrifty parents immediately recognized The Imperial Cruiser was the same price as the Rebel Command Center and a much, much better value. They were right, too... even by today's collector value standards.
That HOTH Playset is utterly ridiculous - they just repurposed the mould to the TATOOINE LAND OF THE JAWS Playset. It's 100% the same exact mould, just with a new (crappier) Hoth-centric backdrop. Unbelievable.
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