'May the 4th' A Star Wars Figure Collecters Journey

Foreword: Some of you may have read some of this last year in May 2022 as part of my 'This is the May' celebration. I never actually made it to the 2nd part as I was stuck down with a very serious illness and ended up in hospital for much of the 2nd half of 2023. As I approach the one year anniversary of that life changing event I was determined to finish this article - not so much for those who read it, but thank you if you are, but for myself to finish a project I started before everything changes so massively and to prove to myself I still have a role to play in the wider collecting community through my site - something I thought I had lost after nearly a full 6-months of inactivity

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Like many Star Wars Action Figure Collectors, I was born in the 1970's and had just turned 1 when A New Hope reached the UK. And yet like many kids of my era I never actually saw the movies in any of their original cinema runs - and instead, it was the toys and the novels and annuals that brought me into the Star Wars Galaxy and from where I learned all about the story of all three films. It was in fact rare TV screenings where I first saw the original films, having seen Empire and Jedi numerous times before I caught a showing of A New Hope.

My first Star Wars collection stems from this era as I hoovered up the Kenner figures released by Palitoy in the UK. My parents were not well off by any stretch, but there was always a few pence pocket money to save up and the Kenner figures were so cheap and widespread I managed to build up a fairly full collection over the early 80s. And then I did what many in my position did, I sold it all to earn some cash for the next 'big thing' to hit UK toy stores - in my case I was seduced over to Action Force (G.I. Joe) for some time - sacrificing Star Wars to do so.

I soon regretted that decision and sold a lot of G.I. Joe to go back and fill up my Star Wars collection for a 2nd time, this time picking up every figure apart from - for some reason - Hammerhead.

The General Madine and Wicket figures pictured here are part of my modest Vintage Collection and are the only two figures I have left from my childhood. While Wicket is a bit worn and missing his hood, and while Madine is very badly worn and has been repainted on the arms at some point, I do connect with these two figures the most. Both in terms of a joy in terms of the memories they return, but also tinged with sadness at all the other figures I did let go for a second time when video games hit the UK in a big way and Star Wars was sacrificed for a second time to raise funds.

As I headed into adulthood and had some disposable income I did begin a quest to repurchase a full set of original Vintage figures. That quest did not go too far as I was rather naive in terms of how costly certain Vintage figures were and the complexity around the various global manufacturers, variants, and weapons.

Of the Vintage figures I do own, I do have a focus on those seen in Return of the Jedi and Jabba's Palace with the likes of Bib Fortuna and Squidhead (Tessek) who were favourite characters growing up and who went on plenty of expanded universe adventures. I do remember Squidhead coming to school on many occasions and sitting in my desk - and I hope that like Bib he gets a Black Series released in due course.

Another favourite character was Chewbacca who is perhaps one of the nicest examples in my Vintage series with a cleanish paint job and weapon.

Both Nien Nunb and Admiral Ackbar are figures I remember saving for and sending off as mail-away offerings in the UK and I have both of these in the modest Vintage setup although Nien is pretty beat up. He is another character who had plenty of fan-fiction adventures when I was a child, often taking the Falcon himself to do work for Jabba or even go Bounty Hunting with Boba Fett.

While Ackbar has got a Black Series figure already, Nien Nunb is another one who very much sits on my wanted list for the six-inch format.

Droids were also a big feature of the original Kenner run and while IG-88 was the cool bounty hunter droid perhaps my favourites, until I understood their role anyway, were 2-1B and FX-7. They both look so cool with FX-7' multiple arms - all of which were weapons when I was 10 - and 2-1B's skull-like mask and clear chest section. This pairing are also figures that would work so well in the Black Series, although I think that opportunity may have been lost now the Empire Strikes Back 40th Anniversary has passed.

I can now sit here in my 40s knowing I collected the Vintage figures twice in full when I was a kid, and let both of them go without any knowledge of what would happen in the future. And while it is sad, I don't regret it as such as the other toys and video games bought in their place are also a huge part of my childhood.

While my 3rd attempt at a Vintage Collection run has stalled permanently I do look back with fondness often at the figures I have collected and as per the suggestions I have made during this article - I hope that Hasbro will eventually give us a version of every Kenner figure in their 6-inch format, the same commitment they have made to the 3.75-inch Vintage Collection fans.

The next phase of my collecting kicked off in the mid-90s at a time in my life when I had disposable income that coincided with Kenner's relaunch of the Star Wars POTF2 3.75-inch line. Back then everything was shopped physically with what felt like full aisles in Toys R Us, and plentiful displays elsewhere including Woolworths and Toymaster stores.

My POTF2 collection kicked off with Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt from the A New Hope Special Edition, followed closely by an EV-9D9, Rancor Keeper and a Gammorrean Guard - again the Jabba's Palace theme was very prevalent. The collection of POTF2 figures continued and when eBay launched int the UK in 1999 the collection exploded as I had access to other rarer figures, vehicles, and playsets. This was also the year Episode 1 arrived and we moved into the Phantom Menace figure line including another Mail Away - Mace Windu - and the early release Battle Droid with STAP that I bought at a Cinema of all places (remember when they used to have merchandise stands?)

Eventually, the 3.75 inch line became too expansive, and space and cash became a problem and in a fit of trying to be a grown-up the whole lot was dumped for one big cash sum, although very much less than it would have been worth if I'd have had the patience to split it down and sell off in parts.

POTF2 figures and ships still hold a special place in my collecting heart with my Son - now aged 13 - having many of the original muscular Kenner figures as well as a selection of ships, creatures, and playsets that spanned POTF, the prequels, and into the newer lines like Rebels and the sequel figures.

And that was me done.... and then in 2013, the Black Series launched. At that time I had a small curated collection of 'iconic' movie figures in 7-inch scale (NECA, McFarlane etc), and seeing the likes of Boba Fett and R2-D2 on pegs in a similar scale was very hard to ignore. Even back then I told myself the price was too much - everything I had bought to that point was always 'pocket money' pricing and here were now £20 figures, the same price (at the time) as a night out or a couple of decent takeaways. Eventually, I did cave and the collection kicked off with Boba Fett, soon followed by all of Wave 1 and 2.

My Jabba's Palace focus continued too with the SDCC Jabba the Hutt set and a scratch-built throne that to this day remains a centrepiece in my collection. While I am not a completist, I do have the majority of the releases across the last 10 years - half on display and half boxed up patiently waiting on a long-running project to create a collection space.

In those 45 or so years I would say that I have probably spent too much, and I do suffer a little from compulsive collecting - what we now refer to as FOMO. I don't have any major regrets as such other than not keeping my original Kenner figures (who doesn't think that nowadays) but I would offer a couple of pieces of advice knowing what I know now.

Always collect within your means, collect what makes you happy, and always remember your friends and family - they are the most important pieces in your life!

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About Me : As a child of the '70s and '80s I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force), and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licenses - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who, and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK-focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...

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