It’s hard to believe that I’m old enough that toys that seem so fresh in my memory are now considered vintage, but I guess it’s true. Recently, Hasbro began releasing 3 3/4″ Star Wars Vintage Collection action figures very similar to the ones a lot of us played with for hours on end in our sandboxes, on carpets and in rumpled bedsheets.
Now today’s generation has the chance to enjoy action figures, but with a few key tweaks. The Vintage Collection includes newly sculpted figures and better articulation, accessories and updates than the figures of old (Vader’s helmet and mask come off to reveal his scarred skull, for instance). Additionally the Vintage Collection will be packed in cards and plastic packs that bear an uncanny resemblance to the action figures of the late 70s and early 80s. One look at the packaging brings you back 30 years to staring at the racks of figures on the toy store shelf and the checklist you needed to collect all 21. In fact, each Vintage Collection card has an image of the original figure and packaging that the modern figure is meant to imitate. They’ve even gone so far to drop the Kenner logo on the front of the card (even though Kenner closed up shop in 2000). It’s quite a walk down memory lane. Not all the figures are out now, but will continue to be released over the next year or so.
One other similarity is that Boba Fett can be picked up for free. If you send in five proofs of purchase, you can get a free Boba Fett figure who has been manufactured to the exact specification of the Boba Fett from 30 years ago – with one exception – this time his rocket really fires. There will also be vehicles like the AT-AT, TIE Fighter and Snowspeeder in the Vintage Collection and will include similar vintage packaging.
Now if they’ll just re-release the Creature Cantina, we can prove – once and for all – who shot first.
Disclosure: Hasbro sent GeekDad a review copy of Dengar, Hoth Leia and Darth Vader.
