Kenner Star Wars

[TomStrong]

What an awesome catalogue page! I had some of those as a kid. Only had the chewbacca as a 12" though. My grandmother got him at a garage sale. I also had the die cast speeder, played with it for hours in the kitchen floor.

[cjefferys]

Yes, Boba is quite a bit taller than the humans. I received him as a motivation to stop sucking my fingers. I kept him in remarkable shape since then. He seemed to be somewhat of an experiment. Different, hard plastic. Advanced articulation. Play features off the charts.

I remember in the late 80s early 90s, market value for the 12 inchers exceeded that of the 3.75" figures. Then the market shifted. It was weird, because there's more toy value in the large figures, but not as many kids owned them, so nostalgia for the mini figures won out.

I really oughtta complete my set.

Yeah. I remember having a Star Wars/Star Trek price guide back in the late 80's. Even at that point the large figures were appreciating in value, while the small figures hadn't really yet. I think you are right about nostalgia, I had a couple when I was a kid, but knew no one else who had any. Everybody had the 3 3/4" ones, and that's why they are the ones in demand these days. I love the large figures myself though (and do have the nostalgia for them), I'm slowly working on putting together a set)

[EmergencyIan]

This Shoprite was a Canadian chain owned by the Hudson's Bay. It consisted of a showroom and a catalog ordering department. Everything was in the warehouse and they called you when your order arrived. We had one downtown when I was a kid and it was where I got a lot of my favourite toys as a kid.

I remember getting my Tie Fighter there and seeing a whole wall of clearanced Comic Action exploding bridge sets, good times.....

That's exactly what Service Merchandise was in the United States (maybe Canada, as well).

- Ian

[Earth 2 Chris]

^Holy cow, I'd forgotten about Service Merchandise. I remember a few of our rare trips to Lexington, KY, when I was young. We'd stop into Service Merchandise. That place has been gone for twenty years at least.

Chrsi

[EmergencyIan]

^ Yeah, we had a Service Merchandise in Evansville. It was a neat place. At some point in the 80's they had an additional section of the store or they redid an already existing section. It seems like they had lawn and garden items in that area (probably swing sets and stuff like that too). Anyhow, also in that section were toys. I remember buying some of the second wave of GI Joe RAH there. But, prior to that, I got a lot of other really neat things there. They must have sold quite a bit of Star Wars ROTJ items there, at the very least.

- Ian

[drquest]

^ Yeah, we had a Service Merchandise in Evansville. It was a neat place. At some point in the 80's they had an additional section of the store or they redid an already existing section. It seems like they had lawn and garden items in that area (probably swing sets and stuff like that too). Anyhow, also in that section were toys. I remember buying some of the second wave of GI Joe RAH there. But, prior to that, I got a lot of other really neat things there. They must have sold quite a bit of Star Wars ROTJ items there, at the very least.

- Ian

I had been to that Service Merchandise many times in Evansville Indiana. I can remember playing for a few minutes, the Lucasarts game Loom on a (at time new fangled) CD ROM player on a computer, haha.

[Actorman]

I didn't remember those large sized Star Wars figures being so expensive. Wow! Explains why I never got any for Christmas or birthday. I always wanted them way more than the 3.75" ones, but my parents would only buy the smaller ones for me. I ended up buying two of them with my own money I had saved: Boba Fett, which was an amazingly cool figure by any standards, and Ben Kenobi. The reason I bought Ben was because the only kid I knew who had the 12" ones didn't have him. I thought that I would be "cool" or make him jealous with it or something. Turns out he didn't have him only because he didn't want him; so, he was not impressed in the least. I rarely ever played with him (the Ben figure) after that and was upset that I had wasted my money on him. I really should have bought Han instead because he was the one I really wanted. Silly things we do as kids.

I would love to collect all the 12" ones someday. There were only what, 12 or so of them? They are just always really pricey at toy shows if you find them complete.

[EmergencyIan]

I had been to that Service Merchandise many times in Evansville Indiana. I can remember playing for a few minutes, the Lucasarts game Loom on a (at time new fangled) CD ROM player on a computer, haha.

Yeah. Service Merchandise was a fun store. It's neat that you went to the one in Evansville, as well. It seems as though it faded away and then closed as we moved on.

- Ian

[Werewolf]

I miss Service Merchandise too. I got a lot of SW toys there as well.

[cjefferys]

I didn't remember those large sized Star Wars figures being so expensive. Wow!

Keep in mind that these are Canadian prices, US prices were probably somewhat less. And for Canadian prices these are pretty reasonable (which makes sense for this kind of store). I remember paying $15.99 for Chewbacca at Zellers, and I remember seeing Boba Fett priced at $24.99 (he was more expensive than the rest of the line from what I remember) at Robinson's (both stores are defunct Canadian department store chains)

[nvmbrsdoom5]

Great catalog page there, I don't think I've ever seen this one. I'm particularly nostalgic for the 1979/1980 period of SW toys and ads. So many strong memories of that time and those toys in particular.
I didn't recall Boba Fett being so much more expensive than the other ones, that's interesting. Totally worth it though, he was so much more tricked out and cool looking than the rest of them, though I loved the whole line. I remember too that Boba Fett was a bit harder to come across, along with Han Solo and later IG-88. Those three seemed to be the ones I rarely came across and knew very few kids who had them. Thankfull I got 'em all The 12" Chewbacca was all over the place though, I even remember seeing loads of them at the local grocery store, it was the only 12" figure they carried!

And Service Merchandise was wonderful, there was one in my neighborhood, within walking distance from my house, so I spent a lot of time there. I mainly remember it for early '80's toys though like G.I. Joe RAH, Secret Wars, and ROTJ etc., but I did an awful lot of shopping there nonetheless.

[EmergencyIan]

^ What I remember of the 12" Boba Fett figure from when we were kids is that a neighbor had one and that they were not plentiful. In fact, Han Solo was very popular, as well. I know that during Christmas time of 1979, my grandmother looked all over (out of state, etc) for one and had not luck. That Christmas I got a lot of Star Wars figures and vehicles, etc. including 12" Luke, Chewbacca and Ben Kenobi. So, I was perfectly fine. In saying that, I always wanted the 12" Han figure.

I actually did get one, a few months earlier, in the summer of 1979, but when we got out to the car, and I opened the box, I discovered that his blaster pistol was missing. So, we returned it. In hindsight, I should have just kept it.

- Ian

[cjefferys]

Yeah, you should have kept it, with Kenner's "We Really Do Care" program, they would have surely sent you a new pistol by mail. My grandparents got me a 12" Boba Fett for my birthday in 1979, it still rates as one of my favourite birthday presents ever, I was so excited to get him (and still have him).

[EmergencyIan]

^ I agree in regard to having kept Han Solo, but I was five and wasn't aware of Kenner's "We Really Do Care" program. If I had been a few years older, it may have been a different story. I'm sure my grandfather wasn't up on those things, either.

- Ian

[VintageMike]

Consumer's Distributing was the catalog showroom I remember. Service Merchandise was great. By the time of Empire that had the figures out in the toy aisles for sales. I still have a couple of the cardbacks.