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RobertL, your story mirrors mine pretty closely. I even think my first SW figure was Darth Vader as well! I was lucky that my parents really loved Star Wars too so they seemed pretty cool with getting me all of the toys.
By 1980/81, most of my TRU visits were becoming increasingly centered around finding Star Wars toys and less about Megos. But I honestly believe that it had as much to do with the lack of Mego selection and presence on the shelves as it had to do with Star Wars toys being "cooler" or anything. I was a bonafide SW maniac, no doubt, but I know that even at the height of my mania, if I walked into a TRU and saw the newest SW figures, or an Iron Man and Thor on the pegs, I would've chosen the Megos without a doubt. But that was not to be, unfortunately.
Speaking of SW, this reminds me of another Toys R Us related story.... when the 12 inch SW figures came out, I was desperate to get a Luke Skywalker. He was my favorite character at the time and the fact that he had a cool lightsaber and grappling hook, etc. just really enticed me. Maybe due to his popularity, he was kinda hard to find in the stores around here. I was always yammering on about wanting a Luke doll, lol. One morning I woke up early and walked into the kitchen and lo and behold, there was a 12" Luke standing on the kitchen table! No box, but a brand new complete figure. For some reason, I was afraid to mess with it, because in some weird way I couldn't believe it was mine and had no idea where it came from, and figured I'd best leave it be until I could ask my parents! haha Anyhow, later I found out that my dad, who was a Chicago cop, got it from some criminal who had a bunch of stolen goods!!! They busted him and in his stash was a bunch of toys he'd nabbed from the local Toys R Usl store, and one of them was a Luke. So he just kinda took him for me, haha. Five years old and I was only too happy to be playing with my contraband Luke doll
From all the stories I heard over the years though, that was one of the lesser things the cops could actually get away with in those days, but I digress...
By 1980/81, most of my TRU visits were becoming increasingly centered around finding Star Wars toys and less about Megos. But I honestly believe that it had as much to do with the lack of Mego selection and presence on the shelves as it had to do with Star Wars toys being "cooler" or anything. I was a bonafide SW maniac, no doubt, but I know that even at the height of my mania, if I walked into a TRU and saw the newest SW figures, or an Iron Man and Thor on the pegs, I would've chosen the Megos without a doubt. But that was not to be, unfortunately.
Speaking of SW, this reminds me of another Toys R Us related story.... when the 12 inch SW figures came out, I was desperate to get a Luke Skywalker. He was my favorite character at the time and the fact that he had a cool lightsaber and grappling hook, etc. just really enticed me. Maybe due to his popularity, he was kinda hard to find in the stores around here. I was always yammering on about wanting a Luke doll, lol. One morning I woke up early and walked into the kitchen and lo and behold, there was a 12" Luke standing on the kitchen table! No box, but a brand new complete figure. For some reason, I was afraid to mess with it, because in some weird way I couldn't believe it was mine and had no idea where it came from, and figured I'd best leave it be until I could ask my parents! haha Anyhow, later I found out that my dad, who was a Chicago cop, got it from some criminal who had a bunch of stolen goods!!! They busted him and in his stash was a bunch of toys he'd nabbed from the local Toys R Usl store, and one of them was a Luke. So he just kinda took him for me, haha. Five years old and I was only too happy to be playing with my contraband Luke doll
From all the stories I heard over the years though, that was one of the lesser things the cops could actually get away with in those days, but I digress...
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