The Humble Origins of Kenner Star Wars Part 2

[RSS]

Just a follow up to last week's post about the late start that Star Wars got toy wise. In the very same toy trade magazine that nonchalantly showcased the photo of Lucas meeting with Kenner execs had this impressive add from Ideal at the very front.

Ideal invaded alright, the company worked very fast to crank out a Star Wars inspired series of action figures using old molds and a brand name "S.T.A.R Team" they used in the late 60s.

The publication date on this magazine is late September (ironically my 7th birthday) that means Ideal got a toy line to market in 90 days. Pretty impressive stuff and don't think people didn't notice,in October a new full page ad appeared in the toy trades.

Scarier than Darth Vader and the Imperial Senate, Fox unleashed their lawyers. It's a battle many would lose but Ideal actually won, seeing as S.T.A.R Team existed prior to 1977. It didn't matter because once Kenner launched real Star Wars, everything else paled and the landscape was forever changed.


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[El Hombre Nuclear]

Who were Kenner's legal team, Steve Scout and Duke the Dog? <rimshot>

By the way... Micronauts > Star Wars

<drops mic, jumps into Rocket Tubes and speeds off to nearest bunker>

[palitoy]

When I talk to people there is this weird perception out there that Micronauts were

a) A Star Wars rip off
b) A Bomb

I don't know where it stems from but both of those notions are 100% wrong. I assume someone wrote an ill researched article at one point and people have been quoting it ever since.

[El Hombre Nuclear]

When I talk to people there is this weird perception out there that Micronauts were

a) A Star Wars rip off
b) A Bomb

I don't know where it stems from but both of those notions are 100% wrong. I assume someone wrote an ill researched article at one point and people have been quoting it ever since.

Yeah, the Star Wars franchise continues to punch us in the face with fun (to paraphrase Vic Machismo Sr.) all these years later, while the Micronauts are now a mostly forgotten Gen X relic.

I think the problem for me is that I got heavily into both the Adventure People and Micronauts a bit before Star Wars mania descended on the toy aisles, so I always seem to find myself defending their honor in the face of overwhelming odds. I really did like the classic Star Wars line though, so I worry that I end up coming across too negative sometimes.

Still, I think I liked Kenner better back in their innocent Tree Tots days...

[cjefferys]

I love the STAR TEAM stuff. I have vague memories of seeing these in stores late 1977 and being confused. I eventually bought them on deep clearance late summer 1978 at K-mart (a buck or two each) because of course by that point no one was buying them considering that real Star Wars toys had now been out for awhile. I bet sales were pretty decent for Ideal during the first few months of release though. Pretty smart of them to get them out so fast and cleverly avoid copyright issues.