A vintage Kenner Tie-fighter with a seized-up motor needs more than a gentle spin to get it started.

In this thread from The Imperial Commissary, collectors share their tips on getting the electronics of vintage toys running again without causing damage.

The full thread can be found here:

Further reading:

Collecting Modern Star Wars Prototype Toys (1990-Present)


With growing interest in collecting prototype toys, many vintage Star Wars toy collectors have ventured into collecting prototype pieces from modern Star Wars toy lines. In this thread from The Empire Strikes Back group, collectors define modern prototype collecting and discuss the merits of modern prototypes, while limelighting some special pieces.

The full thread can be found here:

Further reading:

Vintage Build it Yourself Star Wars Playsets:
For the Most Industrious Parents Only



Between May 1978 through November 1980, Woman’s Day magazine, a monthly American publication, designed blueprints for 3 highly detailed Star Wars playset environments to be used with Kenner action figures. The sets included an Outer-Space station, a Dagobah playset, and a Hoth playset. Complete Outer-Space station blueprints could be directly ordered through the magazine for one dollar.

In this thread from The Imperial Commissary, a collector rediscovers the Woman’s Day playsets and their unique charm.

The full thread can be found here:

Further reading on the Archive:

How Many UDEs are There?


In 1985, with the finale of the Original Trilogy now two years in the rear view mirror and with no new chapters scheduled for release, the Star Wars franchise was about to enter its first hibernation.

The Kenner toy company had rose from obscurity in the late 1970s due to their unprecedented success with their lines of Star Wars toys which sold in the hundreds of millions.

But by the mid 1980s after the release of more than 100 unique figures, the demand for the toys was gone. The last wave of Kenner Star Wars action figures were designed as a second wave of figures for the failing Star Wars Nelvana Droids and Ewoks cartoons. Six additional Ewoks-based figures and 8 Droids-based figures were designed, sculpted and developed to the point of injection molded plastic first shots before the line was canceled.

None of these 14 figures made it to market except for the infamous Vlix figure, which enjoyed a very limited release in Brazil under the Kenner sub-licensee Glasslite.

The few surviving prototype figures for the second wave of unproduced Droids and Ewoks ("UDE") figures are among the most coveted in the Star Wars action figure line.

Insights into the production numbers of UDE figures and their multiple accessories are discussed by fellow collectors in this thread from the Prototype Exchange.

The full thread can be found here:

Further reading on the Archive:

Community Warning: A Dubious Wax Sculpt


In this thread from The Dark Times group, a collector is offered a pre-production wax piece by the original sculptor and after studying the details, finds the piece may have been altered or cast at a later date.

While the piece is from Kenner's Aliens line, the sculptor in question also worked on the vintage Star Wars line and has allegedly engaged in this kind of dubious behavior with Star Wars pieces in the past. 

The full thread can be found here:


There’s a Hole in My Cardback!


Carded action figures produced in Mexico in the Return of the Jedi era will usually have a crudely punched hole in their cardbacks behind the figure. Collectors discuss this odd feature on The Imperial Commissary Paper Group.

The full thread can be found here:

Further reading: