NEW ACQUISITIONS: From Concept to Mold to Collectible

Steve writes:

The Archive Database is back in business after an extended summer vacation (huge props to Chris N. and LoBarth for addressing the glitches). This first batch of new entries cover the breadth of the toy production process with items from throughout the history of the vintage line.

Concepts

Conceptual Imperial R2-D2 Action Figure

Little did the designers at Kenner know that the Imperial Troop Transport would become all the rage in an animated television series over 35 years later. While the "ITT" has endured, this stumpy evil twin of R2-D2 that would have served as an exclusive pack-in when the toy was originally conceived ended up not making the cut.  

Concept Art for AT-AT Vehicle 

Recently revealed on the 56th podcast by Chris Fawcett, this fully scaled concept painting of the All Terrain Armored Transport (apparently referred to by Kenner designers as the "Armored Dog" and pronounced @-@) is an impressive representation of a high-cost/high-reward product that went on to be come one of the most memorable toys from the line. The story behind the acquisition is great as well.

Concept Art for Darth Vader's Star Destroyer

This scanned slide originally used at an internal Kenner presentation depicts a piece of concept art for Darth's recreational vehicle (complete with meditation chamber and "swiveling command podium"). It displays an overall similarity to the produced toy, with some peculiar differences. Wall shackles would definitely be much more comfortable (and practical) than hanging from the ceiling.

Happy Toys Materialize

Production Mold for Yoda Hand Puppet
From the collection of Sean & Ryan Lehmkuhl

Manufacturing rotomolds such as this example for the Yoda Hand Puppet involved some pretty complex processes that are linked to in this entry. The supportive copper rods attached to the head and ears are particularly interesting. This piece has somewhat of a "Statue of Liberty" vibe to it, but maybe that's just me? 

Be sure to check out the related pieces linked in the entry as well. There is way more documented pre-production material tied to vintage Yoda products than I had ever realized -- much of which can be found by navigating through database entries such as this one. 

Painted Romba Hardcopy 
From the collection of Broc Walker

It isn't too often that hardcopies are added to the Database these days. This painted Romba hardcopy from the Power of the Force line exhibits the common trait of coming from a "hardcopy-plus-cowl" combo mold (that may be a new collector term in and of itself). Be sure to check out the link within the entry to see some more Romba pre-production goodness, because who wouldn't want more Romba in their life?







Pack 'em Up, Ship 'em Out

X-Wing Aces                           Quality Control Sample
From the collection of Ron Salvatore

How many collectors actually had and played with the X-Wing Aces game back in the day? This is one of those 1977 items that must have fallen by the wayside once the action figure line came to market. This quality control sample of an already rare item has some interesting characteristics.

Star Wars 12-Back Princess Leia Organa (white footer) 
From the collection of Jean Bernard
 
This carded Leia is desirable on several fronts. Beyond the character and Star Wars 12 back "A" debut cardback, it features a white cardboard "footer" beneath the figure in the bubble that, while seemingly inconsequential at first glance, has tremendous significance all its own. This is one of those finer variation details that will certainly catch the attention of carded figure collecting enthusiasts.









Some more freshly added entries:

• Concept Art for Micro Collection/Empire Strikes Back Promo Kit
  
• Concept Model for Jabba Dungeon Playset
  
• Pre-Production Material Related to Speeder Bike Ride-On Toy Promotion
  

All "New Acquisitions" can be accessed via the "What's New" section linked from the Site Menu on the SWCA homepage.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Unlicensed Star Wars Ceramics

Part of the revamping of the Archive for its 20th Anniversary will include bringing back current Special Features to the front page. They'll also be announced through the blog along with other Archive updates. The most recent Special Feature, Unlicensed Star Wars Ceramics, brings together the good, the bad, the ugly, and the straight up strange from the world of non-sanctioned sculptures and related paraphernalia from a galaxy far, far away...

NEW ACQUISITIONS: Product Lists, Change Notices, Wax Sculpts, & QC Samples

One of the ongoing features of the blog will be "digests" of newly added entries to the Archive. In the future, direct links to the entries will also appear on the main SWCA rotator. This introductory post highlights the most recent additions to the Archive from the month of May, 2014.

1977 Product List Including Unproduced Toys 
 From the collection of Ross Cuddie

Collectors have been speculating about a vintage Grand Moff Tarkin action figure for years, but evidence that the character was even considered for release as an action figure has always been scant. Aside from this late, post-POTF item, there hasn't been any indication that Kenner seriously considered or worked on a Tarkin toy -- until now.

This list of proposed products from 1977 surfaced with a host of other pieces of Kenner paperwork in a find you can read about here. It references a few Star Wars items that were actually made, like the X-Wing Pilot figure (later marketed as a Luke Skywalker toy), Droid Factory playset, and the rather obscure double van set. However, several of the referenced toys never saw the light of day. 




Kenner Change Notices

As the above "product list" demonstrates, people who love piecing together Star Wars toy history love internal Kenner paperwork. Sometimes a single piece of paperwork can shed light on a mystery that collectors have been trying to solve for years. Here are a couple of gems from the collection of Ross Cuddie.


One-Piece Lightsaber 

This "change notice" relates to one of the most familiar of Star Wars action figure accessories, the non-telescoping version of the slide-out lightsaber, which came packaged with Darth Vader, Ben Kenobi, and the original version of Luke Skywalker. It reveals that the original "double-telescoping" version of the part was ditched and replaced with a simpler one-piece model due to "molding problems" encountered during mass production.Be sure to check out the full entry for a great story from Ross.

Tusken Raider Gaffi Stick

This piece of paperwork related to the Tusken Raider action figure reflects a pre-production change to the color of the "gaffi stick" accessory with which the toy came packaged. Specifically, it reveals that the accessory was initially planned to be injection-molded in blue plastic, quite likely similar to similar to the steely, dark-toned blue that was used for the guns of many Empire Strikes Back-era action figures.

Vinyl Cape Jawa

Where internal Kenner paperwork is concerned, it's hard to get more iconic than the piece you see here. "Iconic" is certainly the right word -- because this item not only provides new insight into one of most famous of all action figure variations, it redefines our very sense of it. For years it was believed that the Jawa figure, first released in 1978, was intended to come packaged with a vinyl cape, and that the cloth variation was the second, modified iteration of the toy. It turns out that's not exactly right...

Wax Sculpt for Salacious Crumb Figure
From the collection of Ron Salvatore 

Does Salacious Crumb count as an action figure? Debatable, though there are some collectors that argue that he's definitely a part of the standard figure line. Gone are the days when the Crumbs and the Dianogas of the world were relegated to the back of the action figure carrying case, treated like second-class citizens by the whole of the articulated majority. Figure or not, it's pretty hard to imagine the vintage line without a Crumb of some kind. And since the hunk of unarticulated, yellowish PVC that Kenner gave us back in 1983 is all we got, it seems that we have to be appreciate the little guy, even if there isn't much "action" to be found in him. Anyway, what you see here is the original wax sculpt for the Salacious Crumb non-action figure. It's the master used to produce every one of the bagged examples you can still find on eBay at bargain prices. Check out the entry for photos of some related Crumb-y items.

Star Wars Han Solo 
12-Back Quality Control Sample
From the collection of Ron Salvatore 

Seen here is what must be one of the earliest production samples of the carded Han Solo action figure. It's identical to a regular Han 12-back A (the debut version of the Star Wars cardback), except for the presence of a sign-off notation in the white pricing area. The date is March of 1978. There are a number of legitimate QC samples floating around out there. However, collectors need to be very wary of fakes, as it's beyond easy for someone to write on a carded figure and then try to pass it off as something special. This one was purchased directly from a former Kenner employee, so there are no doubts as to its authenticity.