Friday, December 15, 2017

[YouTube] Kenner Star Wars Toys #1: On Tatooine

https://youtu.be/6q9-tvbbj6o

As I create Star Wars toy videos I'll attempt to go in order of appearance in the original trilogy movies. This being the first video I begin on Tatooine where C-3PO and R2-D2 landed after using an escape pod to escape the Imperial boarding party on the Tantive IV. Of course, it's also the home planet of Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi is nearby keeping watch over him.

Land of the Jawas
Land of the Jawas is a playset that includes a plastic sand-colored base, cardboard Jawa Sandcrawler backdrop (with elevator), and the aforementioned escape pod. The plastic base features a moving platform with sliding switch that causes a small rectangle on the base to pop slightly to knock over an action figure. There are also Sandcrawler tracks, a small cave, a groove for the escape pod to rest in, and pegs for action figures to stand on, though no action figures were included. A similar toy called the Hoth Ice Planet Adventure Set was released that has a white plastic base and AT-AT backdrop.




Patrol Dewback
Dewbacks are large reptiles native to Tatooine. Kenner calls the toy Patrol Dewback in reference to the Sandtrooper patrols that use them as transportation while searching for the escape pod containing C-3PO and R2-D2. Sandtrooper action figures were not available in the original toy line so standard Stormtrooper action figures must be used in their place (a Sandtrooper action figure was produced in the '90s). An action figure can be placed inside of the dewback to make it appear as if it is riding in a saddle and there is a harness for the action figure to hold onto. Both the dewback's head and tail can be moved in unison and all four of its legs are adjustable.



Land Speeder
Although most Star Wars materials spell landspeeder as one word, Kenner lists it as Land Speeder in the toy catalog. This is Luke's X-34 model that he sold for 2,000 credits in Mos Eisley in order to secure passage aboard the Millennium Falcon. The toy has three wheels near the center of the base that help give the appearance that it hovers above the surface. A gearshift raises or lowers the height of the vehicle slightly and a button on the front of the toy can be pushed to pop the hood.



Radio Controlled Jawa Sandcrawler
The small scavengers known as Jawas use Sandcrawlers to traverse the Tatooine deserts, collecting scrap metal and droids. Jawas found both C-3PO and R2-D2 in the desert and later sold them to Owen Lars, Luke Skywalker's uncle. A top panel and a side door open to access the inside, plus there is a manually controlled elevator that moves up and down. This toy operates on two "D" batteries two 9-volt batteries, one of which is for the remote control.




The next two photos are the inside of the Sandcrawler base after I opened it up to see if I could spot any problems and my attempt at making the toy look cool in the dark. You can see the flashlight in the photo but it's a small metal flashlight so just pretend it's part of the Sandcrawler or some scrap metal.



Bantha and Tusken Raider
This last toy is from 1998 and as I stated in the video, I'm including it here because it is my favorite from Kenner's Star Wars toys of the '90s. It's also one of the new toys from that line rather than a remake of a toy from the late '70s or early '80s.


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