As a kid, one of the things that always confused me was the make-up of the Ewoks cartoon TV series action figure line.  Why would there be only 6 figures, only 2 of which were regulars and heroes?  A line with 4 Dulok villains seemed odd, and when I saw the second series prototypes a few years later I was even more confused - where's Teebo?  Where's Kneesaa?   How could Chituhr be more popular?

Well, the Star Wars Collectors Archive may have found part of the answer.  In an article Unknown Ewoks: Unearthed Figures from the Animated Series, we see four unproduced Ewoks from that era.  These characters were largely more important to the series and the brief marketing juggernaut of Ewok licensed products in that era.   Perhaps Star Wars could have had a presence for a few more years were these made instead - I remember seeing pegs upon pegs of unsold Duloks (and the occasional Logray) at Kay-Bee toy stores for $1 each for quite some time, and while I did buy Logray on sight I never saw Wicket.  (Or, as Droids went, R2-D2 and C-3PO.)

Those childhood memories can attract quite the scum and villainy. A Vancouver, Washington Star Wars collector reportedly had about $30-45,000 worth of what appears to be mostly vintage Kenner collectibles stolen from his home. Click here for the full report from KRON4.

The Droid 3-Pack AFX Exclusive Kenner Jumbo Figures - Death Star Droid, R5-D4, and Power Droid - were boxed together with a swell background about a year ago.  Gentle Giant still has a few around and now it's a mere $100 for the set - basically three for the price of one.   While issues like "space" and "not having several thousand dollars" may keep people like you and me from collecting them all, $33.33 a pop is a swell deal.  Click through to see if they have any left.

Ad: Entertainment Earth has new Bif Bang Pow! Retro 3 3/4-inch Twilight Zone figures in stock! Black & white figures are a mere 10 bones each, and US orders of $79+ of in-stock toys ship free. Color figures will debut at SDCC next week - but you can order black & white right now! Collect all 7.

Also pre-order new 3 3/4-inch Star Wars Black Series action figures like Luke Skywalker Wampa Attack and R5-G19!  See more after the break.

Ad: They're up!  The long-awaited ALIEN action figures developed by Super7 are now up at Entertainment Earth.  The set of 5 is at $64.99.  Click here to pre-order yours now!

Surprise? There is another...Gentle Giant SDCC exclusive. Today's announcement is plenty times awesome, especially for those who are versed in their vintage Kenner history and know that this was only released in Canada and Australia in this packaging format and a Tri-logo card in Europe, but never released in the U.S. (sound familiar 2013 Movie Heroes fans?) The fourth SDCC exclusive is a Jumbo Vintage POTF Yakface complete with coin!

It's not Star Wars, but shares the same Kenner DNA. Super7 is rolling out their new ReAction Alien action figure assortment that's based on the cancelled line from 1979 in eloquent style for SDCC. There are four exclusives altogether and two are FREE! 

It's gimmicky, kiddy, and fun, yet it will likely earn some guffaws from legacy collectors looking for a more 3.75 inch fix. Hasbro announces a second exclusive for this year's San Diego Comic-Con International: An Angry Birds Vintage 12 Pack Action Figure Set!

For Star Wars fans and collectors, having a passionate advocate and steward like a Steve Sansweet, who also just happens to be the custodian of the largest Star Wars collection in the galaxy, is like catching lightning in a bottle. Not only does he have a collection you can never even dream of owning (let alone housing), but he can write, and write pretty well, of all the relevant events and collectibles from both a fan and collector standpoint because he bore witness to and collected most of them. Like E.F. Hutton, when Steve writes, every Star Wars fan should read.

Via Gus Lopez, former Kenner and Hasbro photographer Kim Simmons has updated his site with more wonderful and amazing vintage Kenner product, comps and prototype photos. 

Les Jouets (The Toys) Star Wars Exposition is now underway at the Musee Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris, France featuring 450 select Kenner and Hasbro pieces from the collection of Arnaud Grunberg. 

Today's (technically) Figure of the Day is Han Solo in Carbonite from 1996, which is pretty gosh-darned similar to the old Kenner one from the 1980s. New color, new stickers, and because we've got a deadline, read on!

Over at the Gentle Giant Blog, they revealed their next 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International exclusive: a giant Vinyl Caped Jawa!  Neato.  Guild member pre-orders are up now and for the rest of us... well, I'm crossing my fingers.

If you've been collecting figures from Japan, the new batch of Star Wars Kubrick DX Wave 3 should be of interest.  Not only is there a build-a-vehicle of a Landspeeder, but the bulk of the figures' aesthetics are heavily influenced by 1970s Kenner action figures.  I stumbled on these pictures at NCS today.

The folks at Gentle Giant have announced their next 2 Jumbo Vintage Kenner 12 inch figures to be Darth Vader and Princess Leia Organa! Both come with reproduction vinyl capes and Vader even includes a telescoping lightsaber. Details and photos after the jump!