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Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: The Mandalorian (Beskar, The Retro Collection). It's a Kenner-style figure that adds a cloth cape, but keeps the same blasters as before. It's a good upgrade, but not quite as bright silver as the first one from 2021. Having said that, it's fun and you should probably look him up if you're still on board for Kenner stuff. Read on!
More fun from the 1980s... by way of 2022! Bo-Katan Kryze (The Retro Collection). It's a Kenner-style figure that is a lot of fun to fuss with. She has brighter colors than her other figures, but the Kenner-esque deco is a mixed bag - the helmet probably has too much fine detail while the breastplate armor is completely unpainted. I still dig it - she fits in great with your old 1970s and 1980s Kenner vehicles and playsets, which tends to be one of the very best reasons to buy these new releases.Obviously, I recommend them all.
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: The Armorer (The Retro Collection). It's a Kenner-style figure with a sculpt that looks like it came out of 1983 and a furry cape that's clever, yet unlike anything I can point to from the original toy line. I really like these guys, but they're not for everybody - if you have a big actual vintage Kenner toy stash in your toy box, these are some of the best things I've bought in ages. Plus she has a giant hammer for smashing Stormtrooper heads. Read on!
This is an affiliate link for the Star Wars The Mandalorian The Retro Collection Action Figures Wave 1 Case of 8 for 78.00, but really, this post is about me trying to convince you to try out Kenner figures.
I want to live in a world with more of them. Back in the 1970s fans of Star Wars had no TV series, no computer games, or even VCRs in most cases. You could see comics or novels, or maybe some Super 8 reels, but most likely your platform of choice for living Star Wars at home were Kenner's $2 3 3/4-inch action figures. (I remember seeing them as high as $4.99 at Long's Drug Stores - which I paid, to get my Wicket - back around 1984. Highway robbery.)
For fans over 40, it's a pretty safe bet those action figures are a big part of why they're Star Wars fans today - either they held on to theirs with an iron grip, or their parents forced them to sell them, and they've been chasing them down ever since. I was the former - and I bought figures from the latter at garage sales.
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Boba Fett (Morak, The Retro Collection). This is one of my favorite figures in years - it incorporates elements of the 1979 Kenner figure, like his unique backpack design, while also modernizing it with an all-new but still appropriately retro helmet sculpt and coloring. If you're in your 40s - or maybe late 30s - this could be a fun throwback to put with your other childhood toys. I don't know if younger fans will flock to this one, but it hasn't left my general workspace since getting it nearly a month ago. I'd strongly recommend it if Kenner toys were ever on your wish list as a child. Read on!
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Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Boba Fett (Prototype Edition - Green Head, The Retro Collection). There are at least six color configurations - and mine looks like a Crayola box! Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Remnant Stormtrooper (The Retro Collection). This version looks like the old Kenner one, but comes on a retro card and is dirty. Also it comes packaged with a board game. It was originally exclusive to Hasbro Pulse and Disney Shop, but now you can get it at Entertainment Earth and potentially elsewhere. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Greef Karga (The Retro Collection). Vinyl capes are in this season, as are loops on holsters that can store blasters. But you probably can't find this in stores - so should you get yourself one? Yes. Read on!
We're almost out of Kenner retro figures to review - but I don't want to live in the present! Moff Gideon (The Retro Collection). The Darksaber is the old Bespin/Jedi Luke lightsaber, but in black. The blaster pistol is new. The vinyl cape is retro, and on this particular figure seems like a good stylistic choice despite the vinyl capes being phased out of new characters by 1982. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: The Child (The Retro Collection). At $10, it's a pretty decent package with a little frog, the hover pram, a stand, and everything else you could want. The figure seems very much like a retro throwback, but you get way more stuff in the bubble than you would have 30ish years ago. Read on!
Today's focus is on this new release: IG-11 (The Retro Collection). Because the 1980s never ended for some of us, Hasbro made figures that look like old Kenner releases. IG-11 looks a lot like IG-88, only softer, missing a few details, and not quite as perfect as gripping the blasters - but it's still pretty great. I also appreciate they elected to go with the "Credit Collection" red coloring to set it apart. Read the whole review.
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,816: Kuiil (The Retro Collection). This Ugnaught looks a little bit different from the vintage one, and takes a few liberties with the rubbery head from the TV show. It's still cool, and a lot more colorful than the previous figures. Read on!
Via the Star Wars Galactic Hunter Figure of the Day Blog: Cara Dune (The Retro Collection). This is a good one - she can hold her blasters, stand, sit, and generally look like an old Kenner figure with a far better paint job than we would be likely to see in the 1980s. Unlike some other late-era Kenner women figures, she also has a neck. (Look at Kea Moll.) She's also a little short - but still a good figure. Mostly I'm just happy there's no vinyl cape to get in the way of vehicle interaction. Read on!