Kenner's Star Wars Line - BEST. TOYS. EVER.

Of all the toys I owned growing up, the only ones that made it through my transition to adulthood were my Kenner Star Wars figures and vehicles. These were my absolute favorite toys. G. I. Joe, He-Man, Transformers and Ninja Turtles were all great but they were not crucial to my very identity in the way those Star Wars toys were. While everything else was donated to charity, sold at yard sales, or outright disappeared (I'm talking about you, rogue Starrior figure), my Star Wars toys stayed safely boxed away, always there when I needed them. They were THE toys that I thought of when I thought of my childhood.

Later on in college, when I discovered eBay, I realized I could now add to my Star Wars collection. I'm still working on the collection but I've reached that point where the only figures I have left are the more expensive Power of the Force figures.

The one problem I had is that I didn't have a way of displaying the figures in a dust-free manner. I hate dusting and yet I would not allow my Luke Skywalkers to be covered in dust. So my figures stayed tucked away in storage, occasionally coming out for a viewing every now and then.

A while back I had purchased a large plexiglass display case really cheap. I thought it'd be great for displaying LEGO models (the very definition of "bitch to dust") and it served that purpose for a year or more. Then I had an epiphany regarding that display case and a yellow, plastic stepped display rack-type thing we bought somewhere along the way but never found a use for. If I turned the display rack-thing on its back and put it inside the case I'd have the perfect way to display those Star Wars figures...

I loved the fact that the layout and yellow color made it look like the figures on the Star Wars card backs...

My original intent was to match the order of the figures shown on the card backs but there simply wasn't enough room so I grouped them by movie/line instead. There was also extra room in the case so that's were I stuck my beloved Jabba the Hutt playset and several of his cronies (since there wasn't enough room for everyone on the rack anyway).

Finally getting these figures out where I can see them every day in all their glory has made me indescribably happy. I can't help but smile when I look at that case. It is a thing of glory filled with so many memories...

Luke Skywalker has always been my favorite character. I always wanted to be Luke and never wanted to be Han. I get why people like Han, but Luke has always been way cooler to me. He flew an X-wing, hung out with Artoo and was a flippin' Jedi with a lightsaber. There's nothing cooler than that. Period. Needless to say I loved my four Luke figures and Jedi Luke was my absolute favorite figure. He had a the black outfit, cool fabric cloak (not plastic like figures from the previous movies), a lightsaber and a gun. He was the best of the best.

I had a cousin that was a textbook case of spoiled only child. That kid had everything. While my specific memories are few I know he had an AT-AT, the Jawa Sandrawler and Megatron, too. I was both in awe and extremely jealous when I saw his basement toy room. Spoiled he may have been but he was also generous. Somewhere along the way he'd received a second Bespin Luke and he gave me one of them. I didn't get the accessories, just the figure. I've managed to replace his blaster but he still needs his yellow lightsaber.

The TIE fighter pilot was the most important of my Imperials. Forget Vader, this figure was where it was at. He was like a Stormtrooper in black armor and he became a badass character in my imagination. I'm not even sure exactly when I realized he was just a simple pilot. He was always fighting against Jedi Luke in my battles.

I still remember the day I got 4-LOM (Zuckuss according to Kenner's packaging at the time). My younger sister was going to nursery school and my mother would accompany her. I went to grandma's while they were gone. That particular day my grandmother drove me into town and took me to the Ben Franklin five and dime and I chose 4-LOM from their selection of toys. Did I have any idea who the guy was? Almost certainly not given his infinitesimally small screen time and lack of dialog, but he was clearly an evil version of C-3PO and that was good enough for me.

The Gamorrean Guard figure represents a sad little story. It replaces the one I had, and lost, as a kid. I brought my original figure and some other figures to school one day and at recess I brought them out onto the snowy playground. One of my friends was playing with the Gamorrean and my attention was diverted elsewhere (I don't remember for what but it wasn't for long). When I rejoined my friend the figure was no longer in his possession. I asked him where it was and he said that he'd buried it in the snow but couldn't remember where. It'd been no more than a minute or two and he hadn't moved more than a few feet since I last saw him with the toy. We dug around in the snow until the bell rang but never found poor ol' Gamorrean. I guess I was just too trusting as it didn't occur to me until much later in life that he didn't lose the figure, he just pocketed it for himself. I don't like to think that my friend was a liar and a thief but I just don't believe he could be THAT dumb. So remember kids, don't lend your pig guards to your friends.

Now I just need to find the space in the display case for my latest acquisition, Barada...