Wanted: Star Wars ReAction Figures
With their Alien ReAction Figures (Amazon.com search*) finished and released, Super 7 and Funko can now turn their eyes to all of the other ReAction series plans they have announced. And while the company has a lot of plans, there’s one very important line missing from their announced lineup: Star Wars.
And I’m not talking simple reproductions of the Kenner action figures. What I want Funko and Super7 to dive right into are toys that never existed. Completely new sculpts/designs that look like they could have come out of the early eighties and, of course, with packaging that fits perfectly with the vintage Kenner line. Just imagine how awesome it would be to see new toys that mix in perfectly with those action figures and vehicles from thirty years ago.
Unproduced Star Wars Action Figures
Hasbro’s “vintage” series of Star Wars action figures from a year or two ago had some really fun designs and ideas, but ultimately it was only the packaging that was vintage. The figures inside the packs were modern, nicely-crafted and articulated action figures that fit what adult collectors want, but there was nothing about the toys themselves that made them vintage.
The entire concept behind the ReAction Figures series — action figures using sculpts and articulation inspired by the vintage Kenner designs — would solve that vintage feel entirely . . . and just imagine if Funko/Super7’s first step was to release the Star Wars action figures that never were. Figures like the Mongo Beefhead Tribesman (see theswca.com), shown above in a custom by TheGodBeast (blog). Or maybe an Imperial Attack Droid (see theswca.com), because I can never get enough droids.
“Expanded Universe” Star Wars Action Figures
I’m not talking about the explosion of characters that happened during the nineties and later. No, for the Star Wars ReAction Figures series to be perfect, Funko/Super7 need to limit themselves to only the “expanded universe” material that existed when the Kenner toys were in stores. That would mean relying heavily on the Marvel Star Wars comic books, but with characters like Crimson Jack (see Wookiepedia), Baron Orman Tagge (see Wookiepedia), and Valance the Hunter (see Wookiepedia) to draw from, we would get lots of new toys that we should have had thirty years ago.
Why Not Hasbro?
So with Hasbro getting deeper into releasing 3.75-inch scale five point articulation action figures, why not Hasbro tackle this idea and produce vintage-style toys? Technically, and from a design point of view, Hasbro could run with this idea and do an awesome job. But because of scale issues involved — Hasbro has a lot of staff and overhead — they need a line with mass appeal. And I doubt such a line as I’m imagining would have much — if any! — mass market sales potential, so it would take a smaller company to even make such a series of toys work. Funko and Super7 are both small enough, and run by minds able to see the potential in lines like the ReAction Figures, that I feel the partnership would be a perfect fit for this idea.
I’ll Keep Dreaming!
And, in my mind, the Star Wars ReAction Figures series is so successful for Funko/Super7 that they expand beyond action figures and star releasing vehicles in the line. Maybe we would finally get a shot at unproduced vehicles like the Rebel SRV-1 Scout and Retrieval Vehicle (see theswca.com) or the Imperial AT-IC (see theswca.com). That would be fantastic!
Unlikely to Happen
But as fun as all of this sounds, I realistically have to admit that we’re unlikely to ever see Star Wars ReAction Figures. For such a series to happen I believe that Hasbro, Funko, Super7, and Disney/Lucasfilm would all have to work closely together and divide the financial pie into many small slices. Maybe I’m wrong, but the scale I’m seeing this able to work at just doesn’t allow there to be enough money to make it worth the effort.
It would be awesome, though, to be proven wrong and watch Funko/Super7 surprise us all with a Star Wars ReAction Figures announcement. I’d want a subscription!!!
Dude, tandem X-wing, all the way! 😉
@Jay – I love that the designers of that X-Wing said they were influenced by old WWII bombers. And the ARC-170 in newer Star Wars work looks to me like it came from the same realm as the dual seat X-Wing.
I would love the Rebel SRV-1 Scout and Retrieval Vehicle, not just for Star Wars either; but neither as a G.I. Joe recovery vehicle or a Cobra vehicle. The AT-IC is awesome & I’d take one also
@Ghost Target – I’m sure Joe fans would be on that vehicle and customizing in no time. Would be fun to see someone tackle the idea and make it available in multiple colorways.
And after reading up on Valance, I’d want him to be released using the TVC/ Black Series articulation with swappable heads & left arms (1 human/ 1 Cyborg)
I’m on the fence about this, which is weird because I usually fall in line with you on most of the ideas you put out there.
I would also really like to see some ReAction-type figures of the 80’s Kenner concepts, or even some (some!) of the main characters in the prequel movies. But I’d honestly rather have them in the Hasbro modern, super-articulated design. I couldn’t see realistically how it wouldn’t devolve into rehashes of the original Kenner figures. It seems the golden duo of Fett and Vader are the big-sellers that license-payers need to put out there in order to recoup the high cost of buying the right to make SW toys. That being said, there are a few figures that could do with a good re-release, like Vlix, for example, that I think would sell way more than many people think… But to me, Kenner Star Wars is done, with the rocket-firing Boba Fett from a few years back being the “absolute final” one.
That to me is part of the fun of collecting that line, it’s done, it’s over, you have this set number of figures that were available, and if you want to buy “new” ones at retail, it’s not happening. You have to dig in dirty garage sale bins, pass through the smell of popcorn stands at the flea market, or get in trouble at work for searching on eBay to collect the originals, it’s part of the “experience” of vintage collecting that retro remakes just can’t replicate.
Since I collect both the vintage and current SW lines, I’d much rather see them do the concept prototypes, the Marvel Comics characters, and Droids and Ewoks animated characters, in the super-articulated, modern 3.75″ style. They’ve already done a few in this style here and there, and they are awesome. Some of the concepts have already been released in this style too. It feels like, especially for Star Wars, it would be a better addition to the modern collection than to the vintage one. The Kenner stuff feels like it’s “done” and it is what it is. The modern stuff feels more all-inclusive, there is no realistic way to “collect them all” and there’s already a few here and there that follow the “concept” style.
I’d much rather have them do some of the figures that Funko has already announced, that haven’t had any real 3.75 inch presence: Predator, Terminator, Back to the Future, Goonies, more Alien ones, etc. You throw Mad Max, movie Conan, or Blade Runner into that list (pipe dreams I know) and many 1980’s 3.75″ dreams are fulfilled.
I’d much prefer for them to go the 70’s Mego MASH/Love Boat route and toss some weirdo ones in there, like say, “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “Caddyshack,” “Coming To America,” or, dare I say it: “Revenge of the Nerds.” Booger and Spicoli versus Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem and Murray as Spackler…