Inspired: The Unauthorized Guide to Kenner Star Wars Mini-Rigs
As my Transforming Expectations book continues to come together I find myself collecting pieces — and snapping photos — for a completely unplanned and unexpected book dedicated to Kenner’s vintage Star Wars Mini-Rigs. This project came about, and instantly jumped ahead of anything else I was making notes on, as I looked at the Mini-Rigs in my collection and realized that all of the various toy guides I own don’t give these small toys enough room to really wow readers.
Shown here are two page mockups (spread shown above) I put together while thinking through the book design and deciding how I want to collect the material. All of the images were shot (or scanned) by me, and my initial idea had been to assemble this book in secret and not even announce until it was completely finished. Unfortunately, while I do have access to all of the Star Wars Mini-Rigs and Body-Rigs, what I don’t have are prototypes, mockups, packaging concepts, and any similar oddities that would look incredible in a book devoted to Mini-Rigs.
And in my secret efforts to try and locate/request such information I ran into a few obstacles. So rather than push ahead using only what is in my own collection, I decided to make the project public and ask for assistance. If you have any special or unusual items relating to Kenner’s 1981 to 1985 Mini-Rigs and Body-Rigs please contact me.
What counts as “special” or “unusual” for purposes of this book? Foreign packaging, any trade catalogs or sales materials, cromalins for Mini-Rigs and Body-Rigs (see swspaceclub.com), or even advertisements featuring Mini-Rigs (newspaper ads, magazine ads, catalogs, anything).
All accepted contributions will be credited, of course, and substantial contributions will earn the contributor a copy of the finished book. And, as with Transforming Expectations and Transforming Collections*, the Inspired: The Unauthorized Guide to Kenner Star Wars Mini-Rigs book will be an 8″ x 8″ hardcover full-color work. Exact page count will depend on what gets contributed, but my current rough outline places the book at a minimum of 64-pages.
So please, if you have anything that would assist this book project please contact me. I would love this book to be as packed with material as possible, if only so that in the future I have a single reference to turn to when I’m wanting to enjoy Kenner’s Mini-Rigs.
Related articles
- Spotted Online – Star Wars Mini-Rig Pages from “The Saga Museum” (battlegrip.com)
- Star Wars MLC-3 Mini-Rig Patent Drawings (battlegrip.com)
- Kenner’s 1981 Star Wars Sales Video (battlegrip.com)
Are you going to devote any space to the POTF two deluxe figures like Crowd Control Stormtrooper and the concept stuff like the Airspeeder and Cloud Car?
Just curious!
@Barbecue17 – A little space, yes. The page spread immediately after the sample pages shows the Deluxe Figures. The 1990s toys won’t anywhere near the space the 1980s toys do.
I’ll buy/support this book!
@Stratos – Thanks! I’m still debating on whether or not I just take a chance and publish on my own or go with a Kickstarter project for it.
I have nothing to contribute (sadly) to the book itself, but I will definitiely get one for my shelf!
Perhaps one day a follow-up with all the Galoob Action Fleet ships?
Okay, I’ll shut up now and just be happy that I’m getting a book about my favorite Star Wars vehicles. 😀
Good luck, I’m really interested in this book, sadly can’t really help out much, but I bet there’s info out there. The Sansweet book had a good bit of info, including a cardboard mock-up of one of the rigs…
I loved those things myself, had more than a few. The Mini Imperial Shuttle was always a Cobra mini plane to me though…as was the tank.
@William Noetling – I’ve talked with one collector who has some fun concept stuff so with luck some of that will make it into the book.
i remember you had have posted once a link to the patent drawings last year, or was it from something else? i think those started all your dive into the mini rigs, but yet i’m unsure…short check: yeppo, you got them up just almost a year from now in a post on jan 21st, 2013. i think these make an ideal sketch/concept intro pages and i can image them on a yellowy paper background (if you need some scanned in yellowy paper as stock for this, i got a bunch here i can offer up for use for this project).
@Ralph – Oh, yes! I am definitely working those patents in. I just wish the 1985 Body-Rigs had patents online. I’m not even sure if Kenner ever filed a patent on those vehicles.
I saw that preview you posted of the Plastic Galaxy project and it made me think about other ways to contribute. Perhaps there are folks out there with pics of themselves as kids in the 80s playing with the mini rigs. I don’t think I have any of my own, but it might be neat to see how they were integrated into play.
@Jay – Fantastic idea!!! I’d certainly be open to that. Also, any one or two paragraph “I remember” sort of contributions could be fun.