Kenner’s 1996 Star Wars Action Figures Were Awesome
Today, many collectors look back at the Kenner Star Wars action figures of the nineties and declare the toys substandard. I’ve seen multiple mentions and complaints online of the quality of those mid-to-late nineties Star Wars toys, but I think that if we stop and try to actually remember what things were like at the time those toys were, in fact, awesome and fun. A bizarre blending of the seventies and eighties Kenner Star Wars Collection with nineties-style newness, the Kenner Star Wars toys of that era deserve more respect than they get.
And 1996 was an incredible year for the line for two very simple reasons:
- It was the first full year for the line.
- Shadows of the Empire.
Star Wars Galaxy #8
It was author Steve Sansweet’s article in issue eight of Star Wars Galaxy magazine, “For Kenner, the Force is as Strong the Second Time,” that led me to once again look at the 1996 Kenner Star Wars action figures. Above you can see the boxed text from the article that lists the 1996 toys, and almost every single one has some sense of wonder and fun associated with it that is easy for us to forget today. Remember, this was before the prequel trilogy and Star Wars toys were still very new on shelves.
And sales were amazingly strong, proof that Kenner’s decision to relaunch Star Wars toys in 1995 was the right move. Sansweet reports in his article:
“Just a trip to any local Toys ‘R’ Us or the toy department of Target, Wal-Mart and most other stores told the same story: empty pegs where Star Wars figures should have been.”
We don’t see that sort of excitement surrounding Star Wars toys today (except, maybe, the Star Wars Black 6-inch line), which just supports my statement that the 1996 toys were awesome. Why else would they have sold so well?
Two Great Vehicles
There were several fun figures in the 1996 line, but it is two vehicles that I feel deserve more respect and love than they get. Both are from the Shadows of the Empire subline — an ambitious multi-media storyline that didn’t quite work as well as hoped, but still must be appreciated for its attempt at a “movie without a film” — and both can be found for reasonably low prices these days.
- Dash Rendar’s Outrider* – A stripped down and modified attempt at the Millennium Falcon, the Outrider toy was far, far smaller than I expected and has a fun feature where the cockpit swivels . . . the look of the reconfigured ship reminds me a little of the B-Wing. See the rebelscum.com entry for pics of the ship; I cannot be the only one who sees this as a neat toy.
- Swoop with Swoop Trooper* – Not a Speeder Bike, this Swoop may be cheaper to buy today than it was in 1996, but I feel it is a misunderstood and forgotten toy that’s neater than many realize. The included action figure looks fairly neat, the toy fires a missile, and can we ever have enough small Mini-Rig-like vehicles in the Star Wars line? Again, rebelscum.com has pics of this near-classic vehicle. (Hey, it’s almost twenty years old!)
Try Them Again
Maybe it’s just old age talking, but I’m suggesting that the next time you’re about to buy a modern Star Wars action figure you instead give one of Kenner’s nineties Star Wars toys a try. Sure they’re not as articulated as today’s toys, the sculpts are sometimes over-muscled and odd, and the cool kids now look down their noses at this line, but that doesn’t stop the toys from being a fun snapshot of Star Wars before the prequel films and before the “Expanded Universe” was unbelievably massive.
And with so many of the toys out there today they’re fairly inexpensive to buy, sometimes being seen for as low as $2 or $3 for a carded action figure, so give the old toys a shot. You may find yourself remembering a more innocent Star Wars time. And that has to be worth the price of a toy or two.
Related articles
- Affiliate Link – 1996 Deluxe Boba Fett Action Figure (battlegrip.com)
- Spotted Online – Classic Palitoy Star Wars Action Figure Ad (battlegrip.com)
- 1994 Star Wars Galaxy Series 2 Ad Card (battlegrip.com)
Great article! Lots of great vehicles, including the Outrider. I loved the expanded universe figures too. I enjoyed collecting these figures in the mid to late 90’s and still think that it was a great line.
Oh yeah! 96 was an awesome year to be a Star Wars fan (97 was pretty great, too). These were solid, durable, fantastic toys and many of them still hold up pretty well. I still love my POTF2 line and have quite a few on display. And I still think Chewie as Snoova complete with axe and awesome gun is one of my favorite action figures ever.
Earlier this year I wrote an article about my introduction to Star Wars via some old vintage figures my grandpa had found and how they sustained me during a really rough portion of my childhood (http://www.thepicreview.com/2013/03/barbecues-show-tell-4-star-wars-figures.html).
I think the 96 Power of the Force line is the logical next step for me to write about in my personal Star Wars History. Perhaps it’s time for Barbecue’s Show and Tell to return…
I remember finding & picking up a long saber Darth Vader back in ’95; it was nice to find a reminder of my childhood during the beginnings of what would become a particularly tough time in my life.
I was glad to see Star Wars in the aisles again; but, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the ‘roided up look of the first few waves of figures. I will say, though, that the line got better as it went along (so much so that I even purchased a large number of them from a vendor a few years ago).
Why can you find these so cheap? Because collectors hoarded these things like they were gonna be gold. Walk through any antiques mall and you’ll inevitably see booths where these are priced anywhere from $15-$30. And they’re all from this period.
I remember going to toy shows and everyone was obsessed with tiny little paint variations because one was rarer than another. Like anyone cared.
Truth be told, you like these because you’re wearing the rose-colored glasses of nostalgia; you like ’em because you had ’em as a kid. Honestly, these figures SUCK compared to what was to come later, almost comically so.
@The Rook – An article in issue one of Star Wars Galaxy magazine talks about how Kenner was making adjustments to the vintage vehicles to make the toys better fit the nineties. Definitely worth tracking down if you’re interested in how those vehicles were “updated.”
I have almost all of the vehicles from the POTF2, with the exception of a few, along with a good number of vintage vehicles. I’d be great to check out that article you suggested and then do a side-by-side comparison. My vintage vehicles, and now all my POTF2 vehicles are boxed away in my parents attic. I’ll have to go treasure hunting.
@Barbecue17 – That Snoova just looks weird, but in a fun way. I have still never really embraced the Xizor as a character, but it’s cool that the entire storyline zeroed in on the bounty hunters and gave us some fun scenes.
@Other Jay – Didn’t the MOTU-style character designs only last for the first wave or two? I thought that Kenner switched from that look very quickly.
@Piratestan – The absolute best place I’ve found to get these cheap (other than eBay, which often has some low prices, and Amazon for select items) is the Dallas Vintage Toy Store. ww.dallasvintagetoys.com If you ever get a chance to visit their store front do it because they have way more toys than they show on their site.
As to nostalgia: Yes! The only reason for me to even consider tracking some of these down is nostalgia and nothing more. It’s why I search out any eighties or nineties era toys; Kenner’s Legends of the Dark Knight toys are more posed and less playable than Mattel’s Power Attack Batman, but the Kenner toys have a classic charm today’s toys don’t have. And it’s all because the toys are older.
@Philip Reed – That article sounds very interesting. I always assumed they used the same molds from the vintage line vehicles to make the POTF2 vehicles. Makes me want to dig out my POTF2 and vintage vehicles and do a side by side comparison. I think that would be fun.
Also, that dallasvintagetoys.com is awesome!! I may pick up a few figures from there. They have good prices and a few figures I do not have from the expanded universe series of figures. Excellent find!!
Yes, I do believe they toned down the ‘buffness’ of the figures (couldn’t get much worse than the ripped Chewbacca & monkey-faced Leia – woof!).
I’ve got an Emperor from later in the line that’s my favorite modern version of him. The various droids were, for the most part, pretty top notch for the time, too.
I love that Luke. I keep waiting for them to remake him with proper articulation.
One day…