Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on November 18th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayMy Star Wars collection can be divided into three categories: things I owned as a child (and still own today), things I used to own as a child (and replaced over time), and new toys and collectibles I’ve bought as an adult. This die-cast X-Wing Fighter falls into the first category. This is the same one I owned back in the late 1970s. Everybody is familiar with Kenner’s original line of 3 3/4″ action figures and their accompanying ships and play sets, but not everyone remembers all the other toys Kenner also released in 1979. Along with a few board… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on November 4th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayI don’t remember when or where I got this 8-Track. In a way, it seems like I’ve always had it, and yet I’ve never listened to it. I’ve never owned an 8-Track player — I was raised on vinyl, followed by cassettes. I don’t even know if this 8-Track tape actually works. The tape contains the original soundtrack, as composed and conducted by John Williams as performed by the London Symphony Orchestra (I read the label). The tape is a “twin pack.” I originally thought this meant that the original package contained two packs, but from what I now understand,… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 28th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayFor a couple of reasons, I decided this week for Star Wednesday I would write about my 12″ Lando Calrissian figure. In 1978, Kenner released a super-sized line of Star Wars figures. It’s referred to as the 12″ line, even though many/most of them are a couple of inches taller than that. In all, 12 figures were released: ten from Star Wars (R2-D2 and C-3P0, Ben Kenobi, Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Jawa, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Stormtrooper) and two from the Empire Strikes Back (Boba Fett and IG-88). For the record, I owned five of them as a… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 14th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayAlong with the Death Star and the Millennium Falcon, Kenner’s Imperial Walker (also known as an All Terrain Armored Transport or, more simply, an AT-AT) was one of the largest toys released in the vintage line. According to Star Wars lore, AT-ATs were approximately 65′ long and 75′ tall, large enough to hold multiple smaller ships or up to 40 additional soldiers inside their massive hull. Kenner’s version was slightly smaller than that — it measured 17.5″ tall and 22″ long. The one pictured here is significantly smaller than that. I paid a quarter for this AT-AT four or five… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on October 7th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayWhile Kenner only offered one creature each for Star Wars (the Patrol Dewback) and Return of the Jedi (the Rancor), for The Empire Strikes Back they offered two: the Wampa and the Tauntaun, both of which originally retailed for $8.99 in stores. As you can see, I paid almost three times that ($24.99) for this one in a fairly beat up box a few years ago. Note the vintage sticker price of $7.77 on this particular box. Like other Kenner boxes, the back of this one shows you suggested ways to play with your tauntaun. You can move his arms… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on September 30th, 2015 in Star Wars, Star Wednesday(I shortened this weekly feature’s name from “Star Wars Wednesday” to “Star Wednesday” — it’s no less horrible, just shorter.) On this week’s Star Wednesday, I’ll be taking a look at this metal Boba Fett coin bank. I own hundreds (if not thousands) of Star Wars collectibles that offer no real world functionality. They sit on shelves, and I enjoy looking at them, but they don’t do anything. I have shelves and shelves of items like that, which is why over the past few years I’ve started looking for Star Wars related items that I can incorporate into my daily… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on September 23rd, 2015 in Star Wars, Star WednesdayWelcome to a new feature here at RobOHara.com I’m calling “Star Wars Wednesday,” in which I talk about a Star Wars item from my personal collection each Wednesday. (Okay, so the column title isn’t going to win any awards for originality…) This week’s featured items are a pair of The Empire Strikes Back mugs, released by Deka in 1980. Deka released a series of plastic mugs and breakfast bowls for all three Star Wars films. Four different mugs were released for Empire: one with R2-D2, C-3P0 and Chewbacca; one with Yoda; one with Boba Fett and Darth Vader, and this… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on December 29th, 2014 in Star WarsWe have a pretty strict ban in my family about buying things for yourself that lasts from Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, which prevents people from buying things for themselves that might already be wrapped up and hidden away in a closet. Recently, Star Wars released a line of 18″ figures, and I’ve been waiting for Christmas to come and go so I can pick one or two of them up. I’m getting too old and too broke to collect them all anymore, but one of my favorite figures of all time is the Biker Scout. Now I gotta tell ya,… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on June 9th, 2014 in Star WarsLike many of us, Steve Sansweet was enamored with Star Wars when it hit the big screen back in 1977. Almost immediately after its release he began collecting Star Wars toys. That’s not particularly unusual; lots of us owned Star Wars toys back in the late 70s. Some of us, like myself, have even hung on to those vintage toys and added to our collections. For me personally, the culmination of this collecting has been my Star Wars Room, a room in my house lined with shelves designed to display my collection of Star Wars toys and memorabilia. For Steve… (read more)
Posted by RobOHara ( @Commodork) on May 21st, 2014 in Star WarsEach time a morsel of news related to the new Star Wars films currently in production hits the web, I get asked the same question by people: “Are you looking forward to the new Star Wars films?” In short, I am. I saw the original Star Wars the summer of 1977 shortly before I turned four-years-old, and the other two films on opening day. I may have previously mentioned that my dad took me to see Return of the Jedi opening day (May 25, 1983) the day after I had my tonsils removed. I remember standing in line outside the… (read more)
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