Gamorrean Guard (ROTJ 1983-84)

Probably the biggest complaint I have about the Gamorrean Guard (and others will attest to this) is that the thing never fit in any - any - figure cases. I don't care if you have the Vader case, the Laser Rifle Case, or are using a Yugo as a carrying case, this fatso never fit in anything! That beer gut! The immovable head! That green porcine face!

The guard came with a vibro axe, which anyone who has read any kind of science fiction/cyber punk literature knows that this blade instrument can do much more damage than a regular axe because it vibrates a gajillion times a second. The Guard also came in ROTJ and much, much rarer POTF packaging (look on Ebay - pricey!).

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:

1. Someone's getting eaten by the Rancor, and it sure ain't me.

2. Test out some Jedi mind tricks on this easy species.

3. The perfect gift to tell that armchair quarterback exactly what you think of them.

4. The perfect mascot for any Irish pigs you know.

5. An axe? In the Star Wars Universe? Really? And it's not with an Ewok? I've got to see this.

Backstory:

Gamorreans come from the lush jungle planet of Gamorr (why do sci-fi planets always have one climate? Earth has dozens!). They are a primitive species (duh!) governed by matriarchal clans. Because of their fighting abilities and dumb nature, they are often employed by crime lords who can get them on the cheap. Twelve Gamorreans were brought to Jabba by Han Solo and Chewbacca (when they were still in his employ) - two of them were named Gartog and Ortugg. No clue on which one the figure is supposed to be.

Want to know more? Wookieepedia article

61st in alphabetical order

4-LOM (ESB 1980-82)

Another bounty hunter! Although they got very little screen time in ESB, bounty hunters are just so damn popular. So popular, that in later years (after the original Kenner line) Hasbro came out with a full bounty hunter pack, even though Boba Fett is really the only one of consequence in the original films.

4-LOM and Zuckuss got their names mixed around in the original line - this has since been corrected in later lines. The one pictured here is actually Zuckuss, an alien. 4-LOM, as it sounds, is actually the name of the droid.

This figure came with a unique blaster, and on an ESB and ROTJ card. His "robe" is made of a leathery material that is unlike anything found on other figures. Over that is a vest/backpack combo which is part of the alien's survival suit.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. How often do you get the chance to own an actual bug-eyed alien?

2. That pleather robe makes me...feel kinda funny.

3. Two words: Bounty. Hunter.

4. Give it up for the shortest bounty hunter out there (excepting the late Boussh).

5. You have to feel sorry for the guy - they got his name wrong.

Backstory:

Zuckuss (as I will correctly call him) was a "findsman" and a native ammonia-breathing Gand. After the arrival of the Empire to his home planet he went off-world and found work as a bounty hunter due to his uncanny ability to find people (he was partially Force-sensitive). He was often forced to wear a containment suit while working in oxygen-based atmospheres, such as Vader's ship. He also was a schizophrenic with multiple-personality disorder, each personality able to speak a different dialect entirely.

Zuckuss eventually teamed with the droid 4-LOM, and they enjoyed a successful hunting career. During the Battle of Hoth, they rescued some Rebels in an attempt to infiltrate the Rebellion and gain access to Han Solo. Zuckuss, however, was in critical shape due to a previous lung injury. The Rebels befriended him, game him new lungs, and he an 4-LOM joined the Rebellion for a time. He later went back to bounty hunting, and eventually landed in a Coruscant jail.

Want more? Wookieepedia article

60th in alphabetical order

FX-7 (Medical Droid) (ESB 1980-82)

Many of my SW toys first came from garage sales that my dad had stopped at. My first brush with an FX-7 figure came in such a way. Thus, I had no f@#*ing idea what it was. I figured it was Star Wars because it came with a bunch of other Star Wars things, but it was only later looking at some card's back that I figured it out. It comes on an ESB and a ROTJ card.

FX-7 is another one of those now-you-see-me-now-you-don't characters from the movies. Along with 2-1B, it helped Luke recover from his Wampa encounter on Hoth.

Why should you care? My five reasons:

1. You are cooler than everyone else because you don't follow the crowd. You only had so much money for a figure, but you didn't get one of those Han in Hoth gears clogging up the racks, you got an FX-7!

2. There are at least 8 arms on the thing! This isn't your humanoid C-3PO, this is like mecha-octopus.

3. Everyone of those 8 arms can move. The grasping arm rotates, the other seven can, um, pop out. Well they still move damnit! Anyone who ever had this figure and played with it a lot can attest that getting those arms back in place after a while can be a real bitch.

4. This is a fairly accurate representation of a character that had very little screen time. The head even rotates.

5. There is no other way you can complete your homage to Bacta tanks and Wampa injuries without an FX-7.

Backstory:

At the time of Empires Strikes Back, FX-7 was slightly dated but still a good medical droid. He (yes, apparently it is a he) had worked with 2-1B for over a year, but 2-1B was still his superior. They both escaped on one of the last rebel ships to leave the Hoth system.

A look at the photo on the front of the card shows the detail that went into this droid prop, especially considering his little screen time. The real prop had a lot more arms than the figure, but hey, how much can you accomplish with small pieces of plastic?

Want more? Wookieepedia article

59th in alphabetical order

Ewok Village Action Playset (ROTJ)

Meet the biggest accessory of Ewok ingenuity, the Ewok Village playset! Relive every exciting Ewok-filled moment from Return of the Jedi! Throw a net on our Rebel friends! Swing a big rock into an AT-ST! Other things to do on here include:
- A branch and twig elevator for figures
- Roast a figure over the firepit on a spit
- Levitate C-3PO on his “throne”
- Hide a figure in an alcove!
- Drop a figure into the hole in one part of a tree and it comes out the other below! much like your old Fisher Price Sesame Street set!
- Drum!

While we never got to see a tree village playset from the Star Wars Christmas Special, we got the Ewok Village. Maybe they’ll finally make a tree village set from what little we got to see of Chewbacca’s home planet in Revenge of the Sith. This playset was later given some plastic green foliage and used as the Sherwood Forest playset in Kenner’s line of action figures from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. See how it was re-used at the site Recycling of the Force.

Why should you own this set? Five reasons:

1. Where else to store your many, many Ewok figures?

2. Relive the almost fatal BBQing of Han Solo and the bunch.

3. Well, if you get enough Lukes in Stormtrooper disguise, you can make the stormtrooper helmet drums on the railing.

4. Marvel at how the Ewoks can build an elevator! And a drum!

5. Know in your heart, that this is the closest you’ll come to getting a Chewbacca-home playset.

Backstory:

Simply a recreation – on a smaller scale – of the Ewok’s home village. To make it more interesting, Kenner has put all the Ewok moments here as well. From the Ewoks cartoon we learn that this particular village is called “Bright Tree Village.”

Want more? Wookieepedia article

58th in alphabetical order

Ewok Combat Glider (ROTJ)

Those nutty Ewoks! First, they have an obnoxious amount of traps ready for all the AT-STs (which the one driven by Chewbacca seems to avoid), then they have flying contraptions. All this for a bunch of primitive furballs.

The Ewok Combat Glider lets you attach your favorite Ewok (or similarly-sized figure) to a hang glider-like thing that was somehow light enough to carry two small boulders and a passenger.

Why should you own this…vehicle? Five reasons:

1. Like the Catapult, you can’t resist that it comes with two balls.

2. If you’re an Ewok fan, you have to get it.

3. If you’re not, get it as proof of the ineffectual nature of the Ewoks. Did this really help them?

4. All the good Star Wars vehicles were sold out.

5. This was on a clearance rack.

Backstory:

It’s remarkable that the Ewoks mastered flight at their stage in cultural advancement, yet somehow they did. The Ewok Hang Glider (as other sources refer to it) was simply skins of various animals tanned to a tight and light leather, supported by a framework of strong but light wood.

Want more? Wookieepedia article

57th in alphabetical order

Ewok Battle Wagon Vehicle (POTF)

The original Power of the force line produced some of the rarest Star Wars collectibles on the planet, including…an Ewok Battle Wagon? While it was never seen in ROTJ, it was featured prominently in at least one episode of Ewoks (although not with all the features). This vehicle was only released in POTF packaging.

The features of the Battle Wagon included:

- A front-lowering ramp

- Battering ram

- Ladder

- Large animal skull on top for a protective “cockpit”

- Portable jail for (pictured) stormtroopers and bad guys

- Wheels

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. Despite it being Ewok, it is the coolest Ewok thing you’ll ever own.

2. The POTF packaging says it all: rare, rare, rare.

3. The best proof that Ewoks are badasses – they killed something with a skull that size

4. One of the few wheeled vehicles in the whole Star Wars universe. That means you don’t have to keep holding it to simulate floating. That is soooooo tiring.

5. Could be substituted as some middle-ages device.

Backstory:

Built by one of Wicket’s ancestors, the Battle Wagon helped the Ewoks gain dominance over the Duloks and win their “civil” war. Wicket rediscovered it neglected in the forest, the Duloks captured it, it was soon recaptured by the Ewoks, and they again thwarted the Duloks. Some people have speculated about the “Bantha” skull on top, but Banthas are native to Tatooine, not Endor, plus it only vaguely resembles a Bantha. The Wagon was also re-used as a toy in the Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves line (see here at Recycling of the Force).

Want more? Wookieepedia article

56th in alphabetical order

Ewok Assault Catapult Accessory (ROTJ)

One of several Ewok toys produced, but not as satisfying as playing with a real catapult. Seen in the movie, but proves pretty useless against heavy artillery. Against ground troops, however, they seem to do just fine. It only came in an ROTJ box, and even though it wasn’t actually produced for the Ewoks line, it is featured on the back of the cartoon figures.

Why should you own this accessory? Five reasons:

1. Just add a good spring somewhere, then you can do some real catapult action.

2. Re-enact hitting AT-STs and merely pissing them off.

3. Have a contest - which is more effective: the catapult against AT-STs or the Radar Laser Cannon against AT-ATs?

4. Ewok catapult! No, really – catapult an Ewok.

5. Comes with two balls. Yeah, you heard me right.

Backstory:

The development of the Ewok Catapult goes back to the thinktank labs of the Bright Tree Village braintrust…no, I’m just kidding. It’s just a catapult – the Ewoks must have developed it sometime in their history. It is featured both in the movie and the cartoon.

Short Wookieepedia article on catapults

55th in alphabetical order

EV-9D9 (POTF 1985)

Among some of the last figures produced, the Power of the Force line became instantly collectible because they are some of the rarest of the original line. EV-9D9 only came on a POTF card with her coin and no accessories. Despite having no guns (like pretty much every droid in the original line - except bounty hunters) it is a cool figure - look at reason #1.

Why should you get this figure? Five reasons:

1. Look at the last picture. There is lever in the back of her head which makes here mouth move. That's more action than any other figure in the line!

2. A female droid? Yes, a female droid. All the literature says so. When are you ever going to get a female droid again?

3. That third eye. Not only is she a control freak, she's a freak-freak.

4. The ultimate head caterer for any sail barge/Jedi roast get-together.

5. She is one crazy b*tch.

Backstory:

EV-9D9 actually worked in Cloud City during Lando's management. However, her sadomasochistic tendencies got the better of her and she systematically tortured many of the droids in Bespin. After her controller found out, she fled the system, but not before partially sabotaging the City as a distraction. She found her way to Jabba's palace and quickly climbed the ranks. She secretly built a room for her tortuous experiments and built droids out of spare parts that felt pain, even giving pain receptors to droids that didn't have them, for her own sick pleasure.

After finding out that Lando had infilitrated the palace, EV-9D9 thought that he and his droids (R2 an C-3PO) were there for her, although they were there for Han. Before she could implement any recourse, she was tracked down by one of the tortured droids from Bespin, which let loose her own creations on her.

Want more? The Wookieepedia article

54th in alphabetical order

Endor Forest Ranger Vehicle (ROTJ)

Another four mini-rigs were produced for the Return of the Jedi line, the Ranger being one of them. None of the rigs actually appeared in any form in the movies, but it can be said that they exist “in the Star Wars universe.”

The Ranger had two forward mounted guns, a round cockpit for one figure, and two sideways-firing guns (well, not really firing). It was kind of a unique vehicle (as were many of the mini-rigs), with a round cockpit and large side guns. It only came in a ROTJ box.

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. The big, oversized guns!

2. Only the cool guys patrol Endor in a Forest Ranger – not one of those wimpy Speeder Bikes.

3. The only SUV on Endor.

4. “Ranger” is always a cool-sounding name. Unless, of course, its attached to a car.

5. With its shape and color, could double as a G.I. Joe vehicle. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt that Kenner re-used it in their G.I. Joe line (I have not looked this up).

Backstory:

There really isn’t one. The Ranger does not appear in any of the Star Wars Expanded Universe works. It does not appear in the films. There is no manufacturer listed. Also, why does it need such big guns when the Empire has already been kicked off Endor? You can see the Wookieepedia article doesn't have much more.

53rd in alphabetical order

Emperor’s Royal Guard (ROTJ 1983-84)

The Royal Guard looked to be real bad asses. The red helmet with the “I won’t take any s---t from you” stare. The robed standing-at-attention stance. The big lances. Then, during the movie, they did…nothing. Nothing! The Emperor gets killed, and they do nothing! Sure, he sent them away, but even the Secret Service has tabs on the President all the time. Apparently, there may have been a deleted scene where the guards confronted an admiral, but that has not been publicly shown.

The figure was only released on ROTJ backing, and included a force pike as a weapon. The red cloth robe was attached at the base of the helmet, with a slit for one arm to come out and grasp the pike. Neither the robe nor the cape could be removed – except by wrecking the figure.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Despite their movie inaction, it still looks bad ass.

2. Great red figure for ex-Soviet lovers.

3. Goes great with an Imperial Shuttle.

4. Create a scene where the Guards actually do something, like Grevious’ robot guards in Revenge of the Sith.

5. The force pike makes a great limbo pole for all the figures.

Backstory:

They were first formed as the Red Guard for the Republic Senate after Palpatine claimed rumors of corruption in the Senate. They later became the Emperor’s personal guard. They were handpicked from among the best stormtroopers, and underwent rigorous and grueling training. To keep in fighting form, some were always rotated out on combat missions, so some survived the destruction of the second Death Star. These remaining Guards were chronicled in the graphic novel series Crimson Empire, where they fought for supremacy. They also came back together to protect the clone Emperor in Dark Empire, but one of their own had sabotaged the Emperor’s clones so he would not live long.

Want more? Full article at Wookieepedia

52nd in alphabetical order

The Emperor (ROTJ 1983-83)

What did I want to do with the Emperor figure? I wanted to shoot lightning out of his freakin’ hands! Given the looser rules on toy safety back then, I might have gotten my wish with a Special Edition Sparking Emperor or something like that. Unfortunately, by the time the original Emperor figure came out in stores the line was starting to wind down.

The Emperor figure came out on both ROTJ and POTF cards, and came only with a cane. A cane!

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Stick a couple of sparklers in his hands and, voila, you have Force lightning!

2. Re-create the deleted scene where a young stormtrooper shows the Emperor how to work his computer!

3. That cane might not be a match for the Rebels, but I bet it could stand its own against some Ewoks.

4. If you do it just right, you might be able to balance the Emperor in Vader’s hands. It might require some tape.

5. That mysterious cloak? That gravelly voice? You just figured out a present for your grandpa!

Backstory:

After the original movies, the Emperor was finally given the name Palpatine, so anyone who knew that fact knew years before the prequels came out that he was going to be the bad guy. Palpatine was supposedly born on Naboo, in the city of Theed (it is unknown if this is true or what he claimed), and his Force prowess somehow was unnoticed by the Jedi, but was discovered by his master, Darth Plagueis. When he felt that Plagueis might be making an apprentice to replace him, Palpatine killed him in his sleep, and continued the training of his own apprentice, Darth Maul.

Palpatine entered Naboo politics 70 years before the Battle of Yavin, carefully hiding his true identity. He eventually rose through the ranks, becoming the Naboo Senator to the Galactic Republic. He remained modest for some time, slowly manipulating things for his own interest in the background. During the events of the prequels he ramped things up, framing Chancellor Valorum for corruption, and with sympathy for his home planet, got himself elected Chancellor. Engineering both the rise of the Trade Federation and their robots armies, and secretly planning the clone armies, Palpatine eventually got them into major conflicts. With the “fate of the galaxy” in the balance, he got more and more power voted for himself, using both manipulation and dark Force mind tricks. In the meantime he also took another apprentice (Darth Tyrannus/Count Dooku) after Maul’s death, while he waited for Anakin to mature.

With so much power, he was able to reform the Republic into an Empire, with himself at the head. He also had secretly given orders to eliminate the Jedi should they become “rebellious.” After engineering the destruction of the Jedi, he consolidated his power and ruled much of the galaxy until Anakin’s son became a Jedi, and influenced Anakin into killing Palpatine. Palpatine did return, however, transferring his spirit into a prepared clone body, but the clone bodies had been sabotaged by one of the former Royal Guards, and a Jedi eventually destroyed Palpatine’s spirit before it could take over Leia and Han’s baby son, Anakin Solo.

Want more? Full article at Wookieepedia

51st in alphabetical order

8D8 (ROTJ 1983-84)

8D8 reminds you that it is not human. While most droids had a pleasant voice, or a friendly little “gonk” sound, all we saw of 8D8 was him manning a hot smelter to torture a droid. Oooooookay. No voice, no expression, just a blank stare, empty eyes, and an open “mouth.”

8D8 came on an ROTJ card with no accessories. Of course, the only accessory he is seen with is a droid torture device. Lo and behold, when the figure line was started again in the 1990’s, 8D8 actually came with the device! Much later we get the Bespin torture chair for Han. The figure was a little bulkier than in the character in the movie, but getting a figure as skinny as that (a puppet on-screen) may have been a little difficult.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. Who doesn’t love a torturer? What – people who have been tortured? Oh, yeah.

2. The favorite figure of many a sadistic dictator.

3. The closest Star Wars came to a Terminator endoskeleton.

4. Art buffs enjoy 8D8’s similarity to Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”

5. The shortest name in the Star Wars action figure line!

Backstory:

8D8 was built by the Verpine Roche hive for use in ore extraction facilities. This line was not built to be overly sophisticated, but meant for simple tasks, some which required strength. However, when EV-9D9 came to Jabba’s, she reprogrammed 8D8 for torture on both organic beings and droids. 8D8 still didn’t like her though.

Want more? His Wookieepedia article

50th in alphabetical order

Early Bird Certificate Package (SW 1977-78)

One of the most brilliant things that George Lucas ever did was to waive certain director payments to him from the first Star Wars film in order to secure the licensing rights to Star Wars for himself. Whether he thought “What the hell?” or what, he is now a very, very, very rich man because of that decision. Kenner, likewise, had a decision to make when they got the toy manufacturing rights to the Star Wars films – what to make? Well, the only things they could get out in time for Christmas 1977 were some Star Wars board games and puzzles (everyone and their mother had one of those puzzles). They couldn’t get the figures out in time, but what they could get out was an empty box. Yes, an empty box.

That empty box was known as the Early Bird Certificate Package. Okay, it wasn’t really empty, but it had no figures. What it had was a certificate to send away for four figures (Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and R2), a display stand (which you couldn’t really use until the figures came), a Star Wars Club membership card, and stickers.

The certificate insured that you would get the four figures, but they came after Christmas, in the first few months of the new year. The first sets included Luke with a double telescoping lightsaber, and Chewbacca’s bowcaster had a greenish hue. The mail-away came with all their accessories and feet pegs so they could stand on the display. There was a recent *kind of* reissue of the Early Bird package that was a Wal-Mart exclusive. The packaging was identical, but the figures are the new editions and much more detailed and realistic.

Why should you get this set? Five reasons:

1. It was the first time you could get any Star Wars figures.

2. In hindsight, this is now worth a lot of money. How much? Well, never mind – you couldn’t afford it. Check Ebay if you’re interested.

3. Stickers! Who doesn’t like stickers?

4. A membership card! Finally, you belong!

5. The ultimate Kenner Star Wars collector’s item. If you think you have everything but don’t have this, you…have…nothing!

Dulok Shaman (Ewoks)

Another Dulok, huh? The second of four Dulok figures, it came with a skull-topped staff (but not a cool one like Amanaman) and a string tied around his neck (near as I can figure it). Four Dulok figures, and only two actual Ewoks – from the animated Ewoks show? Oh, well.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. With only six figures, it’s pretty easy to collect this whole line (yes, I reused this one).

2. Pretend he’s the puny Hulk.

3. Your sister collected those asinine Smurfs. But you showed her – you got a Dulok!

4. For those people who really don’t like other people to know what figure they own.

5. Those red eyes? You can pretend he’s from the movie 30 Days Later. Yeah, that’s it.

Backstory:

This figure is of the Dulok Shaman, Umwak, who was King Gorneesh’s right-hand man. It is questionable if he actually had any magic (anyone in the Star Wars universe that has "magic" has some Force powers) or was just a huckster.

Want more? His Wookieepedia article

48th in alphabetical order

Dulok Scout (Ewoks)

Wow, a real Dulok. And look, he comes with a club. Awesome. For those unfamiliar with the Dulok species, they were the main rival to Ewoks on Endor, lived in swampy areas, and were quite warlike and slightly taller than Ewoks. They spoke a language that was very similar to what Ewoks spoke because they could understand each other. They may have even been distantly related. The Dulok Scout figure simply represents a generic Dulok, like the Stormtrooper figure represents any stormtrooper.

Why should you own this figure? Five reasons:

1. With only six figures, it’s pretty easy to collect this whole line.

2. Dulok Scout! That’s way better than…wait, what’s a Dulok Scout?

3. So green you can hide it in a Jello mold.

4. Can be collected by people of the green movement.

5. Club and a coin? What a bargain!

Backstory:
The Duloks were only featured on the Ewoks animated show, but since most of the show is considered canon, we can assume they were just laying low during the events of ROTJ. One is shown on Coruscant during the Clone Wars animated series, however. No clue on how it got there.

Want more? Wookieepedia article on Duloks

47th in alphabetical order

Droid Factory (SW)

If you were one of the people to actually have this, good for you. If you are one of the few to still have this, and with all the pieces – I stand up and applaud you friend. Bravo! There is no other single playset or vehicle in the original line that includes so many small and disparate pieces. Heck, you have even one younger sibling and you can all but guarantee some lost pieces.

The Droid Factory came with many interlinking parts, enabling you to build various droids (duh!). All the parts fit into notches molded into the orange base. A crane could also help you “lift” the various parts. This was released in an SW and ESB box. The British Palitoy version inexplicably had a different molded base and did not have the crane. Why? Who knows? This was also the only way, in the original line, you could get an R2-D2 with a certain third appendage. The base was also re-used later as Jabba’s Dungeon.

Why should you get this playset? Five reasons:

1. First and foremost, the only way you could get an R2-D2 with the middle leg.

2. Despite its questionable canonicity, it was fun to construct droids.

3. The box picture with Jawas streaming all over – funny because they are scavengers, not builders.

4. Robots with treads, with wheels – this was actually kind of weird and different.

5. Probably the closest you’ll get to the droid factories on Geonosis. Oh, don’t remember that? Watch Attack of the Clones. Okay, don’t. No one’s forcing you to.

Backstory:

Not much backstory, since it is just a playset made up for the toys, and no real basis in the Star Wars universe. Of course, one could always argue that a droid factory like this does exist..somewhere…since the SW universe is so vast.

Want more? Wookieepedia article on droid foundrys

46th in alphabetical order

Desert Sail Skiff Vehicle (ROTJ)

Making a dive into the collection of mini-rigs we pull out...the Desert Sand Skiff. Not to be confused by the Tatooine Skiff that came out later in the POTF line, or Jabba's Sand Barge, which never came out at all. The Desert Sand Skiff was another attempt to not only extend the toy line (even though they had a lot more vehicles to make) but bring in another vehicle that was more cheaply priced. After all, you can only play with figures for so long before you want them to ride or fly in something.

The Skiff comes with a nice sun-ablating canopy (like Jabba's Sand Barge), two adjustable rudder fins (like the Tatooine Skiff), a pull-out gangplank (like the other Skiff), and a waist-high blaster. As you can see from the pictures on the box, we are suppose to believe that Jabba had some of these in service, and his crew, and a certain hired bounty hunter, employed them. Hey, it's just a toy - believe what you want!

Why should you own this vehicle? Five reasons:

1. You were too damn cheap to get the full-size skiff.

2. The full-size skiff hadn't actually come out yet - maybe you weren't cheap.

3. Boba Fett used it...according to the box. That's all the endorsement you need! He also says it comes with rich, Corinthian leather!

4. What parent wouldn't get a toy for their children that encourages marching figures to their death off a gangplank?

5. A nice sandbox toy - until you figure out how hard sand is to get out of everything.

Backstory:

The Skiff was another mini-rig that Kenner pretty much made up for a smaller version of a popular vehicle that a lot of kids could still afford. However, it did make an appearance as the Desert Sail-20 Skiff (manufactured by Ubrikkian Industries) in the animated series, Droids.

Want more? Wookieepedia article

45th in alphabetical order

Dengar (ESB 1980-82)

Maybe Dengar wasn't the most glamorous of figures. Maybe he didn't have as much play value. But damnit - look at him! He's a man's man. He doesn't care if you've been out on the trail pushing cattle and you haven't showered in 8 days. He's been there, man.

Dengar, obviously known as one of the bounty hunters summoned by Vader to hunt down Han Solo and the bunch in The Empire Strikes Back.

Why do you want this figure? Five reasons:

1. That scowl. You can just imagine that the galactic Time-Life series "Bounty Hunters," says he once shot a man for snoring too loud.

2. He doesn't need fancy equipment - he's got scavenged armor from a snowtrooper and sandtrooper.

3. He's got the guts to wear said armor in an Imperial star destroyer in front of the second-in-charge Imperial Dark Lord.

4. He's got a big laser rifle. I hear the ladies like that.

5. He's a bounty hunter - you need all of them.

This figure came on an Empire Strikes Back card and later a Return of the Jedi card (in the U.S.). Although he had a little more screen time than some flash-in-the-pan characters, he never had a coin like that cocky Amanaman!

Backstory:

Dengar once was an acquaintance/rival of Solo's on Corellia when they were younger. In a swoop bike race (see the Wookieepedia if you don't know that reference) Han flashed Dengar with his burners, scarring him for life. Dengar thought it was on purpose and set about getting his revenge on Solo - Episode VI was originally named "Revenge of Dengar: You Know, That One Bounty Hunter You Saw For 10 Seconds in The Empire Strikes Back." Dengar jumped at the Empire's offer to hunt down Solo. In the course of doing so, Dengar fell in love with some native woman and settled down. He also mellowed out and forgave Han a bit.

His backstory is actually much more extensive, involving Imperial cybernetic implants and service to the Empire after his swoop crash. He later defected and became a bounty hunter, was recaptured by the Empire and given a choice of death or hunt for them. He was also occasionally recruited by the Rebellion, and only really knew emotions again (he was kind of emotionless because of his implants) when the Aruzan woman Manaroo shared her feelings with him cybernetically. This all happened in the novels, so let's just pretend he's still a mysterious Marlboro Man - without all the smoke (the Empire went smoke-free after it was found that it was almost impossible to wash out of Vader's cape).

Full story? Wookieepedia article

44th in alphabetical order