The Take-Down Two. (Vintage Admiral Ackbar, Vintage General Lando Calrissian)
Who do you call to lead a merry band of Rebels into battle?
Oh yeah: Admiral Ackbar and General Lando “Lady’s Choice” Calrissian.
That is of course if you want to kick some ass.
The Final Sale. (Vintage Jawas, Vintage R2-D2)
The Snow Patrol.
(Vintage Han Solo (Hoth Battle Gear), Vintage Tauntauns, Vintage Luke Skywalker (Hoth Battle Gear))
Empire Strikes Back toys are always quick to creep up on my photo radar. They were the last toys that I really collected and played with as a kid back in the early ’80s.
What was the last bunch of toys you collected before rock ‘n roll and boys/girls took over?
Rescue Plan, Step 1. (Vintage Lando Calrissian (Skiff Guard Disguise))
Metal on Metal. (Vintage C-3PO, Vintage Rebel Commander)
Snowspeeder Deconstructed. (Vintage Snowspeeder)
A few weeks back I had some spare time on a Friday morning so I decided to have a go at taking apart my vintage Snowspeeder in order that I might fix the electronics inside. I mean, it’s winter after all. Every self-respecting Snowspeeder owner should be able to shoot laser beams if the occasion calls for it.
As is often the case with taking apart old toys, the exercise turned out to be much more about cleaning than actually fixing. After I finished removing the dust and grime I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the parts looked. Clean, yes, but more than that the disassembled lot of parts almost seemed to come alive. Decades-old secrets finally revealed.
So it goes without saying: if you collect this stuff and have ever thought about getting under the hood to see what’s inside, I say go for it. It’s a rewarding experience on many levels. And specifically if you want to pull apart your vintage Snowspeeder to fix the lights and sounds, chances are all you need to do is get down to the tiny motor and assist it in turning a few times while you hold down the button. Once it’s freed up a bit you’ll be amazed how quickly it returns to its original action.
Oh, one last thing. After I took this photo I noticed that one part did not make it into the frame. Are you Star Wars geek enough to know which part it is? Be the first to name it in the comments below and you just might win a cool prize. (One guess per person please.)
Check out the current vintage Snowspeeder listings here.
If you’re a collector of loose Kenner vehicles from the vintage Star Wars run and you don’t own the vintage Snowspeeder yet, it’s time to turn that ship around. Ounce for ounce, this is my favorite vehicle for the whole ’78 to ’85 period.
For overall look the Snowspeeder’s got it where it counts. Add on the awesome lights and sound and you can see why we’ve got gold medal material. The harpoon and cool kickstand are icing on the cake.
Ready to climb aboard? Just keep in mind this checklist before going off half cocked on eBay:
1. The Snowspeeder’s lights and sounds are integral to your enjoyment factor. Make sure they both work before bidding. Sure you could take it apart and horse around with fixing the electronics, but that’s something to avoid unless you’ve really got the feel for it.
2. This vehicle has a ton of stickers applied to it. Something like 27 to be exact. Try to get a good feel that they’re all there and not peeling up. For this reason you might want to focus on the Snowspeeders that have clearly been kept over the years with their original box. I’ve seen a strong correlation between a present original box and nice looking stickers.
3. The rear harpoon with its black tether are a MUST. Make sure its there!
Best of luck, and if you have any other thoughts feel free to add them in the comments below.
Leia's Midnight Ride.
(Vintage Luke Skywalker in Battle Poncho, Vintage Princess Leia in Combat Poncho, Vintage Han Solo in Trench Coat, Vintage Paploo, Vintage Wicket W. Warrick, Vintage Speeder Bike))
This marks the first time I’ve photographed the vintage Speeder Bike.
As toys go it’s a fairly genius design that features a tension bar for holding the action figure’s legs into place, steering flaps on the rear that articulate in conjunction with the bottom struts, and of course the best – a secret button that explodes the whole shebang.
Those Biker Scouts never see it coming!
Well Armed for the Rebellion. (Vintage FX-7)
This droid, the venerable FX-7 from the Empire Strikes Back, was no exception. What he lacked in terms of a cool blaster he more than made up for with 8 robo-arms that you could either have fastened to his side or popped out for droid-at-work mode. Also featured was a telescoping head just in case FX needed to get the jump on any creeping-up creeps.
The Rescue Plan, Step 2. (Vintage Bib Fortuna, Vintage Leia in Boushh Disguise, Vintage Chewbacca)
Blues for Snaggletooth.
(Vintage Luke Skywalker, Vintage Blue Snaggletooth, Vintage Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi)
Hands down one of my favorite action figures back in the late ’70s was the short-statured red Snaggletooth. So it’s ironic that it was only about 3 years ago (when I began collecting as an adult) that I first heard about the rare and hallowed blue Snaggletooth.
It goes like this: in the original era of Star Wars action figure collecting information didn’t move in the mercurial manner it does today. If a toy wasn’t on your local shelves or reeling you in through a Saturday morning TV commercial it basically didn’t exist. And given that the blue Snaggletooth (available only in a very short run with a Sears Cantina playset) was neither, you can see how he escaped notice.
I’m glad I’ve got the blue Snaggletooth now. He’s exceptionally cool with his silver moon boots and, despite the hype I was still able to land him for well south of a hundred bucks. But when push comes to shove, it’s his small-fry counterpart that still wins me over.
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.
The Blue Snaggletooth is a highly-coveted vintage Kenner figure and therefore fetches higher prices. Depending on the condition, you can expect to pay between $70 and $140. That’s a fair amount of ka-ching so by all means pay close attention to what you’re getting into.
Some things to watch for:
The Blue Snaggletooth boots came painted silver. Not uncommon to see heavy wear in this area as (I’m guessing here) that silver paint didn’t have much staying power. So look closely at that.
He should also have a black Han Solo type blaster.
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.