Tag: star wars

Star Wars Toys – Part 2

This time around I am bringing you a selection of Star Wars toys from the Wards 1978 Christmas catalog.

Star Wars Toy Ad from 1978 Wards Catalog
Star Wars Toy Ad from 1978 Wards Catalog

These Star Wars toys are the ones I remember the most from my childhood. I thought the Death Star would be cool to have but at the time I was using my Star Wars figures with the Matt Mason space station, which is probably why my parents didn’t get me the Death Star, but a friend of mine had one so I still got to play with it. I also had most of the figures in the upper left and the Landspeeder. (The Landspeeder is the toy that met its demise when I powered it up with a C6 model rocket engine.)

The model kit of Darth Vader’s head was a bit of a let down. When I started to put it together, I was sadly disappointed to find out the “rasping breathing sound” was made from brushes rubbing against plastic. They were putting AM radios into stuffed animals and this was the best they could do!?! (lol) It didn’t sound like Darth Vader at all. But his eyes did light up blue which was kind of cool.

http://youtu.be/Ma234xuos5I

Star Wars Toys from 1979 – Part 1

I have been putting this one off because there is just so much stuff out there. I decided that instead, I will just tackle a little bit at a time.

What can I say that everyone doesn’t already know about Star Wars. Even though I am a Battlestar Galactica guy, let’s face it, Star Wars was one of the greatest movies to ever come out in the 70s.

It released the imagination in almost every child that I knew.

Star Wars Toy Ad 1979
Star Wars Toy Ad 1979

So, for our first round we have the Millennium Falcon, Vader’s Tie Fighter, X-Wing Fighter, and an assortment of action figures. They also are selling the Boba Fett as a 13″ action figure.

I didn’t have any of the big action figures but I did have a whole slew of the smaller ones. The one I will never forget is Boba Fett. I can’t remember which cereal it was, but one of the brands was offering a free Boba Fett figure with whatever number of box tops that was needed. He actually came with a rocket that could be launched from his back!

I ate heartily, saved up my box tops, and then mom sent it in for my free figure. Weeks and weeks went by as I anxiously awaited the arrival of Boba Fett. I was beginning to think it was a lost parcel because it was taking so long! But then that one magical day arrived and there was a package in the mailbox for me. I torn into and then discovered why it took so long to get my Boba Fett. Child safety… they removed the launching rocket and put in a stationary one. 🙁

Bummer.

Battlestar Galactica

I know I am going make some people groan with this statement… I loved Battlestar Galactica more than Star Wars.

I do not recall which one I watched first. When Star Wars originally came out in 1977 I was not allowed to see “PG” movies, but I was allowed to go the following year on the movie’s second tour. And, as you can guess, 1978 was also the premiere of Battlestar Galactica on Sunday, July 7th, at 8:00pm.

I was hooked from the start. Almost overnight, my school supplies reflected my addiction as artistic renditions of “Colonial Vipers” and “Cylon Raiders” battled it out across the confines of my spiral bound notebook.

My parents and I rarely saw eye to eye when it came to my choice of TV shows but this was a rare gem that the whole family watched together.

If you are a Battlestar Galactica fan you probably watched the remake on the SyFy channel. I had mixed feelings about the new version.  I wanted to like it, but I hated the character changes such as Starbuck being a woman and that the Cylon  “toasters” where not a main focus. It was more about Cylons that looked human. As I continued to watch the series, it really grew on me and now has become one of my favorite series of all time.

Are you a Battlestar Fan?