Star Wars: Overview
The History of Star Wars Action Figures
Star Wars action figures are credited with being one of the most successful examples of movie merchandising ever. These action figures completely changed the market and created an appetite for smaller sized representations. It also created a desire to collect whole sets of action figures based on the series; these figures were not only smaller but they were also a lot cheaper than what had gone previously.
Kenner were not actually able to get the figures into shops until early 1978; but they cleverly used an “early-bird” certificate scheme to allow people to put an order in advance. It came as little surprise that when the action figures finally reached the shops they were snapped up. Kenner only got the merchandising for Star Wars because it had been turned down by Mego in 1976; a decision they learnt to regret as they went into bankruptcy a few years later. The Kenner toy company managed to make a lot of money from Star Wars action figures between 1978 and 1985.In 1978 Kenner were only able to release four figures from the film; R2-D2, Princess Leia, Chewbacca, and Luke Skywalker. Seven years later there were 107 different action figures available to collect.
Hasbro acquired Kenner and later released a new line of Star Wars figures in 1995. There was an increase in demand for these figures in 1998 with the re-release of the original Star Wars followed by the first prequel in 1999; two more prequels followed up until 2005. This again ignited the interest in Star Wars toys and new figures were created to match the demand.
The Star Wars movies are the third most successful film series when it comes to money generated. There is a huge cult following surrounding the film, and the action figures are cherished by adults as well as children. The Star Wars universe is continuously being added to with computer games, books, and comics. There is good reason to believe that the action figure will also remain popular for many years to come. The original decision to produce cheaper items that could be collected turned out to be a brilliant strategy that has influenced the whole industry.
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Star Wars: Overview
Star Wars: Store
Star Wars: Storyline
Star Wars: The Bad Guys
Star Wars: The Good Guys