While I've got a handful of vintage figures in my collecton, it's the Power of the Force line from the late '90s that really brings back the most nostalgia for me. These were the figures hitting stores when I first saw A New Hope back in '96, and they bring back many fond memories of my childhood and early years as a Star Wars collector.
Recently I've been trying to hunt down some of those PotF figures that I missed the first time around, and last week at the 2015 Wellington Toy Collectors' Fair I had the chance to tick a few more off my list. One of the vendors had a boxful of loose Star Wars figures, and I managed to nab an ASP-7 Droid and Dark Empire versions of both Luke and Leia for a total of $20.00.
The ASP-7 Droid made its debut in the much-maligned 1997 "Special Edition" of A New Hope. While he had barely ten-seconds of screen-time, I always loved his design. The droid also featured prominently in the Shadows of the Empire multimedia project that was released in the preceding year (and which still stands as my favourite piece of the Expanded Universe). This is the only time he ever made it to action-figure form, so I'm very glad to finally have one in my collection. This figure features five points of articulation (hips, shoulders, and neck) and comes with a pipe / beam accessory that fits well into his hands.
The other two figures are a little more eclectic, and were released as part of Hasbro's short-lived "Expanded Universe" line in 1998. Specifically, these versions of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia are taken from Dark Empire - a comic I absolutely loved as a teenager. Both figures feature the same articulation as the ASP-7, though Luke has an extra point of articulation in his right wrist that provides a few more posing opportunities. Each figures comes with a unique blaster and lightsaber, and Leia's cloak is removable. What's particularly interesting about these two figures is that they mark the only post-RotJ depiction of Luke and Leia that we've seen in action figure form. Now, this'll obviously change with the slew of figures that'll accompany The Force Awakens later this year. But to me, that makes this pair even more interesting. This is our one, brief glimpse into what could have been - into that ephemeral alternate timeline now dubbed "Legends"...
And I think that's pretty cool.
