Word: actioner
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Being an avid Star Wars fan, I found myself in good company. As we stood in line, customers debated how the toys would be set up, which action figures would be more rare than others and their excitement at the imminent release of the film itself. One fellow had just come off the plane from Colorado, where the Lucasfilm-sponsored Star Wars Celebration convention. Another fan strolled up and down the line dressed as Darth Vader, waving a toy light saber menacingly at the laughing crowd. Of course, this was a mere taste of the chaos that will surround ticket...
While Star Wars characters and logos now adorn nearly every type of product imaginable, one of the first and foremost products created for the original film was a series of action figures by a relatively small toy company called Kenner. Many stories surround the inception of the figures, but what is known for certain is that their small size (less than four inches) was a radical departure from the larger superhero figures of the late '70s. The figures' small size allowed Kenner to make vehicles and playsets that the figures could interact with easily but wouldn't take up half...
...years, all the way through Return of the Jedi. Around the late '80s, the line began to die out, and Star Wars merchandise became fodder for liquidation stores and thrift shops--and wise collectors. The early '90s saw a wave of nostalgia for the Star Wars films, and the action figures, now no longer in general circulation, became a hot commodity. Dealers thrived until Kenner unveiled a second, brand-new Star Wars figure line in 1995. Cashing in on nostalgic fans and people excited by rumors of the new film in the works, this new line was strongly influenced...
After the big rush, many Toys 'R Us stores, including the one in Alewife, pulled most of their regular Phantom Menace action figures off the shelves a few days after the release, to hold them until the film opens, when they will reportedly be released for a lower price. While this may ostensibly serve to combat the collectors who took half the merchandise in the first place, I can't help but remember what it was like for me as a kid, when I went to get that new figure I was excited about and had to settle for some...
Being an avid Star Wars fan, I found myself in good company. As we stood in line, customers debated how the toys would be set up, which action figures would be more rare than others and their excitement at the imminent release of the film itself. One fellow had just come off the plane from Colorado, where the Lucasfilm-sponsored Star Wars Celebration convention. Another fan strolled up and down the line dressed as Darth Vader, waving a toy light saber menacingly at the laughing crowd. Of course, this was a mere taste of the chaos that will surround ticket...