A GUIDE TO VINTAGE STAR WARS FIGURES & ACCESSORIES

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VV LATEST

Luke Jedi Guide Launch

8th September 2023

It’s my pleasure to bring you the figure guide of one of the best figures in the entire Kenner line-up. Luke Jedi Knight!

Many of the licensees produced a version of this figure, so there’s no shortage of variants. We discuss snap capes, accessory pairing, fabric discoloration, film-related accessory alterations, and yes, Taiwan re-tooling. There’s also a COO sheet update now including all the cavities in the Taiwan family.

6th August 2023

The new content is coming fast this summer! At long last is the accessory guide for R2-D2’s Pop-Up saber 🙌

Lots of repros documented. All originals documented. Floaters and sinkers. Colour and mould comparisons in-between originals and repro vs original! Check it out! Worth it!

5th August 2023

This month Wolff & Tim take a poke at the Tusken Raider, and have produced an awesomely detailed guide for this figure.

Rare paint schemes, mixed parts,  head mould variations, foreign licenses and plenty of Hollow cheeks, if that’s your thing!

CANTINA CREATURES COO UPDATE

11th June 2023

It was Kenner’s usual operating practice through SW, ESB and ROTJ to have at least two vendors producing figures in unison for every character. However, the four Cantina creatures are an oddity within the Star Wars line. The Kenner versions were only manufactured from a single Asian vendor: “Smile” in Hong Kong.

It was only in the Kenner 65bk ROTJ era, that PBP received the moulds from Smile, and a second vendor was temporarily brought into the picture.

These Cantina characters all have two moulds (Snaggletooth has three thanks to the incorrect blue Snag version), so it’s a curiosity why Kenner chose to limit production of all the Cantinas to a single vendor. POTF era aside, Boba Fett and the Power Droid are the other single source outliers, and being relatively adjacent to the Cantinas in the order of release may explain Kenner’s thinking at the time.

So that said, what’s the update?

The previous understanding was the moulds went to PBP where they were temporarily altered to blob out the COOs, with the resulting scarred out COO figures all originating at PBP. We now know this isn’t the case. It seems that after PBPs short lease was fulfilled, the moulds were returned back to Smile in Hong Kong where production resumed. The temporary metal filler PBP used to blob out the Hong Kong COOs was left intact and Smile continued to produce figures that also featured scarred COOs, or in some cases altering them further to permanently remove the COO.

Snaggletooth COO v3.2
Hammerhead COO v3.2
Walrus Man COO v3.2
Greedo COO v3.2

I’m presenting this info, but I’d like to entirely credit Jon Meade for researching and reporting to us the likelihood of the moulds returning from Spain, and the late wave of Kenner figures with the scarred COOs.

A late credit to Nick Eppinga for first presenting us with the Hammerhead F1 Smile NCOO which is now included in the latest 3.2 update.

2nd August 2023

Mini update here. The main R2 guide was completed last year, but I’ve been holding off on fully updating the Wind-up Takara section till now.

There’s two mould families of this figure with a few variations between them. The Takara sticker information has also been updated with some extra little details for you guys to check out. 

4th July 2023

IG-88 focus guide has been a revelation.

We’ve detailed the evolution of the figure through the pre-production stages, discovered production issues, replacement limbs moulds, highlighted some major retooling, noted rare Kenner releases and even discovered a new version of the IG-88 accessory hiding in plain sight!

21st May 2023

A second Unitoy mould family has been hiding in plain sight. This figure has been confirmed on POTF cards to date. Full credit to Erik Terwijn for this awesome discovery.
 
Keep your eyes peeled guys – especially through the Jedi line – new variants are out there waiting to be found.

READ MORE »

22nd March 2023

In a complete overhaul of the figure, Jamie (aka Jabbawookiee) finally opens the hatch on the AT-AT Driver.

New COO sheet, new guide… Want to know your Kader from your Unitoy? How about two Smile families, moulding details, paint variations, a hodgepodge of mixed up parts, Spanish versions and yes, fancy manicures. Deep dive with us into one of the hardest figures in the whole SW line to unpick – the AT-AT Driver.

READ MORE »

22nd March 2023

Stef’s (aka.Walkie) original Top Toys guide has been on VV for some time, however I’m cleaning up the older content and wanted to bring all the cardbacks into a single reference section, and likewise for the Top Toys figure guides.

Top Toys CARDBACKS »
Top Toys FIGURE GUIDES »

While you’re in the mood for this peculiar Argentinian toy line, check out Wolff’s amazing collection of rare figures in the TOP TOYS GALLERY »

10th March 2023

Narayan’s back with another killer cardback reference guide, this time for the Yoda collectors.

It’s carefully curated ordering the cardbacks firstly into licensees, then divided further into the vendors. 

Use this guide in coordination with the updated Yoda figure guide and you’ll be able to track through Kenner’s process with a greater understanding of the figure.

Contact Us

Found a COO missing from the sheets? Would you like to submit a reproduction item to the database? Found an error or have a site suggestion?

Yes, please do get in touch.

Contact Us

Found a COO missing from the sheets? Would you like to submit a reproduction item to the database? Found an error or have a site suggestion?

Yes, please do get in touch.

We won’t be replying to questions asking advice about your individual items, price advice and before you ask, none of the pieces featured on the website are for sale. Thanks.

MEET THE VILLAINS

WOLFF

WOLFF

Chief Nerd &
founder of
Variant Villains

Chihuahua

Chihuahua

VV Contributor
& WordPress Rookie

WALKIE

WALKIE

VV Contributor

Holger

Holger

Technical Admin of Variant Villains

TIMMY

TIMMY

VV Contributor

FAGAN

FAGAN

VV Contributor

GILL

GILL

VV Contributor

OZIO

OZIO

VV Contributor

CRAIGY T

CRAIGY T

VV Contributor
Luke Jedi Guru

Special thanks to:

(no particular order)
Javier Ruilopez
Mark Baker
Jonathan Robinson
Thomas John
Frank Mewes
Daren Wilde
Kenneth Bækmark
James Kenneison
Ahmed Boukarrouh
Pattenjan
Stéphane Faucourt
Will Mellish
James Stevens
Justin Quince
Nick Eppinga
James Gurney
Dan Tearle
Jonathan Freeman
Matthew Meade
Lee Martin
Alex MacGraw
Marco Jay
Sergio Sierra
Joshua Buell
Jeff Echtenkamp

To the old-school RS/TIG variant guys: Some of you aren’t around so much anymore, but your work got this movement going and we’re truly grateful. Thanks x