This is an affiliate link for the Star Wars The Mandalorian The Retro Collection Action Figures Wave 1 Case of 8 for 78.00, but really, this post is about me trying to convince you to try out Kenner figures.

I want to live in a world with more of them. Back in the 1970s fans of Star Wars had no TV series, no computer games, or even VCRs in most cases. You could see comics or novels, or maybe some Super 8 reels, but most likely your platform of choice for living Star Wars at home were Kenner's $2 3 3/4-inch action figures. (I remember seeing them as high as $4.99 at Long's Drug Stores - which I paid, to get my Wicket - back around 1984. Highway robbery.)

For fans over 40, it's a pretty safe bet those action figures are a big part of why they're Star Wars fans today - either they held on to theirs with an iron grip, or their parents forced them to sell them, and they've been chasing them down ever since. I was the former - and I bought figures from the latter at garage sales. I never really expected Hasbro to make new Kenner-style Star Wars figures, but they did for The Mandalorian and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and at work we've got the case of 8 of the first wave for $78.00 shipped in the USA. That ain't bad.

Random lunchtime photoshoot. Hammerhead says hi, does not believe that you "forgot" your wallet when the bill came. pic.twitter.com/F6aZ3JcTzB

— Adam Pawlus (@Adam16bit) June 22, 2022

If you want more, the originals aren't that expensive compared to modern figures after recent price increases. You can score an unpackaged Hammerhead for under $20 shipped on eBay. The 1979 cloth cape Jawa - arguably the very best toy Jawa action figure - is a bit over $30 these days. Zuckuss costs about the same, depending on if you have his blaster or not. If you can live without the accessories, a lot of unpackaged Kenner action figures are around the same price (or cheaper than) new The Vintage Collection production.

You can click here to see my review of the 7 figures from this wave. It will not surprise you that I like them all a lot - I'm not crazy about vinyl capes and I wasn't as a kid either, but Greef Karga, Moff Gideon, and Mando all sport them. I should also note, the reviews also have some pretty great comparison shots with my old Kenner guys from the 1970s and 1980s when appropriate.

Obviously this style of figure isn't for everybody, some fans roll their eyes over what they see as a cheap throwback, while others will see these as the single most important kind of action figure they'll ever get their hands on in their adult lives. I don't get behind the whole $200+ Hot Toys guys because there's not much I can do other than pose them, whereas I've got a lifetime of vehicles and playsets to use with Hasbro's Kennerian offerings. A second wave of The Mandalorian joins Obi-Wan Kenobi, and with any luck we'll someday get more from The Phantom Menace or Rogue One. Sadly, no such plans exist yet.

I'm considering writing up some old Kenner toys in Figure of the Day, which I've avoided mostly because they would just be something close to "this is a perfect thing and you didn't buy it, what is wrong with you?" But hey, maybe it's time. These are why I started writing about toys on the Internet in the first place, after all.