As a kid, one of the things that always confused me was the make-up of the Ewoks cartoon TV series action figure line.  Why would there be only 6 figures, only 2 of which were regulars and heroes?  A line with 4 Dulok villains seemed odd, and when I saw the second series prototypes a few years later I was even more confused - where's Teebo?  Where's Kneesaa?   How could Chituhr be more popular?

Well, the Star Wars Collectors Archive may have found part of the answer.  In an article Unknown Ewoks: Unearthed Figures from the Animated Series, we see four unproduced Ewoks from that era.  These characters were largely more important to the series and the brief marketing juggernaut of Ewok licensed products in that era.   Perhaps Star Wars could have had a presence for a few more years were these made instead - I remember seeing pegs upon pegs of unsold Duloks (and the occasional Logray) at Kay-Bee toy stores for $1 each for quite some time, and while I did buy Logray on sight I never saw Wicket.  (Or, as Droids went, R2-D2 and C-3PO.)

Assortment choices and distribution have always been important, and it's easy to forget the piles of unsold A-Wing Fighters for $6.00 in today's fast-paced go-go toy fan generation.   Seeing these figures bring to mind a possible alternate history where perhaps Kenner and Lucasfilm could have found a way to keep Star Wars in stores until the Zahn books made their first appearance.  Hopefully someone at Lucasfilm is getting a good look at these figures today and may be contemplating some form of collector release.  Heck, I'd buy a set or two, I love these things.