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What can you say about the most iconic of the first 12 Star Wars action figures? Well for starters, the Kenner Darth Vader figure does seem to be disproportionately ubiquitous these days compared to many other early releases. This is perhaps because Vader action figures were manufactured in more volume and for Kenner releases for each of the three Star Wars films, but it is also likely that these figures have just lasted better.

Like other early Star Wars action figures, Vader's vinyl cloak was prone to ripping and his lightsaber to being lost or broken. The actual carcass of the figure though has tended to last well, especially when compared to other first 12 Star Wars figures. For instance, Luke Farm Boy, Han Solo and Ben Kenobi all suffered from wobbly heads. The Princess Leia Organa figure suffered badly from cracks to the very brittle torso (and was very prone to getting dirty) and C-3PO's limbs quickly became looser than those of a can can dancer. Not to mention the Death Squad Commander / Star Destroyer Commander's pattern baldness on his dome helmet. By contrast the body of the Dark Lord of the Sith tended to keep much of its integrity; largely due to the fact that the action figure is mostly the one colour so that black could be used for the whole plastic body meaning that the paint job didn't rub or scrape off.

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It's worth a quick aside here to comment that when we got the next 8 figures (after the first 12) New Hope action figures these were a more durable bunch than their predecessors. All four cantina creatures were robust and survived well. The Power Droid action figure didn't fair too badly, except for his rubber antenna and even Luke in his X-Wing pilot fatigues lasted fairly well, excepting some areas of common paint loss. R5-D4 had the predictable sticker loss or fade, but the Death Star Droid wasn't always quite as loose limbed as the first C-3PO action figure and more of these still seem to be standing today.

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All Star Wars action figures, vehicles, collectibles and Star Wars toys shown on this website are the 3.75 inch scale and from my own private Star Wars collection unless otherwise stated. Where possible original vintage accessories have been used but in some instances I have placed Kenner Star Wars figures with either reproduction weapons and accessories or for Hasbro figures close approximations have been used. This is mostly the case for modern Star Wars lightsabers where the correct item can be very difficult to identify on some ocassions. Vintage Star Wars action figures are shown with their original weapon or accessory when I have them. When a vintage Kenner action figure is shown with an accessory which is not original I have tried to point this out where possible.

All of the Star Wars action figures shown were purchased second hand, usually incomplete, and in bulk. They have been reunited with their original weapons and accessories where we could get hold of them.

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