Action Figure Overview: Star Wars - Rebel Soldier (Hoth Battle Gear) (Kenner, 1980)
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| My first childhood Hoth Rebel Soldier (Kenner, 1980) |
I loved Kenner's Star Wars figures the minute I first saw them! I begged my mom to take me to the toy store right away, but had to wait until the weekend and that was an eternity for a little kid. By the time The Empire Strikes Back action figures were arriving in stores in early 1980, Star Wars figures had become the main toys that I played with and I was very excited about having new figures for the first time in over a year!
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| Rebel Soldiers in the snow on ice planet Hoth! |
The scenes on the ice planet Hoth were some of the most memorable scenes in The Empire Strikes Back for me. Because Kenner released the Bespin Luke Skywalker in the first wave of Empire Strikes Back figures, they didn't include a Hoth Luke in that wave. Since I had a Hoth Han Solo, my figures were definitely going to have adventures on Hoth. As a result not having a Hoth Luke Skywalker, my original Hoth Rebel Soldier was his stand-in until the official Hoth Luke came out in 1982. Unlike today, I couldn't look up scenes or images from the movie any time I wanted to. The Hoth Rebel Soldier pretty much looked like how I remembered Luke looking on Hoth, so for about the first year, that figure was usually Luke! This worked out even better because my specific figure had a crack in the paint on his face that looked to me like a scar from his run in with the Wampa!
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| My Hoth Rebel Soldier with a facial scar was the stand-in for a Hoth Luke Skywalker |
At some point, I ended up with a second Hoth Rebel Soldier. The color of paint on the face of the first figure was more of a pink color while the second one seemed to have a more yellow face. There were also some slight differences in the insignia paint on the left side of the vest. These small differences made the two figures feel like two completely different characters to me as a kid. I even remember each one seemed to have a very specific personality. When he wasn't standing in for Luke Skywalker, I always thought of the pink-faced Rebel as being the younger, more naive of the two. Meanwhile the yellow-faced Rebel was wiser and more battle hardened. It's amazing how these slight differences in the paint job (that would have been completely overlooked by an adult at the time) made such a huge difference to me in the way I imagined the personalities of these figures!
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| Two similar, yet very different, Rebel Soldiers in Hoth Battle Gear (Kenner, 1980) |
By the time the figures for Return of the Jedi started showing up in stores, the 80s version of G.I. Joe had arrived on the scene. I still loved Star Wars and probably had about half of the Return of the Jedi figures and a Speeder Bike. I remember building my own Ewok Village Playset out of wood since I didn't have the one from Kenner (I wish I had a photo of the one I built). However, G.I. Joe had taken over as my favorite toy line by then.
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| Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back - Rebel Soldier (Hoth Battle Gear) action figure (Kenner, 1980) |
I'm glad to have had my Empre Strikes Back figures when I did because I had so much fun playing wtih them during those awesome years of my childhood!
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| All of my childhood Hoth Rebels in one photo. I always lost Leia guns. |
Did you have Star Wars figures as a kid? If so, who was your favorite figure? Tell me in the comments below!
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You just described my childhood too. I poured over EVERY small detail of each toy, so I still remember them just like the day I got them. Small factory differences played a part in my imagination as well and often would open up new adventures. When I did get more than one of a figure, it would often lead to new storylines in my head, just as you did.
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool! Thank you for posting this!
DeleteAt the time I never realized that The Rebel Hoth Soldier wasn't Luke (I think mom may have told me it was Luke) When they released Hoth Luke I figured they had just made him better. It wasn't until a few years ago when I pulled my old toys out that it clicked he was just a soldier.
ReplyDeleteHe worked so well as Luke, I can understand not realizing that he was a generic soldier! It may just be because of the time in my life that I had him, but I prefer the rebel soldier to the actual Luke.
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