In 1977, Kenner offered the Early Bird Certificate Package in order to address the overwhelming demand for Star Wars product that was still many months away from appearing on toy store* shelves.  It’s a legendary marketing decision, and one that played a key role in launching the greatest action figure line (and scale!) in the history of action figure lines (and scales!).

Hasbro loves the Early Bird Certificate Package.  Just a few months ago, we received an Early Bird-styled press kit to officially announce the arrival of the Retro Collection, which has (so far) featured 6 Kenner-style figures.  But prior to that, Hasbro launched the oddly marketed Black Series 40th Anniversary Collection with the Legacy Pack (Special Edition Darth Vader) [Gallery is linked to our friends at JediTempleArchives.com].  I say “oddly marketed” because it was an attempt at nostalgia while using a brand new line of figures that seem to appeal mostly to a younger demographic.  But even prior to that, Hasbro offered the Walmart Exclusive Early Bird Certificate Package in 2005.  While it came out during the Revenge of the Sith line, it was essentially Hasbro’s declaration of a new era to follow the end of that film-specific line.  The Saga Collection would debut in 2006, and it would contain figures of characters from all 6 films for the first time.  This 2005 Early Bird certificate allowed collectors the chance to kick off the new Saga Collection with 4 figures delivered early via mail in much the same way that the Kenner package kicked off the Star Wars line. 

Once the package arrived, there was a plastic tray inside the familiar white mailer box.  The tray housed 4 figures, as well as little plastic footpegs that would help secure them to your cardboard backdrop that you had purchased months before.  The four figures elicited feelings of nostalgia and giddyness, mixed with disappointment and eyerolling. 

Something Old:  Luke Skywalker

A new take on an old figure, Luke Skywalker was really meant to hit that nostalgia nerve.  It was physically all new, but emotionally it was very old.  Luke had the throwback sliding lightsaber inside his right arm.  Kenner Luke had this, of course, except it was solid yellow.  This one is modernized to translucent blue.  The lightsaber slides easily, but the arm is both awkward in pose (straight out) as well as sculpt (the groove that housess the lightsaber).  The figure’s clothing is sculpted simply, with nothing special such as a separate belt or accessory.  The lower tunic is hard plastic, which limits the range of motion of the already useless hip joints.  Even Kenner Luke had the full intended range of motion of the swivel hips.  He could even sit at a 90 degree angle!  The shoulders are ball jointed, which is a modern touch, but no elbows or wrists are present, even in the normal left arm.  Luke has a swivel head and waist.  The headsculpt isn’t the worst for a Luke (something that Hasbro has continued to struggle with, even with the advent of PhotoReal), but it’s nothing to write home about, either.

This is one of those figures that essentially serves no purpose in your collection, other than as an oddity.  I’m not a fan of dumbing down figures for the sake of nostalgia.  Hasbro had an opportunity to, if nothing else, repack or retool the VOTC Luke.  Instead, they just gave us a modern take on the Kenner figure.  Neat for some collectors, I suppose, but not me personally.  I give this figure a 3 in spite of the nostalgia.

Something New:  Princess Leia

Brand new but without also being old for the sake of nostalgia, is Princess Leia.  Unless I’m forgetting something (which isn’t entirely out of the realm of possibility), this was the second of what is still only two Leia figures with the hood up.  That’s not really a terrible fact in and of itself, since Leia only had her hood up for about 6 or 7 seconds in one scene when she’s recording her message to Obi-Wan. This one was all new, and Hasbro had an opportunity to make an upgrade over the 1999 Commtech figure.  However, it was not to be.  This one has a whopping 3 (THREE!) POA.  The head is a separate piece, but s sculpted in such a way as to make it immovable.  That leaves the two shoulders and the waist.  The sculpt overall isn’t terrible looking, and is arguably better than the previous version, which had a soft goods skirt.  But this “action figure” is even more of a statute than the original.  It is preposed to perform a two handed weapon grip on the included stormtrooper blaster.  The problem here is that the only time Leia has her hood up is on the Tantive IV.  She actually had her hood down when she fired her blaster at the stormtroopers.  And, oh yeah, she fired her own blaster, not an imperial blaster.  So, it’s a fail all around in the screen accuracy department.

This figure isn’t a throwback.  It seems Hasbro made a nominal attempt at a “modern” update to this version of Leia, but it’s basically awful.  This gets a 2.  But incredibly, it may be the best (compared to only one other) version of Leia in this outfit.  Sigh.  SIGH.

Something Borrowed:  Chewbacca

Borrowing the body sculpt from the venerable 2004 VOTC Chewbacca, which is still in active use by Hasbro even today with the release of VC141, Hasbro added a new head sculpt to reflect the character’s appearance in A New Hope.  The VOTC figure had a head sculpt with the “hairstyle” that sourced it to ESB or ROTJ.  Here, Hasbro took that same body, but changed the head sculpt to reflect his slicked back hair from Episode IV.  The figure has tons of articulation, and not only was it the best mold in 2005, it’s still the best mold today in 2019.  And that’s not a bad thing.  This is the go to Chewbacca figure for all of your Episode IV non-roaring moment needs.

This figure, while it perhaps can be improved upon (ball-jointed hips, more forgiving hands to better hold the bowcaster. and a more posable head), it still is pretty great.  It’s definitely the star of the set, and is perfectly suited for your displays 15 years later.  8/10.

Something Blue:  R2-D2

R2-D2 is blue (and, in the case of my sample above, also yellow).  So that completes the poem.  But on a more relevant note, he’s a variant of the VOTC version just like Chewbacca.  Unlike Chewbacca, this one brings nothing new to the table.  In fact, it’s a bit of step backwards.  This figure has the separate body panel glued on, and is not removable.  There are no tools or other accessories included.  This version of R2-D2 has a vac-metalized dome, and while you might consider it a nod to the Kenner version, it’s probably not meant to be that way since many R2 figures from Hasbro up to this point had included the vac-metalized head. It’s not screen accurate, and while we’d all love to see Hasbro use that technique on a new C-3PO figure, it’s not desired on this R2.  The little radar sensor rises and falls as you turn the clicky head, but you can’t have it in the extended position while R2 is facing forward.  The third leg is removable, and all 3 feet have wheels. 

My figure has badly yellowed over time, so that’s pretty crappy.  Leia, from the same package, is still a pristine white.  The vac-metal dome, lame sensor feature, and glued panel all contribute to making this a substandard R2-D2.  All that said, it’s not a total loss (except for the yellowing), and can still be used for display in absence of a better version.  I give this figure a 5/10.

Overall

It was a neat set at the time as far as creating some buzz and scratching that nostalgia itch as Hasbro launched The Saga Collection.  R2 hasn’t aged well, while Luke and Leia were just poor.  Chewbacca is the lone outstanding figure, and is still pretty great today.  The set gets a 6, and does so only with the generous benefit of the nostalgia effect.

*This was a real thing until June 28, 2018.