ATTN Hasbro: Please Don’t Stop The Droids Love At Basic Figures

Posted by Chris on 12/03/21 at 07:05 AM Category: Vintage Collection

https://www.banthaskull.com/images/news/droids_awing.jpg

I love the droids packaging, and I am not really sure what the reasoning is. I can't tell if I think it's sharp looking on its own merit, or if it's simply because that packaging housed some of the rarer items from the vintage Kenner era. It's probably the latter. I'm shallow like that. Truth be told, the POTF '85 cards are a little tacky, but I still get a thrill seeing them. The 1985 Kenner packaging is to me what Bebe is to the boys on South Park. I never realized how smart and funny those designs were. Except for the Ewoks branded product. Yuck!

Part of the reason I get excited when Hasbro makes reproductions of these vintage Kenner Holy Grails is that I don't really want to own the actual items, regardless of whether or not I can afford them. I don't like owning very fragile things that are worth thousands of dollars. It's not for me. I was actually nearing a complete collection of 12-backs, but I realized that one card deciding to curl inside the AFA case, or one piece of blaster-holding tape giving way, or one bubble turning yellow would be like watching hundreds (potentially thousands) of dollars go down the drain. I had to make the choice to sell most of them. I'd rather have a modern equivalent that I can acquire cheaply and curate. Plus I can also afford a few spares in case something goes wrong.

1985's Droids A-Wing Fighter has been a legendary collectible for as long as I can remember. It was already being spoken of in reverent tones in the early nineties along with the POTF Tatooine Skiff. Today, a mediocre condition open box sample with cost you over a grand. I have no idea what high grade sealed samples go for these days, but I have to imagine that it's Chevy Chevette money. Hasbro hasn't released an OT A-Wing since 2008's Walmart exclusive Green Leader's A-Wing. That set will set you back over c-note today. That alone argues for the A-Wing getting re-released, but add in the current Droids nostalgia, and I smell a gold record.

But wait! There's more! For Antoc Merrick's X-Wing, Hasbro included a carded pilot in the box. If Hasbro brought that "carded pilot in box" concept to a Droids A-Wing Fighter, they could absolutely knock the vintage Kenner grail factor out of the park: