Star Wars toys

When the first Star Wars movie was released in 1977, it changed science fiction forever. But do you know the impact it also had on the toy industry?

 

Unlike most movie debuts at the time, George Lucas and 20th Century Fox planned to market a whole line of merchandise to be released simultaneously. Licensee Kenner decided to make smaller, 3.75'' scaled action figures that were inexpensive to produce but was caught by surprise with the film’s success and was unprepared to manufacture enough figures to meet demand. As the sequels were released over the next few years, the small action figures were recognized as the ideal size to fit inside a wide range of fanciful and more expensive vehicles and spacecraft. By 1985, more than 250 million of these small figures were released, representing dozens of characters.

 

Now in its fifth decade, the Star Wars franchise remains strong as it appeals to its third generation of collectors and enthusiasts. The Children’s Museum collects toy lines like these Star Wars fighters and figures that are familiar to multiple generations, so that grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles can share with their children and grandchildren personal stories about the toys they owned.