The Star Wars Action Figure Archive

by Stephen J. Sansweet (Editor), Josh Ling

Imagine the "Star Wars universe--"Princess Leia, Han Solo, Yoda, and all the other characters--"reproduced on a miniature scale. These are the immensely popular and eminently collectible action figures that Kenner Toys has produced for the past 20 years. Until now, there has never been a comprehensive book for the legions who collect these fantastic figures. "Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive is the visual compendium they've been waiting for. This definitive reference covers the older Kenner action figures as well as the new Hasbro/Kenner line. Every full-color page features shots of the action figures, many with movie stills on which the figure was based, and showcases accessories and the original packaging. Captions enumerate different versions of the figures, providing the exhaustive information required by the serious collector. With over 2,000 color photos, this is the definitive tour of the "Star Wars action figure galaxy.To the Official "Star Wars" Web Site
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Genres: Star Wars, Nonfiction, Reference

184 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1999

About the author

Sansweet was born and educated in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. He studied at Temple University from 1962 to 1966, majoring in journalism. Three years after graduating, in 1969, he began work as a reporter at the Wall Street Journal in both Philadelphia and Montreal. He was promoted to deputy bureau chief in 1984, and later the chief of Wall Street Journal's Los Angeles bureau in 1987. In February 1996, he joined Lucasfilm as director of specialty marketing. He is currently director of content management and in charge of fan relations.

Sansweet's collection has also been featured on the History Channel's Boy's Toys special "Private Collections".

Reviews

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of all the Star Wars books I've read thus far, this one surely represents one brief moment of time in my life. I was really into the Star Wars action figures around the time that Special Edition and Episode I came out. I bought most, if not all, of the action figures that were readily available. This book is essentially a visual archive of the figures with some information on the variations that were released. It is definitely a beautiful book even now. About half of the text covers ground most Star Wars fans would know, but the behind the scenes images of all the cast members dressed up are really awesome. Ultimately, you have to be very interested in action figures to love this book. For me it was a pleasant trip down memory lane, but probably not one I'll repeat in the near future.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A visual catalogue of all the action figures made by Kenner & Hasbro (Palitoy in the UK) from 1977/78 up to 1999 (when the book was published), this is a beautifully produced, lavish volume with plenty of full colour, crystal clear images (both of the figures and also reference photos from the Lucasfilm archives). Each figure is accompanied by a write-up explaining their part in the film, snippets of behind the scenes info and for me, it was nice to get that quick, nostalgic rush at toys from my childhood. For the serious collector, there’s plenty of info about different card backs, different images used and various blister pack combinations but I quickly gave up on that - a toy is something you buy to play with, not to put in a cupboard to keep it pristine. I enjoyed the book, but after looking at some of the collectors info, there is a nagging feeling that you want to tell the writers to go out and enjoy a bit of real life.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually remember this one as about a 3 star book looking back. However, flipping through it again it’s actually pretty great. As far as I can tell everything is accounted for here from the original line all the way to the publishing year. Just as important, there are countless variants cited, shown, and explained.

I could do without the tidbits that generically describe the characters. Anyone reading this pretty much already knows the drill, and it’d give more space to the interesting tidbits about the actual figures (the font of which is incredibly small). Also there are so many card variants and so little relative space that you can’t really see them at all.

It’s mostly a great reference though. Thorough, well-designed, and informative.