Over the years there have been a lot of Star Wars cards and stickers released exclusively in New Zealand, particularly in conjunction with food items and related promotions. I recently re-organised my collection of vintage, Original Trilogy-era, NZ-exclusive cards and stickers into new protective sleeves and a new folder, and have but together a quick video tour.

Sets covered include R2-D2 Space Ice stickers from the Tip Top Ice-Cream company (as well as the follow-up set of The Empire Strikes Back paper masks from the same company), Return of the Jedi ewok stickers from the Tip Top Ice-Cream company, Allen’s and Regina Star Wars and Return of the Jedi bubble-gum cards (the New Zealand equivalent of Topps trading cards), Twinkies Empire Strikes Back stickers, Kellogg’s Cornflakes Return of the Jedi stickers, Confection Concepts Postacards, and Quality Bakers bread cards.

You can also read more about each of these sets on the SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand website.

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The vintage Toltoys NZ Star Wars 48-back action figure cardback is one of the rarest and most interesting New Zealand-specific collectibles from Toltoys. There have been a number of NZ-specific vintage Star Wars cardbacks (we have written comprehensive articles about them on the SWNZ, Star Wars New Zealand website), but the 48-back is the only one that specifically mentions Toltoys NZ Ltd.

The New Zealand variant of the Empire Strikes Back 48-back is a truly unique design that stands out in particular because of the white box on the rear where the barcode would normally reside, which bears the text “Marketed in New Zealand by Toltoys NZ Ltd under license from General Mills Creative Products Pty Ltd Australia”. It also has a distinct white circular space for retailers to write in the price, where the proof of purchase is found on US cards.

In addition to being very slightly wider than US cards, other distinguishing aspects include the matt finish of the printing on the rear of the cardback, small radius corners, and an unmistakable, flat-based peg hanger hole. The cardback is otherwise similar to the US ESB48A, promoting the Scout Walker, Rebel Transport, Tauntaun, Wampa, and Mini-Rigs.

Footnote: we first wrote about the Toltoys NZ 48-back cardbacks on the SWNZ website back in February 2006 (Internet Archive link). Since then, we have added a lot more research and content about the products and history of Toltoys NZ – check the list of articles out here.

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As part of our ongoing comic storage and protection project, I recently took a look through my collection of vintage 2000AD comics, and made a video to highlight all the times Star Wars showed up among the pages of issues from the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The content in 2000AD comics that covered Star Wars material could be grouped into three main types: 1) action figure advertisements (featuring Palitoy branded versions of the Kenner mini-action figure line), 2) competitions, and 3) movie reviews.

Star Wars Action Figure Advertisements

Palitoy advertised directly to kid’s via 2000AD comics, including some mail-in items like the famous Boba Fett offer that was available before The Empire Strikes Back hit cinemas – sadly, the offer was not available to us in New Zealand. The fun and memorable aspect of these advertisements was that the illustrations were of the toys themselves, not the movie characters, complete with their simplified styling (particularly noticeable on characters like R2-D2). Contributing artists included 2000AD regulars like Judge Dredd artist Brian Bolland – his work on the full page comic strip-style advert for the Creature Cantina, Droid Factory and Land of the Jawas playsets was one of my favourites of the time.

These advertisements were predominantly presented as line art or monochrome renditions, but for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, we did see pages that incorporated a splash of colour. As well as the Boba Fett offer, which required a proof of purchase and 3 name plates to be cut from action figure backing cards, there were also mail-in offers to get a Dengar action figure, and Emperor Palpatine figure, or The Empire Strikes Back display stands with backdrops.

Competitions

There were only a few competitions with Star Wars prizes in issues of 2000AD, but some of those prizes were very worth while indeed, including access to see filming of The Empire Strikes Back at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, England ! Other competition prizes included large-sized action figures, sets of mini-action figures, and electronic/computer games.

Reviews

Each of the 3 Original Trilogy movies got a 2-page review with accompanying pictures in a 2000AD comics. The printing process for comics at the time did not allow for high-quality rendering of photos, but in that bygone era, we were appreciative of any details or images from the Star Wars movies.

The film reviews were, of course, overwhelmingly positive.

Gallery – Star Wars in 2000AD comics

The gallery below presents all of the Star Wars content in issues of 2000AD in chronological order, from the 1977–1984 issues of our collection, and includes the comic cover for each. We’ve also included a bonus page from the back of Prog 125, where the Green Cross Man, famously portrayed by David Prowse (Darth Vader) teaches kids about road safety.

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I love digging up old Star Wars treasures from the depths of our storage boxes. This more-than-a-little-worn Star Wars pencil case was the one I used at primary school for a couple of years from 1978. It opens like a book, and features a “combination lock” style closure (in reality, you just dialed to a pre-specified number to open).

The Star Wars imagery on the front and back cover is based on classic promotion pics, as well as an artistic Tatooine scene that is actually from the Letraset “rub down transfer” products. A weird, but interesting feature is that the interior had cartoon Tom and Jerry graphics. The spine goes all the way down the faux novel path, and reads “Star Wars – by George Lucas”. It also bears the logo for the manufacturer, Three Leaf Stationery Factory of Taiwan.

As well as being available in New Zealand, this pencil case, and the other two variations in a set of three, were available in a few South American countries (Argentina, Peru), and possibly Australia.

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What Star Wars figure or collectible did you always want as a child, but were only able to get hold of as an adult collector? I had a few POTF figures that I missed out on in the ’80s, including this stormtrooper disguise Luke, which I picked up a decade or so ago now. Always thought additional accessories like removable helmets or additional weapons doubled up on the playability of the frequently minimalistic mini-action figure line.

Luke Skywalker, Stormtrooper Disguise was, of course, one of the late releases in the Kenner POTF line (i.e., a “last 17” character), before Star Wars action figure were discontinued in the 1980s. Not immensely accurate in terms of sculpting, as was par for the course at the time, but part of their charm was the gap between their physical form and the play scenarios that you filled with your imagination.

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This is my original Kenner large-sized 15″ Darth Vader action figure that I purchased in 1980. Despite his mere five points of articulation and generic flashlight-style saber hilt, I always thought this was a great sculpt for a toy of that era. His shoulders sit secured by a rubber band in actual sockets, making for very tidy joints, and his helmet dome is cast separately from his faceplate which allows for sharp sculpted features. I don’t know at what point 10-year-old me took scissors to the box he came in, but at least I still have most of the Dark Lord’s original packaging in a flattened form too.

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The vintage Yoda mini-action figure by Kenner came with the most accessories of any from the mini-action figure line – including a removable belt (which actually includes his necklace “flute” pendant attached to it, along with a pouch and what is assumed to be the camping lamp he battles R2-D2 for), snake, cane, and removable robe. Yoda came out in the first Empire Strikes Back wave of 1980.

This is the actual figure from my childhood collection. I used to photograph him in the long grass or garden to simulate a Dagobah landscape… alas, none of those physical photos survived.

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