Star Wars Galactic Heroes

Name of Toy Line: Star Wars Galactic Heroes
Production Company: Hasbro Playskool | Hasbro
Distributor: Hasbro
Characters and Elements: Lucasfilm Ltd.
Years of Production: 2002 - Current
Countries/Regions Available: Worldwide
Size/Scale: 1.5" - 3"
Figure Trade Markings:

~ Playskool: (c) 2001 LFL / Made in China / Distributed by Hasbro / Character Name
~ Hasbro: (c) 2003(4)(5)(6)(7) LFL / HASBRO CHINA



Approximate # of Figures: Dozens

Star Wars, one of the largest toy ranges, if not the largest, saw the addition of some "untraditional" toy lines around the turn of the new millennium falcon. One such line was a Playskool release consisting of several play sets featuring core Star Wars characters such as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Wicket the Ewok. The play sets were called Star Wars Adventure Sets and feature a selection of figures and vehicle(s). The figures range in size from the smaller Wicket the Ewok at 1.5" to the larger, meatier Chewbacca at about 3 inches. The figures are made of a plastic similar to traditional Star Wars figures and have high quality paint applications.

Where this line really departed from traditional lines were the figures' proportions. The sculpts all feature cartoon-like characteristics -- small bodies with large hands and feet. Some of the figures, Chewbacca in particular, are semi-articulated with moving arms and/or legs. Others feature "magnetic Jedi Force action" parts that allow them to interact with other figures in various ways such as knocking them over or changing the look of their eyes.

One of the early Playskool adventure sets was the Fast Through the Forest set that included Wicket the Ewok!



On the right side of the back of the box, you can see some of the other play sets released in this Playskool wave.


Click to enlarge


Mr. Wicket

Thankfully for fans of this design style, Hasbro continued the line, but rather than continue under the Hasbro Playskool label, they created the Galactic Heroes line which became part of the regular Hasbro branch. In 2004, several two figure-packs were released featuring characters from Star Wars episode four, A New Hope. Several of the characters we had already seen released in the Playskool play sets.

And not only did Hasbro continue this line as "Galactic Heroes," but the success of this line may be directly responsible for the launch of the entire "Heroes" range which now includes toy lines such as Marvel Super Hero Squad, Rescue Heroes, Transformers Robot Heroes, Indiana Jones Adventure Heroes, and G.I. Joe Combat Heroes. (The Heroes range has been dubbed by some collectors "Hasbro's Heros.")

Hasbro has certainly taken the "Hero" concept and run with it.

A look at the two figure-packaging.




Back




Back

The Galactic Heroes line was an immediate success, and Hasbro has continued with releases to the present day. Not every release focused on a particular movie however, with some releases featuring characters from particular planets within the Star Wars universe and even a release dedicated solely to those lovable bounty hunters!

Let's take a look at a few of the fun sculpts that've been released in this line.


The Wookie


Yodi?


A Jawa


Logray


Angry Chewie






Chewbacca with a gun and a grin!


Note the back, just as well-sculpted as the front.

And finally, to give you a sense of the variety of this line and the scale, here's a comparison picture between two Galactic Heroes figures and a M.U.S.C.L.E. figure.



You may also went to visit Ed Duncan's Web site. He was a sketch artist responsible for the look of many of the Galactic Heroes figures and accessories.



Related Web sites:

Galactic Heroes Photo Archive @ Rebelscum.com

Ed Duncan Design