Blackstar

Name of Toy Line: Blackstar
Production Company: Galoob
Distributor: Galoob
Years of Production: 1983-1985
Countries/Regions Available: USA and Europe
Size/Scale: Action Figures: 6" ; Companion Figures: 3"
Figure Trade Markings: Action Figures: © 1983 FILMATION ; Companion Figures: None
Approximate # of Figures: 15 Companion Figures

Details:

Blackstar began in 1981 as a fantasy sci-fi cartoon produced by Filmation. It has many similarities to its more popular successor, He-Man. Check out the show's opening for the premise.



It's the story of John Blackstar, an astronaut from a future, technologically advanced Earth. He is sucked into a black-hole and finds himself on the planet Sagar, which is populated by a plethora of alien creatures. Blackstar aligns himself with the tiny Trobbit people in their battle against the evil Overlord. Action-packed high jinks ensue.

The toy line was released a few years later, beginning in 1983 and running to 1985. There were a total of three waves - one each year. The six-inch action figures came carded individually and also with a companion figure; The good guys came with a Trobbit figure and the bad guys came with a demon figure.

The Trobbit figures were also carded individually, but never the demon figures.

The action figures are made with mixed materials - both hard and soft plastic. The one example of an action figure I have has soft arms and legs and hard trunk and head. The figure is called Meuton; He's a baddy and appears to be a wasp-man. Creepy and cool!



Definitely would not want to stumble into that guy in a dark alley (or a well-lit one for that matter).

Of course here at Toypedia, the main attraction is not the 6" action figures but the diminutive 3" companion figures! There were a total of six Trobbit figures and nine demons. Both Trobbits and demons are made of a soft plastic.

The Trobbit characters are very reminiscent of Snow White's dwarves. They're tiny little guys with white hair, wearing purple, blue, and yellow garb. Unfortunately I only have the character Poulo in our possession at the moment. Let's take a close-up look at him.


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(The, uh, bit of plastic between Mr. Poulo's legs appears to be a nub of flashing left over from the casting process. I agree, it is a bit disturbing. I was tempted to edit it out, but chose to go el naturale instead.)



There were two types of demon companion figures. The first type was available in the first two waves. It consisted of a single sculpt cast in six different colors and paint schemes: Green, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Red, and Orange. The availability of the different colored demons varies with Green being by far the most common.

Let's take a look at a Green demon. Note the paint applications on the stomach, eyes, and eyebrows.


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Red and Blue demons arrived in the second wave.


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The two Blues I have appear to have slightly different paint application colors. The second figure appears to have stomach and eyebrow paint that is slightly more Purple.


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Three new demon figures were introduced in the third wave. Like the Trobbits, each new demon had a unique sculpt and a more complex paint scheme. The body of each demon is one single color however, and they are referred to by these colors. Thus, once again, there are Red, Green, and Yellow demons. I've got the Red and Green, so let's take a look at them.

Boo!


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It's a very fun, highly collectible toy line with several interesting figures, some harder to come by than others. Be sure to check the links below for more great pictures and information about this line.



Related Web Sites:

Blackstar @ Action Figure Archive

Blackstar @ Wikipedia

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.


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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