Toys of Future Past: Toy Archive - Vintage Star Wars Yak Face Action Figure

Yak Face was the Last figure produced by Kenner

Known to be the last action figure produced by Kenner by collectors and falling under the moniker known as The Last Seventeen, which encompasses the final wave of the vintage Star Wars line, Yak Face is considered to be as rare or rarer than the Blue Snaggletooth and the vinyl caped Jawa action figures.

Even though this action figure is considered to be one of the five rarest, I had no problem scoring one off of eBay. New batches of Yak Faces are posted weekly. So, if you are looking to add one to your collection, you should be able to easily do so, but be warned. Prices for a loose Yak Face with weapon accessory in good condition can run you anywhere from $230 - $ 300 as of this writing. Even with that price tag, Yak Face continues to be a well sought after Star Wars collectible, which warrants its higher than average prices. Whew! Imagine what a mint on card version runs.


Speaking of mint on card. This figure is the only figure from the entire Kenner Star Wars vintage line to be carded on a Canadian Power of The Force Card.  Even though the figure was produced on a Canadian Card there apparently is no proof that it was ever sold in Canada. It was also produced for European markets on Tri-logo cards. Interestingly, it was never sold domestically in the United States, which helps add to the rarity.

Many vintage Star Wars action figures have minor variations, whether it be the size of Han Solo's head or the color of Luke Skywalker's hair, but the vintage Yak Face action figure has no known major variations. The figure typically came with a Skiff Guard Battle Staff , but the Tri-logo version can be found with anything from Palace Blasters, Bespin Blasters, or no weapon or accessory at all.

Like many collectors it would be years before I would find out about this figures existence. However, I couldn't be more pleased to now have it as part of my collection and to be one of the first figures I went for to complete my loose vintage figures. My motto with collecting is now, "Go big, Or go home!"

With that said, does anyone have a carded version for sale?

 

Source:
  (Return of the Jedi)

Date Stamp: 1985

Release Date: 1985

Carded Availability:
  Power of the Force
  Tri-Logo

Assortment No. : 93840

Retail: $2.99

Weapons and Accessories:

Skiff Guard Battle Staff (POTF version only) None or various (Tri-logo version only)  (via Rebelscum) About the author: John Sholtz is an avid toy collector and the interim editor of the Batcave Toy Room due to the abrupt death of Bruce Wayne. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter at, Facebook, Google+ and Linkedin.

Restoring An Imperial Troop Transporter

Stripped Vintage Imperial Troop Transporter. Photo: Batcave Toy Room

There's one. Set for stun!

Do you hear what I hear? The unmistakable sounds from the vintage Kenner Imperial Troop Transporter.

Displaying Six Star Wars Posters In One

The History of Star Wars Original Filmcell from the Batcave Toy Room

Day 21 was not very eventful with my 31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge.

I did however hang my History of Star Wars Original Filmcell plaque. The plaque itself shows the six main posters from each of the first six Star Wars films and contains an original filmcell from each movie.

Remember That Mess In The Batcave Toy Room?

 

Clearing the floor in the Batcave Toy Room

Day 2 of my 31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge went from the toy room doubling as a storage unit to looking more like a toy display and what you see above on Day 17.

We've been selling, donating, and rearranging all of our excess stuff that was in the toy room. The great thing is this process is also taking place throughout the entire house.

Not Knowing When to Leave Well Enough Alone with Your Toy Collection

Many of the vintage Star Wars toys in The Batcave Toy Room

On day 6 of my 31 Days to a Better Toy Collection I revealed a shelf in the Toy Room that I was completely content with, but on Day 12 I had to go and change things up again.

31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge: Day 10

Echo Station Three-T-Eight. We have spotted Imperial Walkers!

Here's a peak at my now complete Hoth Turret Defense action playset from my Star Wars Micro Collection. My contact came through again with more figures to reinvigorate my micro collection. I also went ahead and kept my Rebel Soldiers from my "Build Your Armies" set figures together with others from this playset.

31 Days to a Better Toy Collection Challenge: A Micro Collection as White as Snow - Day 9

Vintage Kenner Hoth Generator Attack from the Batcave Toy Room

Target maximum fire power!

Well, my former Kenner employee contact came through and I received several mint condition die cast action figures for my Star Wars micro collection playsets.

FIGURES TOY COMPANY Begins Pre-Sale of 8 inch Mego Batman Action Figures

Just a day after we shared Figures Toy Co.'s announcement of the release of their reproduction exact replica Mego Batman action figures they have begun pre-selling these awesome retro toys.

And The Mego Batman Emblem T-Shirt Goes To...

Well here it is gang. The winner of The Batcave Toy Room's first promo giveaway is...We'll get to that in a minute.

It is my hope to reward the followers and those who put their two cents in at The Batcave Toy Room by running giveaway contests like these on a regular basis. July's contest was open to only Followers of The Batcave Toy Room and I will probably be opening it up to all depending on the giveaway. I had also hoped to gain more attention to the site and gain more readers. In the month of July, The Batcave Toy Room not only gained the most followers in a single month, but the most subscribers as well. Interestingly, none of the new followers entered the contest.

Jedi Training Ball, The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

It's really just a bead hanging from a piece of string, but hey, what do want for 1978 toy technology? My Millenium Falcon was my first Star Wars toy aside from my Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) action figure and I have been restoring the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy for quite sometime. The only missing piece of the puzzle is the Jedi Training Ball.


My original was lost years ago and I don't know how as I guarded mine like a junkyard dog, but some how it vanished. One of my childhood chums probably swiped it, as everyone I know as lost the tiny blue orb.


I've been hesitant buying a replacement as I don't know how to determine an original from a reproduction and have consider just picking up one at a bead store. However, I have been watching eBay for possible originals and went ahead and placed a bid on the above pictured version. From the looks of it in the pic, I actually felt comfortable enough to think that this might have an original.


I ended up outbid in the end and was not willing to go to high in price without knowing for sure if it was an original or not. Should I just pick up a bead that looks pretty close or go for a possible original? Does anyone know how to tell the difference between an original from reproduction?

Random Pic From The Batcave Toy Room Archive #12



Vintage Kenner Star Wars Walrus Man and Snaggletooth

 Walrus Man: Funny, I thought you were taller in the Creature Cantina Adventure Set.

Snaggletooth: Well, at least I am not going to lose my arm.

Vintage Amazing Spider-Car by Mego 1976-1980

If Spider-Man needs a Spider-Man helicopter, he of course needs an Amazing Spider-Car. Stan Lee was applaud that Mego produced vehicles for Batman and not Spider-Man, but it was only logical that they didn't. Batman actually did have the Batcave, Wayne Foundation Building, Batmobile, Bat-Cycle, and Batcopter in the comics, but Spider-man didn't have a vehicles or a secret lair for that matter. Nevertheless, Mego produced the Amazing Spider-Car for Spidey and at the same time also produced the Captain Americar for Captain America and the Green Arrow car for Green Arrow. Both Captain America's and Green Arrow's vehicles were pulled after one year for low sales, but the Spider-Car was a good seller for several years.

The 1976 Mego product catalog describes Spider-Man's ride as a new weapon for battling foes of justice everywhere. He sees trouble ahead and presto...the secret spidernet pops into place from the rear compartment. It's a catch for the day. The Spidercar is scaled to hold your Spidey figure and take him and you for a long ride into adventureland for exciting playtimes.

Although, I am primarily a Batman kind of guy, there are some pretty cool toys out there for Spidey. This one included. The foe net trap about says it all.

Where are you coming from Spider-Man? Nobody knows who you are. Actually, just between you and me, I think he's Peter Parker.

Random Pic From The Batcave Toy Room Archive # 5

Always loved this drawing of Batman...very 70's

Vintage Slave I from Kenner 1981-1983

He's all yours bounty hunter. Actually, this sweet ride, the Slave I, is technically all mine, but who's going to argue with the galaxies most fearsome bounty hunter. Kenner released Boba Fett's ship as part of the second wave of toys from their Empire Strikes Back line. The second wave of toys from the fifth movie (or second, depending on your point of view) of the Star Wars films in my opinion was the best. Not only because of this ship, but it also included the awesome AT-AT in that wave as well.

Slave I did not have any electronic features such as lights or sounds like other vehicles in the toy line, but it did have some cool features here and there.

It had a prisoner detention unit or as Boba Fett said in the movie "Put Captain Solo in the cargo hold."

A rear loading ramp to board the ship. Watch your head (If you're a Fett or a clone that is).

No lights or electronic sounds for the cannons, but they do make a clicking sound.

Wings are gravity operated. So, they move as the ship does and can be trigger lock to be held in the position you want them to be in while in flight.

Best of all, Slave I came with a carbonite frozen Han Solo. This was my absolute favorite part of the toy (there I go with freezing fetish again). My dream collectible next to a 1966 replica Batmobile is the frozen Han Solo replica, but since it's $5,000 so this minature version will do for now.

All and in all, Kenner did a great job at the time of re-creating Boba Fett's ship and holds some great memories from my childhood.

Vintage Spider-Man Helicopter by Empire 1979

Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can. So, why the heck does he need a helicopter for? Because it looks cool. That's why.

In 1979, Empire toys produced the Spider-Man helicopter to go along with Mego's 8 inch figure line. Empire also produced a Spider-Man Van, a Hulk Copter and Hulk Van, and a Bat Copter, which was much cooler than the Mego version. No, Bat Van, however. They probably felt it was too much like Mego's Mobile Bat-Lab. You can see pics of a couple of these bad boys over at Plaid Stallions HERE.

I picked this baby off eBay back in February. I actually received a Spider-Man helicopter for Christmas from my sister back in 1979. I still have the fuselage and tried to restore it, but was never able to get the missing parts. So, I just bought the whole darn thing.

The back story on that, as I have discussed before, is while cleaning out my parents garage years ago, my dad threw out a vast amount of my toys. For some reason, he kept things such as the fuselage, in this case, and threw away the accessories. Accessories like the rotor and landing gear.

I just happened to see this on eBay just before the auction ended. However, I was not home and spotted this baby using my iPhone. I knew I would never win the bid using my phone, so, I called my wife had her bid from our home computer.  My cool, but non-geek wife won the bid and the rest was history.

There are still parts missing such as, the winch, which suspends from the left side of the helicopter. You see the hole where the peg that holds the winch in place would go in the pic above. Plus there was a net and several other pieces of rescue and crime fighting equipment: oxygen tank, shovel, walkie-talkie, axe, pick axe, etc.

This is definitely a cool, however, huge toy that is almost two feet long. Although designed for the Mego 8 inch Spider-Man, I think the 12 inch version fits a lot better. I am very pleased to have this back in my collection. Now, just need to find a complete Empire Bat Copter.

More Vintage Style Batman T-shirts

My very cool yet, non-geek wife picked up these ultra cool vintage style Batman t-shirts from Old Navy's Collectabilitees for me. My Batman t-shirt collection has been really growing lately. No complaints here, but I probably haven't had these many Batman shirts at one time since I was kid. But hey, these shirts definitely make me feel like a kid again and that's what life is all about isn't it.

2011 Retro-Action DC Super Heroes Ad

I got a glimpse of this cool ad from Toyfare #163, which prominently features the removable cowl Batman. I just finished completing my collection of the third wave of the Retro-Action DC Super Heroes and I am already looking forward to wave four. I haven't seen characters past wave four, but I sure hope there is going to be a wave five.

(via The Aquaman Shrine)

Target Exclusive Empire Strikes Back Special Action Figure Set on Clearance

He shops he scores an Empire Strikes Back Action Figure Set with nine figures. Actually, my non-geek but super cool wife scores. It is great to have a spouse who isn't a geek or a collector, but knows what I like and the condition items should be in.

While my wife was out making her weekly Target run she noticed the Empire Strikes Back Action Figure Set in the clearance section and immediately called me. I had known that the set was an exclusive for the bulls eye branded store last year, but really didn't want to spend $50 for it, which really isn't a bad deal since it comes with 9 action figures. But for $25 it is for sure well worth. They were on sale for 50% off. Sweet.

However, my wife immediately noticed that the packages weren't in the best shape. Even for half off she knew how particular I would be about the packaging so she texted me and sent me pics. Based on the pics she sent, I declined the ever so sweet thought of my wife picking up this piece for her geek husband.

The next day however, we went to another Target and what do you know. They had them on clearance there too. However, this other store had them in the 30% off section. Not as cool as 50%. I decided to inspect the packages anyway and found the same creased package problem the other action figure sets had at the other store. Save one. A sister planet...Cmdr Adama original BSG(sorry to much sci-fi dialogue in me head). The thing is, this one was in very good condition. Not only that, it was the only one marked down half off. The collecting gods had shined down on me.

This set is packaged in vintage style and contains 3 packs with the same characters contained in the original release. The figures are packaged as follows:

1. Hoth Rebels: Han Solo (Hoth Outfit), Rebel Soldier, and FX-7
2. Bespin Alliance: Bespin Guard, Lando Calrissian, and Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues)
3. Imperial Set: 4-LOM (named Zuckuss in the original), AT-AT driver, and TIE-Fighter pilot 

There were six other packs of three figures each in the vintage line. It would have been cool if Hasbro had done them all, but that might be a bit much. Anyway I am way happy on my find.

If only I could have found the Target exclusive vintage TIE Fighter and Rebel Armored Snowspeeder on clearance too.

Video: A Day in the Life of a pet Vintage AT-AT

Fan films, whether they be Batman or Star Wars related, are always the best. I can't believe some of the creativity that is put into these short films.

I came across this brilliant homemade video showing a day in the life of a pet AT-AT called "AT-AT Day Afternoon." This video comes from the Iron Baby creator Patrick Boivin and uses a vintage Kenner AT-AT as the main character.

This is too cool. Check it out.



For more Star Wars videos check us out.

Vintage Batman T-shirt, Cosplay, and a Kick Ass Movie!

What a day of Geekdom! I took a day off today and man was it great.

I had picked up this cool vintage Batman and Robin T-shirt a while back and actually kind of forgot about it. I don't know why I hadn't worn it, but today I broke it in.

I headed over to the new Hooters in my area for lunch this afternoon. In their own way I consider Hooter's girls having a form of cosplay. After all it is kind of a costume rather than an uniform. Any Hooter's girl can give me curious stirrings in my utility belt just as any Wonder Woman, Batgirl, or Supergirl could.

After lunch I headed over to the movies. I have been so busy I have been way behind on my movie watch list, but today I made it out to see Kick Ass. I just have to say Kick Ass was "kick ass."

I loved Nicholas Cage's attempt to do Adam West's Bat-Speak. I have to say the movie wasn't what I expected. I thought it would be fun, but it was way more action oriented than I though it would be. If you haven't seen it you need to check it out.

If you missed Nicholas Cage test Adam West's Batman knowledge on Jay Leno a couple of weeks ago. Check it out at the Pop Watch HERE.

For more vintage Batman collectibles check us out.