Out of Character & Applause Figures

In the early 1990s, Star Wars merchandise was emerging from a hiatus. Items were starting to pop up in unusual locations. One of my favorite haunts during those years was SunCoast Motion Picture Company in the local mall.

Now, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to go to the mall. I'm not even sure how I discovered the place, but after they started offering these figures (not to be seen anywhere else), I had to start making a special trip. The earliest figures were labeled "In Character" and they were produced by "Out of Character" exclusively for SunCoast. They come as one solid piece of molded plastic with a tag dangling from the figure's hand. Standing 8"-10" tall (Wookiees even taller and Astromechs much shorter), there was no "action" in these figures, but they sure looked great. It's not often you see such nice detail on such a simple item. They might not seem like much compared to the $100+ items you see today from the likes of Gentle Giant and Kotobukya, but these $13 (and later $16) figures were valued pieces in my collection for years: great to display and no worries of breaking them.

Much like the old Kenner figures, they started with the core characters from the saga and then expanded out to other poses, clothing, and lesser known characters. My original set of 8 from 1993 are Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Darth Vader from Star Wars: A New Hope plus two Luke Skywalker figures, one in his X-Wing Pilot uniform and the other in his black Jedi outfit from Return of the Jedi. In 1994 came Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi and a Stormtrooper. The quality of these statuettes ranges from the boyish Luke or overemphasized silver leg on C-3PO to the ominous presence in the Darth Vader and the sheer perfection in simplicity, beauty, and elegance in the Princess Leia doll. My daughter says she "looks like a real princess" meaning she looks just like Princess Leia from the movies.

It wasn't until 1995 that we saw more dramatic poses: Luke Skywalker with Yoda on his back, Boba Fett with "real Wookiee braids", Chewbacca with a dismembered C-3PO in his backpack, a Tusken Raider with his gaderffi "gaffi" stick, Han Solo in Stormtrooper armor, and Emperor Palpatine whose hand "glows in the dark with the Force". Most of these figures include some movement as well, usually with an arm going up and down or a head that turns left and right.

With this second wave of figures, we get different tags (from "Applause" this time) and a fancy "Star Wars Classic Collectors Series" logo. The tags fold open to show the character's name in large font with a quote from the movie on the left and more background information and details about the special features of the figure on the right.

The most interesting figure from the 1995 lot is the Limited Edition Darth Vader who stands fist clenched, cape flowing, with one foot on "the helmet of a Rebel officer he has just slain during his search for Princess Leia". This is one of the most dynamic and aggressive poses I have ever seen for Darth Vader. He truly shows his rage and determinism and his.... scalp? Yes, his helmet is removable and shows his pink skin, scar tissue, and red blood. It's an excellent detail, that in my opinion doesn't belong. I think he looks great with his helmet on and I'll leave him that way -- the occasional house guest can take a peek.

The last Applause figures in my collection came as Darth Vader, Dash Rendar, and Prince Xizor from 1996 -- the last two you'll remember from the Shadows of the Empire multimedia onslaught from Lucasfilm the same year -- and Greedo from 1997. The Darth Vader is noteworthy in that his cape is made of cloth and, whether intentional or not, his helmet is removable. The card just says that his arms move, but it appears they used the Limited Edition figure's head and tried to glue the helmet on. Well, after a while, the glue dried up and the helmet came off, revealing a fully black head making me remember the scene in Jedi where Luke had to take off an extra layer after getting the outside shell of the helmet off.

Of these 21 figures, I think I will keep the Princess Leia and Chewbacca figures for a little while longer. I was looking at each figure closely as I was getting the auctions together and the more I thought about it, the more I decided that I would be hard pressed to find a more faithful reproduction of Carrie Fisher's features on a doll in my collection. The Chewbacca figure is going onto my desk at work (where some call me "The Wookiee") because he reminds me so much of me: his stance, with one leg kicked out and arms folded, is how I find myself standing several times a day.

Another excellent Star Tour down memory lane!