Mike Pigott looks at this range of miniature diecast vehicles based on the classic series of Science Fiction films, made by American company Galoob.
All readers will, no doubt, be familiar with the extremely popular Star Wars franchise of sci-fi films which started with Star Wars (retrospectively titled A New Hope) in 1977, and its sequels The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983). It remains the highest-grossing sci-fi film franchise and has an enormous cult following.
The first series of diecast Star Wars models was made in the 1970s by Kenner (click here). They were large models with diecast and plastic parts. These models were made as tie-ins with the first two Star Wars films, but none were made for Return of the Jedi, as Kenner found that action figures were more lucrative than diecast vehicles and concentrated on their figure range.
It wasn’t until 1997 that further Star Wars diecast models were produced, this time by San Francisco-based toy company Galoob. Founded in 1957, Galoob had initially been an importer of Japanese battery-powered toys, until the late 1970s when the company moved heavily into licensed products, briefly becoming the third-largest toy company in the USA. In the 1980s and ‘90s, Galoob produced the popular ‘Micro Machines’ range of tiny, slightly cartoony, plastic-bodied vehicles. These proved enormously popular with kids, and a huge range of different types of vehicles were made; not just cars and trucks, but trains, aeroplanes, ships and spacecraft. There were also several licensed models, including Star Trek, Star Wars, James Bond and Indiana Jones.
Galoob entered the diecast market in 1988, with a model of the USS Enterprise from STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION. This model was not successful, and the company did not return to metal vehicles until 1997. By this time, Galoob held the Star Wars franchise, and were producing a wide range of merchandise to tie in with the release of the re-mastered Star Wars: A New Hope. One of these was a new line of diecast Star Wars Micro Machines based on the first film. These were about twice the size of the plastic Micro Machines, but were sold under the same brand, possibly to capitalize on its popularity. Like the earlier Kenner models, these were not made to a constant scale; which is understandable, as the vehicles in the Star Wars films could range from motorcycle size to (literally) planet size. Much smaller than the Kenner models, most of them were around 7cm in length, although the size and shapes varied widely. The models were very nicely finished, in accurate colours and with detailed tampo printing. All of the models had at least one type of working feature, mostly opening cockpits, folding landing gear and rotating guns. What was most impressive was that the models were almost entirely diecast, and some were quite heavy considering their small size.
This first series of vehicles came packaged on a circular card with a dome-shaped clear blister. All models, except for the ground vehicles, were packaged with a plastic stand.
X-WING STARFIGHTER
The X-Wing Starfighter is an interceptor craft used by the Rebel Alliance, and is roughly equivalent to an Earth fighter plane. The X-Wing’s main feature is its four wings that open up with a ‘scissor’ action; when flying at speed the wings are folded together flat, and when in attack mode, the wings open up into an X-formation, firing with a laser cannon on each tip.
The Galoob model is an excellent representation of the starfighter in the film, and is painted in an accurate light grey with red squadron markings on the fuselage and wings. The engines are painted dark grey, and there is a plastic cannon on each wingtip. Unfortunately, the wings do not work, with the model in permanent attack mode, although the cockpit hatch opens and the front landing skid folds down.
Y-WING STARFIGHTER
The Y-Wing Starfighter is so named for its approximately ‘Y’ shape when viewed from above. This type of craft was similar to a bomber, with a front mounted cockpit, and a central hull attached to a pair of engine pods. Unfortunately, the model had solid engine pods rather than the rear half of them being skeletal in form. However, the rest of the model was accurate, finished in two tone grey with Gold Squadron markings around the cockpit. The working features were three extending landing feet and a rotating cannon above the cockpit.
TIE FIGHTER
TIE Fighters are small, manoeuvrable starfighters used by the Galactic Empire in all three of the Star Wars films. The acronym TIE supposedly stands for ‘Twin Ion Engines’, although this was probably in retrospect, as I suspect that they were originally given the name because they looked like bow ties. TIE Fighters have a small, spherical cockpit stuck between two large, hexagonal solar panels. There are several types of TIE Fighters, although this is the most common type, finished in a dull grey with black solar cells. The Galoob model is extremely solid, unlike the earlier, plasticky Kenner toy. It features an opening cockpit hatch which reveals a very tiny pilot figure.
MILLENNIUM FALCON
One of the most famous Star Wars ships is the Millennium Falcon, piloted by Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his ape-like pal, Chewbacca the Wookie. The Falcon is basically a flying saucer with an extended front end and an off-set cockpit on one side. Intended as a freight transport vehicle, the Falcon was heavily modified by the shady Solo who uses it for smuggling. Although the ship looks run-down, it possesses incredible speed and also has defensive capabilities.
The Galoob model captures the look of the Falcon well. It is painted off-white with grey and orange highlights, and has rotating cannons on the upper and lower hulls plus a rotating radar dish.
IMPERIAL STAR DESTROYER
This massive craft is the Galactic Empire’s equivalent of a battleship. These massive craft – which are 1,600 metres long and carry a crew of over 37,000 – have a wedge-shaped superstructure a large command bridge at the rear. Given the tiny scale of the model, it is understandably not as well detailed as some of the others in the range, but it captures the shape of the Destroyer well. Painted light grey, it has one action feature; when the central exhaust tube is pushed, Princess Leia’s ship Tantive IV pops out of a hatch in the base.
JAWA SANDCRAWLER
The Jawa are a race of tiny scavengers who live on the desert planet of Tatooine. They survive by scavenging machinery which they repair and rebuild, and travel around in abandoned mining vehicles called Sandcrawlers, massive structures that crawl along on four sets of tank treads. The Galoob model was the first ever diecast Sandcrawler, as this was one never made by Kenner. Painted a rusty brown colour, it featured a drop down front ramp that revealed a Jawa workshop full of machinery. The tank tracks were not operative and the vehicle actually rolled along on four concealed wheels.
SECOND SERIES
A second batch of seven models was released in 1998 to tie in with the re-release of the improved version of The Empire Strikes Back, featuring four vehicles that were seen in that film, plus a couple from Star Wars that were omitted from the first group. These models appeared in a different style of packaging; a trapezium shaped blister pack with a picture of a TIE Fighter on it.
DEATH STAR
The Death Star is an enormous, planet-sized space station with a massively powerful laser ray built into it. It was built by the Galactic Empire and used to destroy Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan. The climactic scenes in Star Wars feature Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing squadron battling with fleets of TIE Fighters in an attempt to destroy the Death Star, which Luke eventually does. However, in Return of the Jedi a second Death Star is under construction.
The Galoob model must hold the record for being the diecast model with the smallest scale of all time… it must be something like 1/1,000,000 scale! This tennis ball-sized replica of the artificial planet has an interesting action feature. Moulded in two halves, when the lower half is rotated, the super-laser (which is in a circular, concave section of the upper half) appears to be charging up, due to a series of day-glow green patterns passing behind eight open slots.
TIE BOMBER
A TIE Bomber is a specialised type of TIE Fighter which is used for bombing missions. Instead of having a single, spherical cockpit, the bomber has two cylindrical sections; one for the crew and a separate compartment for the bombs.
The Galoob TIE Bomber was a welcome addition to the range. Kenner had originally made a version in 1980, but this came just as the diecast range was being phased out and as a result, the TIE Bomber only received limited distribution is some US cities; subsequently it is very rare today. The Micro Machines version is quite a solid model, finished in grey with black panels on the angled wings. It has one working feature, a sliding hatch on the crew cockpit.
SLAVE-1
The strangely-named Slave-1 is the ship piloted by Bobba Fett, a ruthless bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to hunt down the Millennium Falcon. This weird craft can fly horizontally (as shown), or more usually in a vertical position with the tail facing down. The Galoob model is painted light grey with dark grey and purple camouflage markings. It has two working features; the side wings swivel, and the guns in the tail can rotate.
LANDSPEEDER
Landspeeders are ground vehicles used in the Star Wars universe; they are hover-cars powered by three jet engines at rear. This particular Landspeeder is the one owned by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Unlike the earlier (and much larger) Kenner version, the Micro Machine is shown in an authentic ‘dilapidated’ condition, with dents in the nose and a missing engine cover, and is finished in tan and brown with silver trim. The model has one opening feature; a small engine panel on the nose lifts up. It runs along on three concealed wheels, which are eccentric and cause the vehicle to shake as it rolls along.
SNOWSPEEDER
Snowspeeders are arctic craft used by the Rebel Alliance to fight the Empire on the ice planet Hoth. They are fast, powerful craft that are ideal for skimming across ice and snow, and are armed with two powerful laser cannons which are mounted on each wing. The Galoob version is finished in pale grey with orange and dark grey markings. It has four working parts; an opening cockpit hatch, a drop-down front ski, and a pair of opening air brakes at rear.
EXECUTOR
The Executor, Darth Vader’s flagship, is one of a fleet of Super Star Destroyers, mother-ships that are even more massive than Imperial Star Destroyers. These leviathans are 19 km long and have twenty times the capacity of the ‘smaller’ Destroyers.
The Galoob model is painted light grey with a darker grey central section. It comes accompanied by an Imperial Star Destroyer, which it positively dwarfs. Sliding a switch on one side of the Executor moves the Star Destroyer on the opposite side, which is attached by a transparent beam. It’s a clever trick, but in this case the action feature detracts from the accuracy of the model.
A-WING FIGHTER
The A-Wing Fighter, which had a triangular, A-shaped appearance, first appeared in Return of the Jedi, and was said to be the fastest of the Rebel Alliance ships. An A-Wing certainly had an important part in the film, when it crashed into the bridge of the Executor and cause it to careen into the unfinished second Death Star.
This was the only Galoob model based on the third film, and was the first ever diecast A-Wing. It was painted light grey with maroon stripes and dark grey trim. It had plenty of operating parts; an opening canopy, two swivelling cannons and three drop-down landing legs.
THE FORCE RETURNS
Galoob followed up this range in 1999 with a series of eight models based on the new film Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (click here). Galoob was taken over by Hasbro later that year, and the Micro Machine line was put on hold. It wasn’t until 2005 that the line was revived, now called the ‘Titanium Series’. Hasbro re-released several of the older models, many in alternative liveries, and also produced a wide range of new castings until the line was cancelled in 2009. The Hasbro range covered all six films, and when the movie vehicles were exhausted, ships from other sources such as animated films, TV shows, video games and even comics were added.
With the continuation of the film franchise in 2015 with Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, Hasbro revived the range under the name ‘Black Series: Titanium’, using a mix of old and new castings.
This article first appeared in the May 2013 of Diecast Collector magazine.
Star Wars TM and (C) Disney.
Text and model photos (C) Michael Pigott 2018.
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