The Toys That Never Were

"Insider takes a look at the Kenner action figures that didn't make it to your toy box."

―The Toys That Never Were^[2]

The Toys That Never Were was an article written by Chris Fawcett that appeared in Star Wars Insider 92. Including pictures of prototypes, it showcases ten figures/figure sets that were conceived by the Kenner toy company during the 1970s and 1980s but which never made it into production.

Profiled figures[]

Familytoys — Prototypes of Chewbacca's family

Rocket Fett - A famous unproduced figure of Boba Fett that was initially made available through a mail-in offer. Several months before its release, a child choked to death on a missile fired from a similar Battlestar Galactica toy, and Rocket Fett was ultimately shelved. Nine variants of the figure are known to exist.

R1-G4 - An action figure of R1-G4 went unproduced, but Fawcett asserted that it was not publicly known why.

Wookiee family - After the airing of The Star Wars Holiday Special in 1978, Kenner envisioned a toy line of Chewbacca's family. Prototypes were constructed of Chewbacca, Malla, Itchy, and Lumpy, but the idea was ultimately canned.

Vac-metallized figures - In the early 1980s, Vacuum-metallized figures of a TIE pilot and a member of the Emperor's Royal Guard were conceptualized and prototyped but not produced.

Accessory figures - A set of accessories available for the heroes similar to an existing "survival pack" went unproduced.

Gargan- An action figure of Yarna d'al' Gargan was created for the original Power of the Force line, but was nixed when Lucasfilm Ltd. thought that the six-breasted character was inappropriate for children.

Luke Skywalker in robes - Very little is known about a figure of Luke Skywalker in plastic-sculpted robes that didn't make the cut.

Unproduced Power of the Force - Kenners' original Power of the Force toyline ended after one wave, resulting in a number of figures going unreleased.

2nd Series Ewoks - After a line of action figures based on the television show Ewoks, a second line was planned that was set to include Chief Chirpa, Paploo, Morag, Weechee, Chituhr, and Bondo. Many samples of these figures exist, but they were never mass-produced.