Star Wars Playset Review: IMPERIAL ATTACK BASE 1981! EP 04 - The Padawan Collector

This Weeks Star Wars Playset Review is the Imperial Attack Base from Kenner, released in 1981. We go over the history of this Playset, clean and restore it, put it together, and review it. I have never played with this Star Wars Vintage Playset before, so join me for a good time!
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[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

If you want to start from the beginning, here is Episode 1: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kHO6aniiq7OEkLc

[@timothyvandenberg2905]

My little brother had this (I was 8, and he was 5)....It was all about "Playing Star Wars" with HIS figures & playsets in HIS room, and then leaving the mess for HIM to clean up.....My OLDER brother taught me this exact "Dark Side" mind trick, as he would do the exact same thing to me with MY Kenner Star Wars toys in MY bedroom as well....leaving the mess for ME to clean up after HE played with MY toys! Memories!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey tim! Haha this is great! Maybe I should try this on mrs Padawan!? 🤔😂. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment my friend!

[@joe3019772008]

i had 2 of that playset when i was a kid, my aunt and uncle bought me one and then i got one from santa for christmas. lol. lots of fun.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Joe!!! Haha that would have been dope to have two of these!!! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@glynnbrown6642]

My childhood friend had this and we played with it for hours. I managed to get one a couple of years ago, but it had turned yellow and most of the stickers were missing. I restored it and now it looks great. Happy collecting Joey.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Glynn! That’s awesome that you were able to restore it! How did you un-yellow it? Thanks for watching my friend

[@acrodave9287]

I love this little playset! Nice and chunky with a lot going on in a small space. Surely the fact that it's so usable for other figures of the same scale is a bonus? A great companion piece for the Turret and Probot set, with the all important Probot being a figure in its own right. The Probot, a figure? Oh yes! Well it always was to me...😁👍👍

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Acro! Yes putting those two together for a mega Playset would be awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@alphalifestyleacademy]

I recently got out of the hospital and my grandma bought me this play set and the droid factory. I really like this play set.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow that’s excellent! I need a grandma like yours! I hope you are feeling well and on the mend my friend! Thanks for watching :)

[@Mikeeg0607]

This was one of my favorite playsets and yes it was very durable, I used to try and launch figures as hard as I could off of that platform!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Haha nice! I can imagine you flinging those figures off this set lol

[@shawnkarg3794]

One of the few Star Wars playsets I DID have as a kid, and I had a lot of fun with it. I honestly don't recall ever using the figure launch feature, but I blew up the ice bridge and the command post more times than I can remember. If you've never seen one, there are footprints in the main walkway that were molded from actual figures-you can see impressions of the peg holes.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Shawn! Yes! I wish I could go back and talk about the footprints! I did see that. Great detail :). Thanks for watching my friend

[@BluckersVideosandToys]

Now I wouldn't mind adding this play set my Kenner collection one day! It's so cool!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Dave! Yea this one has a lot of cool features and you can use it for other toy lines :). Thanks for watching my friend

[@Emperorvalse]

I remember this set. My friend had this while I had the Rebel turret base set. We had many attacks on each other's bases with over the years.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Emperor! That would have been epic to have both of them as kids for epic battles! I only had the one and my sister and I would have battles with Star Wars and strawberry shortcake figures lol.

[@geekstrong1]

I love this playset, I had this as a kid and loved it... I do own it again. 💪😉

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Deano! I think you have every toy I’ve ever wanted!!!

[@Superawesomegeekshow]

Wow. Great video. Awesome playset. Love this one. I think you got a fantastic deal on this one with the box. That’s amazing. Thanx for sharing.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks John! This is one that I was really looking forward to getting in the collection :). Thanks for watching brother

[@markrussell3414]

Awesome video on the ice planet playset looks amazing I wish I had this when I was a kid but I got the ewok village playset which was the best playset ever keep collecting and may the force be with you all star wars fans the force is strong with this one 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Mark! The Ewok village is still one of the coolest playsets! I can’t wait to go hunting for one. Thanks for watching my friend

[@ericdiefel4505]

I got this playset when i was 8 . It was my favorite playset as i love EVERYTHING Hoth. It was my grail to find MISB. This set is insanely hard to find MISB. Finally bought one from a collector in a FB group graded. I'm stoked to get it. Congrats on your pick up!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Eric! Wow congratulations on getting your MISB grail! That’s epic, my friend 👏🏽. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment!

[@damonslimmon]

I remember getting this for christmas. "Santa" had a few too many cookies and milk and it was put together wrong. hahahaha.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hahaha! I guess your parents put out the “parents” egg nog for Santa 😏. Thanks for watching and leaving an awesome comment

[@alvinthomas3031]

Great video, first time I've seen this playset assembled and its features. 💯

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Alvin! Thanks for watching! I’m glad you enjoyed the features :)

[@MoparMcNeer]

This was one I had in my childhood & remember having it outside in the snow during the Iowa winters, used in many a snow battle. Somehow I ended up two or three of the main base sections over time along with various bits & pieces. I have no idea how, but possibly from some of my friends childhood collections that were given to me or purchased. Regardless, this one always has fond memories for me, despite it being labeled as an "Imperial" attack base, which we all know is silly. About a year ago I picked up a complete boxed one of these, only missing the cardboard insert & having a partially used sticker sheet. But the big draw is that the box was virtually flawless. Unfortunately, USPS decided that it was too nice & by virtue of the box not being well enough packed, & some mail person having decided to take out the daily frustrations on my package, it arrived crushed & damaged on both ends. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. To my surprise, the seller felt so bad about it that they provided a full refund & told me to keep it. I assume they may have filed a claim, but I don't know for sure. Just a few weeks ago I came across an unused sticker sheet on eBay & snagged it up. The cardboard insert however will undoubtedly be the most difficult part to procure without buying a whole boxed set most likely. You got a very fair deal on your playset Joey. Complete with a displayable box for $80. I'd take that any day of the week. And it does look fantastic in the Ian's acrylic too. Really enjoying the new series. So many great sets ahead. I'm so excited for you (& your community). GL on your hunts!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Mopar! I’m glad you are liking the series. I didn’t know how people would receive it, but I’m having fun and glad you are too. I can only imagine how you felt getting that boxed Jabba only to find it in that condition, but hats off to the seller. That was very nice of them and although it still meant you had a damaged item, at least they took ownership of that situation. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to write!

[@saulgralla9381]

I Remember that set very well

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Saul! Yea I love how many play features it has. Thanks for watching my friend

[@Marcoroll1973]

Nice playset to display 😊

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Marco, I agree! Thanks for watching my friend. MTFBWY

[@lerajie666]

Love that playset. Just completed mine (got a decent enough box). The bunker tiles are the expensive parts, if you need to aquire them. Next playset to be refurbished, is my Degobah, then a white tie fighter. Have a good one

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Lera! I didn’t know the bunker tiles were expensive!? How much do they cost separately?

[@lerajie666]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial let's see, I just bought 1 tile for $35. But, my playset is complete. I guess those are the parts that are always lost

[@billpaulk1058]

Nice review Joey! I had this one as a kid in the early 80s. I liked it better than the probot set so I chose this one as a kid because it was bigger and had more battle damage features - especially the ice bridge, so cool!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey bill! Yes this one definitely has more features and is bigger than the turret and probot Playset. I would have loved this one as a kid. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment bill!

[@enfieldjohn101]

It's awesome, and understandable that they thought to make so many Hoth playsets. For the original trilogy, Hoth was the perfect setting for playsets like this with all the trenches, turrets, bases etc. Plus, I'm sure it helped that Hoth was mostly white, black, grey and blue so that helped them keep costs down while still making awesome looking sets. It was harder later on for ROTJ to make playsets that looked as good as the giant redwood forest used for Endor, I'm sure. I love how so many parts of this set fly apart and launch the figures around. They really tried to emulate the exciting battle scene from the opening of ESB. Would have been super cool to have along with my ATAT. As it was, I used rubber band and ping pong firing toy guns instead to make figures and walls of stacked up toy blocks fly apart to emulate explosions as a kid. That was quite fun! I would have loved to have had even one of these sets as a kid, but I had the next best thing: a huge yard in front of our house that filled with snow and ice every winter back in the early 80's thanks to us living in Western Nebraska. Plenty of very realistic snow drifts, ice sheets, icicles, etc. to make my own trenches, caves and bases. My AT-AT looked fantastic out on that real snow. I wish I had pictures of it and the huge bases that I made from real snow back then. Your collection sheets are fantastic! I love the one that I downloaded for the action figures. Great video showing us this underrated playset!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Omg you did have the best Playset in the world! That would have been so much fun to play with Star Wars toys in the snow as a kid. I never did that. I bet there were a lot of lost toys in the snow though haha! Thanks for the awesome comment my friend

[@enfieldjohn101]

Yes indeed. It was super fun though. I didn't lose any action figures that way, but I did lose blasters, tow cables and things like that though. I'm sure the lawn mower ate them after the snow melted. Kids like me who lost a lot of their accessories are why the remaining ones are so rare now. :) @@thepadawancollectorofficial

[@ThatJohnKillion1970]

Kenner went crazy with the Hoth playsets. Cloud City was sorely lacking.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Yors! I agree ☝️, if they would have made the carbon chamber back then it would have been two playsets in one. Fight with Vader and the carbonite chamber! Rad stuff. Thanks for watching!

[@bjnowak]

I had that Hoth play set. Awesome

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks for watching BJ!

[@sonicsnout]

If I recall correctly, if you hit that land mine button a little harder, the snow trooper will actually catch a little air 😄

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Sonic! Haha yea you are right! Maybe next time I will film this in super slow mo and make it a super dramatic scene

[@darthg6505]

Congrats on getting this playset! I have one complete and 2 of them incomplete that I use for a trench for the rebels in the Hoth battle scene, It pairs great with the Turret & Probot playset. I have lots of good memories about this playset. As always I look forward to the next video & good luck on your next hunt!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Darth! Yea that would be cool to have a few of these to make a cool display. That’s pretty cool that you did that! Thanks for watching my friend

[@kevcox5585]

That's a great price Joey. I bought a Palitoy one in the UK 6 months ago, virtually same condition box and exactly the same contents as yours from eBay for £55 with postage - but I've seen them go for alot more. Nice video my friend 👍🏼

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Wow you got a great price Kev! Bravo 👏🏽! This one is definitely one of my favorites from childhood :). Thanks for watching my friend!

[@clobberonline6812]

Excellent review again !!!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thank you my friend! Thanks for watching :)

[@ashjp01]

Love anything ESB ❤

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Ash! ESB for me :). Thanks for watching!

[@DanMiller1168]

We'll agree to disagree on this playset, my friend. 😄 I think it's AWESOME with a ton of playability. Glad to be with you on this journey as well. Thanks for sharing your research and passion with us. Take care!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

That’s fair :). I still think it’s a great Playset and I had fun getting to set it up and get to know it. Would it make my top ten? We will have to see :) thanks for watching my friend!

[@retroforce6919]

Awesome video 👍 One of my favorite ESB playset is the Turret & Probot playset

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey retro! I agree that’s a good one! I think that one is next week :)

[@deathmetalrob5563]

Well that is a pretty rad playset in the price was not bad. Good to see you back Joey

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey DMR! Good to hear from you my friend! I hope all is well

[@sdrob92124]

Nice job on the video, this is one I definitely played a lot with as a kid (even took to school in 2nd grade for Show n Tell). Still have my original set (no box) but it's durable as you mention, nothing broken. Looks like you got a good deal on the set.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Rob! I forgot about taking playsets to school for show and tell! Great memory :). Thanks for watching my friend

[@pascalh4737]

Great new Playset !

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Pascal! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@alphalifestyleacademy]

6:33 I remember that!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Prostar! Yea when I first opened the instructions, I was like.. wut 😮. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@jorgeldejesus8465]

congrats , the empire strikes back playsets were a mayor improvement from the plastic base + cardboard backdrop playstets from 78-79 line, again congrats on the playset

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Jorge! Yea it’s cool to see the progression of Kenner in all of the toys through these early years :). Thanks for watching and commenting my friend

[@jdoran]

I also didn't realize how many Kenner Star Wars playsets existed until more recently. I got lucky last spring and have the Imperial Attack Base, Dagobah, Jabba the Hutt Playset, and the Ewok Village. I am hoping you can measure the string lengths for the Ewok Village playset when you get to it if it's not already assembled. Thank you!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Jdoran! I can’t wait to get a great example of the Ewok village. And yes I can measure the strings for you and I’ll make sure to include that in the video. Thanks for watching my friend

[@paulbarbacano1109]

I was a spoiled boy 😄 I had every star wars toy made and it was thrown out 😢

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

😮

[@paulbarbacano1109]

Started crying to realize how lucky I was growing up... I will be 52 in December... These toys were my whole world and I am Grateful my family always gave me Star wars for Christmas and my birthday.. I wish I would have held on to them... I would just give them away to fans now 😞. So they would have the enjoyment I had growing up 😞

[@jartladder15]

Great price for that one. This was a great playset really. Like most people I used it for a rebel base playset not an imperial base. I think you're wrong in discounting this playset. It's in my top five because of the play features and the environment it created. Thanks for another video!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Jart! I would never discount a Playset, I still think it’s great, and I think it’s cool that you have it in your top 5. Thanks for watching my friend

[@richardlee2120]

It is really the Rebel Attack Base, as the imperials never had this on Hoth. It's great as a display piece. Kenner missed an opportunity to make the ice bridge into the Wampa cave.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey richard! Yes I agree! If Kenner had made the wampa cave that would have made this more iconic and would have had me give this a higher score to being an essential Playset! That’s a great comment.

[@bigfatwookiee]

Great video bro! ESB is by far my favorite Movie, as well as all the figures and playsets! This one is one of my favorites!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Wookie! Do you have this one? Thanks for watching!

[@bigfatwookiee]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial I sure do!

[@robengelbrecht8312]

Great video. Love the playset but looking forward to next weeks video as that’s the next play set (turret and probot) I’m looking to get.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Rob! Yes the turret and probot Playset is one of my favorites from my childhood

[@HGates-hl4eq]

I had one back in the day. I still have the base nothing else. Lol

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey it’s a great base for doing a diorama for your action figures! Thanks for watching my friend!

[@tperson8347]

Thanks for the video. :) Sounds like I need to go to San Diego :)

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey T! Thank you my friend! San Diego is a pretty fun town :). Thanks for watching

[@lleyton9260]

Great Vid

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Thanks Lley!!!

[@rikyannieh6119]

The brand new case was almost as much as the vintage toy 😂😮

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Rik! Yea I wish those cases were a little more affordable. They are made custom for these boxes. Thanks for watching my friend!

[@logandalgleish3655]

Really enjoying your content. It’s super informative and what you are doing is totally fresh and new. I so appreciate all your thoroughly thought out info that you kindly pass along. Love the channel! BTW, you got a great bargain with this playset!

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Logan! I’m honored that you are enjoying the videos and thank you for the kind words that means a lot to me :). Thanks for watching and MTFBWY

[@Fiveash-Art]

HA HA .. plastic toy restoration and conservation 6:00 ... like it's some kind of museum piece .. surprised the guy wasn't wearing gloves when handling the precious 1981 antique. 😂 .. I remember I got this thing when I was 7 , Christmas 1981 .. along with the snow speeder Tauntaun and the Wampa ... This junk is all pretty fun and all, but I don't think I'd be paying hundreds of dollars and incasing them in glass boxes. 😂 .. BUT, to each their own. I think that Black series line they've been putting out would be a better collection considering the improvements in the crafting of these things. If I had money to blow on plastic toys, I'd probably be buying that junk instead. Fun video though... good nostalgia

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Ash, you can always address me directly, I always answer the comments. That’s cool you like more modern collectibles. I happen to dig Star Wars vintage toys. Like you said, to each their own :). Thanks for watching my friend!

[@tperson8347]

I totally agree, G.I. JOE WOULD be perfect for this

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Right? If I was in the 80s and had this Playset I would be using it for Star Wars and GI Joe displays! Thanks for watching my friend :)

[@craigbloxham8344]

Yawn.

[@CC-dw9ch]

This was a dumb toy...it should have been called the Rebel attack base...wouldn't that have made more sense? you could have used this against the At-at's and At-st's, right??

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey my friend! Yea I kind of agree with you. In my mind this is after the imperial forces entered the base so now it’s THEIR base. At least that’s what I pictured. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment :)

[@CC-dw9ch]

@@thepadawancollectorofficial I like that, the 'after' base..lol..shouldn't every thing be black and falling apart? I'd buy that for a dollar! lol

[@craigbloxham8344]

This channel represents everything wrong with Vintage Star Wars collecting today.

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey Craig! I’m sorry you feel that way my friend. But thanks for watching

[@maverick4177]

Wrong? In what way exactly, getting vintage pieces at good prices is surely the aim?

[@cool2no]

He spelled this is a badass channel wrong 😑

[@craigbloxham8344]

@@maverick4177 A. He is over paying for sub standard pieces. B. He is paying for the stuff with your money, but you are too stupid to grasp that. C. There is no useful info here and crap loads of info on how Not to go about it. D. This channel is merely click bait for all the other crap he is trying to sell you. E. He is feeding you prices from SW tracker, lulz, which is tantamount to a 1990s card collector feeding you book values. Are you people just stupid?

[@craigbloxham8344]

@@cool2no this channel is drivel. He puts no effort into collecting, just throws a ton of money at it, and you are impressed with it. Collecting is an art, a process, and there are nuances this creator seems blissfully unaware of because it's not really about collecting for him, it's all about amassing a bunch of rube subs and simps.

[@bugsysiegel8742]

Episode 5

[@thepadawancollectorofficial]

Hey bugs! Thanks for watching? What was the Ep 5 comment about?