10 Stupid Star Wars Toy Action Figure Gimmicks

[@inspector2363]

It still irks me that Admiral Motti's Comtech chip didn't say... "This station is now the ultimate power in the universe!"

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

The best gimmick that Hasbro and Kenner could of ever given us was extra weapons. None of us were interested in the gimmicks that we got with the figures. However, we could of all made use of a few extra blasters.

[@enfieldjohn101]

I remember when Empire Strikes Back figures came out that Kenner sold accessory packs that gave you backpacks, grappling hooks, extra weapons etc. Those things were pretty cool. You could also get a coffin-like thing to keep them in. I got a few of them and still like them today.

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

@@enfieldjohn101 I remember sending off for those packs by cutting out a coupon in the Empire Strikes Back monthly comic and getting my mum to write a cheque and receiving it in the post. I never saw them on sale in the shops. I used the grapple hook to hang Luke Skywalker off the central ceiling light in my bedroom.

[@enfieldjohn101]

@@Dale_The_Space_Wizard Yes, it was a mail-in exclusive for sure. We didn't start seeing it in shops until later when stores started buying used toys from customers. I wish I knew where most of my kits were. All I can find now are the backpacks which some of my Hoth figures still wear today.

[@stevegallo8483]

The good thing about the Commtech chips is they doubled as stands for the figures.

[@enfieldjohn101]

Yes! Fantastic stands with little photos of the character on them. I still find them very handy.

[@vicwolfrin]

I remember around the time of the last run of star wars the clone wars figures. Hasbro had gotten rid of the pointless figure gimmick attachments and instead they gave you a little cardboard box filled with blasters for your figures. Much better

[@aydinstone]

The best gimmick would have been to have the full range available in the store instead of a shelf full of ‘old bloke with beard’ from phantom menace.

[@saltytbone]

I've kept those movie slides in my junk drawer for 20+ years. Didn't care about them but couldn't bring myself to get rid of them. I actually never realized there was a view you could mail away for.

[@brianomdahl8377]

Not sure if this counts, because it was not a really a giveaway that came with the action figure... But - Back in 1980, with the release of the Empire Strikes Back action figures, Kenner had a promo where if you bought several action figures, and then cut out the proofs of purchase and sent them in, you could get a “survival kit” for your action figures to use. There was cool stuff like extra blaster pistols and blaster rifles, breath masks like Han and Leia used when checking the Falcon for mynocks outside the ship, a cool Jedi training harness and a cool grappling hook and belt. Freakin awesome stuff!!!!!! Again, not quite the same as “came with the figure”- I know. But, still very very cool :) Thanks Junkman for bringing back a good memory of Star Wars toys!

[@Dale_The_Space_Wizard]

I sent off for this survival set. It also came with a big blue backpack that had storage room for stuff. I had my Chewbacca wear it mostly, while Luke always wore the belt with a grapple hook and he lived permanently hanging from my ceiling light.

[@machineman6498]

Got it! Extra guns to replace the ones your siblings lost.

[@bentonrp]

There was only one gimmick accessory we really wanted with each action figure. And that's 10 extra stormtroopers !

[@timx8872]

“What they identified as”. HA! That’s priceless.

[@rcdune7132]

Yeah I laughed way too hard at that😂😂

[@jessecowled5764]

The 3D backdrops had a tendancy to collapse under their own weight

[@markcoledrumteacher]

I liked the Comtech! I was happy they came with stands!

[@Guernicaman]

Still, some of their better "gimmicks" were the extra blasters that came inside a cardboard locker, the holograms & buikd-a-droid figure parts. Not necessary, but at least you got something of value that you could play with, or felt like it was part of your figure collection.

[@bentonrp]

I think you're on to something; Those truly WERE the best accessories!

[@rickvalentino6920]

I haven't bought a Star Wars collectable since Revenge of the Sith. But I think when they came out with the muscular figures they looked a little ridiculous. Also there were some weird Jar Jar toys.

[@tperson8347]

Not just weird, but also depressing. Stick to the figures, Hasbro. :)

[@tydiriumhanger1320]

Is Weequay Freezeframe still worth $400? Batman seemed to have a lot of gimmicks.

[@madarauchiha919]

Huh...guess I was a weird kid. I actually told my mom I wanted to get all of the 30th anniversary collections when they were out.

[@jediknightjairinaiki560]

Ah, Kenner trying to turn kids into Numismatists.

[@stevegallo8483]

And Hasbro didn't learn anything from Kenner doing it, because they had Star Wars figures with coins in the late 90s.

[@mikeshirleyforever]

Great subject!!!! Those comlink chips were a terrible marketing ploy...I know most would say Episode I was in general but I still enjoy the nostalgia surrounding it. Thanks for another great video, my friend. 👍

[@KasumiKenshirou]

The Comm-Tech chips always sounded like Stephen Hawking trying to do impressions of the characters.

[@specterkev]

I loved the coins myself. I also loved the comtech stuff, as cheesy as they sounded

[@ErokLobotomist]

11 year old me was so beyond HYPED with those Commteh Readers. I didn't think it sounded bad at the time lol It really made me want to collect more of the figure with the chips. The Battle Droid especially was one of my favourites. The gimmick worked, for me anyways lol Couldn't tell you whatever happened to the stuff though.

[@jasonthornton-saunby5814]

Great video. I'd forgotten about most of those even though I still own them! As you said yourself, as a collector I opened them and immediately put the gimmick in a box never to be seen again. They're up in the loft somewhere...

[@funkyfreshbboy]

I actually liked the com-tech because it was a free action figure stand

[@bobastu]

Great job! Since I've been a kid, I've hated gimmicks with action figure toys. It started in 1982, I was 10, and held my neighbors He-Man figure. The twist waste attack....omg. I had just started getting GI Joe, had Star Wars, and Adventure People. No gimmicks were needed for those to sell very well. As an adult, I did enjoy the added accessories, the Deluxe Figures, in the late 90s. The movie recreation 3- packs were also nice. I enjoyed the video a lot. See you on the next one.

[@treyjohnson82]

I just wished that Darth Maul had more screen time

[@enfieldjohn101]

That's for sure. He and the podracers were the best parts of The Phantom Menace.

[@scottandrewhutchins]

LOL Farmboy. I remember the pogs that came with Playmates' Star: Trek the Next Generation figures to replace the trading cards they had been packing them with. At least the cards told you more about the character, but the pogs had to be punched out of cards that didn't say much.

[@bertduckwall3835]

Awesome video as always !!!!!

[@calvingregory2017]

The figures that came with the Galactic Battlegrounds game cards sometimes came with a little bag that had extra weapons (not character specific) it reminded me of the accessory packs you used to get for G.I. Joe. Of course in later years (especially force awakens) you ended up getting gear that looked more like G.I. Joe weapons than anything Star Wars or Sci-Fi related.

[@carlosspicey-weiner4495]

Remember when Transformers and GI Joes came with a bonus mini fig? It was awesome.

[@jessecowled5764]

Decoys

[@ThatJunkman]

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[@ChrisCaldwellO66]

Nice!

[@Floyds_Toys]

Probably the best gimmicks they ever did were the little cardboard crates that came with the extra guns and the build-a-droids, especially the R2 units.

[@williamhouman8009]

I believe in Europe there was something preventing the figures from having the comtext feature. So instead every figure came with a Battle Droid figure as a bonus.

[@brandonlee1241]

I was born in 92. Seen star wars in 97 was hooked. I loved the commlink as a kid. And yep Hasbro got me again in my 20s with force link. Was made for my generation for sure.

[@alexrodriguez9441]

Is there going to be a video on the top 10 coolest gimmicks that came with the toys? My vote is for the hangar backdrop that got packed in with later releases of tie fighters and slave-1

[@coltgay4570]

Robocop figs had cap gun action. You put the paper in the back of the figure and pull the handle on the back making them sound like there were shooting guns

[@enfieldjohn101]

I remember that. It's a wonder that my friends and I didn't burn our fingers playing with those. :)

[@Matt_Desrochers74]

As a loose figure completist for Star Wars 3.75" line, I have a huge collection of pack-ins. I like most of them. By far the best ones were the Build-a-Droid parts. You buy the whole wave and you had an extra figure out of the parts you got with the others. I wish they'd bring that back. Marvel Legends 6" line has that...but I don't collect those.

[@DrewPicklesTheDark]

lol I remember the freezeframe and not caring at all lol. Also the comtech chips bothered me less since you could also use them as stands, which was particularly useful for the battle droids\ which always fell over.

[@brandonthetoyandgamecollector]

I’ll be honest, I really liked the force link stuff. I collected a lot of them because I thought the idea of them talking was so cool. My problem with it was you couldn’t control what the characters said, so if you wanted a character to say something specific you had to keep hitting it against the device til it said what you wanted them to say. Also the device was never updated for the tie fighter vehicle from solo to work with it which was a disappointment. I don’t have any of my figures now, I sold them all off, but I had a lot of fun collecting them. I stopped mostly because hasbro said they wouldn’t make the figures that scale anymore and lost interest. I have no interest really in black series and vintage collection, stuff like that, they don’t feel the same. Anyway great video as always

[@treyjohnson82]

I'd like to see a review of the Largo Bruce Lee toys,the pvc figures and the variety of figures with different outfits with levers in the back for the arms and legs

[@citadelli]

A good add they was the mini holo projection statues they had at the time. All your mentions did sux, the force link they pushed so hard was just broken, straight up. Down load updates for it wave that came that would take forever, then they just removed the app and kept making them lol.

[@enfieldjohn101]

The holo projection statues are pretty cool. I still have my Yoda one that I keep on display.

[@doctorgoodguy1]

I'd still like to see the retro collection do some Power of the Force figures coin and all.

[@ChrisCaldwellO66]

I especially hated the stupid extra weapons that came with the force awakens, rogue one figures that wasn't in the movie. And to beat all, you got a part of the weapon and had to buy another specific figure to complete the dumb weapon we didn't want and never existed in the film's. That's why I actually appreciate the TVC line. Nice figures and no extra crap!

[@lothean2099]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the little silver plastic that came with the figures. Josh, I bought these as a kid, I didnt know there was a monocular for the freeze frame.

[@MaCabaret]

I learned about disappointment in 2002 when the Attack of the Clones line was released and every Jedi or sith had magnets that gave them “force powers”. I had an Anakin that was supposed to be able to open a little box and force pull a blaster out. Then there was the “force flip” Obi-Wan and Dooku that were supposed to flip onto a magnetic platform. Neither one of these gimmicks worked at all. Between this and learning the truth about Santa Claus, 2002 was not a good Christmas for me.

[@jeremygregorio7472]

Wait, junkman doesn't have a staff?

[@davidsharp5966]

He has a staff like Amanaman's!

[@jeremygregorio7472]

@@davidsharp5966 Is it at least an original?

[@ggriffaw]

Sometimes the gimmick was a way to sell the same old figures multiple times to collectors that want all of the variations.

[@almanuel6140]

i got one of those dog tag crap for darth vader in my desk right now - i guess i can just toss it out...

[@toddsmith9598]

I never knew you could buy a viewer for those freeze frames. hmm. I learned something.

[@twilightman2816]

3:10 They were called Viewmaster. Remember those????

[@Daniel-415-Ponce]

Besides the small box containing an assortment of weapons that came with some figures, my favorite add-on or gimmick was the plastic seat and bar section that came with some of the cantina creature figures in the early 2000's. If you collected enough of them, you could set up a full bar in different configurations for a cantina diorama. Other than these two examples, I hated all the gimmicks - - to me they were just annoying plastic junk that visually distracted from the figure itself. Even as a child, all I cared about was getting a good-looking figure with movie-accurate accessories on an attractive photo cardback. If Hasbro wants to include anything else, then a simple plastic stand for the figure would be useful and appreciated.

[@throwlefty8397]

The Gonk droid Come Tech was Epic

[@DarthAzrel]

If I'm not mistaken, those film cels would work in an old-school slide projector (one of which I own) and project them on a wall or a screen (which I also own).

[@ThatJunkman]

They should if they fit ;)

[@francoisregis2155]

The commtech was okay it sure was useful to have stands I think the commtech chip where the first stands.

[@francoisregis2155]

Another gimmick who was useful was during the clone wars figs or legends with a box of weapons sure is useful when you find some figs in flea markets who don’t have weapons. As for the rest I agree with you unless its a stand included in the pack just put the figs and nothing else

[@anthonybocchino2305]

They did make that white Darth Vader figure from the "What If" comic book series, like what if Vader survived ROTJ... That was a pretty cool line imo. Now if they had camouflage Vader or multicolored Stormtroopers, some dumb gimmick like yellow and neon Batman, then I would have been a bit unnerved 😦

[@schuszter4280]

With the card game from 2010 that came with the figures we used to just make up our own rules and random games with the cards

[@brianartillery]

Funny you just posting this - I threw away a comm tech reader, and about fifty chips yesterday. You're quite right about the utter tat given away though - if it was figure accessories, that hadn't been in the movies, then it was either given to other action figures, or used as greeblies on models. The thing that really bloody annoyed me, though, was having to buy a 'Millennium Falcon' figure carrying case, which I'd never use, ever, just in order to get a Wedge Antilles figure. Complete opposite, here. The case is the main event, and Wedge (real nice action figure), is the bonus accessory. Good work, Hasbro (HEAVY SARCASM).

[@treyjohnson82]

Have u seen the Terminator 2 figures that had a vhs tape included? Argentina

[@deadeyedave444]

The one good thing about the contact readers (and I'll say I never even bothered with the reader device) was that they had a peg and photo of the character and could be used as a stand.

[@ClockWithoutNumbers]

Being a person with only two Star Wars action figures one before Kenner was replaced and one after Hasbro came along I was surprised when I heard the bad audio since one of my friends had one of those and holy crap it sucks

[@rickvalentino6920]

Sounded like someone else did the dialog.

[@PozerAdultRacingTeam]

The talking chips/action figure stand comes to mind....

[@brock2443]

I still have the coin, that came with Wicket from the Ewoks line.

[@TheSickNeeds]

instead of a Coin with the original Power of the Force figures it would have been useful if they came with 3 or 4 bonus weapons that were from previous figures since by that point everyone had figures with missing accessories!

[@Death_To_Kong]

My favorite pack in was the Transformers Decoys. They were like Ultimate MUSCLE versions of Transformers.

[@fNX-TOBYTRONIC]

Best gimmick: the plastic bubble of the old Kenner figures... We put water/one of the figures in it and then it went into the freezer.... this was our way to transform them into "carbonite blocks"... Worked well in the cold month if you played outside... In summer you had to be quick to get your bounty from Jabba... No air conditioning in his palace... 😉 Sometimes we added grey water color to make it look "more realistic" ...

[@enfieldjohn101]

Very clever!

[@wsninjacsr5465]

I love extra accessories. I also miss weird gimmicks in action figures like deluxe POTF figures.

[@andrewgrant2990]

I liked the film cell thing, but if I ever knew they had a viewer I forgot about it & never knew anyone who had it.

[@_The_Worst_]

Yeah, we don't need all these frivolous items packed in with the figures...👌🏼💯✔

[@carnbarn151]

I think the one gimmick that was good was the comic pack series: a comic book with two characters from that comic.

[@swccmty]

I like the 3d stand base for the expanded universe figures

[@qwaurk985]

I remember seeing the prequel figures and thinking wtf? Not to mention Amidala's line was a spoiler.

[@skydemolisher]

Some of the Force Link things didn't even work with the device. There's been so many dumb gimmicks in Star Wars that could have been used for better things like the extra weapons from The Force Awakens that made larger weapons or droids or something weird, you'd need all of them to do it. Unlike the Clone Wars figures which came with the weird dice and card game, the dice could be used for accessories in dioramas and those figures came with some of the best add on accessories like different heads, hologram communicators that the figure could hold, extra weapons that figures could use, etc. I think of all the things that came with figures throughout my life though, the ones that were really great and stand out most were the mini comics from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the Aliens figures. It was great that later transformers came with some comics but unlike those older mini-comics they were a series and not self contained stories.

[@enfieldjohn101]

The screwy thing with ForceLink was that there was a ForceLink and a ForceLink 2.0. Once you took the figure out of the package the only way to tell them apart was the mark on the figure's heel was blue for one set and green for the other (I think green was ForceLink 2.0 but I could have them backwards). The 2.0 readers wouldn't read the 1.0 figure chips.

[@cheddarcheese7928]

I did kinda like the pop out display scene with the EU figures..And the Galactic game wasent that bad..But I probably liked that since I did play my share of RPG games as a kid

[@darthsmoke76]

i had a bunch of these and probably never looked at the gimmicks on them

[@MarcusEye]

I’m with You, A gimmick is exactly that-A gimmick. Personally I’d rather just get a good figure for itself and don’t need a gimmick… But I do like accessory‘s and cool features on an action figure. When I was a kid growing up I didn’t buy figures for gimmicks I bought them because they were cool figures. And while some gimmicks are/Were kind of cool, in general they’re not necessary. Great Commentary junkman !.Thanks for sharing!.

[@enfieldjohn101]

That viewer is pretty cool. I'd forgotten about that. I do have a few of the figures with slides. A couple of them are cool looking scenes. The only thing I really love that they sometimes put in with the figures are figure stands. I say that every action figure should come with a stand. The CommTec dogtag chip doubled as a figure stand. That's all I use them for now though I have a reader. The reader is pretty cool actually because it does look like the communicator that the characters use in the prequel movies. I have a couple of the FlashBack Photo figures - C3PO and R2D2. These were pretty neat, unnecessary for sure, but were neat at the time before the movies came out so you got a sneak preview of Episode 1. The Bend ems and trading cards were so silly that I didn't ever buy them when I was a kid. I didn't keep the cards that the figures came on. I wish I had now. :) The game could have been cool if they had bothered to explained it better and advertised it better. The accessories for the Force Awakens figures are extremely stupid. I've wound up tossing them. Force Link's reader is worse than the ones from the prequels in that they don't really work well and I have nephews who couldn't figure it out and didn't like it. Now, had they put chips in the figures and vehicles that made them make shooting sounds and engine sounds (in the case of vehicles) that would be pretty cool, especially if the reader that played the noise looked like a prop used in the movie. Or, heck, now that everyone and their dog has a smartphone, the chip could just be readable by the phone so the app could play the sounds. They should just stick with the posing stands.

[@mikeywood1516]

I'm not much for the gimmicks, either, but Force Link is pretty awesome.

[@jeffkraft8037]

With the money they spent on the gimmicks for the TFA and TLJ they could've put that towards giving the figures more than 5/6 points of articulation. That probably would've helped sell them better.

[@enfieldjohn101]

Yes! I never understood that, even as a kid. GI Joe had tons of articulation while Star Wars had very little.

[@keithrobertson8101]

For once I agree with you I still have the com chips but as figure stands only i never use any of the extra stuff unless it the weapons they used in the movies

[@ganimed1976]

I hate these little plastic hologram statues that came with the Saga Collection figures.

[@TrashLefties]

I had the slides but didnt know about the viewer. Force Link and Force Link 2 incompatable.

[@JasonGray71]

The accessories that came with those TFA toys were completely pointless. They are in a box somewhere... The best pack ins were the droid parts, but I never managed to get a complete line of figures to make up the figure! Got a few half completed ones! But you're right, just give me decent figures in the shops & I'll buy all of them!

[@TomSchreck-n1t]

They did come out with some odd stuff. I agree the EU display set piece thing was pretty cool.

[@miket2563]

seen the complete set for 600 on evil bay .....the frames folder and the mailaway viewer together

[@roberthunt9686]

When KB Toy Store existed I bought the talking figures of Star Wars The Phantom Menace.

[@valettashepard909]

At least the comm tech chips doubled as a display base

[@jamesbounds]

I remember the dog tag ones. I just put them all in a bag.

[@thesnook666]

I'm still tying to track down that rare Brazilian Farmboy Luke coin.

[@danielkegley690]

Just think. Companies pay marketing executives big money to come up with that crap.

[@maples328]

I never knew 🤷‍♂️ there was a viewer for the freeze frames, lol 😂

[@specterkev]

Yikes, the Stars wars bend em figures. Dark days of star wars merch

[@dwaynecook952]

Instead of those god awful accessories. They should have used that plastic to make an extra figure like a mouse Droid or some small background creature.

[@victorraulsantivanezrodriguez]

i love the Commlink...

[@tombutler6451]

I think a lot of these are actually good for adult collectors to collect not the kids at the time!

[@sailorpluto9914]

I have Princess Leia in the Endor poncho action figure that came with the power of the Force coin.🤔

[@anthonybocchino2305]

Admiral Ackbar's chip could say "It's a trap!" and "General Madine"... General Madine should never have a chip, and he came with a stick... The End 🤪

[@tperson8347]

In the early 2000s when I started getting into guitar I had a few effects pedals and I'd hold up the ComTech reader to my guitar pickups and it you'd hear it on the amp. :) I didn't mind the ComTech reader, but the speach quality and some of the voices, I thought, sounded really stupid. I never thought I'd ever hear Darth Maul say, "It's the Jedi!" in a snotty attitude. :) haha The fact that they added the blast effects and explosions in with the characters' lines annoyed me. You couldn't JUST play the phrases, you had to listen to the explosions, too. [sigh]

[@emperorpawpateen.9992]

Palpatines commtech should've said " don't forget to drink your ovaltine!"

[@ToysLatinasWrestling]

That spaceman shirt goes hard

[@Dented_Battle_Armor]

Worst commtech chip is the one that came with the Battle Droid. WTF. Doesn't sound like a droid but just a dude talking lol

[@juanfierro7365]

The Marvel's Black figures that had a build a figure.

[@korydoe4813]

All that extra stuff was just a bunch of bullshit! Just give us a nice looking figure with a few good appropriate accessories and that's all kids or collectors need, no gimmicks

[@PozerAdultRacingTeam]

I never had the Bend-Ems.