TheSWCA blog on Kenner and Repro Art reminded me of the vast wealth of resources found on there that deserves a lot more attention, and that inspired me to look at old magazines and programs that led me down other paths. Before I knew, it half the day had gone but as always I learnt a lot of information from TheSWCA which I was completely unaware of and this time it all related to the three-pack special action figure sets.
In 1978, Kenner made available a special promotion for its biggest customers, which were the department stores. I have read many times that the three-packs were exclusive to Sears but this is not true and the information in the Department Store Programs for 1978 and 1979 made it clear that these were offered to and available through other stores. Today, the three-packs are extremely expensive to purchase and complete sets of 16 are not common. A small amount of pre-production items have survived and there are Canadian and Australian versions to track down for those who are really keen.
The History
I couldn’t do this article justice without steering readers in the direction of fellow collectors Jesse Cedar Soberman and Mac Dunbar Bickmore’s video from Celebration Anaheim 2022 on the collecting track panel. I spent a long time researching three-packs, but when I was finally pointed to this video the first 10 minutes alone filled so many gaps – thank you guys! In the video, the guys discussed the fact that Kenner were looking for economical ways to reward their biggest customers and packaging wouldn’t cost anywhere near as much as creating new figures. In a pre-recorded interview with Kenner Product Manager Tom Clark, he explains the concept of the three-packs. As a kid, you could buy sets of figures (for example the Heroes) in one purchase, which makes perfect sense. It would also be simple for relatives to grab a full set of action figures, understanding that if you already had one or two then you could trade with friends, or even start army building!
The image included in the 1978 programme is particularly fascinating as it is laid out similar to a 12-back card, with the price sticker box in the top left and the logo in the top right. However, as far as I know this is the only time that the three-packs looked like this as in all further pre-production and production developments, the white price sticker box is on the top right and the logo is on the left. Even more surprising and probably unique, is the fact that the logo is flipped as shown here:
The images used in the programme above and to the right are a flat 2D mock-up of what the product would look like when available. There is a faint line just over half-way up from the bottom which shows that this is actually two separate pieces put together for the advert.
The first piece is the larger rectangular cardboard with the race track. The figures are loose and have been placed on top of the orange background for their photo. You can also see that the window has circular corners, but this did not last into the next iteration either.
The first known physical three-pack is shown here on the left and features a couple of points of interest. The first is the round punch-tab, which was quickly reverted to the more common style found on other carded figures. The second is the solid black line at the top of the shadow box, which obscured the name of the three-pack prompting a change to be made. The three-packs found in this style can be traced back to the Kenner employee store, so a good number of these were likely to have been made in this style. Kenner employees would hand trim these by snipping 45 degree corners and removing the bulk of the black border leading to the design we know and one that Hasbro is still following to this day.
Once the box design was finalised, Kenner had to think of a cost-effective way to protect and to keep the figures in place. This box flat is the only known example of a three-pack found with a cellophane front.
You can see that the corners are now die-cut to give a much clearer edge, but the problem would be how to keep the figures from rattling around in the box. In the video, Mac theorised that the figures may have been cable tied into place and that is as good as any idea that you’re likely to find.
If you haven’t purchased Mattias Rendahl’s “A New Proof” yet, then you should so while it’s available! Those who own a copy will know that most of these images are included and is the closest that most collectors will get to actually owning them – well, sort of!
The Hero Set
Containing Han Solo, Princess Leia and Ben Kenobi, the set was initially advertised as “this trio of freedom fighters joins forces with Luke Skywalker to challenge the tyranny and oppression of the sinister Galactic Empire. Princess Leia Organa, the strong-willed leader, is 3 1/2″ tall and has a removable cape and her own laser pistol. Han Solo, the captain of the Millenium Falcon starship, is 3 3/4″ tall and carries a special Laser Pistol. Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, last of the Jedi Knights, is 3 1/4″ tall, has a removable cape and a retractable Light Saber.”
I love text like this, which is very much a snapshot of the time. Ben is the shortest figure? What makes Han Solo’s blaster special? Why the capitalisation of some use of words? Never mind why Luke Skywalker, the main hero, isn’t included in the pack!
The Villain Set
This set included Darth Vader, Stormtrooper and Death Squad Commander. The accompanying text reads, “This band of evil enforcers try to crush the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Darth Vader, the formidable Lord of the Sith, is 4 1/4″ tall, has a removable cape and a retractable Light Saber. The Stormtrooper, foot solider of the Galactic Empire, is 3 1/4″ tall and carries a Laser Rifle. The Death Squad Commander, guard of the Death Star Battle Station, is 3 3/4″ tall and is also equipped with a Laser Rifle.”
If my maths is correct then this makes Princess Leia a little tall to be a Stormtrooper!
The Android Set
Finally, we have the very oddly titled ANDROID SET. Android is not a word commonly associated with Star Wars characters, but the title hardly describes the characters of C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca! “This team of Comrades battle side by side with the rebel forces in their struggles against the Galactic Empire. R2-D2 is 2 1/4″ tall, has movable legs and a “chrome” top that “clicks” as it turns. C-3PO is 3 3/4″ tall and is articulated at the shoulders and hips. Chewbacca, the giant Wookie is 4 1/4″ tall, has an ammunition belt and carries a special Laser Rifle.”
The text was changed on the back of the production three-packs to feature less information about heights and special weapons and to be more emotive, including information about hundred-year-old Wookies and sinister Empires!
The Production Items
Star Wars Wave One was released in 1978 and featured 9 of the first 12 characters available.
Apart from the inclusion of Chewbacca in the oddly titled ANDROID SET, and the omission of Luke Skywalker in the HERO SET, they do make sense as groups. I guess the Tusken Raider and Jawa would have made a likely pairing, but wouldn’t they be better with Ben Kenobi and perhaps called the “DESERT SET”?
As said previously, these were also available in Canada although only ANDROID and VILLAIN SETS have been found from the first wave. As Canadian law stated that packaging had to include both English and French information, they could only fit two sets on the reverse furthering strengthening the theory that the HERO SET was never released. Canada used this same packaging for all of their three-packs meaning that costs were kept to a minimum as only new inserts and figures needed to be inserted.
Star Wars Wave Two was released the following year and offered the following 4 sets.
As you can see, Kenner pushed the next 9 figures in these sets and included one from the original 12 not to already feature. If we look closer at the DROID SET, we can see that this is a more logical version of the ANDROID SET with 3 new droids included to replace C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca. The HERO SET now has the new version of Luke replacing Leia, although I would still argue that it would make more sense to replace Ben.
A completely new set of cantina aliens is used to create the CREATURE SET which is a great 3-pack. The VILLAIN SET for me is where my head is scratching this time. Boba Fett – fair enough, as at this time it was believed that Boba would be a villain, but Tusken Raider and poor Snaggletooth? Perhaps if Greedo was swapped into this set and Snaggletooth went the other way, then this would enhance both sets. Or even Walrusman – at least those two characters did something “villainous”. Not included in any set to date are Jawa and original Luke Skywalker.
Nothing says “special” as much as a Star Wars Special Offer sticker! You’ll notice the inclusion of the sticker which was advertising a pretty cool display scene cardboard backdrop. These are available to buy on the secondary market for reasonable prices, but beware as there are plenty of reproduction versions out there.
The HERO SET backdrop featured a Yavin celebration scene when Luke disembarks from his X-Wing in victory. Again, Leia over Ben would have surely been a better shout?
The VILLAIN SET, perhaps to justify that Tusken Raider villain, included a Tatooine desert scene, a place we’d not find Boba Fett for at least another three years.
The DROID SET was a fuller shot of the R5-D4 cardback with a shot where Luke is inspecting the droids outside of the Jawa Sandcrawler.
Finally, the CREATURE SET featured the cantina band from Mos Eisley.
The cardboard backdrops stored in a space behind the removable coloured inserts were folded to size, and it’s a shame that Kenner didn’t quality control all of the text as you can see the glaring mistake on the DROIDS SET.
For the Canadian market, even though backdrops were included they did not include the special offer sticker. This meant their logos were more centralised than the US ones which had to be repositioned to the left. The Australian three-packs differ from the rest due to the typical metric system used to replace the inches of the height of the figures.
Empire Wave One was released in 1980 and these are the most expensive and toughest to track down.
Pre-production evidence shows that Kenner were rearranging these assortments before finally settling on the three above. HOTH REBELS seems pretty sensible as does BESPIN ALLIANCE, although perhaps Lobot should have been included, but IMPERIAL FORCES is a bit odd. Granted, Vader and Stormtrooper had already been used, and perhaps it was a little too early for AT-AT Driver but if bounty hunters were to be included then why didn’t the Bounty Hunter set include Dengar? Although these featured the “Special Offer” sticker, no backdrops were included in the Empire three-packs.
Empire Wave Two quickly followed and featured some of the figures mentioned above. You’ll notice that the Special Offer sticker has been completely removed, but unlike the Canadian cards the logo stayed off-centre.
Empire Wave Three, sadly the final wave, featured the following figures and was the only wave to include accessories in separate bubbles.
For me, the IMPERIAL SET is one of the coolest 3-packs despite the inclusion of Zuckuss. I’d have been happier if it included AT-AT Commander or Hoth Stormtrooper, but it has two pretty cool action figures standing there side by side. I wonder how many kids bought that and opened them as army builder sets!
This is evidence to show that Return of the Jedi three-packs were in development in the 1983 store catalogue, but nobody knows why they weren’t released.
I guess as with most things, if they don’t sell very well then they won’t be continued. Perhaps the department store didn’t want these bulkier boxes, or perhaps they preferred other “special offer” programmes running at the time? Did they make as much profit as they did selling 3 single figures?
More pre-production
Although viewers of the linked video will know that there are other items of pre-production out there, I’d like to focus on just two different areas as I find these to be most fascinating. The first is the cromalins for the inserts.
I’ve seen a few of these showcased in collections and they are really cool. Pictures can never do these justice as they are really vibrant in real-life. The purpose of the cromalin is to correct any colour concerns and to do last minute checking before the proof cards were made. Quality control would then sign the cromalins to suggest changes or to approve before the proof cards were made.
I guess that the Tantoonie cromlin wasn’t signed off!
The second item is the white mock-up boxes which I’d not seen until recent online auctions. These were the cheapest possible way to mock-up a new design, in this case the weapon blisters for Empire wave three. Thank goodness that collectors purchased these in the mid-90s and that these were not dismissed as fakes or unimportant.
Store Displays
Although these had punch tabs, which I assume had been thoroughly tested as part of the pre-production process, I have only seen photographs of these sitting in display boxes like this, or on shelves.
I find the three-packs to be the most interesting of all the multi-packs that were put out by Kenner, partly because the design of these are so great, but mainly because a lot of thought has gone into these whereas other multi-packs can be seen as shifting stock. I was proud to be an owner of a DROIDS SET and it took pride and joy in my collection for a number of years. I also appreciate Hasbro’s acknowledgement of the three-packs by pretty much reusing the exact same design in their modern releases.
And finally….a great imagesof all 16 three-packs together, a wonderful sight to behold.
Special thanks to Mark Rusciano for pointing me to the video on the Collecting Tracks YouTube page and to Jesse and Mac for their amazingly informative video.
Photos (c) Jesse Cedar Soberman, Mac Dunbar Bickmore, Chris Caswell, Jeff Jacobs, Richard Hutchinson, Mark Yeo Yian Hui and theswca.com
