SWTOTW, Week 40, 2019, Part 1/2 Lando Calrissian (General Pilot)

Pomse2001

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Lando Calrissian (General Pilot):

I almost forgot to do toy of the week, sorry about that. My thoughts have been on vehicle of the year :oops:

lando.jpg
 

Snaketibe

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I forgive you, Lars :lol:

So it's the turn of the most stylish man in Star Wars, eh? Alright then!

If there's one thing the Lando Calrissian (General Pilot) figure proves, it's that Kenner never did get the hang of using accurate colours for characters' clothes, even at the very end of the vintage figure line. The original 20 figures for Star Wars I'm prepared to cut Kenner some slack over, since the line was brand new, the characters still very fresh in pop culture (and hence their looks less ingrained in the public consciousness), and moreover, the line was being rushed with all haste into existence in order to meet demand before the bubble burst. Except the bubble didn't burst very quickly, of course, and for as long as there was a new film to support the line, the figures continued to be made. Which brings us to Lando General...

Lando Calrissian (General Pilot) was of course one of the final figures released, and you might have thought that Kenner would have been a little bit better at getting figure colours right by that point, or at the very least become slightly more observant, but the simple truth is right there on the cardback! Billy Dee Williams is wearing a blue/grey cape and trousers, and has cream coloured sleeves and a brown waistcoat / jacket / top / whatever the hell it is. So what did Kenner give us? A figure wearing a pinkish-brown cape and trousers, and light grey/brown sleeves and top. Every single piece of clothing the wrong colour! Quite incredible!

Anyway, the figure's alright, I suppose, apart from the standard cardinal Kenner sin of not being able to hold his weapon properly (hence the blu-tack below). There are no visually different variants on this figure that I am aware of, but I can offer a POTF carded one.

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 01.jpg


Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 02.jpg


Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 03.jpg


Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 04.jpg


Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 05.jpg
 

Snaketibe

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s1d0w said:
Here's a loose and a cardback for you.

Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.54.59.png
Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.55.11.png
Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.55.19.png
Nice example. Thanks for sharing :)
 

Mini99

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Snaketibe said:
TheJabbaWookie said:
I actually quite like the figure despite the obvious colour flaws
So do I, but Kenner's inability to even get close sometimes does amaze me! :D
Do you think that they could have been working from black and white pictures even in the Jedi era?
 

Snaketibe

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Mini99 said:
Snaketibe said:
TheJabbaWookie said:
I actually quite like the figure despite the obvious colour flaws
So do I, but Kenner's inability to even get close sometimes does amaze me! :D
Do you think that they could have been working from black and white pictures even in the Jedi era?
It's possible, but they certainly didn't need to. Action figures take approximately a year to get made from starting design to on-shelf (this time will vary of course, but even the early bird kit figures met that deadline with Star Wars being released in 1977 and the first figures hitting shelves in 1978). Return of the Jedi was released in 1983 and the Lando General figure came out in 1985. That means the film was already on release before the figure would have been designed in all likelihood, so what's their excuse for getting it so wrong?
 

Pomse2001

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Snaketibe said:
I forgive you, Lars :lol:

So it's the turn of the most stylish man in Star Wars, eh? Alright then!

If there's one thing the Lando Calrissian (General Pilot) figure proves, it's that Kenner never did get the hang of using accurate colours for characters' clothes, even at the very end of the vintage figure line. The original 20 figures for Star Wars I'm prepared to cut Kenner some slack over, since the line was brand new, the characters still very fresh in pop culture (and hence their looks less ingrained in the public consciousness), and moreover, the line was being rushed with all haste into existence in order to meet demand before the bubble burst. Except the bubble didn't burst very quickly, of course, and for as long as there was a new film to support the line, the figures continued to be made. Which brings us to Lando General...

Lando Calrissian (General Pilot) was of course one of the final figures released, and you might have thought that Kenner would have been a little bit better at getting figure colours right by that point, or at the very least become slightly more observant, but the simple truth is right there on the cardback! Billy Dee Williams is wearing a blue/grey cape and trousers, and has cream coloured sleeves and a brown waistcoat / jacket / top / whatever the hell it is. So what did Kenner give us? A figure wearing a pinkish-brown cape and trousers, and light grey/brown sleeves and top. Every single piece of clothing the wrong colour! Quite incredible!

Anyway, the figure's alright, I suppose, apart from the standard cardinal Kenner sin of not being able to hold his weapon properly (hence the blu-tack below). There are no visually different variants on this figure that I am aware of, but I can offer a POTF carded one.

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 01.jpg

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 02.jpg

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 03.jpg

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 04.jpg

Galaxy's Biggest Cape Fan - 05.jpg

Thanks, I hope you also forgive me for first looking at this thread now :oops: Damn I must have been busy :lol:

Yes very scary that kenner did so many things wrong, it could not be from bad info from lucas, because the movie was made years before the figure. But it could be worse if kenner had made him white and not black :lol:

Thanks for sharing your awesome collection with us, it looks great as always :D
 

Pomse2001

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s1d0w said:
Here's a loose and a cardback for you.

Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.54.59.png
Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.55.11.png
Screenshot 2019-10-05 at 20.55.19.png

Nice mint figure and a great cardback, thanks for sharing them :D
 

Pomse2001

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Snaketibe said:
Mini99 said:
Snaketibe said:
So do I, but Kenner's inability to even get close sometimes does amaze me! :D
Do you think that they could have been working from black and white pictures even in the Jedi era?
It's possible, but they certainly didn't need to. Action figures take approximately a year to get made from starting design to on-shelf (this time will vary of course, but even the early bird kit figures met that deadline with Star Wars being released in 1977 and the first figures hitting shelves in 1978). Return of the Jedi was released in 1983 and the Lando General figure came out in 1985. That means the film was already on release before the figure would have been designed in all likelihood, so what's their excuse for getting it so wrong?

It could be cool to hear what the guys from kenner have to say about that, but I guess we will never hear anything about it from them ? :? any idea who made the figures and if the designers still live ? :?
 

Snaketibe

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Pomse2001 said:
Snaketibe said:
Mini99 said:
Do you think that they could have been working from black and white pictures even in the Jedi era?
It's possible, but they certainly didn't need to. Action figures take approximately a year to get made from starting design to on-shelf (this time will vary of course, but even the early bird kit figures met that deadline with Star Wars being released in 1977 and the first figures hitting shelves in 1978). Return of the Jedi was released in 1983 and the Lando General figure came out in 1985. That means the film was already on release before the figure would have been designed in all likelihood, so what's their excuse for getting it so wrong?

It could be cool to hear what the guys from kenner have to say about that, but I guess we will never hear anything about it from them ? :? any idea who made the figures and if the designers still live ? :?

Thanks, Lars.

I know at least some of the designers are still alive and well, because one of them worked on the Haslab Khetanna (he must have been very young when working on the original Star Wars figures!). However, as for hearing anecdotes from the designers about the production of the original toys and figures, I don't know. I'd love to hear them, and perhaps someone can point us to some interviews or articles, but if there aren't any out there, surely that's a subject screaming out for a filmmaker to document? :-D
 

Pomse2001

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Snaketibe said:
Pomse2001 said:
Snaketibe said:
It's possible, but they certainly didn't need to. Action figures take approximately a year to get made from starting design to on-shelf (this time will vary of course, but even the early bird kit figures met that deadline with Star Wars being released in 1977 and the first figures hitting shelves in 1978). Return of the Jedi was released in 1983 and the Lando General figure came out in 1985. That means the film was already on release before the figure would have been designed in all likelihood, so what's their excuse for getting it so wrong?

It could be cool to hear what the guys from kenner have to say about that, but I guess we will never hear anything about it from them ? :? any idea who made the figures and if the designers still live ? :?

Thanks, Lars.

I know at least some of the designers are still alive and well, because one of them worked on the Haslab Khetanna (he must have been very young when working on the original Star Wars figures!). However, as for hearing anecdotes from the designers about the production of the original toys and figures, I don't know. I'd love to hear them, and perhaps someone can point us to some interviews or articles, but if there aren't any out there, surely that's a subject screaming out for a filmmaker to document? :-D

Cool that some of them still work for kenner 8) I agree we want to know more and it sounds like a good subject for a movie :D
 
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