GALAXY EMPIRE FIGURES

I've always liked the Galaxy Empire figure line. The logo is kinda boring, but the pictures on the card make up for it. I've seen them at toy shows a couple times (once I actually found a Chewbacca one autographed by Peter Mayhew and a Boba Fett one signed by Jeremy Bulloch... too weird to be true?), the problem is, these figures' bubbles dent so easily and the card's no better, it's some seriously flimsy cardboard. But I'll happily accept strange Star Wars collectibles in any condition. After all, what bootlegs and knock-offs are known for their durability?

The sculpts on these toys are based off of their Power of the Force 2 brothers, but at about six inches in height, they're unmistakably taller. The cards, on the other hand, don't really share any similarities.

If you want every character in the set, you'll need to round up Boba Fett, classic Chewbacca, Chewbacca disguised as Snoova, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, and a Stormtrooper. There's variations you'll have to keep an eye out for, too. Darth Vader comes in plain black or in brown/ dark red with yellow shoulder pads. Luke comes in a black outfit and also a blue one. Also, many if not all of these come with their accessory sealed separately to the right of the figure (as with my Boba Fett shown above) or sharing a bubble with the figure (as with my Han Solo shown above).

There's also the barcode situation, too. Some don't have one, some (demonstrated by my Han) have a barcode sticker on the bottom right of the card's front, right above the printed warning, while others have a barcode at the top left of the card's front. I've noticed a Boba Fett on ebay that had a barcode at the top right that said STAR WARS FIGURES 6" at the top, though I don't know if that's just a sticker a store put on it or what.

Yep, the back has nothing to offer except that cardboard color. I have one exception, though, Luke has this stamped on the back.

I don't know if this was put there by the manufacturer, a store, or a previous owner of the toy, and I don't know if it has any significance.

While the back is pretty bland, they made it clear on the front what this toy was ripping-off. Just look at those images! They're full-out-blitz Star Wars pictures, not just cheap knock-off drawings. Here's the Millennium Falcon, TIE fighters, and a Star Destroyer.

The card can't boast or brag about anything cool like "karate chop action" or "real movie sounds", so it advertises the only things it can: Twistable head and waist and movable arms and legs.

Overall, these figures really don't look that bad, though, which is kind of a shame. Knock-offs are usually funnier when they're silly looking.

Before I close with a checklist, let me add that at least Darth Vader was reissued in a box with a window. At the top it says "Movable Figure". The box is black towards the top and fades to red at the bottom. Three illustrations of characters are shown at the bottom: a viking/barbarian, a red robot, and a green lizard humanoid. In front of the gang it proudly states, "TWISTABLE HEAD" and "MOVABLE ARMS & LEGS".

"CONFIRMED TO EXIST" CHECKLIST (I'll update this if I come across any more variations)

Boba Fett

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on bottom right

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on top left
**- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on top right

- Gun on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

Chewbacca (classic)

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

Chewbacca (Snoova)

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on top left

- Gun on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

Luke Skywalker in black

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

*Luke Skywalker in blue

- Unknown whether gun is in bubble with figure or not

*Darth Vader in black

- Unknown whether saber is in bubble with figure or not

Darth Vader in dark red with yellow shoulder pads

- Saber in bubble with figure, barcode on top left

- Saber on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

- Saber on card to right of figure, barcode on bottom right

- Saber on card to right of figure, barcode on top left

- Packed in "Movable Figures" box

Han Solo

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on bottom right
- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on top left

- Gun on card to right of figure

Stormtrooper

- Gun in bubble with figure, no barcode on card

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on bottom right

- Gun in bubble with figure, barcode on top left

- Gun on card to right of figure, no barcode on card

* I've only seen one example of each of these figures, found at bootlegactionfigures.com.
** As stated inthe above post, I've noticed a Boba Fett on ebay that had a barcode at the top right that said STAR WARS FIGURES 6" at the top, though I don't know if that's just a sticker a store put on it or what.