darthskellington
Dark Lord of the Typos
Our next collectible is the original Empire Strikes Back vinyl case. This featured the same great artwork as the first Star Wars vinyl action figure case, only with an Empire Strikes Back logo. Kenner was obviously in a hurry to get a new case out, but didn't have any Empire imagery ready yet. Kenner would go onto create two other ESB cases, each with amazing new artwork, and later a Return of the Jedi case.
Earlier cases came with gray plastic trays to hold figures. These trays could be turned upside down and had foot-pegs to display action figures on. Later releases, including the Return of the Jedi case, came with red plastic trays. Unfortunately, the red color tended to bleed off onto the figures stored in the case, resulting in many a pink Stormtrooper. If you happen to own a case with red trays, I recommend you do not store figures in it, or they too will eventually be stained red.
These vinyl cases are among my favorite vintage toys, mainly due to the outstanding and colorful artwork. Their functionality make them as useful today as when they first came out.
