1977, 1983 :: Allens and Regina (Topps) Trading Cards
Topps trading cards are surely amongst the most collected Star Wars items of all time. Or perhaps to be more correct, particularly when referring to cards released in the 1977-1983 timeframe, I should say Topps, and its international sub-license holders. And that is where the New Zealand uniqueness comes in.
Topps released a total of 5 series of 'Star Wars' cards, 3 series of 'The Empire Strikes Back' cards, and 2 series of cards depicting scenes from 'The Return of the Jedi'. In order to effectively distribute this product internationally, confectionery companies in different companies took on the role of duplicating the chewing gum and collectible cards for local release. For example, 'O-Pee-Chee Co. Ltd' made and distributed these items in Canada, 'Scanlens' did so in Australia, 'Laboratorios y Agencias Unidas' in Mexico, etc, and many of you will remember that it was 'Allens and Regina' (specifically, their "Chewing Gum Division" of "Regina Lane, Oamaru"), that took on this responsibility in New Zealand. Unfortunately, a consequence of this distributed manufacture was that not all of the abovementioned series were deemed worthy (from a cost-benefit point of view) of release in some countries.
New Zealand was locally only exposed to the first series of 'Star Wars' cards (packed in a single variation of wrapper - click on the thumbnail above for full image), and the first series of 'Return of the Jedi' cards (packed in 3 major variations of wrappers, each of which had two minor variations: including or omitting the reference to "6 cards"). The 'Star Wars' wrapper is perhaps the most unique to NZ, in reminding the consumer to "Be a tidy Kiwi" by putting discarded wrappers in the rubbish bin, and reinforcing the marketing message that "A & R Playtime Gum is Fun". The ROTJ wrappers convey their country of origin by referencing Allens and Regina as the manufacturer and authorised user of the Topps license, but the front of the packaging uses the graphics of their Australian counterpart, and hence includes the 'Scanlens' name.
The New Zealand blue-bordered series of Star Wars cards are unique in a number of ways. First, and most subtly, they were printed on thicker cardboard than they were in other countries. Second, the American, Topps versions had one of a couple of things on the backs of the cards: a piece of a jigsaw puzzle from one of two pictures, or brief, textual 'Story Summaries'/'Movie Facts' etc. New Zealand cards had only the former, or plain white backs where the story summaries might have been. Thirdly, and most significantly, other countries had a total of 66 cards and 11 stickers in the series. The NZ set has 72 cards, made up of the 66 international issues, and 6 of the 11 stickers presented as blue-bordered cards, carrying the numbering through to 72. Interestingly, this means that if the collector has gone on to acquire the second and subsequent sets from outside of New Zealand, then because the latter sets have numbering consecutive with the preceding set, their collection will have very different two versions of cards numbered 67-72.
Most of the New Zealand red-bordered series of Return of the Jedi cards appear, from the front, fully akin to their American cousins. The difference can be spotted on the flipside where, under the photo description, Allens and Regina is noted as Authorised User of the license to the images and design. This credit also appears on the front of cards 131 and 132, which are the series checklist cards, as does an introduction line which declares the series is presented by Allens and Regina. Curiously, card number 1 brands the collection as "A Scanlens Picture Card Series" on its front.
The point-of-sale packaging for the Star Wars cards was a box that used the same C-3PO graphics as the individual packaging. The ROTJ point-of-sale box made use of graphics from the Australian Scanlens packaging, but also referenced Allens and Regina, discretely, on the side of the carton.
Below are scans of the analogous wrappers from other countries, for comparison. The first is a Star Wars wrapper from Mexico (produced by 'Laboratorios y Agencias Unidas'). It is printed on very waxy paper, and hence the white areas are actually transluscent. Take a close look at the C-3PO image: despite the similiarities, you will notice that it is actually a different drawing from the one used on the Allens and Regina wrapper.
The remaining three images are from Topps, USA (this is a subset of the wrapper variations that Topps issued for the series 1 Return of the Jedi cards: there is also a Wicket the Ewok version, using an otherwise similar design). These wrappers differ from the New Zealand versions in that they too use paper that is slightly more waxy, and they bear the Topps name/logo where the New Zealand (and Australian) iterations display the Scanlens name. They also have advertising along the border for additional Topps products, and make reference to the fact that the USA release contained 10 cards and a sticker per package.
The images used on the ROTJ wrappers appear to be the same, with slight colour variations. Jabba stands out the most in this regard. The New Zealand version seems a little more canon wherein the slug-like crime-lord has yellow eyes: the USA version has him with glaring red eyes and a hint of sky-blue mascara!? Update: I have recently found Scanlens-branded New Zealand versions of the wrapper that have the red-eye Jabba. This means that there are actually potentially quite a few different combinatorial variations of the ROTJ Jabba wrapper.
One additional difference is worth mentioning: the ingredients of the gum itself. I remember the New Zealand gum being barely edible (it certainly wasn't the attraction in purchasing these products). The NZ Star Wars wrapper doesn't reveal the constituents of the gum, but the Jedi wrappers declare that the gum is made up of "Sugar, Glucose, Gum Base, Flavour, Colour and Antioxidant". While some of those components are described ambiguously, it suggests a different composition to other versions (from USA: "Dextrose, Corn Syrup, Gum Base, Softeners, Natural and Artificial Flavours, Artifical Colors and BHT - to maintain freshness"), implying local manufacture of the confectionery.
Thanks to Stephen Williams and Nick Tepaa for their assistance in securing all the necessary images for this article.
Matt G
