29 Oct 2003 :: New Zealand Toltoys Death Star
It's one of the biggest Star Wars playsets ever. It's arguably the most sought-after Star Wars playset ever. It's not the most accurate of Star Wars playsets ever, but it certainly packed a whole lot of adventure into one item. And the really interesting thing is that there were 4 subtly different versions, with a New Zealand iteration, released under the 'Toltoys' brand, coming straight from a factory in Auckland. The vintage cardboard Death StarTM!
This interpretation of the Death Star, which differed significantly from the vertically-oriented playset that American kids had available to play with, was available in 5 regions, under 4 different brands. The most well-known version came from Palitoy, who was licensed to release Kenner products in the United Kingdom. That version was purported to have been made of a slightly lighter-weight material than those released by Toltoys in Australasia. Both New Zealand and Australian Toltoys variations exist: the main differences between these two reside in the packaging, which declared the city of manufacture ("Made in New Zealand by Toltoys N.Z. Ltd., Auckland, under licence from Kenner Products, a division of CPG Products U.S.A.", reads the NZ box). The New Zealand packaging was also unique in that it was a 2-part box. The lid bore the colourful graphics similar to all other versions, but the bottom half of the box was plain cardboard, and hence did not have any of the decoration and imagery found on the back of the box in other countries.
The Canadian cardboard Death Star bears the Kenner name. It is distinct, however, in that where the other space stations had photos of an X-wing vs Vader TIE-Fighter battle on the underside of the base, as well as photographs of the first 12 4-inch scale figures, the version released in Canada had only a marble pattern (similar to what you might find on the back of a board game). Further, being released in a bilingual country, the trash compactor chute within the playset had to have both English and French signage! The Canadian Kenner Death Star was predominantly available through the Sears department store chain, but small numbers were sold through other retail outlets. Some instances of this product included a pair of Stormtrooper figures as a bonus!
And to complete the set, there was a French-issue version, released by French toy licensee, Meccano. Rather than its trademarked name, it was known in France as the "�toile noire", or "Black Star". Meccano product seems to be available in far smaller numbers, and I am unsure as to whether Han, Luke, Leia and Chewie leapt into a "compacteur de d�tritus" or were able to identify their exit as a "trash compactor".
The above thumbnail images represent the standard tour of the cardboard Death Star (click on the thumbnails for the full-size pics).
Next page: Deluxe Tour of the Death Star.
Matt G
