Box Back and Sides (click to enlarge)
Box Back and Sides (click to enlarge)
| Catalog Entry | |
 |
Catalog Description:
NEW! STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK They crawl, they fly, they climb, they go just about anywhere! MLC-3 is a MOBILE LASER CANNON used by the Rebels to fight off the invading forces on HOTH. It carries one Action Figure in its manually opened cockpit and has a dome for protection.
Image Source: 1982 Kenner Toy Fair Catalog |
Description:
If the MTV-7 was the Flintstones mini-rig, the MLC-3 was the Jetsons model; the Rebel Commander figure that the box shows piloting the vehicle even looks a bit like Mr. Spacely. Seriously, I love the clear plastic dome that topped this thing- goooofy. Collectors of bootleg toys should note that a knock-off of this item was released in Turkey as part of the Uzay line of high quality merchandise.
Released in 1981, the MLC-3 was one of the first three mini-rigs to hit store shelves. 1981 also saw the release of a "Special Offer" version of the toy. It came with a free Rebel Commander figure and a yellow sticker on the front of its box. Then, in 1982, the back of the package was updated to include the two new mini-rigs added to the line that year (for a total of five). The "Special Offer" version of the toy was again made available in '82, though the sticker this time around was a bit different. Specifically, the order of the colored stripes around its border was changed from red-black-yellow to yellow-red-black, the product number was changed, and the pose of the figure depicted on it was altered slightly. The stickers for '82 "Special Offer" mini-rigs also seem to have been placed on the reverse of the packages rather than on the fronts, as they were in '81. The 1982 version of the package can also be found bearing a $1.00 rebate sticker.
Finally, the MLC-3 was issued in a Return of the Jedi package in mid-1983. It did not survive into 1984.
First Issued: 1981 (ESB packaging, with 3 mini-rigs on reverse)
Re-issues: 1981 (ESB packaging, with "type 1" Special Offer sticker and Rebel Commander); 1982 (ESB packaging, with 5 mini-rigs on reverse); 1982 (ESB packaging, 5-back, with "type 2" Special Offer sticker and Rebel Commander); 1982 (ESB packaging, 5-back, with $1 rebate sticker); 1983 (ROTJ packaging)
