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Catalog Description:
STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI Brand new reproduction of the LASER RIFLE used by the REBEL ALLIANCE and THE EMPIRE in STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI. It has a pretend "telescopic sight" for tracking the enemy. It even has a compartment to store accessories and secret messages. And when opened, the LASER RIFLE becomes a carrying case for up to 19 STAR WARS Action Figures. Both the Case and Action Figures sold separately. Ages 4 and up.
Image Source: 1984 Sears Wishbook |
Description:
Let me just say that the above quoted Kenner catalog description is flat-out ridiculous. Something resembling this weird-looking hunk of gray plastic was "used by the Rebel Alliance and the Empire in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi"? Not that I can recall. I also like how the solid, non-see through thing at the top of this toy is considered a "telescopic sight"; and how the little compartment provided on the interior holds not just action figure accessories, but "secret messages" as well. I guess they forgot to add that it was also capable of holding spare change and old Bazooka Joe comics. They must not have wanted their exaggeration to seem too obvious.
The goofiness of that description only serves to underscore the relative lameness of the Laser Rifle Carry Case-- the folks at Kenner must have been trying to compensate for its drawbacks. It was capable of holding fewer figures than any other Kenner storage case, including the many versions of the vinyl collector's case. It also looked plain goofy. I don't know how else to put it.
Apparently, Kenner planned for this to be the primary storage case in their post-1985 Power of the Force range of toys. It was shown in POTF packaging in their 1985 catalog, but the line ultimately failed and this version of the toy was never released commercially. (The C-3PO Collector's Case, on the other hand, was planned for release in the Droids line.)
Perhaps not surprisingly, the Laser Rifle Carry Case is fairly scarce; few of the items seem to have been sold at retail. It's also never been overly popular with collectors.
First Issued: 1984 (ROTJ packaging)
Re-issues: None
