Micro Collection Toys

Compiled and Maintained by Ron Salvatore

Introduction:
Released in 1982, the Micro Collection had an extremely short shelf-life. In other words, the line never caught on with kids of the day, who were likely dismayed by the Micro figures' lack of posability as well as less interested in Star Wars in general. In the end, only nine playsets and four vehicles were issued. And, although the entire line was featured prominently in Kenner's 1983 product catalog, it was effectively overwhelmed and forced out of the market by the onslaught of Return of the Jedi merchandise that occured that very same year.

The Micro Collection was conceived with a toy soldier-like mentality: miniature metal figurines were combined with scaled plastic playsets to create a play scenario that was closer to diorama than "action playset." The playsets themselves were based on prominent environments from the Star Wars films, namely Bespin, Hoth and the Death Star. Each component could be played with individually or combined with its companions to create a larger play environment. Since the line was conceived in a modular fashion, each environment could be expanded indefinitely as new components were issued. To this end, Kenner released the playsets both in individual formats and combined, in ensemble sets they called "worlds" (Bespin World, Death Star World and Hoth World). The Hoth Turret Defense was the only smaller set not included in one of these ensembles-- it was excluded from the large Hoth World package.

Four additional Micro Collection toys were also released. Three of these, the X-Wing Fighter, TIE Fighter and Snowspeeder, consisted of a small plastic vehicle, each equipped with a nifty "battle damage" feature, as well as one or two pilot figures. The Millennium Falcon, however, was much more like a playset: it came with six unique figures and its back cover could be removed to reveal an elaborate interior play area. Unfortunately, the Snowspeeder and Falcon toys, being the last developed and released in the Micro Collection line, were not issued until late in 1982, as exclusives of large department stores (JC Penney and Sears, respectively). Although they were planned for a broader release in '83, they fell victim to the cancellation of the line and were never released widely.

Because the line was killed off so quickly, several Micro toys and figures that were in development at Kenner when the cancellation occured exist today in prototype form. These include two nearly production-quality additions to the Hoth and Bespin environments, the Hoth Bacta Chamber and Bespin Torture Chamber, as well as playsets based on prominent scenes from Return of the Jedi, namely Jabba's palace, the moon of Endor and the Emperor's Throne Room from the second Death Star. These unreleased relics of the Micro Collection realm are highly prized by collectors. More information regarding them can be found in our gallery devoted to Micro Collection Prototypes.

Collectors interested in the Micro Collection should also have a look at our Special Feature devoted to collecting Micro Collection figures.

Bespin World