We’ve visited space and battled giant monsters as part of our advent calendar celebrating the BEST. GIFTS. EVER. so naturally it’s high time we get the best of all alien worlds and journey into the stars!
Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt Action Playset (1983)
I know this one might seem odd for many of you; of all the Star Wars toys out there, why go with the least potentially active action figure of them all? First, I’m not saying this is my favorite toy from the line. Kenner put out some of the best items ever with their Star Wars license, and I’m not saying it was the first of it’s kind, Return of the Jedi was late in the game for most people, and apparently it’s a major nerd faux pas to suggest you prefer this film to The Empire Strikes Back. But Jedi came out when I was a little kid and Jabba was basically a giant Muppet and this playset allowed me to torture all my favorite action figures under his rolling couch of doom.
Let me list out some of the many cool things about the Jabba the Hutt Action Playset:
- You get a vile slug of a villain with crazy eyes and weird gropey hands
- He smokes his own hooka
- Salacious Crumb. He’s included and it’s where I first learned that the monkey-lizard guy actually had a name!
- Jabba’s tail swung to trip people into his trap! Imagine having a Daniel LaRusso action figure that you can constantly reenact despicable Cobra Kai legsweeps upon, only with Jabba playing the role of Johnny Lawrence!
- The dungeon trap under Jabba’s throne/day-bed/lounge actually has molded skeletal remains, rats, and… I guess iguanas? Whatever, it was cool.
The playset also came with these delightful Kenner company instructions, including valuable advice like “if the limbs fall off, shove them the hell right back in” and more!
Also, this playset was the perfect size for my original Kenner Rancor Monster, who just might make an appearance later on in this countdown…
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