C is for Command...'Star Wars' Command, I - Overveiw

I was quite pleased when these were announced by Hasbro a couple of years ago now, but thought them hideously overpriced (have you seen the price-v-contents of the new Micro-machine sets!) when they arrived and determined not to buy them and to wait until they populated car-boot sales in five to seven years time.

However it seems they have - like the Horrible Histories figures - been pulled before they've had a chance to build a proper fan-base, and just before the movies come out? Madness! Anyway, the local toy chains hereabouts (Entertainer and Smiths) along with Sainsbury's Supermarkets (and other outlets - I'm sure) heavily discounted them and for the last 8 months or so I have been grabbing them one at a time, here and there,  for a half or a third, or less...of their RRP, except the 'Falcon, which was still a bargain.

The five posts below (including this one) are an overview of the sets commonly available in the UK from those above named stores.

This poster-catalogue is included in most of the larger sets - I had to scan it in two and stitch it back together, so it's cropped a bit odd and you can spot the join!

There are two big sets, and three each medium large, medium small and small, they are presented in reverse order in the four posts following this one.

In other parts of the world there have been other sets issued, four 2nd wave figure sets (with one vehicle each) have been available, there's a clone-war figure set and a Jabba/Rancor's Revenge set was cleared in the autumn, so there is more to track down if you're minded.

One each, good guys/bad guys. I have 24 poses of goodies and 26 baddies, but all 'bots are interchangeable, and imagination should allow for spies, undercover agents and turncoats!

Overall however, the bad guys consistently outnumber the good guys, and while it may not matter so much with toy soldiers or war-games models (the 'Allied' commanders get asked to play more games against the plethora of 'German' commanders), here it may have been one of the problems with the range, I doubt it, but Western kids today are quite fair-minded, and with Star Wars, the goddies have identifiable Heroes, there isn't the same imbalence you get with Panzer Black against khaki sacks!

Some of the figures; each set has a painted character figure or two, and then a bunch of what are basically well sculpted, PVC vinyl, sci-fi, 'Army Men'...from a galaxy far away a long time ago! My favourites are the R2 and R5 units...blue is 'good, black is 'bad' and orange? Goes with anyone...the tart!

Vehicles come with Galoob-like stands, or simpler hex-bases. Some of the sets have the daft trolleys seen bottom-left in this collage...because I've edited these five articles in the wrong order to get them stacked-up right for publishing, I've dealt with them further down, but they are a bit daft! The clear plastic bases are hooked onto the trolley. The vehicles all suffer from soft vinyl 'syndrome' and a hot water session will be a must one day.

Small figure sets next...