TOP TOYS GUIDE & DISCUSSION THREAD


Introduction




List of Released Figures

• Chewbacca *NEW*
  
• Darth Vader
  
• Chief Chirpa
  
• Logray
  
• Luke Skywalker
  
• Stormtrooper
  
• Yoda
  

Cardback Designs

ID	Character Name	Character Name Translated	Character Description	Character Description Translated
1207	Chewbacca	-	-	-
1222	Osito Ewok (1)	Ewok Bear (2)	-	-
1203	Darth Vader	-	-	-
1224	Logray	-	Brojo De La Tribu Ewok	Wizard Of The Ewok Tribe
1220	Luke Skywalker	-	Maestro Jedi	Jedi Master
1209	Stormtrooper	-	-	-
1221	Yoda	-	El Maestro Jedi	The Jedi Master

(1) Name plate description for Chief Chirpa
(2) Osito meaning "Toy Bear or Teddy"

Acknowledgements

Artoo_Detour for proof reading the beta release
DarthBerizing, Mark_Yeo, J_G & emperorburns for the MOC photos
And all the TIG team for your comments and support!

Updates

22.11.2016 - Chewbacca Entry Added

Card Back Variants

Although the Top Toys range of figures was short-lived, the artwork for the card backs changed several times. These changes have never been fully documented and are still relatively unknown in the collecting community. This guide will aim to document these difference for the first time.

The collecting community has already coined the phrase '17 backs' for the Top Toys cards which is based on the images found on the reverse of the cards. However, if you look closely you will find that only eight of the first twelve figures are actually named. In addition, you can also see that the following text 'Boba Fett - con su Rifle Laser' appears as the last name on the top list. We know from pre-production pieces which have surfaced that this particular figure was pencilled for a release but never got past the prototype stage. While we could have adopted the name '14 backs' based on the text descriptions, or even '18 backs' if you add Boba Fett into the mix, this guide has decided to keep with the '17 back' terminolgy. Due to the amount of known card back designs we have included designations such as 17A, 17B and 17C.

Below you will find a list of all the differences found on the 17A to 17C card backs.



1 - Hanger Slots. While the placement of the punched slot is completely random on all card backs designations, the ones found on the later issued 17C have a larger notch in the centre.

2 - The trademark symbol located to the lower right corner of the EL REGRESO DEL JEDI logo was updated on the 17C card backs from TM (Trademark) to MR which is short for MARCA - in Spanish this can be translated as 'brand' or 'trademark'.

3 - The alignment of the red EL REGRESO DEL JEDI text compared to the STAR WARS logo is different when comparing the 17A/B's to 17C. If you look closely you can see that the long vertical edge of the "L" is either aligned with the left or right of the "T" depending on the type of card back.



4 - The licensing information underneath the Kenner logo was updated on the 17C card backs from "Licensed by Lucasfilm Ltd (c) General Mills, Inc." to a more simplified "Licensed by Lucasfilm Ltd (LFL)" This was more than likely due to changes at CPG (the parent company) when General Mills the toy division was restructured in 1984-1985.

5 - Located below the bubble is a catalogue number. While these are not unique to any card back they are unique to each of the individual characters so are worth a mention. Below is a full list of the numbers used for the Star Wars action figure range. As you can see there are large gaps in the numbering, the reason for this is unknown.

1203 - Darth Vader
1207 - Chewbacca
1209 - Stormtrooper
1220 - Luke Jedi
1221 - Yoda
1222 - Chirpa
1224 - Logray



6 - The trademark symbols found next to the Luke and Leia image and to the lower right of the EL REGRESO DEL JEDI logo were also updated on the reverse of the 17C card backs from "TM" (Trademark) to "MR" (Marca) the Spanish for 'brand' or 'trademark'.

7 - The type of card used on the later 17C release card back was also different. This is more noticeable when viewed from the reverse. If you compare the images you will see that the 17A and 17B have a matte finish as opposed to the 17C which has a glossy finish.



8 - The only difference between the 17A and 17B card back is the wording "y proximamente" which in Spanish can be translated as 'AND SOON'. This was referring to the Logray and Lando Calrissian figures, the latter of which was never released.

9 - Three extra lines of Lucasfilm & CPG licensing were added to the 17C card backs. This ties in with the change to the copyright information on the fronts of the cards described in point 4.

10 - To make room for the additional licensing information on the bottom left corner on the reverse of the card backs, the Logray and Lando Calrissian names and character descriptions were re-positioned above the image of the five ROTJ/ESB characters.

The above ten points highlight the known differences which can be found on the three Top Toys card back variants. If you know of any other differences or see something we have missed, please feel free to let myself or one of the Imperial Gunnery team know.

Card Backs

Chewbacca


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo

Chief Chirpa


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - MISSING*
Top Toys 17B (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Unknown/eBAY
Top Toys 17C (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo

Darth Vader


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo

Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy emperorburns
Top Toys 17B (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy J_G

Logray


Top Toys 17B (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo
Top Toys 17C (Agrentina) - MISSING*

Stormtrooper


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo

Yoda


Top Toys 17B (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of Mark_Yeo
Top Toys 17C (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy emperorburns

Lando Calrissian Skiff Guard - Pablo Special


Top Toys 17A (Agrentina) - Photos courtesy of emperorburns

* A known variant but high-res images are not available at this moment in time.

Chewbacca



NOTES:
The Top Toys Chewbacca belongs to COO family #VII This family contains only one main variant.

Due to the poor, almost bootleg quality of the Top Toys figure it is impossible to identify which COO family was on the original Kenner figure used for the tooling. The figure shown on the far right is unique to Top Toys. Therefore, no relative exists. A "Made In Hong Kong" COO Kenner figure has been used for the comparison below.

Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to his Kenner counterpart, the Top Toys Chewbacca is:

- Moulded in a harder, more brittle plastic
- Shorter in height
- May have some flashing, typically on the limbs
- Has EPM marks on all limbs
- Has no peg holes in the underside of the feet
- Has an unpainted satchel
- Has paler blue eyes
- Has semi-transparent white painted eyes, teeth and bandolier
- Was packaged with a v4 bowcaster
- Has a unique COO marking "(C) LFL 77" not to be confused with family VI's "(C) LFL 1977" *

*Chewbacca is the ONLY Top Toys figure to have a COO marking!

EXTRAS:

Chewbacca: Top Toys on the left and right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the bottom


Poor QC often resulted in minor differences between batches.

- Poor mouldings, the example above shows a large gap between the torso halves.

The second and third photos demonstrate the amount of work done retooling or "enhancing" the fur sculpt on the limbs. You will notice that the torso sculpt didn't require any reworking as the parts are almost identical.

SIMILARITIES TO GLASSLITE:
Although easy to tell apart both South American licensees (Glasslite/Brazil & Top Toys/Argentina) somehow managed to produce Chewbacca figures with similar traits.

- Unpainted satchels (Some Kenner figures can be found with unpainted satchels but these should be considered factory errors)
- Parents COO's with no Country of Origin

Chewbacca: Top Toys on the left, Glasslite middle and Kenner on the right


Chewbacca: Top Toys on the left, Glasslite on the right


ACCESSORIES:
The Top Toys Chewbacca came with a blue/green v4 bowcaster and is compared to standard Kenner accessory below.

Chewbacca: Tops Toys bowcaster on top / Kenner bottom


Chewbacca: Tops Toys bowcaster on top / Kenner bottom


Chewbacca: Tops Toys bowcaster on top / Kenner bottom


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to the Kenner bowcaster, the Top Toys accessory is:

- A completely unique sculpt
- A blue/green colour
- Although it may look semi-transparent by eye, against a back light it's solid in colour

WATER TEST:
- Both bowcasters float when placed or dropped in water

Chewbacca: Top Toys/Kenner bowcaster water test

Chief Chirpa




NOTES:
The Top Toys Chief Chirpa belongs to COO family #VII This family contains only one main variant.

Due to the poor, almost bootleg quality of the Top Toys figure it is impossible to identify which COO family was on the original Kenner figure used for the tooling. The NO-COO shown on the far right is unique to Top Toys and therefore no relative exists. A Hong Kong "H.K." COO Kenner figure has been used for the comparison below.

Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys centre


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys centre


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to his Kenner counterpart, the Top Toys Chief Chirpa is:

- Moulded in a harder, more brittle plastic
- Shorter in height
- Slimmer in width
- Has excessive flashing, typically on hands and legs
- Lacking a lot of 'sculpt' detail, the ewoks fur is the easiest and most obvious example
- Has EPM marks on all limbs
- Has no peg holes in the underside of the feet
- Has a glossy black belt/eyes
- Has an semi-transparent white medallion
- Was packaged with a darker brown v5 staff & unique hood
- Has no COO markings

EXTRAS:

Chief Chirpa: Kenner on the left,Top Toys in the middle and on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the left and right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys in the centre


Poor QC also resulted in minor differences between batches.

- Poor spray mask applications, note the so called "Bambi" eyes variant shown above. On this same figure we can see over-spray around the eyes and belt as the spray mask wasn't pressing down correctly during this process.
- Poor mouldings, the example above shows a large gap between the torso halves.

ACCESSORIES:
The Top Toys Chief Chirpa came with a dark brown v5 staff and is compared to the Kenner accessory.

Chief Chirpa: Tops Toys staff on top / Kenner bottom


Chief Chirpa: Tops Toys staff on top / Kenner bottom


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to the Kenner staff, the Top Toys staff is:

- Darker in colour
- Shorter in length
- Lacks most of the 'sculpt' detail
- Has a three large EPM on the side
- Floats during the water test

WATER TEST:
- Both staffs float when placed or dropped in water

Chief Chirpa: Top Toys/Kenner staff water test


HOOD:
The Top Toys Chief Chirpa came with a dark brown hood and is compared to the Kenner accessory.

Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


Chief Chirpa: Top Toys on the right


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to the Kenner hood, the Top Toys hood is:

- Darker in colour
- Smaller in size, note the hood often covers the lower section of the month (see photo above)
- Rough edges with lots of flashing
- Lacks most of the 'sculpt' detail
- Has a large EPM inside the hood*

* Depending on the figure used some Kenner hoods also feature an EPM

Darth Vader



NOTES:
The Top Toys Darth Vader belongs to COO family #X This family contains only one main variant.

Due to the poor, almost bootleg quality of the Top Toys figure it is impossible to identify which COO family was on the original Kenner figure used for the tooling The NO-COO shown on the far right is unique to Top Toys and therefore no relative exists. A "HONG KONG" COO Kenner figure has been used for the comparison below.

Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys centre


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to his Kenner counterpart, the Top Toys Darth Vader is:

- Moulded in a harder, more brittle plastic
- Shorter in height
- Has excessive flashing, typically on limbs and helmet
- Has lack of 'sculpt' detail, see chest plate & mouth piece on the helmet for good examples
- Has EPM marks on all limbs
- Has no peg holes in the underside of the feet
- Has a different spray mask on chest plate
- Has paler red paint details
- Was packaged with a semi-transparent v6 Lightsaber & unique cape
- Has no COO markings

EXTRAS:

Darth Vader: Top Toys on the right


Poor QC also resulted in minor differences between batches.

- Poorly positioned lightsaber hole

ACCESSORIES:
The Top Toys Darth Vader came with a semi-transparent v6 Lightsaber and is compared to the Kenner Lightsaber.

Darth Vader: Tops Toys Lightsaber on top / Kenner bottom


Darth Vader: Tops Toys Lightsaber on top / Kenner bottom


Darth Vader: Tops Toys Lightsaber x2


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to the Kenner lighsaber, the Top Toys lightsaber is:

- Lighter in colour
- Has a thicker Tip
- Has a shorter main body
- Is semi-transparent with flecking
- Has a large EPM on the side (*)
- Floats during the water test

(*) Until now the EPM mark has never been properly documented on the Top Toys lightsaber variant. So, on behalf of the TIG team, I can now reveal with photographic evidence that this can be found on either side of the main body, thus concluding that the mould tool contained multiple cavities - some of which were mirror images.

Darth Vader: Tops Toys Lightsaber x2


WATER TEST:
- Both lightsabers float when placed in water
- Kenner lightsaber sinks when tapped

Darth Vader: Top Toys/Kenner Lightsaber water test


Darth Vader: Top Toys/Kenner Lightsaber water test


CAPE:
The Top Toys Darth Vader came with a completely unique cape compared to any other Darth Vader figure. Therefore, I have only shown the Top Toys version below.

Darth Vader: Top Toys Cape Inner Finish


Darth Vader Cape: Top Toys Cape Outer Finish


Darth Vader Cape: Top Toys Close-Up


DIFFERENCES:
Compared to the Kenner cape, the Top Toys cape has:

- Squared off bottom corners
- A more pronounced peak
- A unique "leather" effect finish to both inner and outer sides

Luke Skywalker - Jedi Knight

**RESERVED**

Stormtrooper

**RESERVED**

Yoda

**RESERVED**

great start to another great guide

Lot of hard work. And another great guide is born. Good job Stef. Now to finish it.

Top work, another cool guide in the making

Bump and Chewbacca entry added.

This is really great and informative. I really do appreciate the work that went into it. That said it really makes me cringe to see images and references to the so called "water test". This is a horrible, and needless practice that misleads many people and should never be recommended especially in a guide such as this. A simple reference to this site and the proper guides on telling accessories apart is all that is required for anyone.

Fantastic stuff Stefan - would love to have you on the show to talk about this guide. This is every bit as good as the Kenner and Palitoy ones out there.

Ross_C wrote:

This is really great and informative.  I really do appreciate the work that went into it.  That said it really makes me cringe to see images and references to the so called "water test".  This is a horrible, and needless practice that misleads many people and should never be recommended especially in a guide such as this.  A simple reference to this site and the proper guides on telling accessories apart is all that is required for anyone.

No single test should be used to ID an accessory. Whilst the float test is useless for some of the recent repro's people still use it. Thankfully there are very few repro's based on the Top Toys line.

Richard_H wrote:

Fantastic stuff Stefan - would love to have you on the show to talk about this guide. This is every bit as good as the Kenner and Palitoy ones out there.

I'm sure something could be arranged

Behold, mortals, the superior castings from Top Toys!