Early Bird 4 Packs
Frank Mewes
Chihuahua
Chihuahua
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Huge thanks to Mark Yeo for his contributions in this section.
I don’t think this set needs much in the way of introduction, as most will know this was the first way kids could get their hands on the toys from the films, being a mail away promotion of the 4 four available figure, which came with stands (pegs) & various paperwork shown below, there were a great many variations within these packs including baggie types (SW-a white text large font & small font & no font/SW-b/SW-c/SW-d/SW-f/SW-g) & two catalogue types.
I find this set really interesting, not just due to the inclusion of the rare ESB-g baggie for the Luke, but more so for the fact each figure came is various different baggies. This in itself showing it was a case of all hands on deck with Kenner rushing desperately to fill orders for the unexpected & overwhelming demand for the figures.
This indicates Kenner really were struggling to fill the demand for the sets.
The Early Bird Certificate promotion
When Star Wars hit the cinemas, nobody had any idea how popular the action figure toy line would be, nor the huge demand by children for the toys, Kenner were just not ready for the demand & in an effort to fill that demand the Early Bird Certificate was created, parents would buy what was essentially an empty box including a stand & various other paperwork/stickers etc, the certificate provided a means for children to fill in a form & send it away to order the toys which were as yet not available
There were various other promotional items including TV & newspaper adverts as well as the more well known bin header all promoting the offer, there is a great deal more information regarding all of these on the SWCA if you wish to learn more about them, I want to focus on the baggie elements rather than all the paperwork & promotional items.
Another variation with this Set, I wonder if this is the one folks have been classing as SW-b? for the Luke & Leia which are actually now known as SW-f.
Comes with small catalogue, baggie types – Chewie in SW-b /Leia in SW-f /Luke in SW-f (DT) / R2 in SW-a.
Set shown complete with the Early Bird mail in promo paperwork / certificate package.
A few photos from the Uncle Ron find including X-Ray of a sealed set.
X-Ray of a set courtesy of Dr Ron
Excellent display of multiple EB Sets courtesy of Dennis Hall
Special thanks to these contributors for their knowledge and image contributions:
Laurence Dyer, Arnaud Heyser, Andrew Neo, AJ, Snaggletooth, Kevin Bletsoe, Brett Meyer, DEL, Gary Borbidge, Edd Grant, Chris Eddleman, Vince Hely, Nathan Maunder, Jamie Woollard, Niels Pit, Andrew MacLachlan, cantina_patron, Franck Gadal, Joe, Richard Temple, Sven Schneider, Steve Savory, Shane Carter, Chris Fawcett, Andy Clarke, psybertech, Jake Neilheisel, Alex Pardi, Marc Caraway, Spookedhippy, Frank Ferro, James Body, Jonathan Freeman, Grant Criddle, Chris Arbizzani, RobbieZombbie, Narayan S. Naik, Mark Yeo, SHAWN_K, Andy Raymond, MOMIKE, theguiltyone, Sublevel Studios, Mike Silver, Mr Palitoy, Ronny Anngren, Willem-Jan Bos, Robert Heron, Darren H, REBELALLIANCE, Uncle Ron, LandoSkiff (Dan), Mike Horn, Pat O’Brien, Benjamin, Samir Krim, Pete Fizke, Final Frontier, Mike Heel, MR KENNER, John Kellerman, Paul Naylor, Matthieu Barthelemy, Stéphane Faucourt, Yogi, Chris Simmons, Stormtrooper37, Thomas Derby, Todd G, Sheldon Wagstaffe, Derek Ho, Broc Walker, Adam Marks, James Gallo, Charles Jones, Darrell Johnson & Brendi Burton, Christian Somma, Johnpaul Ragusa, Jesse Cedar Soberman, Dorothée Drouin, Dennis Hall, Javier Ruilopez, Enric Rovira, Matthew Carlise, Stephen Tzaras.
Photos in the guide galleries below are compiled from a number of photo sources. It’s not been possible to find credits for each one, however, if you own one of the featured images and want to have your credit added, or don’t wish to have your photo included, please let me know and I’ll arrange.
Thanks, Chihuahua.
