During the late 1970s and early 1980s Star Wars was the toy line that all the kids across the world wanted a piece of. Following the huge success of the first movie (and the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) demand for the action figures was huge. Alongside action figures Kenner also released various playsets and of course vehicles too. I loved the Vintage Star Wars Toy Vehicles, and they were always a popular present come my birthday or Christmas.
More on Retro Toys:
- Vintage Star Wars Mini Rigs Guide
- Toy Collecting is Cool
- Action Figure Collecting
- Kenner MASK Toys
- 80s Doctor Who Tardis Playhouse
I have so many fond memories that I thought I would share my Top 10 Star Wars Toy Vehicles along with some honourable mentions too. Let’s take a look.
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10. Speeder Bike
Featured during the Endor chase scene in Return of the Jedi the Speeder Bike was released as part of the movie’s line of new and repackaged vehicles. The Speeder Bike toy was pretty small making it a more affordable vehicle. You could sit a figure on the speeder bike, and it also had a button function that would make the bike explode apart for those important battles you might have with your other Star Wars Toys or Speeder Bike if you were lucky enough to have more than one.
I can still remember my Mum buying me my Speeder Bike from a toy shop in Cambridge around the time Return of the jedi was released.
9. Star Wars Mini Rig Toy Vehicles
I have fond memories of the Star Wars Mini Rig Vehicle sets. Like the speeder bike these were small vehicles and more affordable than a standard size vehicle playset. A lot of the Mini Rigs were vehicles that didn’t feature in the movies or were briefly seen in the background, however they were still a lot of fun and made my top 10. I even have a small collection of these now in my man cave with the INT-4 and MLC-3 being a few of my favourites.
There were also a lot of weapons that were mini rig sets as well as a Vehicle Maintenance Energizer too for your larger vehicles
8. Darth Vader Tie Fighter
There were standard Tie Fighters and Tie Interceptors too, but Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter made my top 10 list because it was the Tie Fighter I owned and with-it Vader could battle Luke Skywalker through the skies of my bedroom or even in my back garden.
I can remember picking this up from a local high street branch of Tesco back in the early 80s when Tesco had these smaller department store style shops. The wings could pop off in battle and it had a light and buzzer, and it didn’t need anything else because it was Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter.
7. Rebel Armored SnowSpeeder
I can remember getting a Snowspeeder for my Birthday. Possibly my 4th or 5th Birthday as they were peak Star Wars Toy years for myself. I have always loved the Snow Speeder with its tight compact design, front cannons, rear gun and of course it’s tow cable for taking down Imperial Walkers.
I actually bought a vintage collection edition of this for my son when he was smaller.
6. Slave I
Boba Fett is a very cool character. He was a cool character decades before he made his comeback in the Mandalorian, and we saw him as a kid in the prequels. Yes, his initial and original theatrical demise was disappointing, but he was still cool in my eyes as was his ship.
Slave I operated just as it did in The Empire Strike Back with you tipping it upright and having a small lever to put Bob Fett in the correct cockpit position. You could also put the wings into flight mode too. Just to make even more of a cool Star Wars Toy Vehicle it also came with Han Solo in Carbonite. I have one in my collection now that I love just as much as I did as a kid.
The recently released Slave I from the Kenner Vintage Collection is pretty cool. Take a look at it here.
5. Scout Walker
We got a sneak peak of the curious looking two-legged imperial walkers in The Empire Strikes Back and they would also feature on Endor in Return of the Jedi. With a cool little cockpit area, three head cannons and a button at the back to simulate its legs into a walking style of sorts, this was a cool vehicle.
The design is great, and it is a vehicle that displays great today as I am lucky enough to have a boxed Scout Walker in my collection. A new Scout Walker was actually released in 2019 as part of the Mandalorian range of toys.
4. Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer
Now this is probably more of a playset than a vehicle as such but I’m going to allow it into my top 10. I used to play with this a lot when I was a kid because it had a meditation chamber for Darth Vader and I would often bring rebels aboard either as captured prisoners or to battle Vader and his StormTroopers.
I really need to add this to my collection again, but it can be tricky to get a complete piece at a reasonable price in today’s Vintage Star Wars Toy market of ever rising prices.
3. X-Wing Fighter
The X-Wing fighter is as iconic as any other Star Wars ship. Who wouldn’t want an X-Wing to create the trench run at home and battle the Empire’s Tie Fighters or any other Star Wars Vehicles that you might own?
I had the battle-damaged version of the X-Wing that was released as part of the Empire Strikes Back line. My grandparents took me to a toy shop in the early 80s where Darth Vader was appearing and I came home with my own X-Wing, great times.
Kenner released a really cool Vintage Collection X-Wing which is worth taking a look at here.
2. AT-AT
A huge vehicle that could hold a lot of action figures. The AT-AT was a highly sought-after toy after The Empire Strikes Back was released (and still is today among collectors). You could control the movement of the head from inside the body of the vehicle and a button also activated the electronic chin guns that would light up and move in and out. It was and still is a very cool vehicle.
It is such a good Star Wars Toy Vehicle that it can really only be beaten to the top spot by one vehicle…
1. The Millennium Falcon – My Favourite Star Wars Toy Vehicle
No other Star Wars Vehicle could top this list. This was the Star Wars toy that I wanted the most and I was lucky enough to get one for my 5th Birthday. An awesome vehicle that includes so many elements from the original movie such as the Jedi training ball, smugglers compartment, chair gun turret and of course the Dejarik (holochess) table.
The cockpit could sit two action figures (Han and Chewie of course) and it had landing feet to stand it upright with an entry ramp that could be lowered as needed. This has to be the Star Wars toy I played with the most and as far as I am concerned it is one of the most iconic toys ever made,
Vintage Star Wars Toy Vehicles – Honourable Mentions
Here are few honourable mentions too that didn’t make my top ten but are still great Star Wars Toy Vehicles.
Rebel Transport
The Rebel Transport was a big ship but used its space mainly for storing action figures. Not necessarily a bad thing but it wasn’t that exciting as a kid. It still looks great, and has a cool cockpit area along rear guns too.
Y-Wing Fighter
I never found this ship that exciting as a kid but when you look at the vehicle now there is a lot of detail to the sculpture of the main body of the ship and there was also a full space for an actual R2-D2 figure to sit which we didn’t get with the X-Wing.
Luke’s Land Speeder
I had Luke’s Land Speeder and it was a pretty good vehicle but I think because it was so tied to the early parts of the first movie when Luke is escaping his life as a farm boy that it didn’t get as much use as other vehicles. It still looked good though and I would still love one in my collection again.
Imperial Shuttle
Sadly, I never owned this awesome looking Imperial Shuttle back in the day. Not an easy piece to find nowadays although I would love to own one as it would display so well in my man cave. This vehicle would probably have made most people’s lists but because I didn’t own it as a kid it gets an honourable mention.
The Best Vintage Star Wars Toy Vehicles
So, there you have my top 10 Vintage Star Wars Toy Vehicles and some honourable mentions too. I’m sure you may have a very different list to me so if you think I have missed a vehicle that you loved back in the day then let me know through my social media channels.
For more Star Wars and Toys, take a look at these…
Star Wars Mini Rigs Collecting Guide
Kenner M.A.S.K Toys from the 80’s
Star Wars the Arcade Game (Atari)
May the Force be with you.
Darren
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