Empire Strikes Back Accessories

The accessories released during the ESB era closely mirrored the same products available in the U.S.. The accessories' boxes had both English and French printing on both sides; a tell-tale sign that the item is Canadian.


Patrol Dewback   -   Tauntaun (Solid Belly)   -   Tauntaun (Open Belly)   -   Wampa

Mini Action Figure Collector's Case   -   Darth Vader Collector's Case   -   Yoda Hand Puppet

Electronic Laser Rifle   -   Tri-Pod Laser Cannon   -   Vehicle Maintenance Energizer   -   Radar Laser Cannon



Original Patrol DewbackPatrol Dewback with Stormtrooper OfferPatrol Dewback (post-Stormtrooper Offer)

Patrol Dewback:


The Patrol Dewback was actually from Star Wars, but due to its late release in Canada, it was packaged in an ESB box. There are actually three different versions of the ESB Patrol Dewback. The first release was simply the regular Patrol Dewback in ESB packaging. The second release was a special offer version that included a Stormtrooper figure. The advertisement of the action figure inclusion was printed on the box. The third version of the ESB Patrol Dewback came without the Stormtrooper action figure, so the previous release's special offer advertisement was covered with a printed black bar (some versions have a blank, white rectangular sticker covering the offer).



Tauntaun

Tauntaun (Solid Belly):


The Tauntaun was actually a "Sears exclusive" in Canada during the 1980 holiday season. It was generally released to all retailers in 1981.









Tauntaun (Open Belly)

Tauntaun (Open Belly):


The Tauntaun with the open belly rescue feature was released in 1982. Unlike other countries, the Canadian Tauntaun Open Belly's product number did not change from the original version (seen above). This may account for why the open belly rescue feature is not advertised as such in any Canadian retailer catalogues.








Wampa

Wampa:


The Wampa in an ESB box.











Mini Action Figure Collector's Case:


Mini Action Figure Collector's CaseMini Action Figure Collector's Case

The first version of the Mini Action Figure Collector's case to be released in Canada during the Empire Strikes Back era in 1980 used the Star Wars art from the previous 1979 release from the Star Wars era, but did not change the movie logo from "Star Wars" to "The Empire Strikes Back". The vinyl case had bilingual printing on the face, as well as a product number in the upper left. The Kenner logo is conspicuously absent.


The original Star Wars Mini Action Figure Collector's Case was the only version that came with the bilingual printing. The front photo on the 1981 release of the vinyl case (below) was the exact same as the American version. The 1980 version of the case was also sealed with a vinyl plastic band and the sticker seal on the reverse sported the Empire Strikes Back logo in French with bilingual text throughout in 1980 and in 1981 (and beyond). The Canadian vinyl carrying cases only came with the pack-in catalogues. Unlike the Kenner USA versions of the carrying cases, the Canadian versions did not come packaged with the cardboard photo insert showing the action figures aligned in the case trays, nor did the case come with the action figure names sticker sheet. The colour of the trays that came with the 1980 release of the Canadian action figure collector's case was black.

Mini Action Figure Collector's CaseMini Action Figure Collector's Case

In 1981, Kenner Canada updated the artwork on the front of the vinyl carrying case to reflect the characters from the Empire Strikes Back, with Yoda predominantly featured. The sticker seal on the reverse sported the Empire Strikes Back logo in French with bilingual text throughout (as shown above). The photos on the sticker seal showing the inside of the case still showed the action figures from the Star Wars era and remain unchanged from the 1979 release. Once again, the Canadian vinyl ESB carrying cases only came with the pack-in catalogues; they did not come packaged with the cardboard photo insert showing the action figures aligned in the case trays, nor did the case come with the action figure names sticker sheet. The colour of the trays that came with the 1981 release of the Canadian action figure collector's case was black.



Darth Vader Collector's Case (Front) Darth Vader Collector's Case (Back)

Darth Vader Collector's Case:


The Darth Vader Collector's Case in ESB packaging.












Yoda Hand Puppet

Yoda Hand Puppet:


The Yoda Hand Puppet in an ESB box.












Electronic Laser Rifle

Electronic Laser Rifle:


This version of the Snowtrooper laser rifle replaced the 3 Position Laser Rifle from the Star Wars era. The ESB Electronic Laser Rifle had a "sound box" that emitted two different laser sounds depending on how hard the trigger was pulled along with the secret button. Similar to the 3 Position Laser Rifle, the Canadian version of the Electronic Laser Rifle was not available on store shelves for very long, and is rarely seen today.





Tri-Pod Laser CannonVehicle Maintenance EnergizerRadar Laser CannonAccessory Box (Back)

Action Figure Accessories:


These three action figure accessories; the Tri-Pod Laser Cannon, Vehicle Maintenance Energizer and the Radar Laser Cannon were released in 1982. The Vehicle Maintenenace Energizer actually made its debut in the Rebel hangar in Star Wars.