“Collecting toys should be fun above all else” – a conversation with Kenner Wars author Jean-François Rolland

It was October 1977 when my parents took me to a movie theater in Paris, France. I was six years old, and because they had seen Star Wars a few days earlier, they thought it might be the kind of movie I would enjoy.

I vividly remember being fascinated by the lobby cards displayed at the theater entrance. They featured spaceships, tall yellow and small blue-white robots, and a giant gorilla holding a crossbow.

This was my first encounter with our beloved characters! Then, in the spring of 1979, I received my first two action figures. It was another major childhood revelation: discovering that toys based on my favorite movie actually existed.

The figures were a Stormtrooper and R2-D2. From that point on, there was no need to ask me what I wanted for Christmas or my birthday, the only question was which items from that year’s Kenner catalog I was still missing!

I had this project in mind ever since I resumed collecting toys as a young adult in the late 1980s. I remember using my dad’s typewriter to write a text and taking pictures of the French toy packaging I had from my childhood to illustrate it by sticking the photos on a homemade book where I explained how the French market was to fellow American collectors I was corresponding with or former Kenner employees.

“When Disney acquired Lucasfilm, it became the point of no return that pushed me to create my own book.”

In the mid-1990s, I also wrote a small DIY fanzine/catalog and placed advertisements in monthly collectors’ newspapers in France to connect with fellow fans across the country. In a way, this was my very first experience with writing and publishing, albeit on a very modest scale.

I always enjoyed reading books such as Steve Sansweet’s 1992 From Concept to Screen to Collectible, Duncan Jenkins and Gus Lopez’s 2010 Prototype, and Sarah Monks’s 2011 Toy Town: How a Hong Kong Industry Played a Global Game.

So when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, it became the point of no return that pushed me to create my own book and eventually led to the creation of Chronique Vintage on YouTube and social media.

I posted my first video about the book project in 2017 on Facebook and the Rebel Scum forum, and the fan community responded very positively. Their reaction was a great encouragement to continue, especially since I had already been working on the book in my spare time, during evenings and weekends, since 2012.

As I was running out of English-language copies while demand remained strong, I began looking for a publishing partner for a third printing. Some mutual friends introduced me to the manager of Pulse Éditions, who immediately responded enthusiastically to the book.

I explained that I was also planning a second volume about advertising, and we reached an agreement very quickly. Publishers also tend to redesign the cover and change the title when they take over an existing project. After four years, I felt it was the right time to refresh the book’s identity and create a unified visual design for both books and the box set.

Finding the courage to contact them was the hardest part for me! They immediately agreed to be part of the project, and having them on board was both a genuine pleasure and a great honor. I never imagined that my book would begin with their forewords. I am deeply grateful and truly cannot thank them enough.

“What I did not realize when I made that decision was that creating a dedicated video for every toy would take three years.”

From the very beginning, I wanted the book to be accessible to everyone, not only collectors, but also to people who grew up with the toy line and anyone interested in learning more about this period and the development of the toy industry.

It tells the story of Kenner and the key people who negotiated the company’s deal with Lucasfilm and created this groundbreaking toy line. Organized year by year, the book documents the actual products available on the market, as seen in the Original Trilogy.

To make it easier to understand, I created a visual blueprint combining detailed information like the actual scale of the action figures, playsets, and vehicles, plus photographs. With more than 3,500 pictures, the book gives readers a clear understanding of the toys’ proportions and an in-depth look at the toy range.

I came up with the idea of including QR codes linking to video descriptions in order to offer readers an additional experience: the opportunity to see the actual toys in motion.

What I did not realize when I made that decision was that creating a dedicated video for every toy would take three years, from 2018 to 2021. During that period, I also went back to school to earn a degree in web design, learn how to build websites, and improve my skills in book layout. This enabled me to oversee every stage of the project, from editing the videos and designing the book to preparing the final print-ready files for the printer.

I filmed each toy together with all of its original packaging contents and details, including the box, instruction sheets, stickers, catalogs, and other inserts. This made it possible to understand exactly what was included with each spaceship or playset.

I also photographed packaging variations from different releases, such as the X-wing fighter and the Millennium Falcon, whose packaging was updated and reissued for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

I remember having a particularly difficult time filming the scene between Han Solo and Greedo in the Creature Cantina playset. I had to shoot it more than 20 times before I managed to capture Greedo falling correctly onto the playset’s floor!

One of the things I found particularly interesting was the strong connection between the rise of department stores and the development of newspaper advertising. Toy advertisements were already appearing in newspapers as early as the mid-19th century, something I did not know before starting my research.

Clearance sales and home delivery also emerged during this period, and these shopping habits have remained surprisingly familiar ever since. I showcased a very nice Austrian toy advertisement from July 1985 featuring a Power of the Force logo with many toys.

“I have never had my collection graded because I enjoy it exactly as it is.”

It is a relatively uncommon piece, and I was pleased to add it to the European Return of the Jedi section. I am especially happy that readers will also discover a wide selection of advertisements from many countries around the world.

The AT-AT may not be the most obscure vehicle in the toy line, but it is an incredible piece of engineering, and I always like to highlight it for that reason. It was undoubtedly one of the most complex and impressive toys of its time.

A child in 1981 was simply stunned by its size when he saw it on the toy-store shelf. With most of its parts assembled at the factory and the “toyetic” capabilities of this massive vehicle, it is definitely one of the best ever produced during the 1980s.

I did collect information from former Kenner employees. The short-lived Power of the Force line contains more action figures than vehicles, partly because Kenner abandoned several products showcased at the New York Toy Fair in February 1985.

Because my book focuses on the toys associated with the Original Trilogy, I include the A-wing fighter, even though it was released in the cartoon Droids’ packaging.

I also focus on the information related to the Planetary Maps included with the vehicles. To complete the 1985 figure series, I presented Yak Face in its Canadian bilingual packaging. It was, indeed, a time of great disturbance in the Force.

I believe collecting toys should be fun above all else. Today, prices are often driven by speculation, particularly when it comes to professional grading. I understand why some collectors put their action figures in archival acrylic cases: they protect the figures, and they can look great when displayed together. Personally, though, I have never had my collection graded because I enjoy it exactly as it is.

I started collecting at a time when action figures cost around €3.50 in 1986 and had risen to €35 by 1990, a tenfold increase in just a few years. That was already a huge jump back then. So as long as your collection brings you joy, I believe you should collect in whatever way works for you. Enjoyment should always be the main goal.

I believe the appetite is still very strong. The publisher set a fundraising goal of €30,000, and as I write this, we have already raised €186,000! It is an extraordinary result, but it also gives us a responsibility to do everything we can to deliver a high-quality box set to our backers and future readers.

I am amazed and incredibly happy to see that interest remains so strong, and I’m so thankful to everyone who backed this project on Kickstarter. Perhaps it is partly because next year marks the 50th anniversary of Star Wars. But who could have imagined that we would still be talking about it and celebrating it, half a century later?

I was fortunate to build my collection of packaged toys during the 1990s, but the most challenging item to find in good enough condition to photograph was the Dagobah playset. The small piece of foam representing the swamp where R2-D2 disappears deteriorates over time and crumbles as soon as you touch it. Most examples are missing the foam, so it took me a long time to find one in perfect condition.

Kenner’s Gooney Bird used to say, “It’s Kenner, it’s fun!” So I hope younger readers will enjoy discovering this toy line and gain a better understanding of what brought so much joy to their parents.

I have another Star Wars book project in mind that I hope to publish one day. It has been sitting on my desk for quite some time, but because it is covered by a confidentiality agreement, I am not yet able to discuss it. To be continued!