I still love looking at the old hand-drawn ads in old comics and magazines for Star Wars toys, official or knock-offs. They were great fuel for our imaginations.
Speaking of bootlegged lightsabers, my first lightsaber was one my dad made using a flashlight and a clear golf club protector tube. He made a few and either sold them or gave them away to kids in the neighborhood. This was before any official lightsabers were released. I remember Kenner releasing a version with a yellow inflatable blade and, later, a version that would make a whirring sound when air passed through the hilt when you swung it, also yellow. Kenner loved making yellow lightsabers for some reason.
Now that you mention it, I guess it does. My parents used to make all the Halloween costumes for me and my brother. I can't help but think about what they could have accomplished if the cosplay communities we have now were around back in the 70s and 80s.
I know Star Wars led the way on tie-in merchandising, but it seems so weird now that there was nothing for this massive movie! Loved the retro art and ads for this. I have an old pillowcase from Sears (c. 1977) with very (and I mean VERY) poor likenesses of the SW actors - it's a treasure!
OMG, I had a pair of these! I’d forgotten the name, but knew I had a pair of flashlights with plastic tubes on the end and lo and behold, now that I’ve Googled “Force Beam,” I see that that’s what I had!
Alas, they didn’t quite hold up to serious swordplay, but to this day I can see and hear my friend, Ed, saying, “Only a master of evil, Darth…”
This was so entertaining to read about one of the very first pieces of Star Wars merchandise. It's cool to see how the Force Beam gave way to all the lightsabers we see now with the Star Wars merchandise. Now we have lightsabers that can survive heavy dueling.
I still love looking at the old hand-drawn ads in old comics and magazines for Star Wars toys, official or knock-offs. They were great fuel for our imaginations.
I was sold instantly, and wasn't really disappointed when they didn't really match up. Even at that age, I understood imagination was required.
Speaking of bootlegged lightsabers, my first lightsaber was one my dad made using a flashlight and a clear golf club protector tube. He made a few and either sold them or gave them away to kids in the neighborhood. This was before any official lightsabers were released. I remember Kenner releasing a version with a yellow inflatable blade and, later, a version that would make a whirring sound when air passed through the hilt when you swung it, also yellow. Kenner loved making yellow lightsabers for some reason.
So creating this stuff runs in the family. Awesome!
Now that you mention it, I guess it does. My parents used to make all the Halloween costumes for me and my brother. I can't help but think about what they could have accomplished if the cosplay communities we have now were around back in the 70s and 80s.
I know Star Wars led the way on tie-in merchandising, but it seems so weird now that there was nothing for this massive movie! Loved the retro art and ads for this. I have an old pillowcase from Sears (c. 1977) with very (and I mean VERY) poor likenesses of the SW actors - it's a treasure!
Awesome article, thank you!
OMG, I had a pair of these! I’d forgotten the name, but knew I had a pair of flashlights with plastic tubes on the end and lo and behold, now that I’ve Googled “Force Beam,” I see that that’s what I had!
Alas, they didn’t quite hold up to serious swordplay, but to this day I can see and hear my friend, Ed, saying, “Only a master of evil, Darth…”
They were both just white, sadly. But a blast to smack each other with until they broke!
Do you remember if you had a red and a green?
This was so entertaining to read about one of the very first pieces of Star Wars merchandise. It's cool to see how the Force Beam gave way to all the lightsabers we see now with the Star Wars merchandise. Now we have lightsabers that can survive heavy dueling.
Its is amazing how far we have come. Our modern "toy" lightsabers would have seemed like magic when I was a kid.
I’m sure back then, it would’ve been surreal to hold one of those. It’d feel like you had “the real thing” from the movies.
"Gee, guys, doesn't the advertising make the Force Beam look like a phallic symbol?" "Never mind that- we gotta make MONEY!"
I attempted to draw my own, it did not go well.