You could ask anyone who has seen the classic trilogy what they think is the most popular vehicle in the films and at least 95% of the answers would be the same. Simply, the Millennium Falcon is almost as famous as the characters it’s carried.

It was a no-brainer for Kenner to release a playset of the ship scaled to the 3 ¾” figures, since its interiors were one of the primary locations in A New Hope. Their clever design team came up with a toy that incorporated virtually every plot device used in the film. Though scaled down, the toy was incredible and cost efficient.

As the trilogy continued, so did the demand for this toy. Sadly, the latter two episodes didn’t really have anything added to the ship that could be translated into a new play feature. This suited Kenner just fine, giving them the ability to reuse the exact design for the full run of its lines. Unlike the Battle Damaged X-wing and TIE Fighter that were modified mostly to boost sales, all the Falcon needed was to do was be on shelves.

Anyone working in commercial marketing will tell you, demand for a product isn’t enough though. They’ll tell you that you need to change the packaging to make an old product look new. That is why any and every trusted household product has packaging facelifts every so often.

The Falcon playset tops the list for most packaging variations on a single vehicle in the vintage line. In America, the Millennium Falcon was shipped out in five different boxes.

Its initial release saw a standard Star Wars packaging layout with a bright colored backdrop and an exceptionally blissful child looking at the toy with unqualified admiration. The second was a transition, keeping the same image, only with the ESB logo.

The third, this writer’s personal favorite, kept the ESB logo but replaced the original image with a gorgeous Bespin diorama. The forth, much like the second package, kept the image of its predecessor only replacing the logo with the ROTJ banner.

The fifth and final package retained the ROTJ logo but jettisoned the Bespin scene with a somewhat dull Tatooine diorama featuring, amongst others, a Jedi Luke figure with a blue Lightsaber and a black cloak.

Follow the links below to check out all five American designs.

SW Red Box: Vintage Boxed Star Wars Millenium Falcon!!

ESB Red Box: Old Star Wars Millennium Falcon Complete Box

ESB Bespin Box: Vintage Star Wars Millennium Falcon/Box 81 NR

ROTJ Bespin Box: Star Wars Vintage Millennium Falcon Boxed

ROTJ Tatooine Box: STAR WARS VINTAGE MILLENIUM FALCON MIB ROTJ


Odd Fact: Collectors of packaging variations should take note that there is a Canadian Star Wars imaged box with the ROTJ logo.

Odd fact #2: Though most people don’t consciously think about it, there isn’t a single scene in Return Of The Jedi, classic or Special Edition, with Han Solo onboard the Millennium Falcon. Weird.



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