*** Star Wars line that was sadly never produced *** PICS INSIDE!!!

Does anyone remember reading about this?

Faced with the end of the first Star Wars Trilogy, and in need of a new concept around which to base their Star Wars action toys, Kenner's designers invented a future for the Star Wars universe that went beyond both the Return of the Jedi film and their Power of the Force product line. The concept revolved around a new villain, Atha Prime, who had harnessed the power of cloning technology and built an army of evil Clone Warriors. These bad guys did battle, of course, with a much-matured group of fomer Rebels, Luke having grown into a full-fledged Jedi Knight, and Han donning the flashy outfit of a heroic leader. Finally, both sides were outfitted with vehicles, the assortment of which would have surely grown as the story line was expanded and the concept developed.


From a look at this conceptual work, the extent to which the creative people at Kenner understood Star Wars--indeed, the extent to which they were a part of Star Wars--is abundantly evident. The designs tie into the look as well as the mythology of George Lucas' universe, and achieve a wonderful balance between the requirements of a toy and the need to somehow live up to the innovative design standards set by the films. This work is also significant in that it represents the first post-ROTJ Star Wars scenario, developed some five years prior to the bulk of what has been printed in various comics, novels, and roll-play scenarios. Before Grand Admiral Thrawn or Prince Xizor were ever dreamt of, the first original rouge villain and technological terror were created here, by a toy company. Kenner, by this time, understood the Star Wars license to such a degree that, years later, Lucasfilm's licensees are still mining the same territory.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-luke.jpg]

This rendering of a post-ROTJ Luke Skywalker shows him with a red saber, a gloved right hand, and a jacket of sorts, made up of what appear to be individual pieces of armor (Steve Sansweet, in his Star Wars Galaxy article on unproduced toys, mentioned a concept for a Luke figure in a lightweight training outfit). I like Luke's outfit a good deal more than I do that of his counterpart, Han Solo; it seems a lot more believable to me. Actually, something about this Luke drawing reminds me of Dash Rendar.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-han.jpg]

This design for Han Solo depicts the character in a rather outlandish, heroic-looking get up, which includes what appears to be a medal hanging around his neck. The outfit is flashy and colorful, surely aimed at making the character exciting and visually interesting to children not as accustomed to Han Solo as those of a few years before. Yet, out of all of this proposed post-POTF material, I think this Han outfit is the most un-Star Wars in terms of general visual appeal.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-atha.jpg]

Here we have Atha Prime, the main baddie of this new Kenner universe, who would have zoomed around the galaxy in his personal ship, the Apex Invader. His design is taken almost without change from an early Lucasfilm concept painting for the Emperor's Royal Guard (see The Art of Return of the Jedi for a reproduction of this rendering). The design was actually recycled by Dark Horse Comics for their Dark Empire series, and was eventually made into a Kenner action figure in 1998. Over a decade after the proposal of the character, Atha Prime--or a version of him, at any rate--made it onto toy store shelves around the world.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-clone.jpg]

Kenner's extrapolation on Star Wars' many references to the Clone Wars, the Clone Warriors would have replaced the Stormtrooper as the resident evil infantrymen of the Star Wars universe. Looking at the military-cum-science fiction design of these characters, I think its possible to see the influence of such toy lines as the 33/4" G.I. Joe and the larger Masters of the Universe, which had, by the mid-1980s, become the standard f

 

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-annihilator.jpg]

Atha Prime's command ship, the Annihilator, was a rather nifty-looking double-decker Star Destroyer. As such a large-scale concept would have been nearly impossible to represent as an action figure toy, it is possible that this drawing was used for demonstration purposes only, intended to illustrate the function of Prime's more toy-feasible personal ship, the Apex Invader. As its name suggests, the Apex Invader was designed to incorporate into the upper tower of the Annihilator.

 

I don't like those designs, but I'm sure the line had some potential.

 

some potenial, sure,

but i think the designs look awkward. lets put it this way: they certainly dont have the streamline-sportscar look not that being streamline matters in space, but still it just doesnt look right to us earth-dwellers. IMO, that is. its kinda like the death star, great firepower, but slow and really awkward...

 

I really like the idea of Atha Prime. Of course, we did end up seeing him later on in the Expanded Universe line based on the Dark Empire comic. Well, sorta...


[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt10Atha.jpg]


[image=http://collectibles.echostation.com/prototypes/firstshots1/ImperialSentinel.jpg]


[image=http://www.geocities.com/jefnsean/Imperial_Sentinel.JPG]

 

Very cool thread DarthBane77! I've gotta admit, I'd never heard of any of that before reading this thread, so it's very weird to see what could have been.

Atha Prime looked to be the best design to me, so I'm glad he survived in the form of an EU Imperial Sentinel.

 

There, of course, was more to this line:


[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt07Mongo.jpg]

Another one of my favorites.

Several of the images in the binder feature kit-bashed toys. The curiously-named Mongo Beefhead Tribesman is made with arms from Hammerhead, head and body from Squidhead, and part of a chest harness from 4-LOM.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt04Notes.jpg]

Handwritten notes from a Kenner employee who was associated with the presentation. This gives us an idea of the relative price points planned for some of the vehicles and playsets.

Note that two items are mentioned that don't otherwise appear in the book - the Rebel Stinger Fighter and the DS-2 Droid Skimmer.

the storyline would have had Tarkin narrowly escaping the Death Star's destruction. He emerges from hiding and attempts to take command of the Imperial Military.

Here's another piece from the Kenner binder: This deals with Atha Prime

A powerful force long kept in exile in a remote fringe of the galaxy has been released by the death of the Emperor. It moves now, like a plague, securing control over the shattered remnants of the empire and re-enslaving newly freed worlds. Atha Prime, genetics master, ruler of the dark worlds and architect of the Clone Wars, is free again. His advanced army of combat clones has already decimated rebel outposts along the galactic frontier. His goal is to cursh forever the Rebel Alliance and control the Galaxy.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt12BlueFour.jpg]

Blue-Four was to be Atha Prime's pilot and confidant.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt13ImperialSentry.jpg]

A simple repaint of R5-D4. Black R5 droids can be seen on the second Death Star in Return of the Jedi.

Another favorite of mine:

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt14ImpAttackA.jpg]

The first of three kit-bashed Imperial Attack Droids. This one was made with legs and arms from 2-1B, an IG-88 torso, and some scary-looking weaponry.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt15ImpAttackB.jpg]

The second of three kit-bashed Imperial Attack Droids. This one was made from Zuckuss and 2-1B, with a gun from 4-LOM.

This next guy is pretty neat too.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt16ImpAttackC.jpg]

The last of three kit-bashed Imperial Attack Droids. This one was made with parts from FX-7 and a Power Droid, and loaded down with tons of weaponry.

 

DarthBane77, the edit button is there for a reason, please use it

 

More as well:


It looks as if the Blockaid Runner was indeed scheduled for release.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt17Blockade.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/blockade-runner-closeup.jpg]

This is a photograph of a large presentation board for the never-produced Rebel Blockade Runner vehicle. It may not be immediately obvious from the photo, but the presentation board is a 3-D foamcore model with several moving parts.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt23Skyhopper.jpg]

An early Skyhopper. This was later made and released in 1996.

And, here is one crazily modified landspeeder:

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt25XP36.jpg]


Wow. Thats some crazy sand-blow'n madness. Maybe thats the model Luke spoke of that made his speeder no longer in demand. Make's you think at least.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt26XP38.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-hp38.jpg]

This concept artwork for a sporty update of the landspeeder vehicle, is an imaginative extrapolation of a brief comment of Luke's from the Star Wars script. If you recall, Luke mentions to Ben just outside of the Mos Eisley Cantina that his landspeeder had recently been made obsolete by the debut of a new model. Unfortunately, Kenner got the name wrong--its the XP-38.

This next piece is very cool

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt28Sandspeeder.jpg]

Another kit-bash, this time on a larger scale. Presumably, this vehicle was intended to be the Tatooine equivalent to the Snowspeeders we see on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt29SRV1Photo.jpg]

An unused design from several years earlier was modified for this photo.

The earlier:

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-unpro/snowvehicle-1.jpg]

Presumably, the earlier version was created in the early '80s or late '70s, for The Empire Strikes Back line, and the concept was later resurrected for this presentation.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt30SRV1Drawing.jpg]

Now, here's something very, very, cool.


Its a connection piece for the Falcon.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt31CargoHandler.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/falcon-minirig2.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/falcon-minirig3.jpg]

As you can see from this second photo, the little vehicle was designed to fit perfectly between the Falcon's forward mandibles. For Kenner, part of the attraction of such a toy would have been its ability to bring new life to what was then a pretty old product.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/falcon-minirig1.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/falcon-minirig4.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/falcon-minirig5.jpg]

The mini-rigs seem to have been quite popular among certain Kenner designers, a fact which probably shouldn't be too surprising. The guys who worked on the Kenner Star Wars line invested a ton of time interpreting George Lucas' film vision into toy form. It must have been a blast to finally have been able to design some pieces of the Star Wars galaxy on their own!

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt32Bantha.jpg]

As a low-priced toy, this would have made a nice companion to the Dewback and Tauntaun.

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-bantha.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt33Bomber.jpg]

An early plan for the Tie-Bomber!
Some16 years after this presentation - and about 25 years after the drawing above was made - Hasbro finally announced that a TIE Bomber would be released in the Power of the Jedi line.



[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/85LineExt34Sniper.jpg]

[image=http://www.toysrgus.com/images-conce/concept-drawing-sni

 

I think there is all ready a thread for this...

 

I think there is all ready a thread for this...


Well, I did post this a long time ago in the SW Community. Its long gone now. Also, I didn't, at the time, post everything seen here. It was when I was very new to the boards, hence, why it is now gone. regardless, what do you think?

 

ToyFare magazine had a big article on this toy line with many of the same pictures you have posted. It appeared in issue 64, December 2002.

 

I'll admit that Falcon add-on looks totally wizard.

 

Wow, dude, thanks for putting all the work and time and markup codes into this!

That was a really fun read.

 

Why did you go to all of the effort of reposting all of the special feature in this thread, when you could have simply directed everyone to the main navigation page here:

http://www.toysrgus.com/images-speci/85LineExt/

As for the whereabouts of the items pictured, I understand one of the artists still owns most of his original artwork. The only other piece I know the location of is the presentation board/model for the Rebel Blockade Runner, which I own.

-Vic.
.

 

The only other piece I know the location of is the presentation board/model for the Rebel Blockade Runner, which I own.


How can I believe that?

 

They should have let the folks at Kenner create the EU. Is it just me or does that tank-like vehicle remind anyone else of the Cobra H.I.S.S. from the GI Joe line?

 

>How can I believe that?<

If you look at the link on the Archive I posted above, you'll note that I'm the guy who owns the presentation book that all those pictures were scanned from. In fact, I scanned all those pictures, and wrote about 2/3 of the text.

Feel free to search that site for my name and see a small sampling of the other stuff I own.

-Vic.
.

 

I was thinking about trying to make that AT-IT, but I think cutting the back off may be slightly tricky.