Kenner

Kenner

Kenner Products began production and sales of toys and playsets in 1946. During the company's five-decade run, it became known for many toy lines, including the Easy Bake Oven, Play-Doh, and Spirograph. Kenner was perhaps best remembered for its line of action figures based on culture icons, including the Bionic Man, Strawberry Shortcake, and Stretch Armstrong, and the company also produced Star Wars toys based on the films, including "Return of the Jedi."

Toys and action figures based on the movie "Jurassic Park" were released in two waves: series one in 1993 and series two in 1994. Each series contained toys that can be categorized as dinosaurs, humans, and vehicles. The second run contained some of the main characters as well as toys that represented things not shown in the movie. The series-two toys are considered to be rare compared to the series-one items. The number of toys released in each series can be broken down by category as follows:

• Dinosaurs - Series one (11) and series two (11)
• Humans - Series one (5) and series two (12)
• Vehicles - Series one (4) and series two (3)

There were over 100 Kenner Star Wars action figures released from 1977-1985. Hasbro, which purchased the company in 1991, released a new series of Star Wars figures under the Kenner label from 1995-1999, which collectors identify separately by the "Power of the Force" logo (called "Power of the Force 2" by fans to distinguish them from the 1985 releases). The classic figures are identified by the four package cards they were released under:

• "Star Wars" figures released from 1977-1979
• "The Empire Strikes Back" figures released from 1980-1982
• "Return of the Jedi" figures released from 1983-1984
• "Power of the Force" figures released in 1985

Some characters that were released include Bigfoot, Bionic Woman, Fembot, Maskatron, Oscar Goldman, Six Million Dollar Man, and Venus Space Probe. Bionic Adventure Sets were sold as Mission to Mars, OSI Undercover Assignment, and Test Flight at 75,000 Feet. Accessories and play sets included Backpack Radio, Bionic Mission Control Center, Bionic Mission Vehicle, and Bionic Transport and Repair Station. Other toys included CB Headset Radio Receiver, Critical Assignment Arms, Critical Assignment Legs, Dual Launch Drag Race Set, OSI Headquarters, and Porta Communicator.

There were 12 Star Wars characters made into 12-inch toys: the droids, including C-3PO and R2-D2, as well as Chewbacca, Darth Vader, Han Solo, and the Jawas. Other characters included Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and the Stormtroopers, which made the first release. Boba Fett, the bounty hunter, and IG-88, another one of the movie's droids, were added when "The Empire Strikes Back" was released.