Concept Sketch for 12-Back Blister Card Back
Kenner had an outside design firm aid them in the creation of their Star Wars blister cards. The images you see on this page show a sketch dating from the earlier stages of this design process used in developing the back of the 12-back card.

Here's a closer view. The first thing I want to point out about this image is that it contains spaces for 9 figures, not 12. What this probably indicates is that, at this stage of development, Kenner was planning to debut their Star Wars line with only 9 figures. The missing 3 would have surely been the Jawa, Tusken Raider and Death Squad Commander, all of which came out slightly later than the first wave of 9.

You've no doubt noticed the stars; there is one for each figure in the line.

This hand-written notation specifies the function of the stars: each would be printed in a different color, and that color would be used to better identify the different figures at retail. This star idea also appears in this sketch for the 12-back front, which places a blue star behind the figure. Obviously, this idea wasn't used, but keep in mind that each of the original figures did have it's own distictive packaging color. It was simply present in a rectangle behind the figure rather than a star.

Description by: Ron Salvatore
Photo: Ron Salvatore
From the collection of: Todd Chamberlain
Country:United States
Film:A New Hope
Licensee:Kenner
Year:1977
Category:Prototypes / Product Concepts


  


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