That time that Kenner released a torture chamber playset

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Originally published at: That time that Kenner released a torture chamber playset | Boing Boing

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That’s nothing compared to this

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let us not forget the aurora model company monster movie line–

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Aww, you had to buy both to get Klaatu, Barada, and Nikto.

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I had the complete set. The pendulum was the best.

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I tortured green army men with a can of WD-40, some matches, and a pair of pruning sheers. I didn’t need a play set to get that job done.

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Oh, right, that’s the one I had. A friend got the Jabba the Hut version. It had a much cooler looking droid. I just got the Gonk droid.

I like to think of it as Jabba’s Eco-friendly Droid Recycling Collective.

GONK GONK Power Posse Shirt

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“Enhanced interrogation”, anyone?

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Nothing would be as creepy-tortury to me as the interrogation droid (that needle! And since NOMAD primed us for it, floating droids are extra creepy), which it turns out also had a toy?

Also Han Solo on the rack!

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“Klaatu barada nikto” –– and we all know where that came from…?

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IIRC, the toy itself was originally a droid building kit for the Jawas from the first movie. One of the first “just off screen” toys.

I do remember the original scene in RotJ freaked me out a bit. But not nearly as bad as the torture scene in The Last Starfighter. While not graphic, it went on too long with too real of screams.

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a rebranding of an earlier Star Wars Droid Factory playset.

heh. “rebranding”

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It seems like these were playsets that appeal to completist collectors, not actual children. What child would have received one of these and thought, “Neat, a simple platform and little crane thing, wow that’s exciting!” When I think of the types of Star Wars toy sets I wanted as a child (and, if I had ever received one, would have doubtless have been almost instantly bored with), this would not have been one of them.

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They were for Sears and the parents doomed to shop for Christmas presents there.

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Oh! I forgot about the droid parts. I was five and promptly broke or lost most of them. That was cool.

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Hey, Dr. Ball, MD was a cool customer!

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I’ve seen the movie. What an extraordinary rendition.

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Or the Mad Scientist torture toys I’ve mentioned before.

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yeah, i had the Droid Factory, too. the Gonk Droid was one of my favorites. i never had one of those.

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Nice to meet you, Sid. Hopefully you weren’t too traumatized by your neighbor Andy’s toys.

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