Galaxy Laser Team

Turtle-crab alien

Sort of Han Solo, sort of Chewbacca, sort of Darth Vader

R2-D2 was never the same after his trip through the trash compactor

Factory error or victim of turtle-crab alien?

What: If you're going to rip something off, I say do it shamelessly. Like these figures, "Galaxy Laser Team," space-themed mini figures that make no attempt to hide the fact that they are directly inspired by Star Wars characters. There's a dude that looks a lot like Darth Vader, a creature that looks a lot like Chewbacca, a robot that looks a lot like R2-D2, a hero that's Han Solo-ish, and a female character that was presumably inspired by Princess Leia but is not nearly as interesting because she doesn't get a weapon (only a computer thingy), or even a cool hairdo like Princess Leia. Then there's a couple random astronauts and a random turtle-crab alien (my favorite), which actually seems to have nothing to do with Star Wars. Fun stuff. Each of the eight sculpts came in four colors--green, pink, white and black--and many figures came packaged together and sold as bagged sets, which you can see a photo of here.

When: I think I got these in the very early 1990s, but from what I have read they were first produced years before that, shortly after Star Wars first came out.

Where: I remember getting these at a dollar store. I'm not sure where else they would have been sold.

Who: Tim-Mee