All posts by : Robert Johnson

Metal  tin or pewter figures were the some of the earliest action figure  play toys.  Army figures from Britians Llido, Marx and other manufactures have littered sandbox’s yards  and living room floors for over 100 years.  With the release of matchbox, and later Hot wheels, die cast  metal toys became a main stay of playthings for children, as well as collectors.

The Kenner toys of the 80’s continued that tradition with both figures. and vehicles and spaceships.

Originally Kenner released a collection of vehicles that were metal and plastic.  This line included a Tie fighter, X wing, Lansdspeeder, Millennium Falcon  Y wing and Star Destroyer. With the release of ESB  the Snowspeeder, Cloud car, and the Tie bomber were added.

The 80’s also saw the inclusion of the Micro collection which were a collection of pewter painted figures with plastic molded play sets.

In the Early 90’s Action Masters became on of the first new era toys to sit on the shelf after the vintage line of Droids and Ewoks Items.  The Action Masters set, although not real exciting, was a breath of fresh air for hungry collectors after a long drought of Merchandise on the retail shelves. . The line included a box set,  carded sets of four figures, carded individual figures and one Mail in premium.  Each figure came with a trading card.  

In 1997 Gallob busted the world of metal star wars ships  open with the release of a line of small die cast ships. This  line originally was only 6 vehicles. The line  went thru a few pack variations, and was short lived, and not real successful.  The first release was in odd packed round bubbles.Then repacked in more traditional packages.

A second release and change of packing included 4 more ships.

In 1999 with the release of Episode 1,  The  Phantom Menace  8 more ships were released. having the same stands as the previous ships, except black. Also released in 1999 was a collection of die cast Pod racers.

In 2004 the Titanium line was released, a test by Walmart the first year. then by  2009  having over 120 ships and repaint versions. The series has many rare ships and includes ships from the entire Star Wars Saga invcludint the EU,  expanded universe and Clone Wars series. There were a few packing designs thru the series and 4 5 packs with an exclusive silver vehicle.  Rarest in the series was a promotion of a Gold Tie fighter in a baggie that was  exclusive to Star Wars Celebration .

A  larger version ships and figures were also released thru this era. Called the Ultra Collection

2012 saw a short revival of previously released vehicles. shown right

2014 saw Disney Step in to the larger version of die cast ships  with a great assortment of ships similar to the Titanium Ultra Collection  Hot Wheels also stepped with a series of Die cast vehicles.

2015 saw new new ships in the Titanium scale, Renamed  The Black series  was similar to both the previous Titanium and Ultra series. These have fantastic detail and surely will increase in value over the years.  I look forward to seeing  what the future will bring to the world of die cast Star Wars ships !

Disney Store Ultra series ships-

This is just an overview of the Metal Die Cast –  Star Wars Toys. Look for a more elaborate guide on the entire Metal  die cast Star Wars toys in the future.  There are many exclusives, mail ins and rare premiums throughout the series. I will elaborate on this isn the future.

Happy collecting   If you would like to contribute to a guide on Die Cast Star Wars toys please contact me. !

Rogue One Black  Series Titanium