My first Star Wars action figure was Director Krennic from Rogue One. I bought the action figure a couple of weeks after the movie officially released in Indonesia (December 2016). It was a nice 3.75” figurine by Hasbro, costed me IDR 250k at the time. From then on, I started to collect other Star Wars action figures, one item at a time.
Currently I have around 40 items from that toyline. The collection came from various sources; local and foreign toy stores, online stores, and even secondhand ones. I enjoyed collecting and taking pictures of them, and in the process, I found a hobby. Mazel tov!
Star Wars action figures comes in two different sizes, size 3.75” and size 6”. The 3.75” is the regular one, they come with more character variety. The 6” ones is the premium one, usually they call it “The Black Series” — although they also have some figures of the series in 3.75”. The 6" figures have better detailed appearances and more articulation than the 3.75" ones. The majority of the action figures are produced by Kenner (original collection 1978–1984) and Hasbro (Hasbro acquired Kenner in 1991).
How many types or characters actually are there? You can always check JediBusiness for the details (if you are looking for any detailed information and list regarding any SW action figures, you definitely need to see JediBusiness).
This is like a personal crusade that you can do in your spare time. Or when you have spare funds.
Because most of the toys are imported, they become quite expensive compared to the same items sold in US or any other countries outside Asia Pacific. The items are manufactured mostly in China or Taiwan, and then shipped to the toy company (or to their warehouses), and then distributed to toy stores from there.
In Indonesia, there are only 2–3 major toy stores; 2 stores sell Star Wars action figures but only seasonal, while the other one doesn’t sell Hasbro/Kenner products at all. Additionally, we have several smaller toys and gaming stores of which also sells Star Wars action figures (Main District in Kuningan City has a fair amount of vintage collection from both Hasbro and Kenner). Some online stores (local online stores usually found in Tokopedia)offered slightly cheaper prices and even able to preorder certain items, with additional cost to cover their services. “Jasa Titip” or “Jastip” — an Indonesian slang term, which means requesting a help from people outside the country to buy something in our stead, deliver the item to us, and then pay them for the service— works also. Once I utilized one of the jastip services to get a Black Series of a 6" Grand Moff Tarkin.
Eventually, what makes it more depressing is that not only the prices here are higher, but also the lack of its toys selection.
The toy stores most of the time only sells items related to the released movies. Therefore, it will be a little bit difficult to find a nice box of Hasbro 3.75” Thrawn or 6” General Grievous when The Rise of Skywalker/TROS released later this year. Even if some minor characters in TROS has their own action figure later on, it will be challenging to have them sold here. I found the same issue when I was visiting toy stores in Kuala Lumpur (July 2017) and Singapore (January 2018).
Starwarstore, for example, has an outstanding collection of Star Wars action figures based on what I read online. They claimed to “have the largest vintage and modern selection available in the Pacific Northwest”. The store is located in Portland, Oregon — USA.
One can only hope that such store will exist in the future, in this part of the world (APAC and/or SEA), especially in Indonesia.
If you’re curious on how much these Star Wars action figures worth in the future, or just want to know the prospect of making a business out of it, this article from Flipsy.com is a fine piece to read :)
