Book Review: STAR WARS – THE ULTIMATE ACTION FIGURE COLLECTION

Review: Star Wars – The Ultimate Action Figure Collection / Author: Steve Sansweet / Publisher: Titan Books / Release Date: Out Now

Titan Books have released a new reference guide collated by Stephen J. Sansweet, who is a recognised authority when it comes to Star Wars, and it’s going to bring up many delightful and equally painful memories.

The book is basically a history of every official Star Wars figure ever released, covering your garden variety poseables right up to the limited editions and even unreleased gems that never saw the light of day. You’ll find your childhood memories prodded and probed and you’ll realise that no matter how many figures you had – regardless if you left them in their blister packs, attached to the backing cards – you were never anywhere near having all of them.

This is no small volume and, weighing in at over 350 glossy pages, it covers every major and minor character to have ever been immortalised in plastic. Set up alphabetically, it breaks them down into individual rosters, showing the year of release for each variant, and how that particular figure tied into the canon universe – be it from which film or otherwise. To put this into perspective, there are over 30 pages dedicated to the different versions of Clone Troopers and their ilk, that’s how in-depth this is.

There are some interesting anecdotes about different size heads, paint jobs and weapons that make you realise just how much research has had to be put into this. It’s an astonishing publication that is incredibly comprehensive and is beautifully laid out so that anyone from a serious collector to a fan who has a passing interest can find something here to pique their curiosity. Sansweet has created a labour of love and after finishing the book – although we can guarantee that you will want to dip back in time and time again – you’ll want to contact him and ask to pop round, like you did to your friend’s house when you were a kid, and see his personal collection.

There are only two minor niggles, with minor being the operative word. Firstly, why not lay it out in a format that takes you through the generations of figures as they were released rather than alphabetise them. Secondly, where are the vehicles? We’re thinking Sansweet has a sequel book lined up!

A must have for fans of the Star Wars universe.