Growing up in the 90s as Star Wars mania re-exploded with the rise of the Special Editions and the advent of The Phantom Menace, there were plenty of Star Wars toys to gawk at with desire as a little kid. There was only one Star Wars toy for me as a kid, and that was Action Fleet.
Small, plastic figurines and playsets featuring spaceships, land vehicles, and dainty little figures of Star Wars heroes and villains from across the movies were created by Galoob.
My greatest love was the spaceships of the galaxy far, far away, and Action Fleet covered all sorts of Star Wars vehicles. You could get models of everything from X-Wings and TIE Fighters to other vehicles, like the Imperial Shuttle or Cloud City. The E-Wing from the post-Return of the Jedi EU novels was one of the ships brought from the EU. The line expanded to cover The Phantom Menace, teasing at first with preview sets like the Naboo Speeder, before giving us everything from Trade Federation transports to the beautiful N1 Starfighter.
Action Fleet did a few new ships and vehicles from Attack of the Clones, but it wouldn't last. The Micro Machines line was revived for The Force Awakens, but it didn't bring back Action Fleet or even the nostalgia of Revenge of the Sith.
Action Fleet was the kind of toy line that could be used to collect a lot of Star Wars vehicles. They were big enough to be articulated and important for either a child or an adult with the mind of one, but not as big and expensive as the vehicles made for. The detail in each little ship, special releases like the Alpha Series, which bundled a model of a vehicle with a second based on early concept art from the movies, and just the sheer volume of different kinds of.
Even as the galaxy far, far away continues to produce all sorts of merchandise, there is nothing like Action Fleet anymore. I'm down for the UCS Landspeeder or the big-scaled action figure vehicles aimed at adult collectors with more space and spare cash than sense. My love of starfighters and the brave beings that pilot them is what I will always care for most in the world of Star Wars, no matter how many cool toys there are out there.
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