I didn’t get to the movie until August 1977 but I had seen the commercials and I had the Wonderbread cards and a Marvel Star Wars #2. After being blown away upon seeing it, the one thing I anticipated – and was sure of – was the arrival of Star Wars Megos! Of course that never happened, but in the interim I did get… a Space Sword! I had it, too, Brian! A one-piece glow-in-the-dark plastic toy that resembled the blade of an actual sword more than it did a lightsaber. But I recall the artwork on the box in the drugstore they were in featuring an illustration of a Stormtrooper knock-off yielding the weapon.

I also got my hands on the Rolling Stone with the Star Wars cover, Famous Monsters with Darth Vader on the cover, that same shot of Vader in the form of a poster, those gorgeous coloring poster art sets, notebooks, the Star Wars Album book which was only like $5.95… I didn’t actually get figures until my birthday in Nov ’78. And I have pics from that I will have to share with you.

Yeah, I could just go on and on… I’m looking forward to hearing exactly how Empire had an even greater effect on you, Jason!

The other knockoff lightsaber mentioned was probably "The Force Beam". I agree that vintage bootleg Star Wars toys would be a great subject to devote an episode to.

I thought the comments about the kid who choked on the Battlestar Galactica missile were ignorant and inconsiderate. Yeah it sucks that toymakers overreacted somewhat, neutering launcher springs for most of our childhoods from '79 to about '89, but directing your ire toward the kid is incredibly offensive. I know his surviving brother is active online and I hope he never listens to this episode.

I guess part of the problem is people are unaware of the other casualties. It wasn't just one boy who was injured by those missiles, it was at least 17 kids. He was just the one who died. This article from February of '79 spells out why that whole missile affair was a real problem for lots of children:

http://tinyurl.com/bsgmissile

I guess Jason doesn't have children because the insensitivity of his remarks floored me. I have a collection of loose Mattel BSG ships and a 6 year old son. Ever since my son's fourth birthday I've thought a lot about Robert Warren and how he died at 4 years old. I also think about all those other kids who inhaled missiles and what it must have been like as a parent having to deal with that nightmare. It must have been a horrible tragedy for every family impacted by the missile situation.

I love the format of two forty something guys talking about toys of the seventies. This is the kind of podcast I always wished existed.

I saw the mention on the Space Sword and wanted to say thanks! I've been trying to find the name of this for a while. I had multiple Space Swords (I was pretty rough on 'em). My parents used to buy them for me at the local TG&Y. As far as me, they were sold single as the sword on a flat cardboard backer. Loved this toy!

Here's a pic of my holding one, in my Vader costume back in the late 70s:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_P90GnCCv1oI/SOY0i657epI/AAAAAAAABw4/hf9wX5JAfyE/s1600-h/2008+Halloween+logo+copy.jpg