From the back room of misfit toys.

§ March 26th, 2013 § Filed under misfit toys, star wars § 10 Comments

Well, okay, technically this isn’t from the back room, but rather from a recently acquired collection of stuff, things, items and doodads, but man, I had no idea this even existed:


The Chewbacca Bandolier Strap from 1983, where you can, I don’t know, strap it to your body and act out some weird Star Wars-ian twist on Dr. Shrinker with Peter Mayhew in the place of Jay Robinson?

Here’s a closer look at the picture on the box, with the victims your Star Wars pals in place:


Chewie looks a little freaked out there, understandably so since he’s trapped in a giant version of his own sole piece of clothing.

I dared to open the box, seeing as it was barely being held shut by dried-out masking tape and not exactly “mint,” and here’s what I found inside:


In case you’re wondering, yes, I did briefly contemplate donning this item and posing for pictures for the site, but 1) this bandolier is darned small, and I’m not even sure it would have fit around my neck, much less my torso, and 2) surely there are enough terrible pictures of me on the Internet already. Oh, and 3)


…those little foam packing pieces wedged into the belt are thirty years old and have become surprisingly flaky and sticky and not something I want coming in contact with my fancy dress shirts. Or my bare chest, not that I thought about taking Chewbacca bandolier photos like that. At all.

Anyway, here’s a better look at the bandolier in action:


Chewbacca’s the one on the right.

Here’s everything else in the box…a catalog, the two pouches, and a decal sheet with stickers for said pouches:


There’s probably a bra joke there, but I’m not going to make it.


“…and definitely not weed. Do not put your weed in the pouches!”


“IT’S A SNAP!”

In case you need an adult-sized Chewbacca bandolier, well, a quick Googling reveals lots of people making and selling replicas, but of course you can always just make your own.

10 Responses to “From the back room of misfit toys.”

  • ExistentialMan says:

    Ah. Nothing like a Dr. Shrinker reference to start the day. He’s a mad man with an evil mind.

  • C. Elam says:

    True story: my sister found one of these at her house and swears up and down it must be mine and that I tossed it among her stuff when she moved. But the thing is, I remember pretty distinctly the Star Wars toys of my youth and have NO MEMORY of having one of these. My best guess at this point is that it was a latter-day garage sale purchase by some well-meaning person. Or I have simply blocked it due to shame.

    I’m sort of amazed that foam is still intact at all. It had all rotted away in the one we have floating around here. I suppose our humidity isn’t a good fit for its long-term future.

    Truly, in the annals of Star Wars toys, this may be the nerdiest.

  • Sean Neprud says:

    The thing is, I *distinctly* remember being 4 years old and wanting one of these *really* badly.

    I never got one, and I had to settle for the Darth Vader snap open carrying case.

  • philip says:

    I will now spend the rest of today not picturing bare-chested-Mike-Sterling-in-bandolier. It would be something like Zardoz if I did, but I’m not. I’m NOT!

  • Boosterrific says:

    My brother and I both had one of these, and we used them to carry our figures out to the sandbox (to play in the desert wastes of Tatooine). I threw them away just a few years ago because the foam had deteriorated so badly it was becoming a problem to store without contaminating anything else. I’m sure it was totally safe for kids to wear, though. They wouldn’t have let us wear them if it was dangerous, right? Right?

  • Sarah says:

    Man, that little kid looks SO proud of him I can’t even make fun.

  • Sarah says:

    (er, himself.)

  • Mikester said:

    “There’s probably a bra joke there, but I’m not going to make it.”

    Over the shoulder ISOLDER holder!

    uh… y’know… Isolder… Character who courts Princess Leia in The Courtship of Princess Leia. Killed by Darth Caedus in Invincible. Married to Teneniel Djo, father of Tenel Ka.

    OK… not in the films… and (probably) no action figure.

    So.. how about:

    Over the shoulder WATTO (the slave-holder) holder…

    damn. Rhymed “holder” with “holder”. That’s poor.

    Screw it.

    Well, I laughed pretty hard at the weed joke and the punnish wordplay of Admiral Akbar’s; “It’s a Snap!”

    Nicely done, Mikester!

  • Snark Shark says:

    “I had no idea this even existed”

    I did- it was in the catalog that came with star wars vehicles!

    “a catalog”

    Yeah, that!

    ““IT’S A SNAP!””

    LOL!

  • philfromgermany says:

    Did the foam pieces stink?
    I distinctly remember the cloaks of some characters smelling really awful…