Ryan Huff, part-time blogger on Geek of Oz and full-time nerd tells us about his love affair with Star Wars and the plastic friends who made his childhood special.

As a kid, I had no shortage of toys at my disposal and even as a young child I had the utmost respect for these little plastic men and women. These were the friends that you could play with when your other friends weren’t around. While I had a multitude of toys from a broad range of franchises including Transformers, He Man, Voltron and more, it was my Star Wars toys that held pride of place. When Mum and I would go shopping I was always on the look out for secondary characters to fill out my own little “Galaxy Far, Far Away”. Characters like R5-D4, 2-1B and Lobot were a dime a dozen because other kids didn’t want them. Other kids were after the A-Grade characters like Luke, Vader and Yoda but I, after already procuring the main cast, decided that it just wouldn’t be “real” if I didn’t have a supporting cast of characters, the characters that made the Star Wars universe so rich.

My absolute favourite figure in the bunch was a plain, old trooper but not just the regular Stormtrooper, the Biker Scout from Kenner. While other kids went crazy over the Mandalorian armour clad Boba Fett, I was enamoured with the Biker Scout, visored helmet and all. Even to this day, their uniform just seems so utilitarian. While riding through the forests on the forest moon of Endor they needed armour that was less protective, allowing for more range of movement. While having their thighs exposed and covered only in cloth may seem foolhardy, even as a kid I realised that their thighs would be out of harms way when on their mount. Their knees, on the other hand, needed protection from wayward sticks and branches. Their helmets were visored to shield from the suns rays and an eye shield reminiscent of a motorbike rider. I just thought they were the coolest thing ever and eventually lead to the purchase of my second favourite toy ever, a Biker Scout blaster, also from Kenner. The blaster was black in colour and had a grey scope attached to the side. The scope itself had a red plastic insert which had a crosshair embossed on it. Looking through the scope, I could all but see a rebel soldier, bearing down upon me. Wearing my Dads motorcycle goggles and gardening gloves I’d squeeze that bright orange trigger the blaster would let out a battery operated “PEW!”. The battle for Endor had begun.

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