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The Power of the Force (Red) 1995 – 1996

After Hasbro acquired the Kenner Toy Company in 1991, they brought the Star Wars line back to life in 1995. The line was dubbed “Power of the Force 2” by most fans to avoid confusion with the previous Power of the Force line. The line showed massive sales numbers and proved that Star Wars was still extremely popular with the public. Hasbro released several sub-sets, vehicles, playsets, accessories and a huge line of highly collectible 12 Inch figures. Hasbro produced a massive amount of product for the Power of the Force 2 line, and it remains among the largest Star Wars lines ever produced.

For more information about Hasbro’s Power of the Force 2 (Red) line, see the bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Basic Figures

The first series of figures released in 1995/1996 featured a orange/red card with 26 figures in total. Many of them went through several variations throughout their release. Most figures released in this wave were also made available with the green blister cards on the following waves. These market values are for the standard issue figures and do not reflect any error or variant versions.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Exclusive Figures

Hasbro released several fantastic looking mail order exclusives for their Power of Force line throughout its run, but it all started in 1995 with the Stormtrooper Han Solo for Kellogg’s and the Classic Edition 4-Pack from Toys R Us.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Accessories

Hasbro released a fun throwback to the old Play Doh days of old with this “Figure Maker” made to look like Boba Fett’s iconic Slave 1 ship.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Deluxe Figures

A Deluxe Figure series was created for the Power of the Force line, which included three different figures, Stormtrooper, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. Each figure came with a unique accessory for it to use or wear.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Playsets

Hasbro did not release any large scale playsets during the Power of the Force line, but they did release several smaller sets for our figures, such as the Death Star Escape set and Detention Block Rescue set.

Power of the Force – Red Card (1995 – 1996): Vehicles

Hasbro released a lot of different vehicles for their Power of the Force line during its five year run, and that began in 1995/1996 with 7 brand new ones for the “Red Wave” of figures and accessories. We got the Imperial AT-ST, Speeder Bike, Landspeeder, Millennium Falcon, Snowspeeder, Tie Fighter and X-Wing Fighter. These vehicles would all be re-released for the next wave but with the new Green packaging.

Hasbro acquired the Kenner Toy Company in 1991, and a few years afterwards, decided to bring the granddaddy of all toy lines back to life. Hasbro (still under the Kenner brand) released the first new Star Wars action figures the world had seen in 10 years, when the Power of the Force line was finally released in 1995. The line was dubbed “Power of the Force 2” by most fans and collectors to avoid the confusion of the previous Power of the Force line, which was released by Kenner in 1985. The line was well received by most fans and proved that, even without new movies, Star Wars remained just as popular with the public, and the massive sales numbers were proof of that.

The figures had six points of articulation and appeared more “muscular” in tone. It’s still kind of strange, looking at a Luke or Han figure from this line because of the Sylvester Stallone like body, but they were certainly unique looking. Luke, Obi-Wan and Vader all came with ridiculously long lightsabers that were shortened down in later waves. The Princess Leia figure also had a few different variations through the different waves, as Hasbro kept trying to make her not look like a monkey. In fact, most figures from this line had multiple variations as they went along. Hasbro also released some very interesting and fun sub-sets, as well as a huge line of highly collectible 12 Inch figures.

The initial figures were released on a red/orange card that was supposed to be an ignited red lightsaber with a large Darth Vader head shot. The packaging was simple, but still remained attractive to the eye. Who am I kidding though, we were just happy that new Star Wars figures were back in stores and it didn’t really matter what the packaging looked like. Truth be told, the figures could’ve been wrapped in brown paper bags and I still would’ve bought them. Later lines changed to an ignited green lightsaber instead of the red/orange. The packaging was still the same, only the color tone changed. Towards the end of the line, the packaging changed once again to a green starburst design, with the lightsaber glow being dropped.

This line was not only very popular with collectors and fans, but also with kids at the time. A younger generation was being introduced to the classic Star Wars characters their parents grew up with, and they really seemed to like it. Hasbro produced a massive amount of figures for this line, which is why most are still considered fairly common and easy to find. The Power of the Force 2 line remains one of the largest action figure lines ever produced for Star Wars. This was a fun and satisfying line to collect, and the prices are finally staring to inch upwards, as the power of the Force line has reached a nostalgic period with kids and collectors of that era.