Land of the Jawas Playset

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Land of the Jawas

Background

From a 1979 Kenner in-package catalog:

"Recreate the adventures of R2-D2, C-3PO and the JAWAS on LUKE SKYWALKER'S home planet... TATOOINE. Includes simulated escape landing pod which holds two figures, simulated sand dune base with boulders and cave for hiding plus detachable SANDCRAWLER back drop. Action lever allows JAWAS to capture R2-D2 or knock over other STAR WARS Action Figures in mock battle. Manual elevator lifts action figures into SANDCRAWLER. Both pieces stand alone."

Although the Land of the Jawas Action Playset only consisted of a plastic base and cardboard backdrop, Kenner listed the contents of the box in a slightly more exciting fashion:
"Contents: Tatooine Base with boulders, cave, battle action lever, escape pod with opening hatch and corrugated Jawa Sandcrawler with manual elevator."
The playset does contain most of the features described and it would take a stretch of the imagination to find any boulders in the box!
The base of this playset was later molded in white plastic and reused in the ESB Hoth Ice Planet and Sears exclusive Rebel Command Center. Additionally, the Hoth Ice Planet used an AT-AT backdrop that was virtually identical to the Sandcrawler in construction.

Parts List

Plastic base.
Cardboard backdrop assembly.
Elevator assembly: platform, handle, 2 plastic track reinforcements.
Escape pod.
4 footpegs.

Features

"Battle action lever". The lever rotates a base with a foot peg and activates a small platform on the plastic base that "jumps", knocking over an action figure.
Manually operated elevator.
Escaped pod hatch opens.
Footpegs included in body of Sandcrawler to display figures.

Moving the "battle action lever" will cause the Jawa to rotate and knock over the R2-D2 figure. The elevator slides along a track that has plastic reinforcements along the sides. The interior of the Sandcrawler contains four footpegs to hold action figures. This feature was unnecessary considering the small interior space and limited access provided through a window in the rear of the backdrop.

In 1979, Kenner offered rebates on many of the toys from the Star Wars line. Specially marked boxes contained rebate slips offering $0.50 rebates on certain action figures. A sticker on the box indicated that a coupon was enclosed which explained the details of the offer.