Star Wars Toys To Go

Star Wars fever stepped up another gear today as the Episode I merchandising machine finally arrived in US shops. A George Lucas-imposed embargo had meant that retailers were unable to sell any Menace-related gear before midnight yesterday and huge queues of Force-hungry American punters eager to spend, descended upon stores, many of which were open throughout the night, stocked to the gills with Phantom Menace paraphernalia. Amongst the material uncovered were eight basic action figures, each 3 3/4 inches tall, of characters including the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu (played in the movie by Samuel L. Jackson) and a stripped down C-3PO. There were also snack foods, double-edged lightsabres and a range of Queen Amidala fashion dolls. Many of the products came as a complete shock to the public as LucasFilm had signed a licensing deal preventing anyone from disclosing any details about them. Indeed, many shop managers were not permitted to see anything, as the toys were locked up until the day of sale. Any retailer that disobeyed LucasFilm's order were to have their right to sell revoked. With the merchandising revenue for the movie expected to reach $2 billion, shops were happy to comply with Lucas' request. The toys hit British shores in July.