Holy Grail Acquisitions

 I have always been a fan of the Kenner Mini Rigs, ever since I saw them as a kid at the toy store in the old Astro World theme park. My brother got the Desert Sail Skiff, and I chose the ISP-6 since it looked a lot like Shuttle Tydyrium, only smaller. Sadly, moving to new homes led it to be lost. So, I just accepted that I would never again get one, and if I found it loose, it would no doubt be incomplete. But, a local comic con a few years ago had one Kenner Holy Grail (Darth Vader's Star Destroyer), could I possibly find another one at the same con as it took place in the fall instead of spring? Yes!

Two vendors had them, both complete, for 2 different prices. Vendor A had it for $40, and let me handle it to see if everything worked right. Vendor B had it for $50. Not much difference between the two. Only the stickers were peeling because it's been nearly 40 years since they were applied. I chose Vendor A in the end, but Vendor B also had something from my childhood that I had to get as the one I had as a kid got accidentally dropped and shattered. I'll show that at the end of this review.

Now sadly, I did attempt to fit both the Retro Dark Times Vader and the VC version in the ISP-6, but in both cases the cloth capes, including the cloth cape I slapped on my Kenner Vader prevented the figure from properly fitting. So that's why I put an Imperial Officer in the ship. He fits! I had hoped to recreate the image from the box, which was Vader getting out, greeted by Emperor's Royal Guards, but, well, I failed. But, I got a nice photo, so there's my silver medal.

Like I said, the stickers are peeling, this is a close to 40 year old toy after all! But, this is complete. The laser cannons are still attached. The top fin area is loose mainly due to age. The wing lock feature still works so it can be displayed in its landed pose. A switch on the bottom opens it to flight mode, and a long tab on the bottom locks it into landing mode. And more importantly, finding this at a great price! I even saw a Desert Sail Skiff in box for around $80, but passed. If I see it next year, I'm buying and opening it, especially for the Kenner Star Wars catalog that came with it.


BURGER KING ROTJ GLASS

I was excited when seeing this! Burger King had done glasses for the OT back in the day, and this glass in particular was one I had, but sadly dropped and broke it. But for $10, I felt it was an excellent value, and this was my last purchase before leaving. The same vendor had some of the Taco Bell Star Trek 3 glasses the day before, so I missed out on my chance to reacquire a Kruge glass, and a Spock glass that I missed out on.

Now, the glass art isn't screen accurate. Luke doesn't duel Vader in his robes, but it is a great representation of the Kenner figure dueling Vader, so that's a plus. On the other side Palpy and his Royal Guards. I did my best to get the words on the back of the glass to be read, but I wanted the art to stand out, which is why I used a backing board from a comic book to make it stand out. This is the text on the back of this glass:
"In the Emperor's Throne Room Luke Skywalker confronts Darth Vader in a desperate lightsaber battle. The Emperor, supreme ruler of the galaxy, is accompanied by a red helmeted Emperor's Royal Guard and one of the Imperial Dignitaries."

Now the obvious question: will I drink out of that glass? Not really, but if I do, only filtered water. It's more of a display glass than one I would use for daily drinking. I don't think constantly cleaning it, even using dish soap would be great for it, long term. But I'm happy to have it, and the ISP-6!

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