San Jose, Costa Rica, Christmas 1986. There was only one department store close to where we lived, but it was packed with toys.
My brother asked for a Super Powers Green Lantern, but he got a Secret Wars Doctor Doom - because both characters had green outfits.
I don't recall what I asked for, but it may have been "anything Star Wars".
I got a single 3.75" figure; my first Star Wars figure, nonetheless. It was Chewbacca. Chewie was my first figure.
Although Luke remains my favorite character, Chewbacca will always have a special place in my heart. He's funny yet capable of having serious moments, cute-looking - like a big dog, or a walking carpet - yet also powerful and strong. He's also smart - even if he thinks with his stomach -, Han Solo's best friend, and the Millenium Falcon's co-pilot.
During playtime, being my only Star Wars figure, Chewie went on solo adventures more often than not, but he also joined forces with Galaxy Warriors, Gobots, Playmobil, and other non-Star Wars toys.
His crossbow got lost in a matter of days, probably. I lost the "collector's coin" that came with him in the early 2000s. The figure's limbs are now quite loose, and the blue in his eyes is beginning to fade. He's kept in a plastic bag inside a Star Wars tin lunch box. He's precious to me. Wait, did I just sound like Gollum?
I bought the POTF2 Classic Edition 4-Pack a couple years ago. That vintage-looking Chewie is my display Chewie now, in order to protect my vintage figure. Thus, now I have three Chewbacca figures: my vintage childhood Chewie, the 1995 Classic Edition repro, and a mint-in-card 2017 Chewbacca that I got from my sister. I would have four Chewbacca figures, but I gave the one that came with my Millenium Falcon to my niece. She's too young to play with it, but perhaps she will once she gets her first dose of Original Star Wars (She's only 3).
Not counting Storm Trooper army-building, for some odd subconscious reason that I cannot put into words, Chewbacca is the only character I have more than one same-version figure of. Sure, I do have farmboy, Bespin, and Jedi Luke, but those are different versions of the same character.
Speaking of character development, Chewbacca didn't change much as a character in the movies. He remained a loyal friend to Han Solo, and the same fearsome warrior he was since the beginning. Or maybe he opened up to making new friends, like Luke, Leia, the droids, and the Ewoks. Maybe he developed a more compassionate side of himself while taking care of dismembered 3PO. Maybe he learned forgiveness teaming up with Lando after having wanted to choke him to death. I like to think that he grew and learned things, just like his human friends.
It's been almost 42 years since people saw Chewbacca on screen for the first time. Peter Mayhew has passed away. We have yet again been grimly reminded that the original cast will not last forever. WE will not last forever, and the plastic in our collections might outlive us all.
It is a dark time to be a Star Wars fan. All chances of reuniting the original cast have been wasted. The Expanded Universe grew uncontrollably just to be decanonized by the new brand owners. All movies made after 1983 are full of plot inconsistencies and insulting character twists. Criticism of the brand is being censored, dismissed, or slandered. Toy assortment and distribution seem random and chaotic. Sometimes I wonder if I would've become a Star Wars fan had I been born in this era.
Nevertheless, as long as there are people who own copies of the Original Unaltered Trilogy, the legacy can be protected and the torch can be passed on. In addition, our childhood vintage figures - and to a lesser extent some of the modern toys - will remain as physical evidence of how millions of lives were positively touched by the power of good story-telling. Before the Dark Times, before the Empire.
May the Force be with you.
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