Hasbro Star Wars - The Power of the Force Mynock Hunt (Cinema Scene) Review

A long time ago....

When I first began collecting Star Wars action figures in the spring of 1978, there weren't really many display options available for collectors over the age of 12 years to display our 3.75-inch scale figures in a cool, oh-my-God-this-is-awesome fashion.

At the time, I think Kenner Toys of Columbus, Ohio simply underestimated the appeal that the little plastic replicas of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia Organa, R2-D2, C-3PO, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and the other heroes and villains from George Lucas's space-fantasy film would have for consumers who were older than the "ages 4 and up" kids that the toys were originally targeted for.  This is reflected in some of the less-than-accurate detailing of the figures and vehicles, of course, but it's more evident by the fact that Kenner never produced anything quite like Hasbro's Star Wars - The Power of the Force Cinema Scenes during the seven years that the now-vanished toy manufacturer produced Star Wars collectibles.

 What are Cinema Scenes?

In essence, Cinema Scenes (and their later incarnations known as Screen Scenes) are miniature dioramas of scenes from the first five Star Wars Episodes which usually consist of three action figures posed on a sculpted/painted plastic base and in front of a photorealistic cardboard backdrop.  (There are, of course, a few exceptions to the three-figure rule; the Star Wars Saga Death Star Trash Compactor two-figure sets can be joined to create a "four-pack" diorama, and the three 2002 Silver Anniversary two-packs can also be considered mini-Cinema Scenes.)

Though the Cinema/Screen Scenes concept was carried over into at least three different Hasbro Star Wars collections, most of them were released as part of the "Kenner Collection" Power of the Force line, which focuses exclusively on the Classic Trilogy of A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi.

Mynock Hunt

Fleeing the fierce Imperial assault on the frozen planet Hoth, the Millennium Falcon and the Rebel crew fly into the midst of a waiting Imperial war fleet. Unable to engage the Falcon's malfunctioning hyperdrive system, Han Solo steers recklessly into an asteroid field. Solo maneuvers the Corellian freighter through the deadly storm, missing large rocks by mere inches before locating sanctuary in the cave of a huge asteroid. - from the package blurb

Oddly, despite The Empire Strikes Back's popularity and relevance to the complete saga's storyline, Hasbro only produced one Cinema Scene based on the second Star Wars film - Mynock Hunt, which features Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and Han Solo...and a bat-like creature known as a mynock.

In a scene derived loosely from the Jonah-in-the-belly-of-a-beast story, the cocky ex-smuggler and now Hero of the Rebellion, Han Solo, has piloted his damaged freighter into the relative safety of a cave deep within a large asteroid in order to avoid being captured by the Imperial Star Destroyer Avenger.

While the overanxious C-3PO remains aboard the Millennium Falcon to "guard the ship," Han, Leia, and Chewbacca don oxygen masks and disembark, hoping to spook the power-cable chewing parasites called mynocks away from the Falcon's hull. 

As the trio of Rebels hunts the leathery bat-like creatures, they notice that the cave's floor doesn't feel like rock and that there's an awful lot of moisture within.  And after a series of sharp quakes are set off by Han's blaster, they realize that the "cave" is actually the gullet of a huge space slug!

The Cinema Scene shows Chewbacca, Leia, and Han reacting as a brown bat-like mynock (included, making this, arguably, a "four-pack") flies at the trio from out of the misty semidarkness. The three characters are grouped close together near the boarding ramp of the Falcon (which is depicted in the backdrop) but each looking in a different direction -- Chewie to the left, Leia straight toward the "audience," and Han to the right. Hanging overhead off to Han's left (at the right of the pack) is a brown, batwinged creature with a suction cup-like head that allows it to attach itself to a ship's hull to chew on the power cables.

Inside the cave it becomes apparent that the Falcon is in danger of being ravaged by mynocks. Large, winged parasites with an appetite for the mineral and energy-rich bulls of starships, mynocks can cause critical damage to star-freighting vessels. Forced to hunt the creatures before irreparable harm is caused to the Millennium Falcon, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, and Han Solo don breathing gear and venture outside. But the mynocks become a secondary concern once the Rebel crew discovers that the cave they're parked in is not a cave at all, but something large and very alive.  - from the package blurb

Fittingly, the figures' costumes are those the characters wear throughout much of Empire;  Leia wears her beige-white Hoth uniform of Rebel-issue winter gear, Han wears his spacer's brown trousers-white shirt-black boots-blue flight jacket outfit, complete with his trademark quick-draw holster and with yellow piping along his trouser legs. Chewie, as always, only has his ammo bandoliers and pouch on, since, as a nervous 20th Century Fox exec once famously observed, the "Wookiee doesn't wear pants."

Weapons and Accessories:

As in the film, the three figures wear breathing gear (which, by the way, is more detailed than the breath masks that were included in The Empire Strikes Back survival gear packs that were sent to collectors who sent in five "proof of purchase" seals from Kenner figures in 1980). Han and Chewie are armed, the former with his DL-44 blaster pistol, the latter with his trademark crossbow-like bowcaster.

The base is made of a sturdy plastic molded and painted to resemble the floor of the "cave," which, as viewers of the movie know, isn't a geologic feature but rather the esophagus of a giant space slug. The backdrop, as in most of the Cinema Scenes, is a printed-on-cardboard enlargement of a frame from The Empire Strikes Back, which shows the fog-shrouded Falcon's boarding ramp and a single floodlight.

Should I buy this for my kids?

 While Hasbro recommends this The Power of the Force Cinema Scene for children 4 and up, I'd say most buyers of this collectible would be more serious collectors over the age of 12.

Although Mynock Hunt is a beautiful collectible, its relatively limited production run and the fact that "scalpers" often snapped up many units before they were even put on store shelves makes it one of the hardest Cinema Scenes to find. An unopened one -- such as the one I own -- can probably be found on the Web -- Brian's Toys or Entertainment Earth might be two sites where a search can start -- but it won't be cheap. Even for my friend Rogers, who knows the ins and outs of Star Wars collectibles, finding Mynock Hunt was no easy task, especially when it involved finding one for me. Therefore, it's not a good idea to get this for a young "Jedi youngling" under the age of nine; it's too expensive, for one, and the mynock and blasters are a choking hazard, particularly for children three and under.