Kenner's Death Star Space Station playset was one of the first feature-packed playsets for the Star Wars small action figure line and still remains one of the most elaborate Star Wars playsets ever produced. The concept was a cross-section of the Death Star combining many of the scenes on the station from A New Hope: the tractor beam, elevator, gunner station, control room, and trash compactor.
This photo of an early prototype of the toys has some of the features of the final product but with notable differences. First, the prototype toy is a 3-story playset, while the final production toy added a retracting light bridge for Luke and Leia to swing across. The 1970's chic "lily pad" control room console that was seen in the movie and in the initial playset design didn't make it into the final toy which had a more simplified, yet less accurate, vertical design. The trash compactor bears many similarities to the final toy although windows were added to the sides so kids could see their heroes getting crushed with the foam garbage as they turned the crank.
This prototype appears to be made of styrene components, typical of early design models used in concept approvals and photography. The Death Star Space Station was sold in the US and Canada, and a completely different cardboard Death Star playset was available in France, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and also Canada.
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