VINTAGE 1978 KENNER STAR WARS DEATH STAR SPACE STATION PLAYSET

I've wanted this for some time but to get one that is in good condition, complete and with box, needs a lot of patience hunting in eBay. Finally I bought one that is good condition, complete, with box and comes with 3 free figures - Star Destroyer droid, Death Squad Commander and Stormtrooper for a reasonable price. However when I received it, I found out that the set that I bought had been switched. I still get a complete set with box, but the condition is not as good and it comes with incomplete Vader, Jawa and super loose limbs Greedo. According to the Ebay seller, he shipped out two set to Ebay Global Shipping and those jokers messed up. I was really upset, because this set is not cheap. I'll see if I can get a refund or compensation.

Anyway here's the playset. It doesn't look like the Death Star from the movie. And to be exact, it is only a portion of the Death Star. However the play features mimics the action scene from the movie. More on this later.

The set is complete with instruction, catalog, (Dianoga) trash monster and the extremely rare and often missing 'rope'. It also comes with it's original foam trash, which most of it had disintegrated.

There are 4 levels of play area, all connected to a working elevator. Picture below are level 2 and 3.

The Canon is at the 4th level.

The trash compactor is at ground level.

The trash compactor door can be open and form a ramp, connecting to the elevator.

The trash compactor have a screw type knob, and when you turn the knob, the 'wall' will slowly press in compressing the trash.

Let's put some figures to make it interesting. The elevator slides up and down, and it has sliding doors.

To move the elevator, simply slide the blue knob up and down. When it reaches a level, turn the blue knob vertical (picture below) to make it stay at the level.

And the elevator door can slide open at every level to allow your figure to get out.

At level 4, there's a place for Ben Kenobi to de-activate the tractor beam - just like in the movie.

Then you can simulate the part where Luke and Leia tried to escape some Stormtroopers by swinging across the chasm. The mini rope seen here is often lost in this playset.

On the 1st level, there's a trap door. Opening the trap door allows your figures to drop direct into the trash compactor!

Here's a closer look at the trash monster. It's made of soft rubbery plastic.

The top floor features a rotating canon that 'explodes'.

Slide the blue lever to the left to 'explode' the canon.

"I've been waiting for you Obi-Wan"

The cardboard panels front and back.

I believe kids who owns this in the past will have hours of fun playing because there's so many gimmicks and play value! This is a fragile but very good display piece. I would recommend to vintage Star Wars collectors. A mint and complete with box is somewhat rare in the secondary market. eBay prices ranges from USD350-600. Shipping is also pretty expensive due to the big box size.