Star Wars exhibits go on show at New Walk Museum

FILM fans of all ages are in for a treat this summer, when a Star Wars exhibition comes to Leicester - from a galaxy far, far away.

The wonderfullynamed ‘May The Toys Be With You’ is one of the UK’s finest collections of vintage Star Wars toys and original cinema posters, and it will be going on display in New Walk Museum and Art Gallery from July 21.

Coalville was the base for Palitoy - the British company behind the iconic vintage toys – and this summer, those toys are coming home.

Back when the movie Star Wars broke box office records in 1977, no-one could have predicted that the merchandising would go on to earn even more than the film itself.

The toys of Star Wars took the world by storm and became the must-have playthings for an entire generation.

From 1977 to 1985, an estimated 300 million action figures were sold, and this is a chance to discover the role Leicestershire toy company Palitoy played in this incredible global success story.

May The Toys Be With You is both a celebration of the now highly collectable vintage toy line and also of the iconic design work and art of the Star Wars movies. From X-Wing Fighters to lightsabers, these designs have fired our imaginations like nothing else.

Young Jedi visiting the exhibition may even have an opportunity to dress up and wield a lightsaber themselves!