Via Starwars.com:

STARWARS.COM LOOKS BACK AT A CLASSIC TOY LINE THAT MADE A LARGE GALAXY MUCH SMALLER (AND REALLY FUN TO COLLECT).
Star Wars Micro Machines (1994 – 2002) were one of the top-selling Star Wars toys of the 1990s. Galoob (and Hasbro) included numerous little ships, figures, playsets, and other items in their Star Wars Micro Machines line, and after a long slumber, that line has returned with Star Wars: The Force Awakens! In this series of articles, we’ll take a closer look at some of the most memorable Star Wars Micro Machines toys.

After a few quiet years, Star Wars merchandising was rapidly growing in popularity in the early ’90s. George Lucas announced that he was working on the prequels — and new books, collectibles, and comics were being released once again. Lewis Galoob Toys was one of the biggest toy companies in the US, and they had already gained fame with toys from The A-Team, Blackstar, and, of course, Micro Machines. Micro Machines were a series of toys consisting of tiny cars, airplanes, boats, and other vehicles that could interact with small playsets that had multiple action features. They were so popular in the late ’80s and ’90s that the line spawned several cool computer games. In other countries, Micro Machines were sold by companies such as Ideal (France) and GiGi (Italy).

Star Wars Micro Machines launched in 1994, one year before Kenner (Hasbro) released their new line of 3.75” action figures, and continued into 2002 four years after Hasbro bought Galoob Toys. Similar-looking toys were released after 2002, but they weren’t truly part of the Micro Machines line. One example was Kenner’s Micro Collection, a superbly-designed line of diecast figures and playsets that unfortunately got canceled after one year (in 1982). Let’s go back to when it started…