The action figure is now the most expensive Star Wars toy ever sold at a public auction. Its value came from its rarity: the figure never made it to production and the only surviving examples are prototypes.
Boba Fett was a bounty hunter who played a minor role in The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and The Return of the Jedi (1983).
Then, he was famous for never removing his helmet. Since then, he’s inspired his own miniseries (The Book of Boba Fett, 2021).
In America, Boba Fett was first seen in The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978), a television series broadcast by CBS.
Kenner’s Boba Fett with “rocket-firing back pack” was advertised in the US as a giveaway in 1979. If you provided proof that you’d purchased four other Star Wars action figures, you could send away for Boba Fett, who was “not available in any store”.
This awakened the collecting instinct in many a young bounty hunter, but when their figurines arrived, they were disappointed. The advertised projectile weapon had been replaced by a rocket that was glued into place. There were sound reasons for this.
A Battlestar Galactica toy produced by a rival company, Mattel, had a similar projectile, which was identified as a choking hazard.
Tragically, one child died, while another had the missile removed from his lung. Boba Fett’s weapon was swiftly made safe.
Around 100 prototypes survived, 70 of which are known, but the Boba Fett at Heritage Auctions was rarer still. It was one of five hand-painted prototypes, and one of two in this particular colour scheme.
It was salvaged from a box of discarded toys, left for Kenner employees to take home.
Rocket-Firing Boba Fett is famous for generating false memories. According to Heritage Auctions, it’s “the figure everyone thought they had, but didn’t”.
Such false memories are known as the ‘Mandela Effect’. The name comes from the popular misconception that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s.
It was untrue, but widely believed. Mandela lived until 2013, but even while he was alive, many people ‘remembered’ his death.
Similar memory glitches are common among Star Wars collectors. It’s also been called the ‘Mandalorian Effect’ or ‘Rocket Fett Syndrome’.
It happens with other figurines too. I clearly remember playing with a Luke Skywalker with a double-telescoping lightsaber as a child. Reportedly, many people have similar recollections.
These are false memories, more’s the pity. In February 2023, a Luke Skywalker with double-telescoping lightsaber sold at Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pennsylvania, for $35,000 (€32,239).
The toy is valuable because only a handful were released. The fragile double-telescoping lightsaber was replaced by a sturdier fixed weapon.
Kenner, the American producer of Star Wars toys, produced three action figures with double-telescoping lightsabers: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.
All three are listed in the top five most valuable Star Wars figures ever sold.
Star Wars action figures made by Palitoy in the UK are more common in Ireland. Palitoy figures tend to be more valuable than their Kenner equivalents and one of the most coveted figures is the Vinyl Caped Jawa action figure from 1978.
A Palitoy Star Wars Jawa figure with rare vinyl cape
As the story goes, George Lucas complained that the vinyl cloak wasn’t good enough and had it replaced by a cloth version.
Now, almost 50 years later, the unsatisfactory version is worth a great deal more than its better-quality replacement.
In July 2003, Excalibur Auctions in Hertfordshire sold a Jawa figure with a vinyl cape for £26,670 (€31,297), far exceeding the £10,000 to £15,000 (€11,735 to €17,602) estimate.
The vendor, who worked for Marvel UK in the 1970s, received a range of figurines from Palitoy when the Star Wars toys were being promoted in Marvel comics.
He went back to search his attic, where he found a second vinyl-caped Jawa. It sold this January for £15,000 (€17,602).
As always, condition is everything. Star Wars figurines are only valuable in their original packaging. To fetch really high prices, this needs to be pristine.
Also, watch out for fakes. Vinyl-caped Jawas have often been reproduced so skilfully that only a trained eye can identify an original from a fake.
See ha.com and excaliburauctions.com.