GUTTER CREDITS120120 SEPTEMBER 2018OCTOBER 2019
Field NotesT
he Kenner toy company
clearly didn’t know what
it was getting into when
it promised a Star Wars
Boba Fett action figure
that fired rockets from its backpack.
In early 1979, Kenner tempted kids
with a toy based on the bounty-hunter
character, who was slated to appear in
The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 sequel
to Star Wars.
The rocket-firing Fett couldn’t be
bought in a store. Fans had to wrangle
four proofs of purchase from other
Kenner toys, mail them to a post-office
box in Maple Plain, Minn., and wait six
to eight weeks for it to appear.
When the blessed package finally
arrived, it contained a Boba Fett toy,
sure, but not the promised version: Its
rocket was fixed in place, unable to
fly. Kenner had struggled for months
to design something that fired rockets
safely and failed. The death of a four-
year-old, who had choked on a missile
from a Battlestar Galactica toy, probably
helped persuade the company that it
wasn’t such a great idea anyway.
If Kenner had offered a plain Boba
Fett in stores, with no rocket-launching
backpack and no marketing buildup, i
t would have remained just one among
many Star Wars products it released in
the late 1970s, and maybe the bounty
hunter would be just one more villain
in the Star Wars universe. But the hype
and the letdown helped to make both
legendary. Now those kids who didn’t
receive what Kenner promised 40 years
ago have grown-up money—and they’re
spending it aggressively.
The world auction record for a Star
Wars action figure was broken three
times between November 2017 and July
2019, and two of those were prototypes
of the rocket-firing Boba Fett. By some
estimates, Kenner created as many as
100 prototypes as it attempted to liveup to its promise. (Former employees
and their descendants seem to be the
main original source for these figures.)
The most recent record-breaker, which
commanded $112,926, was doubly
significant: It became the first Star Wars
figure to cross the $100,000 threshold
at auction.
All three records were set at Hake’s,
an auction house in York, Penn., that has
handled Star Wars toys since the 1980s.
President Alex Winter says Hake’s will
sell another rocket-launching prototype
in its November 6 to 7 auction that isalmost guaranteed to break the record
again. Unlike the toy that triumphed
in July, this one is fully painted with a
less common firing mechanism. Winter
estimates it at $200,000-plus. “This one
is more desirable and infinitely more
rare,” he says.
While the timing of these Star Wars
auction records is right—people who
fall in love with collectibles as kids
tend to blossom into elite collectors in
their 40s and 50s, no matter what the
category is—another factor has stoked
the market. Third-party grading (from
the Action Figure Authority) enteredthe realm of action figures in 2000, and
it’s had the same effect as it had on coins
and comic books. After two decades,
collectors have enough confidence to
empty their wallets and chase the most
highly graded examples.
Now those winning bidders, who
waited forever for a toy they had
been promised and never received,
finally have it. Well, not really. Because
the thing that makes the figures
worth so much is the same thing that
makes them worthless as toys. Once
an action figure earns a high gradefrom the AFA, it’s sealed in plastic to
preserve its value.
So, while owners can be sure their
little Boba Fett will be worth the
maximum to future collectors, the
sealed-off toy will never truly satisfy the
kid in them who checked the mailbox
for weeks, hoping one day to prepare
Fett’s tiny red plastic rocket for launch.
Some things in life will always be just
out of reach.Sheila Gibson Stoodley publishes
thehotbid.com, which features the most
intriguing lots coming to auction.The boys and girls who didn’t receive
what Kenner promised 40 years ago
now have grown-up money, and they’re
spending it aggressively.
SHEILA GIBSON STOODLEY
Will the Force Be
with You at Auction?
COLLECTING Recent bidders are pushing a prototype
Star Wars action figure past $100,000.120 OCTOBER 2019
Field NotesT
he Kenner toy company
clearly didn’t know what
it was getting into when
it promised a Star Wars
Boba Fett action figure
that fired rockets from its backpack.
In early 1979, Kenner tempted kids
with a toy based on the bounty-hunter
character, who was slated to appear in
The Empire Strikes Back, the 1980 sequel
to Star Wars.
The rocket-firing Fett couldn’t be
bought in a store. Fans had to wrangle
four proofs of purchase from other
Kenner toys, mail them to a post-office
box in Maple Plain, Minn., and wait six
to eight weeks for it to appear.
When the blessed package finally
arrived, it contained a Boba Fett toy,
sure, but not the promised version: Its
rocket was fixed in place, unable to
fly. Kenner had struggled for months
to design something that fired rockets
safely and failed. The death of a four-
year-old, who had choked on a missile
from a Battlestar Galactica toy, probably
helped persuade the company that it
wasn’t such a great idea anyway.
If Kenner had offered a plain Boba
Fett in stores, with no rocket-launching
backpack and no marketing buildup, i
t would have remained just one among
many Star Wars products it released in
the late 1970s, and maybe the bounty
hunter would be just one more villain
in the Star Wars universe. But the hype
and the letdown helped to make both
legendary. Now those kids who didn’t
receive what Kenner promised 40 years
ago have grown-up money—and they’re
spending it aggressively.
The world auction record for a Star
Wars action figure was broken three
times between November 2017 and July
2019, and two of those were prototypes
of the rocket-firing Boba Fett. By some
estimates, Kenner created as many as
100 prototypes as it attempted to liveuptoitspromise.(Formeremployees
andtheirdescendantsseemtobethe
mainoriginalsourceforthesefigures.)
Themostrecentrecord-breaker,which
commanded$112,926,wasdoubly
significant:ItbecamethefirstStarWars
figuretocrossthe$100,000threshold
atauction.
AllthreerecordsweresetatHake’s,
anauctionhouseinYork,Penn.,thathas
handledStarWarstoyssincethe1980s.
PresidentAlexWintersaysHake’swill
sellanotherrocket-launchingprototype
initsNovember6 to7 auctionthatisalmostguaranteedtobreaktherecord
again.Unlikethetoythattriumphed
inJuly,thisoneisfullypaintedwitha
lesscommonfiringmechanism.Winter
estimatesit at$200,000-plus.“Thisone
ismoredesirableandinfinitelymore
rare,”hesays.
WhilethetimingoftheseStarWars
auctionrecordsisright—peoplewho
fallinlovewithcollectiblesaskids
tendtoblossomintoelitecollectorsin
their40sand50s,nomatterwhatthe
categoryis—anotherfactorhasstoked
themarket.Third-partygrading(from
theActionFigureAuthority)enteredthe realm of action figures in 2000, and
it’s had the same effect as it had on coins
and comic books. After two decades,
collectors have enough confidence to
empty their wallets and chase the most
highly graded examples.
Now those winning bidders, who
waited forever for a toy they had
been promised and never received,
finally have it. Well, not really. Because
the thing that makes the figures
worth so much is the same thing that
makes them worthless as toys. Once
an action figure earns a high gradefrom the AFA, it’s sealed in plastic to
preserve its value.
So, while owners can be sure their
little Boba Fett will be worth the
maximum to future collectors, the
sealed-off toy will never truly satisfy the
kid in them who checked the mailbox
for weeks, hoping one day to prepare
Fett’s tiny red plastic rocket for launch.
Some things in life will always be just
out of reach.Sheila Gibson Stoodley publishes
thehotbid.com, which features the most
intriguing lots coming to auction.The boys and girls who didn’t receive
what Kenner promised 40 years ago
now have grown-up money, and they’re
spending it aggressively.
SHEILA GIBSON STOODLEY
Will the Force Be
with You at Auction?
COLLECTING Recent bidders are pushing a prototype
Star Wars action figure past $100,000.