Star Wars

(Needs No Introduction)

Who could have ever guessed back in the day that Star Wars would have exploded into the gigantic empire (like that word😉) that it has become. It was probably the sci-fi element that grabbed the fascination with the world and carries its success on through to today.  It wasn’t enough to just watch it on the big screen.  Folks needed to hold onto memorabilia to represent it off-screen.  There were t-shirts, hats, sweaters, and of course toys.

Themovie, Star Wars: A New Hope, began the phenomenon of marketing toys that wereassociated with that film.  That ploy found so much success that thecreator of the film himself, George Lucas, was able to fund the following twosequels independently with the proceeds.  Virtually every character orvehicle has been immortalized into a figurine or playset since that initialmovie nearly four decades ago and finds a deep connection for collectors ofevery generation, provided they can afford the ever-growing price tags. There are very few toy collections as avidly sought after nor asvaluable.  You may want to check yourattic and see what you have stored away.

• Chewbacca.  A 1977 Kenner ActionFigure.  This guy did not have a single line that anyone could comprehendduring his run on the entire series but he is one of the most belovedcharacters and among the most valuable.   $4,155.

• Darth Vader and Obi-Wan KenobiTelescoping Lightsaber.  1972 Kenner released these with small lightsabersthat they were worried about the tininess of.  Finding them with thelightsabers in mint condition in the boxes found one eBay seller success at$30,000 in 2013.

• Gamorrean Guard.  1985 KennerAction Figure. This guy will be more valuable if you find him in his packaging. $5000.

• Star Wars Comic.  1977 MarvelComic Book Issue # 1.  It is said that back in 1977 Marvel wanted to upthe price of their comics going from the standard 25 cents to 35 cents. They went about doing this by experimenting on the Star Wars comic, soIssue #1 was raised to 35 cents, but it was only sent out to four selectmarkets as a sort of test to determine how folks would react.  What theydidn’t realize is that they set this comic apart by making this change and madeit among the rare. There are only approximately 1500 of the ‘35 cent varianttitles’ available in existence, so it would be extremely difficult to find one inmint condition.  $13,500.

• Lego Millennium Falcon.  2007 LegoPlayset.  This 195-piece set became acollector’s item as the largest Star Wars Lego set that had ever been released. That was until the 2017 Lego Millennium Falcon playset was released withover 7000 pieces. The new version has nothing on the old set, though.  Ifyou can find one in mint condition still in the box your value can be as highas $16,000.

• Vinyl Cape Jawa.  1978 KennerAction Figure.  This action figure is one of the most valuable of theKenner figures.  There have been only approximately 6 of these thatincluded the cape discovered and sold which makes them to be extremely rare. There has been one that was sold at auction and brought $18,000 but thebe all was the one that brought a seller $53,000 on EBay.  You don’t knowwhat your’s might bring if you’re lucky enough to find one.

• Medical Droid FX-7.  1980 PalitoyAction Figure.  This guy took care of Luke Skywalker in a famous scenetaken from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, as sort of the unsung hero-type.He was the subject of a bidding war between two collectors with the winnerultimately doling out $11,500.

• R2D2 Lunchbox.  1977 King SeelyPlastic Lunchbox.  This lunchbox stands out among all of those plasticlunch pails that you used to cart off to school in those early mornings. It was actually just a prototype. There were just 12 that were sold on the market as a whole, which hasmade it extraordinarily rare and worth thousands of dollars today.  $3000.

• Han Solo in Carbonite Scale Model. This is absolutely huge and collectors find this the absolute coolestitem to get hold of.  It is 7 ½” tall and is portrayed in the Star Wars:The Empire Strikes Back film.  $7000.

• Han Solo with Blaster and Little Head. Kenner Action Figure.  This is thefirst Kenner action figure that featured Han Solo, came with a smuggler blasteras well as an unusually small head.  If you can find one of these exactlylike this in mint condition it could fetch you $1000.

• Limited Edition Boba Fett ActionFigure.  This action figure is rare because you couldn’t actually buy it. The only way that you could obtain this piece was to cut out proofs fromyour other action figure purchases and mail them in after you had the requiredamount saved up.  That made this guy very sought after.  Today, this toy in mint condition includingthe gold coin in a box could bring $3,500, outside of the box $2,000, but apretty cool item was an unpainted prototype version which was made by theBritish toy maker Meccano which was sold at an auction for $35,000.

• The Original Anakin Skywalker Figurewith coin. 1985 Action Figure. In the movie Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,British actor Sebastian Shaw was seen as Anakin Skywalker.  It was laterthat Hayden Christensen would take over the part for two of the prequels. Thisoriginal action figure was made in the likeness of Mr. Shaw and is today veryrare with a range in value from $500 to $600.

• Blue Snaggletooth.  Kenner ActionFigure.  Kenner is the company responsible for producing the line oforiginal action figures for the Star Wars characters.  When it came timefor Snaggletooth to be made, Lucasfilm sent Kenner a black and white photo ofthe character.  Rather than ask, Kennerwent ahead and produced a likeness of the figure wearing a blue jumpsuit asopposed to red and made him actually taller than he was supposed to be. Kenner quickly corrected the error, but unknowingly made a valuablecollectible in return.  $700

Thiswas incredibly fun traveling down the Star Wars galaxy.  For anyone whohasn’t seen the movies, (some of us must confess) this would definitely giveyou a reason to get some popcorn and have a marathon weekend.  Enjoy.