Kenner’s rocket-firing Boba Fett may be the single most infamous unproduced action figure ever, taking on a nearly mythical status among Star Warsfans and collectors. That legend began with this mail-away figure, which arrived on doorsteps around the country in 1979. The sample on auction now through Hakes is in the exact condition it would have been when it landed on those doorsteps, still sealed in a plastic bag. This Boba Fett also comes complete with its original cardboard mailer box, a product catalogue advertising Kenner’s other Star Warstoys, and a “Note to Consumers.” That note is an apology, explaining that “Originally our STAR WARS Boba Fett action figure was designed to have a spring-launched rocket” – advertised on the promotional materials made for the mail-away offer – before going on to explain that “The launcher has been removed from the product for safety reasons.” No elaboration is provided, but even this limited information is enough to create intrigue, leaving a decades-lasting impact in the heads of many collectors.
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With that note, Kenner turned what could have been a half-remembered, easily-dismissed “I thought it was supposed to have a rocket” into a concrete memory. Rocket-firing Boba Fett could have been the “Wonder Bread He-Man” of Star Wars, a decades-long mystery that needed a global fan community to solve. Instead, Kenner’s record-keeping turned it into a mystery of a different kind: it wasn’t a matter of whether Boba Fett was supposedto have a rocket. It was a question of what happened to it. The sample on auction at Hakes lets fans own this surprisingly honest piece of Star Warshistory, a candid peek behind the curtain that crystallizes one of the most infamous early moments in the action figure collecting hobby. Like with the 1977 “Early Bird Kit,” the disposable nature of the note makes it a sought-after item for the right collector. The notes can sell for around $100 on their own, and this one adds at least that much value to this already-seven hundred dollar Boba Fett auction.
The Real Reason Kenner Cancelled Their Rocket-Firing Boba Fett
Image courtesy of lucasfilm.
Urban legend has always been that safety concerns over plastic projectiles caused by Mattel’s Battlestar Galacticaline were what torpedoed kids’ chances of getting a rocket firing Boba Fett. But some toy collectors have uncovered information to the contrary, revealing far more prosaic reasons for the figure’s cancellation: it wouldn’t have worked. We know from the surviving prototypes that Kenner’s engineers developed two different versions of the rocket-firing mechanism, and that neither made it past Kenner’s quality control department. These collectors have theorized that even before safety concerns emerged, Kenner knew it wouldn’t be able to release Boba Fett with his advertised action feature. This is difficult to confirm given the lack of publicly-available internal records from Kenner.
The original “L-slot” rocket-firing Boba Fett had a simple design: the elevated tab was pulled down and over into a slot, triggering the rocket-firing mechanism. The problem was that the firing mechanism was so simple, it would be incredibly easy to accidentally launch the missile by knocking the figure over or leaning it against something. Kenner redesigned the launching mechanism into the “J-slot,” which had a smaller pull tab that had to be pulled down and over into a distinct, separate section to launch. The smaller tab and greater separation made it more difficult to accidentally launch the missile, but came with a downside: the tab was easily broken, and could come loose in the missile chamber, posing a potential hazard as the small plastic piece went flying with the missile as it was launched. Moreover, the broken tab was sharp, creating a secondary safety risk. Kenner cut its loses and had the sculpt retooled to remove the firing mechanism, while the missile was sonically-welded into the figure.
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Image courtesy of lucasfilm.
When it became clear the rocket-firing Boba Fett was unworkable, Kenner ordered all of the prototypes to be rounded up and destroyed. Somewhere around one hundred survive, breaking down as roughly eighty of the L-slot version and about twenty of the J-slot. Most of the surviving prototypes are unpainted samples, several were hand-painted and shown as prototype samples to retailers. In this form, there was even a carded rocket-firing Boba Fett, created as a mock-up to show off to retailers at the 1978 New York Toy Fair. Similarly, a single sample survives of a mail-away rocket firing Boba Fett with its plastic bag and cardboard mailer, made for internal use as a prototype. This one-of-a-kind variant was found and purchased by two Star Warscollectors in 2015 from a former employee in Kenner’s quality control department.
In literally any condition, a rocket-firing Boba Fett is worth six figures. The figure’s legendary status as theholy grail of action figure collecting has propelled it into record-breaking prices like a staggering $1.3 million for a sample sold by Goldin Auctions earlier this year. Even the standard Boba Fett can be pricey: of the original seventy-seven Kenner Star Warsfigures, Boba Fett is one of the most sought-after and collectible, fetching $50-75 loose, especially if his original blaster is included. The sample on auction at Hakes may be the most interesting way for a collector to add the Kenner Boba Fett to their collection, coming with its own instant display that encapsulates the infamous story around its history and release. At present, the auction sits just below $1k, a testament to the fascination that history holds for many Kenner Star Warscollectors – as well as the fandom’s obsession with rare packaging variants and other oddities from the long-running line.
Is the rocket-firing Boba Fett your toy collecting holy grail? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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