Archives: Ralph McQuarrie

Kenobi v. Vader

Kenobi v. Vader (OTC Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ralph McQuarrie Concept Darth Vader)

Kenobi v. Vader (OTC Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ralph McQuarrie Concept Darth Vader)

Modern Star Wars action figures do have their benefits. Accurate sculpts, articulating limbs, better weapons… trust me, I get it. This Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Original Trilogy Collection is a near bullseye. Everything perfect except for the ridiculously roomy cloak. And with two interchangeable head sculpts, the Ralph McQuarrie Concept Darth Vader is just all kinds of cool.

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General McQuarrie.

General McQuarrie. (TAC General Mcquarrie Rebel Officer, Vintage 2-1B)

General McQuarrie. (TAC General Mcquarrie Rebel Officer, Vintage 2-1B)

Quick question: could it possibly get better than a blaster-toting Star Wars action figure made in the likeness of Ralph McQuarrie?

Yes it could, but not by much.

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Brightblack Morning.

Brightblack Morning. (Ralph McQuarrie Concept Snowtrooper)

Brightblack Morning. (Ralph McQuarrie Concept Snowtrooper)

The Ralph McQuarrie tribute figures are all pretty hot. But a few like this Concept Snowtrooper and the Concept Boba Fett really stand out. It makes me wonder why the Empire Strikes Back production team rejected McQuarrie’s original Snowtrooper idea in the first place. The Snowtrooper costume design that they went with for the movie was OK — definitely not an improvement over this baddie. Maybe the Hokkaido Ski Instructor look that McQuarrie was leaning towards just didn’t scare enough?

Apologies to Brightblack Morning Light, the band with the coolest name.

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Triple Witching.

Triple Witching. (POTF2 Boba Fett, Ralph McQuarrie Concept Boba Fett, Vintage Boba Fett)

Triple Witching. (POTF2 Boba Fett, Ralph McQuarrie Concept Boba Fett, Vintage Boba Fett)


It’s difficult to believe that Boba Fett, a character with only 4 or 5 lines of dialogue, remains to this day one of the most popular characters in Star Wars mythology. How? I think there’s only one reasonable explanation: the dude had one killer outfit. And a killer outfit deserves a killer action figure, as demonstrated here by three versions of the Boba Fett action figure spanning nearly 30 years. The version at left from the mid-90’s has some nice details, but I can’t really get beyond the ridiculous barrel-chested thing (Kenner did this for all the figures in that line). Front and center is the strictly awesome Ralph McQuarrie concept Boba Fett from the 30th Anniversary Collection. But it’s the vintage figure at right that will always be most dear to me. I’ve known it since it first arrived on my doorstep through a free mail-in offer in early 1979.

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