On Endor. (Vintage Han Solo (in Trench Coat), Vintage Princess Leia Organa (in Combat Poncho))
On Endor.
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Archives: vintage
Chewbacca Unleashed.
Chewbacca Unleashed. (Vintage Chewbacca, Vintage Stormtroopers)
Even better, I think this is the first Chewbacca shot that I’m actually pretty psyched about.
Buying Notes on the Vintage Stormtrooper
Check out the current vintage Stormtrooper listings here.
The vintage Stormtrooper is among the most iconic of the vintage Kenner figures. The good news is they’re plentiful and you can pull a gorgeous, like-new one off the auction table for not much dough. Certainly no more than $15 delivered. But you’ve got to be a bit careful as you go.
First it’s common to see reproduction accessories. The vintage Stormie came with a beautiful little imperial blaster that helped him shoot up jawas and rebels alike. But small and fun often equals small and lost. Enter the repro accessory makers and with them a lot of confusion on how to keep things straight. How to tell? Thanks to the good guys over at Imperial Gunnery, this is a nut easily cracked. Check out their awesome guide first before you buy something your unsure of.
Second, take a good look at the photos to spot yellowing. The vintage figures molded in white plastic are the ones most prone to a change in color due to plastic degradation. Some are yellowing and some aren’t, just keep a keen eye on what the seller is showing you and ask for more or better photos if its unclear.
And lastly be sure to inquire on whether or not the figure has loose joints or not. Stormtroopers saw a lot of play in their day and the limbs became loose quickly. If this is important to you (it’s important to me) drop the seller a line through the eBay message system before bidding.
Feel free to add any thoughts in the comments and drop me a line if you run into any trouble!
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Original Player.
Original Player. (Vintage R2-D2)
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Twisted.
Twisted. (Vintage Death Star Droid, Vintage Boba Fett, Vintage Bib Fortuna)
There are dozens of groovy creatures from the original Star Wars trilogy that still hold up well in the sci-fi movie genre 30 years later. Among the top of that heap is Bib Fortuna. Mammoth skull-born tentacles. Red eyes all aglow with malice. I can’t say there was anything like him before or since Return of the Jedi. Happily, Kenner took great care to make a faithful representation with their 1983 figure. The sculpt and paint are sweet. The removable vest and twisted staff are right on point. But let’s face it, it’s the imitation suede cloak, unique to this figure, that really puts vintage Bib Fortuna over the top. Yo, high five Bib!
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Dengar Calling.
Dengar Calling. (Vintage Dengar, Vintage Cloud Car Pilots)”
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Scum/Villainy
Scum/Villainy. (Vintage Blue Snaggletooth, Vintage Squid Head)
You need some dirty work done on Tatooine? You call these guys.
The Blue Snaggletooth and Squid Head figures both live pretty large in the vintage Star Wars collection. First, the blue Snaggletooth has reached legendary status among collectors due to his scarce numbers. In case you don’t know it already, this figure was only sold as part of the briefly available Cantina Adventure playset. So unlike the red, short-stature Snaggletooth that sold throughout all three early Star Wars films, the blue Snaggletooth is an extremely limited affair. These days this figure typically fetches north of $100 for a loose example in good condition, making him easily among the top 2 or 3 most sought-after Star Wars action figures. Is he all that? From a collectibility standpoint — yes, definitely. From a cool-figure standpoint, well it’s not all that different than the red Snaggletooth. Just taller. Oh, and where the red Snaggletooth has those rad beast feet, the blue version has silver moonboots. Yeah, a little nerdy I’d say. Anyway, if you want to spend that kind of dough, take care to see that it is truly in great shape before you buy. The Blue Snaggletooth is notorious for worn paint on boots and hands.
The vintage Squid Head figure on the other hand is far from rare. What he lacks in that department he makes up in an awesome detailed sculpt and accessories that are over-the-top sweetness. A great way to throw around five bucks on eBay.
Buying Notes for the Vintage Blue Snaggletooth
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.
The Blue Snaggletooth is a highly-coveted vintage Kenner figure and therefore fetches higher prices. Depending on the condition, you can expect to pay between $70 and $140. That’s a fair amount of ka-ching so by all means pay close attention to what you’re getting into.
Some things to watch for:
The Blue Snaggletooth boots came painted silver. Not uncommon to see heavy wear in this area as (I’m guessing here) that silver paint didn’t have much staying power. So look closely at that.
He should also have a black Han Solo type blaster.
Check out the current listings for the vintage Blue Snaggletooth here.
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Rebel Suits.
Rebel Suits. (Vintage Han Solo Bespin Outfit, Vintage Luke Skywalker Bespin Fatigues)
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Jailbreak!
Jailbreak! (Vintage Lando Calrissian Skiff Guard Disguise, Vintage Leia Boussh Disguise)
Deeply critized for its shortcomings, the plan to rescue Han Solo from Jabba’s palace was pretty much a disaster from the word ‘go’. At least we’ve got some kick ass action figures to show for it. So I’ll say no harm, no foul.
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Tusken Raider.
Tusken Raider. (Vintage C-3PO, Vintage Landspeeder, Vintage Sandpeople)
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Jawas, Night.
Jawas, Night (Vintage Jawas, Saga Treadwell Droid WED-1016)
Although the Jawa action figure was among the original 12 released by Kenner in early 1978, it was a few months or more after the initial wave that he (along with the dynamite ‘Sandpeople’ figure) showed up on my local toy shelves. I can still remember my happy surprise to find that Kenner wasn’t finished making new Star Wars toys! Time would show of course that they were really just getting started.
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