Every so often I like to check on the latest developments on Star Wars memorabilia. Rebels fighting in a Galaxy Far, Far Away may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but when you bear in mind that Jedi is now officially classed as a religion, you get some idea of what the whole franchise means to the truly devoted.
A bit like The Beatles when it comes to rock and pop memorabilia, Star Wars is distinct from the rest of the market it occupies because there is nothing else quite like it.
As I have mentioned before, the most avidly sought after collectables within this field are not the figures of arch heroes and villains, but more peripheral characters, especially those whose release as toys were in limited or withdrawn runs, like the Cape Vinyl Jawa.
In this market, rarity and condition are the key factors, so if you have a very rare character toy in an unopened, undamaged blister pack, you can be talking extremely serious money indeed.
How much?
An unpainted prototype of the Rocket-Firing Boba Fett, the bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to capture Han Solo, includes a slot mechanism allowing the rocket attached to his back to fire and was created by toymaker Kenner to promote The Empire Strikes Back.
Never released to the public, it has just sold at auction for $93,750. That’s exactly half of what another sold for in November last year.
