BOBA FETT, the enigmatic bounty hunter from the Star Wars saga, has rocketed fan imagination since his brief, yet iconic appearance in "The Empire Strikes Back” for over 44 years!
Despite limited screen time (just 6 MINS, 32 SECs - thx Boba Fett Fan Club!), Fett's stone-cold demeanor, unique armor, and mysterious background solidified his status as one of the most coveted characters in the Star Wars universe. This allure extends beyond the screen to the world of collectibles, where Boba Fett memorabilia consistently fetches top dollar.
Among the most coveted of these assets, the "Rocket Firing" Boba Fett action figure, stands out as the holy grail, and it's no wonder that the current Heritage Auction of one of the only two remaining figures could potentially break the $100,000 mark.
A Star Wars & Cultural Icon
Introduced to audiences in (May) 1980, Boba Fett's intriguing armour, quiet menace and wicked wepons instantly made him a fan favorite. The scarcity of his appearances and aura of danger surrounding him amplified his mystique. When Darth Vader pointed squarely at Fett among a group of crazy-arse looking bounty hunters and bellowed “NO Disintegrations,” that was it. What? He disintegrates people? How? Who? When? What the heck is a Manda...lorian? Damn I was 9 years old…what the heck was a Bounty Hunter anyway? Who WAS this guy? SO many questions, I must have driven my dad nuts, but I knew one thing for sure back then...there was NO CHANCE his figure wasn’t going to be added to my Star Wars Collection!
The Legend of the Rocket-Firing Boba Fett
In the late 1970s, as Kenner was releasing their Star Wars action figure line, they announced a Boba Fett figure promotion with a rocket-firing mechanism if toy enthusiasts purchased (4) other figures - you had to clip & mail in your "proofs of purchase" to be eligible. This toy was highly anticipated, and we kids couldn’t wait its arrival. However, due to safety concerns, the rocket-firing mechanism was ultimately scrapped before the figure went into mass production. Sadly, a choking hazard found on Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica toy spaceships, which fired plastic projectiles, injured multiple children, where one gravely choked to death on the part.
Instead, a non-firing version of Boba Fett was released, and the few prototypes of the rocket-firing version that existed were destroyed, except for a handful that made their ways home in staff possession. These prototypes quickly became the stuff of legend among collectors. With only a handful in existence, they are the epitome of rarity and desirability in the Star Wars collecting community. Owning a rocket-firing Fett is akin to holding a piece of actual Star Wars history, an artifact from a galaxy far, far away, at a time when the franchise was just beginning to build its empire.
If you like Boba Fett, you MUST watch former Kenner Toy Engineer, Jacob Miles talk about how this all came to be! Click the image or link: https://youtu.be/jM-7xEMzhYc
Here's another great, more detailed overview of the prototype Fett from THE BOBA FETT FAN CLUB website!
The May 31, 2024 Heritage Auction & Its Potential Impact
Heritage’s hand-painted rocket-firing Boba Fett figure (actually, one of only two known to exist) could be an interstellar event in the Star Wars collectibles galaxy. Previous auctions have seen these pieces fetch astronomical prices, reflecting their status as a key collectible. In 2019, a prototype sold for over $185,000 on Jake’s Auction, demonstrating the fierce competition among collectors for this rare piece. Given the historical significance and extreme rarity of the rocket-firing Fett, could we see it command over $100,000?
Nostalgia Meets Value
Fett’s appeal as a collectible goes beyond mere monetary value. For so many fans, he represents a direct-connection to their childhood, a time when Star Wars was a new and exciting adventure. After all, we had to PATIENTLY WAIT 3 YEARS for ROTJ to show up and see what would happen next. The toys, the Star Wars record soundtrack, the Boba Fett animated special and our imaginations had to carry us through the agony. Owning a piece of that is a way to relive those moments, share and preserve them with future generations.
I have wondered, were it not for my admiration of the original trilogy, would my kids understand Fett’s value? I assume they do, as they've shared so many hours rewatching the shows, seeing my Fett’s on my collectibles stand and having some of my Star Wars toys passed along to them, including some of my newer digital assets. They always LOVE hearing the story of how their grandma "so kindly donated so many of my Star Wars toys" to a former neighbour so many years ago...how'd we be billionaires today if I'd only manage to keep them all...(well, maybe not billionaires, but you get the idea!).
The nostalgia factor cannot be underestimated — it’s a powerful driver to continue building and appreciating the market for vintage Star Wars collectibles, among many options, which I absolutely assume many other Star Wars fans share with their kids! When I heard comments about how "The Book of Boba Fett" wasn't really all that great, I SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, LOL. I adored The Mandalorian...heck I have really enjoyed all the back story releases for that matter!
At any rate, check out this related GoCollect article from fellow writer @Don_Comics on some items that sold for fantastic amounts, including an autographed New Hope movie poster that commanded $13,000!
Digital Collecting of this Iconic Character
LucasFilm has released multiple Star Wars digital comic collectible titles on the VeVe app, including Star Wars A New Hope, The Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader #1, Jango Fett, etc., as well as many Rebellion-worthy collectible assets ranging from theatrical release posters, to fully animated, augmented-reality-ready Darth Vaders, X-Wings, Scout & Stormtroopers, Sandcrawlers, Light Sabers…and of course, BOBA FETT digital collectibles. Now, there is isn’t a firing jet-pack per se, but Boba does virtually fire his bounty cable in a way that completely protects against any choking hazards, and the ease of placing them into photos through the app is just awesome!
These assets have been hot sellers with market availability now at fairly low levels, where astute collectors have been gobbling up mint numbers related to May 1977 / 1980 / 1983, May 4th, Lucas’ May 14th, 1944 birthday, etc. faster than a Sarlac Pit BBQ runs out of villains to eat. Boba fans have snapped up Sept’ ’78 first public appearance & May 1980 ESB mints and so forth, indicating future (potential) value on these key digital assets will be impressive…most impressive. Read about the Lucasfilm Ltd. / VeVe Boba Fett drop here: https://medium.com/veve-collectibles/star-wars-underworlders-collection-boba-fett-21a0a6d23335
Now, across all digital variant editions there are 27,844 total items 'minted' or generated onto the blockchain (the 'Ultra Rare' is fully animated, audio-enabled and has just 5932 editions available). Though this may seem like a bunch, consider the Boba Fett Fan Club on Twitter / X alone has around 36,000 fans. So, not enough of these digital assets for 1 BFFC fan each! With many current collectors holding multiple assets each, you can see these are, in fact, quite scarce. When the world of Star Wars fandom finds out...!!!
If you’re a fan of Star Wars memorabilia, don’t let the “technology” part of this (newer) digital space worry you - these items won’t disintegrate either, but stand to gain value as the physical items continue to grow ever more scarce, and higher in value as well. For instance, the more-recent Stormtroopers drop sold out all 15,000 available editions in seconds & generated > $153,000 in immediate gross revenue from a retail price of $10 each, before aftermarket activity had a chance to get going. Fans STACKED these like crazy, with several enthusiasts grabbing up more than 1,000 units each!
As for that Heritage Auction, let’s see how that turns out as it should be very interesting to see who wins and ultimately puts Fett in their cargo hold!
Thanks Again!
