A $525,000 Boba Fett action figure from Star Wars is now the world’s most expensive vintage toy.
The sale was completed on May 31, when the Star Wars bounty hunter went well over the previous record figure of $302,000 for a Barbie sold in 2010.
The record Star Wars vintage toy price was another example of the same toy that realised $236,000 in 2022.
Boba’s missiles were a possible chocking hazard for kids, so the toy was quickly withdrawn.
Heritage Auctions handled the sale. Their executive vice president, Joe Maddalena, said: “The rocket-firing Boba Fett action figure long ago became such a mythic icon that people worldwide know about it even if they don’t collect anything at all.
“We knew this one had a chance to enter the record books, and it was thrilling to see it become the most valuable vintage toy in the world.”
Star Wars was first released in 1977. The original film is now considered the fourth episode of a sprawling, 360-degree empire of entertainment properties – games, tv shows, online material, and toys.
The film was hugely popular and sparked a rush of marketing hysteria. Toys related to the first film can be very valuable. It helps if they are particularly rare examples and in good condition. Ideally still packaged.
Original Star Wars fans are now adults. And some have money to celebrate a franchise that has been with them their whole life.
Boba Fett is a bounty hunter in the film series. This version of him was given away as a special reward for consumers who bought four other action figures made by manufacturer Kenner.
A safety scare around a similar figure made by a rival toy company caused the “missile firing” figure to be withdrawn quickly. That further limited the hand-painted figures’ numbers. Only around 100 were produced, many were junked before finishing and picked up from rubbish bins in Kenner’s Cincinnati factory.
The paint job on this figure marked it as particularly rare.
There are more Star Wars sales coming up. At the end of July a screen-matched model Y-Wing fighter from one of the most pivotal sequences in the whole movie series (the destruction of the Death Star) will be sold and could approach the $3.1 million made by an X-Wing prop.
