The 2018 Update is now online!
The Newest version of my book Vintage Kenner Star Wars Figure Variations of North America is up for sale on the web.
go to : www.starwarsfigurevariations.com
previous buyers will be receiving a code via email to get the newest copy for free. !
I have edited valuations, added about 50 more pages, some new fig variants, and vehicles, and corrected some errors.
get your copy now on sale for 24.99
It is a downloadable PDF, so you can export to a tablet for easy use.
Page Images from 1979 Kenner Products Catalog. It is crazy to look at the figures shown in the stills and think of the value all three Double Telescoping Figures, and a Vinyl Cape Jawa. The catalog premiers Boba Fett with the concept art pictures as well. Look and drool. Concept Catalogs have been becoming increasingly popular to collectors and are rare prices are going form $200 and up for issues, – the Oldest being the rarest.
The X-Wing Fighter is one of the most popular and known ships in the Star Wars toy universe. The first version of the fighter was released in 1978 By Kenner. If you are a collector of Vintage Star Wars toys and collectibles there are some things you might want to look out for in understanding valuations.
The first boxed versions of the X wing and most Star Wars toys had the LP logo on the box. The LP (long Play) logo was removed for the second release of the box. LP logo boxes are worth a little more as they were the first release. Both versions had the same white X- Wing ship.
Finding an X-Wing box white special offer sticker, or any Star Wars toy for that matter is like finding gold and can double to quadrouple the value of your box very easily.
The rarest box with a white Kenner X wing ship is the red ESB box. ESB saw the release of the Grey X wing and most ESB ships were the later grey X wing, that included the Battle damage stickers in a redesigned box.
Some things to look out for in collecting vintage Star Wars toys and a little help in understanding why one may sell for double or triple another even if they look similar- happy collecting
OTC 2004 SandcrawlerOriginal Kenner 1979 Jawa Sandcrawler
The original Star Wars Jawa Sandcrawler is one of the rarest toys in the Kenner line. It was released in late 79 and was a remote controlled battery operated vehicle. It did not come with any action figures, but had plenty of play space for them inside.
Vintage and Original Trilogy Sandcrawlers.
It included a step down ladder, and elevator, the batteries were below a panel on the floor inside and the top hatch oped up. The remote control came with a metal antenna.
in 2004 Hasbro re-released the Sandcrawler as part of the Original Trilogy (OTC) toy line. The OTC sand crawler is a non electronic vehicle. It sports a very nice repaint which is more authentic to the actual film version. The top cockpit still opens, as well as the side door. It only came with a removable ladder, which is molded in a lighter brown color when compared to the original .
(original ladder left- OTC right)
The OTC Sandcrawler also included three figures. Jawa’s- which were a reissue and slight repaint of the POTF 95 Jawa’s. and RA-7 a repaint of the Death Star Droid.
The current market (2017 ) has vintage Sandcrawlers from $350 complete no box ,to $700 with a nice box and up to $1500 in a sealed box.
The OTC 2004 sandcrawlers can be found form $225 to $300 in a box, and around $150 complete out of the box.
Have you ever looked close at R2-D2 with Sensor scope the Stickers vary wildly. There are also single stickers and double stickers.
Here are the different COO marks found on R2- Other variations can be found in the color of the Blue on dome, paint on legs, and he can also be found with a hard-torso- (hard plastic drum, a super rare variant. ) It appears the from is the same as the regular R2 since the dates are all 1977.
check out my guide on Figure variations for more info.
I Thought I would lay out all the COO marks available on Stormtroopers. There are quite a few out there. Most Common are the 3 line Hong Kong as well as the 2 line Hong Kong, The Raised bar China is from ROTJ era it is legit. I still see people saying this is a fake, not true.
Several years age there were some recast bootlegs of the 2 line COO Stormtrooper being sold on Ebay, but these were super white, and had some distinct molding distinctions. I have seen none in the past few years out on the market.
Stormy’s have distinct molding sculpt differences , take a look at the heads and the back panels for starters.
some heads variation examples:
Stormy’s were molded i a variety of plastics form very transparent soft and rubbery white to a very dense white.
More info can be found in my guide :
Vintage Kenner Star Wars Action Figure Variations of North America
3rd Edition update now available :
check www.starwarsfigurevariations.com for more info
The Land speeder is likely the most popular Vehicle of the Kenner Star Wars Universe- It is also one of the Few Toys actually made In the USA in the Star Wars Kenner Line. There are variations of the vehicle from other licensed manufactures.
here are a few box cover variations included in my Guide
More o the guide go to : www.starwarsfigurevariations.com
There is a unique head variation for the Luke Taiwan COO. Notice the elongated chin, compared to the more familiar head similar to the Hong Kong Figures, The elongated chin head appears to be more common than the more traditional molded head. My suspicion is the left two shown are ROTJ era figures, where the far right one is an early SW release 12 back TAIWAN release. The
Figure also has either a bar in the slot int he arm or no slot. And a few other differences which I have updated in the newest revisions of my figure guide.
12 back Taiwan figures are relatively hard to find compared to the Hong Kong figures, Luke, Leia, R2, Darth and Chewy were also released on 12 back Taiwan Cards.
To answer a question from a collector, No Luke’ s From China are not fakes.
It can be hard to authenticate a DT (double telescoping) saber as original. Reproductions are becoming rampant, and a fake saber can be had for under $20. I am dedicating a page in my figure guide, Vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure variations, to the issue of reproduction sabers. Vs originals. etc..
Here are some pictures of an original saber- marked N- originals can be found with marks for A to ZZ and some with just a dot on the hilt also can be found. They are slightly transparent, and with age they can be come very brittle.
Reproduction sabers are becoming very precise- but there are some things to look for- Some, but not all Repro’s by Revalvit are marked REV on the hilt, theres are not marked abut have II mark on the hilt. Any saber that is unmarked should be suspect as being a repro.
reproduction pix of relative saber form eBay reproduction saber by revalvit. pix eBay.
Note seam, on the shaft, rounder tip – REV on the hilt. Ejection point marks on shaft.
