Star Wars action figure sells for record $525,000 at auction
A rare Boba Fett action figure has been sold for $525,000 (£411,000), becoming the world’s most valuable Star Wars action figure.
The hand-painted, missile-firing model is one of only two still in existence. They were produced in 1979 but never released due to being deemed a choking hazard.
Sold at Heritage Auctions’ Star Wars Signature Auction, it more than doubled the previous record of $236,000 (£185,000) paid for a different rocket-firing Boba Fett in 2022.
It also exceeded the price paid for the world’s most expensive Barbie doll, a one-of-a-kind model wearing a one-carat diamond which was sold in 2010 for $302,500 (then approximately £192,000).
“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,” explained Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena.
“We knew this one had a chance to enter the record books, and it was thrilling to see it become the most valuable toy in the world.”
The action figure, created by toy company Kenner, was intended to be sent for free to anyone who had previously purchased at least four other Star Wars figures.
It was advertised as having a “rocket firing back pack”, however, following reports that competitor Mattel’s missile-firing Battlestar Galactica toys had become choking hazards, Kenner modified their model.
They opted to glue the rocket in place, leaving a note inside the box for customers which said: “The launcher has been removed from the product for safety reasons.”
Kenner employees saved some of the rocket-firing models destined for destruction, resulting in the few surviving prototypes that exist today.
Although there are around 70 known examples in existence, only two of them are hand painted.
Overall, the auction brought in a total of $1,662,000 (£1,301,000) after attracting more than 1,500 bidders.
The second-most expensive lot was another 1979 Boba Fett figure by Kenner. The highly graded, sealed model is on what’s known as a “21 Back B Star Wars Card” and sold for $84,375 (£65,950).
Other notable lots included a Skywalker lightsaber, a helmet Pedro Pascal wore in The Mandalorian, and a third draft of George Lucas' screenplay for the first instalment, when it was still called The Star Wars: From The Adventures Of Luke Starkiller.
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