Vintage Star Wars Figures are the most important and popular Star Wars collectable. They can be collected in several different ways depending on the collector's budget and desire to own every variation and combination. The most common and most affordable way of collecting vintage Star Wars action figures is to collect them loose.
Loose Vintage Star Wars Action Figures
The term loose means an action figure without its packaging. Although some collectors of loose action figures are willing to accumulate figures without their original weapons and accessories, most fans of loose vintage Star Wars action figures demand that the figure be complete.
From 1977 to 1985, Kenner made 92 vintage star wars action figures in the US (93 outside of the States - see below). The focus of some collections of loose figures is to find a perfect example of all 92 action figures. To be perfect, the vintage Star Wars figures would have to be complete with all accessories and be free of signs of wear, such as paint chips, wobbly limbs and yellowing plastic. However, other collectors of loose Star Wars figures want to take their hobby to the next level by collecting all 92 vintage Star Wars action figures, plus all of the accepted variations.
Accepted Variations in Loose Vintage Star Wars Action Figures
Although they are obviously the same figure, some of the Kenner Star Wars figures varied during the life of their production. Some of the variations were quite dramatic, whereas others are only noticeable to the keen eyes of the Star Wars figure collector. The action figures can vary in several ways.
- Variations in how a figure is molded.
- Variations in a figure's paint job or colouring
- Variations in the weapons that accompany the figure
A number of variations have become accepted in the vintage Star Wars actions figures collecting world. There other variations, but the list that follows details the most important ones.
- Luke Skywalker (normal lightsaber) / Luke Skywalker (telescoping lightsaber)
- Luke Skywalker (blonde hair) / Luke Skywalker (blonde hair)
- R2-D2 / R2-D2 (Sensorscope) / R2D2 (Pop-up lightsaber)
- C-3P0 / C-3PO (Removable limbs)
- Darth Vader (normal lightsaber) / Darth Vader (telescoping lightsaber)
- Ben Kenobi (normal lightsaber) / Ben Kenobi (telescoping lightsaber)
- Ben Kenobi (white hair) / Ben Kenobi (grey hair)
- Han Solo (small head) / Han Solo (big head)
- Jawa (vinyl cape) / Jawa (cloth cape)
- Snaggletooth (blue) / Snaggletooth (red)
- Leia Besbin (flesh neck) / Leia Besbin (painted neck)
- Luke Bespin (yellow hair) / Luke Besbin (brown hair)
- Lando Calrissian (with teeth) / Lando Calrissian (without teeth)
- Yoda (orange snake) / Yoda (brown snake)
- Luke Jedi (blue lightsaber) / Luke Jedi (green lightsaber)
Other variations to vintage Star Wars action figures
Although these variations have been noticed (an are sought out by some collectors), they are not widely recognised.
- Chewbacca (brown limbs) / Chewbacca (green limbs) - on some Chewbacca figures the colour of his limbs seems to deteriorate with age.
- Ugnaught (blue bib) / Ugnaught (violet bib)
As collectors clamour to find good examples of all of the figure variations, it stands to reason that the rarer versions of the vintage Star Wars figures will be worth considerably more than the more common version. These vintage Star Wars action figure variations are worth looking out for:
- All of the three figures with telescoping lightsabers (Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi) are exceedingly rare and very sought after (particularly Vader and Kenobi). The telescoping lightsaber was phased out early on in production.
- Jawa with vinyl cape
- Blue Snaggletooth - much rarer than the red version.
- Yoda with brown snake.
- Luke Jedi Knight with blue lightsaber.
Other sought after loose vintage Star wars action figures
Often referred to as the Last 17, the final 17 Star Wars action figures, produced by Kenner in 1985 as part of the Power of the Force (POTF) line, are quite rare. The last 17 are: Amanaman, Barada, EV-9D9, A-Wing Pilot, Luke Skywalker in Battle Poncho, Imperial Gunner, Luke Skywalker in Stormtrooper Disguise, Imperial Dignitary, Lando Calrissian General, Warok, Romba, Lumat, Paploo, Han Solo in Carbonite, R2-D2 (Pop-up lightsaber), Anankin Skywalker and Yak Face.
Of these, Yak Face is particularly hard to find because he was never produced in the US Power of the force range.
Moving to the next level - Collecting carded vintage Star Wars action figures
The term 'carded' means the figure is attached to its card packaging in its original transparent plastic bubble or blister. Packaging consisting of a card and bubble are occasionally referred to as blister packs. Some collectors make it their aim to collect an example of every vintage Star Wars action figure in a carded state. This is an achievable goal - providing you have enough money - but it doesn't have to stop there. Not all of the vintage Star Wars figures were mounted onto the same cards, in fact depending on when they were released they might be backed onto a Star Wars logo card, a Empire Strikes Back logo card, a Return of the Jedi logo card, or a Power of the Force logo card. Truely avid collectors aim to acquire a carded example of every figure on every different available card front.
Yet even this is not the ultimate aim of the completist collector of vintage Star Wars action figures, because not only do the front of Star Wars cards change over time, the backs of the cards also evolved during Kenner's production. The number of figures shown on the back of the cards altered, as did the promotional adverts and offers. The completist aims to collect a carded example of every known variation and card front / card back combination. This is a life's work, and achieving such a goal would cost a fortune (as there only exist a very small number of some of the figures with a particular front/back combination).
Kenner did produce other Star Wars figures that are sometimes mentioned in the same breath as the vintage Star Wars action figures. To accompany the Droids and Ewoks cartoon series, Kenner made a range of 3 3/4" figures. As the two cartoon shows were short-lived, so too were the action figure lines. As a result, they are becoming increasingly collectable.
Collecting vintage Star Wars action figures is a great hobby. The focus of the collection can be adapted to suit any budget and level of ambition, and the figures, whether loose or carded, look fantastic when displayed.
