Also take note of the reference made to Indiana Jones movies during the "redeem UPCs from specially marked packages" section - almost as cool as the infamous Rocket-Firing Boba Fett offer made by Kenner in 1978-79... to never be released. You know why? Well I'll wax a little vintage toy knowledge then.
In order to start this mythical tale of the figure that almost (but never) was, we have to preface it with another story about a different toyline.
Similar to the red rocket designed for Mr. Fett, little red missiles were made for the spaceships of the 1978 line of 2" scale Battlestar Galactica figures. These plastic red missiles were recalled by Mattel in January of 1979 because a child died and supposedly ten others were injured by the small projectiles. Personally I was pissed as a kid. I vividly remember my mom taking the missiles away from me only days after getting the Colonial Viper and Cylon Raider for Christmas of '78.
In fear of similar problems, Kenner immediately halted the production of the Star Wars mail away Boba Fett half way through the promotion. The elusive Rocket-Firing Boba Fett was sadly never mass produced, kids instead received a figure with the rocket "glued" into place... lame.
Gen X kids across the universe still find this story to be cringe worthy, knowing how cool this figure would've been in their little 1970's hands. Above is the original artist rendering of the pre-production figure as it was promised, but never delivered. Just like Indiana Jones' pursuit of The Holy Grail or The Ark of the Covenant, this figure is practically unattainable (functioning Kenner prototypes can be found, but sell for up to $25,000 for quality pieces with certified authenticity documentation).
Posts
Thanks for this article, my friend.
ReplyDeleteI guess you should know I used it as a reference in my thesis about Boba Fett as a cultural phenomenon for graduating at university (masters degree) :]