09 September 2016
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The Rocket-Firing Boba Fett has become the stuff of Star Wars collecting legend
Vectis Auctions smashes world records with its incredible Star Wars Museum sale.
Last issue you may recall that we were rather excited about a Star Wars-themed sale at Vectis Auctions. The Teesside-based company has previously turned heads with its headline-grabbing Star Wars auctions but this one was particularly exciting due to the sheer rarity of many of the lots. Vectis had already pegged the total at a mighty £250,000 but even that didn’t do the sale justice, as the two-day event made £350,000.
Ahead of the sale, the piece that was gaining the most attention was the infamous unpainted L-slot rocket-firing Boba Fett from Kenner. This has gone down in Star Wars legend because the toy was scrapped after fears children would choke on the small missile included in Boba’s jet pack. Although it was never put into production a handful have survived and this particular example had been authenticated by the AFA and was estimated at £15,000 to £20,000. Eventually one determined internet bidder snapped it up for £18,000 (including buyers' fees).
However, the biggest surprise of the sale was that the rocket-firing Boba wasn’t the most valuable lot and, instead, that honour went to a Meccano (France) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Boba Fett figure in near mint to mint condition within a fair bubble on a good plus card. Estimated at a cautious £4,000 to £5,000 the final figure ended up being £26,000 – which makes it the most expensive action figure ever sold at auction.
Kathy Taylor from Vectis Auctions told us: “The final price was achieved as Boba Fett has become a very collectable figure, with a lot of focussed collectors, and this figure, on this card in this condition is incredibly rare.” Amazing!
Although the original owner of the collection was French, he had amassed his Star Wars pieces from around the world and another top item was actually sourced from Brazil. The piece in question was a Glasslite Star Wars Droids Vlix figure, complete with its original card and bubble. The toad-like alien Vlix was one of the characters from the short-lived animated show Droids and it’s thought that only 20 Vlix figures, still sealed on their original cards, are in existence. As such this example had a solid estimate of £6,000 to £8,000 but even that wasn’t high enough, as Vlix sold for £12,000. Of course, the question now is: can Vectis ever beat this incredible sale?