07 April 2017
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star wars
Vectis were once again offering a rare Star Wars action figure at its sale on 28 March.
Vectis were once again offering a rare Star Wars action figure at its sale on 28 March.
This time it was a Kenner Jawa with a vinyl cape - thought to be one of the first releases of the toys in 1977 – which was on offer.
It’s the cape that makes this particular model such a collector’s item. The thin flexible material was only used in the first wave of models released and was similar to that used for the Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi figures. The Jawa was quickly withdrawn however with the rusty brown vinyl cape being replaced with a darker cloth robe, which remained from then on.
It has been reported that Kenner made the change as it felt that customers were not getting value for money with the Jawa figure being half the size of any other figure, yet still selling for the same price. Their solution was to add the material robe which appeared more luxurious and therefore perceived added value.
The 3 3/4" Jawa sat on a 12C card back, with Harbert Guerre L-Impero Colpisce Ancora Art 706 sticker applied to rear. Each country had a different distributor for Star Wars products and this company held the licence to sell in Italy. They are thought to have gone into administration in 1980, therefore making this backing card a scarcity too.
The figure had been in the hands of the vendor from new; he purchased it as a child from a market stall in Bacup, Lancashire. He commented "As a kid I have memories of my mum taking me down to the local market every Saturday to buy me the latest figure that had been released. I would ask for everything".
“Star Wars memorabilia is currently the most sought after franchise that we have ever seen here at Vectis Auctions" said Vectis' Star Wars Specialist, Kathy Taylor. "Interest is particularly high as the 40th Anniversary of the initial release of the first film approaches in May of this year. Within our regular TV and Film related sales we see everything from Star Wars pencil sharpeners selling for over £200 to higher value items such as the Harbert Jawa Carded Figure which sold for over £10,000."
"Collectors are interested in everything from the history of the toys which would include Palitoy paperwork to the vast selection of memorabilia which encompasses toys, film props, posters, images, clothing etc" she added.
It appears that this is not just a UK phenomenon either. Vectis revealed that its dealt with collections that are consigned from all over the world, and on auction day its telephone and live internet bidders come from all four corners of the globe.