Star Wars

Star Wars 1978 – 1979

When Kenner secured the toy license for a new Science Fiction movie called Star Wars, nobody seemed to notice, until the movie hit the theaters, and the toy world was forever changed. It began with the Early Bird Certificate at Christmas of 1977. The first retail wave consisted of 12 figures, which were followed by eight more later that year. The last figure released was the mail-order “Rocket Firing” Boba Fett in 1979, for a total of 21 figures. They were accompanied by multiple accessories, vehicles, and playsets. The original Star Wars action figure line remains the gold standard of a successful toy line, with each item considered a “must have” for most collectors.

For more information about Kenner’s original Star Wars line, see bottom of the page for a complete summary.

Star Wars (1978 – 1979): Wave 1

The first series of figures contained 12 in total. Four were released with the Early Bird Package, then then re-released on regular cards. These first figures are known as “12 Backs” due to the number of figures on the back of the card.

Artoo Detoo (R2-D2)

Market Value:
Carded $400 – $550
Loose $30 – $50

Artoo Detoo (R2-D2)
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: R2-D2 was among the first 4 figures released with the early bird package, then re-released as a regular carded figure in 1978. The early bird version of R2 is identical to the later carded version with his turning, clicking dome and movable legs.

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi

Market Value:
Carded $350 – $500
Loose $35 – $55

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi
Accessories: Blue Lightsaber, Vinyl Cape
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Old Ben Kenobi once went by the name, Obi-Wan Kenobi, back when he was a younger man fighting in the Clone Wars. Obi-Wan was also Anakin Skywalker’s mentor, before he turned to the dark side. Fun fact: Obi-Wan Kenobi looked exactly like Ewan McGregor when he was younger.

Chewbacca

Market Value:
Carded $450 – $600
Loose $30 – $50

Chewbacca
Accessories: Wookie Bowcaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Chewbacca was among the first 4 figures released with the early bird package, then re-released as a regular carded figure in 1978. The faithful co-pilot of the Millennium Falcon and bestie to Han Solo, Chewie comes with his faithful Wookie Bowcaster and molded on bandoleer.

Darth Vader

Market Value:
Carded $600 – $800
Loose $50 – $70

Darth Vader
Accessories: Red Lightsaber, Vinyl Cape
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Darth Vader was among the best selling figures of this line, for obvious reasons. He was the bad guy that everybody loved to hate, not to mention he was completely awesome looking! Vader comes with his red slide out lightsaber and removable vinyl cape. There were no known variations of Vader during his Star Wars run.

Death Squad Commander

Market Value:
Carded $400 – $550
Loose $30 – $50

Death Squad Commander
Accessories: Imperial Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Any name that begins with “Death Squad” just has evil all over it. Fortunately Kenner realized that and changed it to Star Destroyer Commander on future issues. In case you don’t recognize this guy, he was on the Death Star, assigned to protect Grand Moff Tarkin, at least that’s the official description of this very generic looking character.

Han Solo

Market Value:
Carded $750 – $1,000
Loose $70 – $95

Han Solo
Accessories: Smuggler Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Han Solo came in two variations, and both involved the size of his head. The more common variation had Han with a “small” or normal sized head while the other had him with an abnormal looking “large” head. The large head version is the harder to find. The variation was due to Kenner changing the molds towards the end of the initial production run.

Jawa

Market Value:
Cloth Cloak Carded $450 – $600
Loose $45 – $65

Market Value:
Vinyl Cloak Carded $6,000 – $10,000
Loose $1,500 – $2,500

Jawa
Accessories: Jawa Blaster, Cloak (Cloth/Vinyl)
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Cloth – Tough to find
Vinyl – Very Rare
Notes: Jawa came in two different versions with the very early ones having a brown vinyl cape instead of the brown cloth cape that most of us have seen. The vinyl caped Jawa is definitely a “Holy Grail” type item due to a very limited production run and extremely hard to track down.

Luke Skywalker

Market Value:
Carded $1,100 – $1,500
Loose $90 – $140

Luke Skywalker
Accessories: Yellow Lightsaber
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Luke was among the first 4 figures released with the early bird package, then re-released as a regular carded figure in 1978. The big difference between the two is the early bird version had a longer “telescoping” lightsaber with a tip on the end. The carded version didn’t have that, making the early bird version much rarer and more expensive.

Princess Leia

Market Value:
Carded $500 – $750
Loose $70 – $95

Princess Leia
Accessories: Leia Blaster, Vinyl Cape
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Princess Leia was among the first 4 figures released with the early bird package, then re-released as a regular carded figure in 1978. Despite the double issue, there were no major variations on the Princess Leia figure. As far as likenesses go, this one really wasn’t that bad, especially since Kenner only had 3.75 inches to work with.

Sand People

Market Value:
Carded $500 – $650
Loose $35 – $55

Sand People
Accessories: Gaderfii Stick, Vinyl Cape
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: I always thought it was odd this figure was named Sand People in a plural form instead of a singular Sand Person, but I digress. The title was changed to Tusken Raider on later cards and issues. A great figure to pair with the Jawa for all your Tatooine scenes, but it would’ve been crazy cool to get a Bantha creature for him to ride.

See-Threepio C-3PO

Market Value:
Carded $550 – $700
Loose $45 – $65

See-Threepio C-3PO
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: The shiniest figure in the Star Wars line, this figure was special. Who in their right mind didn’t want a C-3PO action figure? The sculpt on this figure was actually really good as Kenner nailed all the little details that make C-3PO so lovable. In fact, when you put him next to R2-D2, it’s no contest. R2 has a cheap sticker wrapped around him and 3PO is intricately carved with tons of detail.

Stormtrooper

Market Value:
Carded $700 – $900
Loose $45 – $65

Stormtrooper
Accessories: Stormtrooper Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: This was the original army building figure for the Star Wars line and I think most kids (and adults) had multiple Stormtroopers for their collection. The great thing about these guys is that you can literally never have too many of them. The Stormtrooper design went though many different looks over the years, but this is the Stormtrooper figure that will always be close to my heart.

Star Wars (1978 – 1979): Wave 2

The second series of figures contained 8 initial figures, followed by the mail-order Boba Fett. This figure was also released on a regular Star Wars card in 1980. These first figures are known as “20 Backs” or “21 Backs with Boba” due to the number of figures on the back of the card.

Death Star Droid

Market Value:
Carded $300 – $450
Loose $25 – $40

Death Star Droid
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: The Death Star Droid was certainly a cool looking droid figure but this is a case of Kenner not doing their homework. There is a droid similar to this on the Death Star but with a black finish instead of silver. This particular droid was actually inside the Jawa Sandcrawler and NOT on the Death Star as his name would suggest. So I guess this gives him dual citizenship on Death Star or Tatooine playsets.

Greedo

Market Value:
Carded $650 – $800
Loose $30 – $50

Greedo
Accessories: Smuggler Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: If only Greedo had just listened to Han when he explained that he was on the way to see Jabba to pay him back, but no, he had to be difficult about it. In case you were wondering who shot first……It was DEFINITELY HAN! This was a cool figure to add to our Cantina playsets, despite the wardrobe being a bit off. That being said, when I look at this figure, the color Green sticks in my head and I have no idea why.

Hammerhead

Market Value:
Carded $350 – $500
Loose $25 – $40

Hammerhead
Accessories: Stormtrooper Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Hammerhead, also known as Mamow Nadon to us enthusiasts, was one of the patrons at the Mos Eisley Cantina from the classic Cantina Scene in Star Wars. The design of the character was very unique and I don’t think it’s a secret as to why he was named Hammerhead. A big shout out to Kenner for giving us some really great looking aliens to go in our Cantina playsets.

Luke Skywalker (X-Wing)

Market Value:
Carded $550 – $700
Loose $30 – $50

Luke Skywalker (X-Wing)
Accessories: Laser Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: We get our first alternate costumed figure of a main character with the Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot. Obviously, there was no way to change the clothes on these figures, so Kenner was gracious enough to make multiple takes of all our favorite characters in many outfits. The X-Wing Luke was fantastic, especially with the actual X-Wing Fighter and to be honest, it didn’t really look much like Luke so you could pretend it was any generic Pilot.

Power Droid

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $350
Loose $25 – $40

Power Droid
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: The Power Droid was also known as the Gonk droid, due to the sound it made it made when it walked around. This figure always seemed a little unnecessary to me. It really didn’t serve too much purpose unless you had one of those remote controlled Jawa Sandcrawlers and even then, it was a stretch, but at the end of the day, I guess you can never have enough different kinds of Droid action figures.

R5-D4

Market Value:
Carded $300 – $450
Loose $30 – $45

R5-D4
Accessories: None
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: I can’t help but think……what if R5-D4 had not blown up at the Lars Homestead and it ended up being C-3P0 & R5-D4 instead of R2-D2, which would’ve completely changed everything. A more deviant mind would perhaps think that R2 had something to do with R5 blowing his dome and planned the whole thing so that Owen Lars chose him instead. Ah yes, it all makes perfect sense now. How did I miss this as a kid?

Snaggletooth

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $350
Loose $25 – $40

Snaggletooth
Accessories: Smuggler Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Snaggletooth was yet another great looking alien produced from the Mos Eisley Cantina scene, but the thing he is most remembered for is having a major variant included in the Sears Exclusive Cantina Adventure Set. The variant version of Snaggletooth had him in a blue outfit, but at a normal height instead of the smaller size. There are many different stories about as to why this happened, but the one that is most prevalent is that Kenner just goofed up the design due to the massive rush they were under. Lucasfilm provided a reference photo, but it wasn’t full length so Kenner basically guessed on the height before being corrected. The rest is history.

Walrus Man

Market Value:
Carded $250 – $350
Loose $25 – $40

Walrus Man
Accessories: Smuggler Blaster
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: Poor misunderstood Walrus Man (or Ponda Baba for us enthusiasts). He was just at the bar, having a drink with his buddy, Dr. Evazan, when Ben Kenobi pops up out of nowhere and cuts his arm off. I guess he kind of had it coming, but I can’t help but think that Evazan really started the whole thing by improperly translating for Walrus Man. That being said, somehow Evazan remained untouched through everything and Walrus Man loses his arm….Typical! This actually sounds just like many nights during my 20’s, but with no arms being cut off.

Boba Fett

Market Value:
Carded $3,500 – $5,000
Loose $55 – $85

Boba Fett
Accessories: Stormtrooper Blaster
Years Released: 1980
Scarcity Factor: This item is considered rare by Star Wars collectors and does not appear very often
Notes: Boba Fett…….Just the name brings up all kinds of cool thoughts and images. Boba Fett was originally offered as a mail-order figure, which promised to be a Rocket Firing version with a shooting missile from his backpack. All this changed with an unfortunate incident involving the death of a child and a similar shooting missile from a Battlestar Galactica ship. So when the Boba Fett figures finally arrived, the missile was fixed and the firing mechanism had been removed. The carded issue had the same non-firing design. Despite the changes, a few rocket firing prototype Boba Fett figures did make it out to the hands of a select lucky few collectors, and do come to auction from time to time at MASSIVE prices.

Star Wars (1977-1979): Mail Order/Exclusives

Kenner offered three mail-away promotions during their initial run of action figures for the original Star Wars movie. The first was, of course, the genius promotional idea of the Early Bird Certificate Package, which was mailed away to obtain the Early Bird figure set. Then came the Action Display Stand, and finally the infamous “Rocket Firing” Boba Fett, which of course was changed to a Non-Rocket Firing version before being shipped out to consumers.

Early Bird Certificate Package

Market Value:
W/ Packaging $750 – $1,000
Loose $200 – $300

Early Bird Figure Set

Market Value:
W/ Packaging $3,000 – $4,500
Tray Alone $150 – $200

Early Bird Certificate Package/Figure Set
Accessories: Early Bird Certificate – Cardboard Stand, White Pegs x 12, Perforated Cardboard Cards
Accessories: Early Bird Figure Set – Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, R2-D2 Figures
Years Released: 1977, 1978
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: It all began with the “promise” of new Star Wars action figures at Christmas in 1977, with the release of the Early Bird Certificate Package, which would then lead to the first four Star Wars action figures ever released sent right to your doorstep. This was a brilliant promotional idea by Kenner, but one that made by necessity. Star Wars took everyone by surprise and due to the late start that Kenner had in producing Star Wars products, they still wanted to get something out to the public by Christmas of 1977. Thus, the Early Bird Certificate was born. Consumers gobbled them up quickly and it became a smash hit for Kenner. The next step was that in early 1978, a plain white package arrived in your mailbox, containing the first four figures, Chewbacca, Princess Leia, R2-D2, and Luke Skywalker. The Luke figure is the most noteworthy of the four due to his lightsaber. It had the same arm fed saber that other Luke figures had, but with an additional telescoping tip that could slide out to make the lightsaber even longer. Kenner quickly realized that additional piece was easily broken, so it was eliminated on future releases.

Action Display Stand

Market Value:
W/ Packaging $600 – $800
Loose $225 – $300

Action Display Stand (Mail Order)
Accessories: Plastic Base, Cardboard Backdrop, Action Levers
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Action Figure Display Stand was offered by Kenner as a mail-order exclusive in 1978 and into 1979. It was first seen with the Early Bird Package, and then on card backs of the original series figures. The stand held up to 12 figures and they could stand up on it by using the small pegs. Then you could make them move back and forth by shifting the “action lever” that corresponded to that group of four figures. It was a fairly simple concept and truth be told, was not really too much fun. Never the less, it was a cool way to display your Star Wars figures back in the day. The Action Display Stand could be had for the hefty price of $2.00 and two proof of purchase seals. It goes for just a bit more than that nowadays.

Boba Fett
(Mail Order)

Market Value:
Packaging $7,000 – $10,000
Loose $55 – $85

Boba Fett
Consumer Note

Boba Fett Consumer Note

Boba Fett (Mail Order)
Accessories: Stormtrooper Blaster
Years Released: 1980
Scarcity Factor: Very Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: Boba Fett…….Just the name brings up all kinds of cool thoughts and images. Boba Fett was originally offered as a mail-away figure by collecting proof of purchase seals and sending them in to Kenner. The figure promised to be a Rocket Firing version of Boba Fett with a shooting missile from his backpack, but this all changed with an unfortunate incident involving the death of a child and a similar shooting missile from a Battlestar Galactica ship. So when the Boba Fett figures finally arrived, the missile was fixed and the firing mechanism had been removed. The carded issue had the same non-firing design. A consumer note was included in each mail-order Boba Fett package that stated the reasons for the rocket firing change. Despite the changes, a few rocket firing prototype Boba Fett figures did make it out to the hands of a select few lucky collectors and do come to auction from time to time at MASSIVE prices.

Star Wars (1978-1979): Accessories and Creatures

Kenner released only one creature for their initial line with the Patrol Dewback, along with a great looking collector’s case to store our figures inside of.

Patrol Dewback

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $225
Loose $50 – $75

Patrol Dewback
Accessories: Harness, Saddle
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: With very minimal screen time, the Dewback proved to be a huge seller for Kenner when initially released in 1978. The biggest draw was the Dewback had been featured on tons of promotional material with a Sandtrooper sitting atop of it, so a lot of kids were already familiar with it. The Dewback was never released on any other packaging aside from the original Star Wars line, but was re-issued as a “Collector’s Edition” in 1984.

Star Wars Collector’s Case

Market Value:
W/ Packaging $200 – $300
Loose $45 – $75

Star Wars Collector’s Case
Accessories: Plastic Trays x 2, Cardboard Divider, Sticker Sheet
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: This was basically the same case that was released for all three movie lines, but with each new case getting that particular movie’s graphics. It contained two plastic trays that could hold up to 24 figures, along with their accessories. The trays could be turned upside down to use as a display for the figures with pegs built into them.

Star Wars (1978-1979): Playsets

One of the biggest advantages in shrinking down the size of an action figure line is all the amazing accessories you can create such as large scale playsets for the figures to reenact our favorite scenes from the movie. Kenner released five different playsets for their initial line, with one of them (Cantina Adventure Set) being a Sears exclusive.

Cantina Adventure Set

Market Value:
Boxed W/ Figures $1,500 – $2,500
Boxed No Figures $500 – $750
Loose W/ Figures $450 – $650
Loose No Figures $100 – $200

Cantina Adventure Set
Accessories: Blue Snaggletooth, Greedo, Hammerhead, Walrus Man, Cardboard Playset, Foot Pegs
Years Released: 1978
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: As far as simple goes, it doesn’t get any simpler than this. It was only a solid cardboard piece that would bend in half so you had the Cantina exterior on one half and the Mos Eisley ground on the other. The ground featured small slits where you could fit small white foot pegs through, to allow figures to stand up on it. The Cantina Adventure Set was a Sears Exclusive issued in 1978 and was the first exclusive ever made for Kenner’s Star Wars line. Despite the simplicity of this set, it remains a “Holy Grail” item with just about every Star Wars collector on the face of the Earth. One of the biggest reasons for that, is the four figures that came with the playset. The most famous one, being the Blue Snaggletooth figure. This of course was the only place to find one as the regular issued figure was the shorter red suit version. The Blue Snaggletooth can definitely be found on the secondary market but expect to pay a pretty penny for it. The playset itself is also very tough to find with the original box and fetches very high prices when the figures are included.

Creature Cantina Action Playset

Market Value:
Boxed $175 – $275
Loose $80 – $105

Creature Cantina Action Playset
Accessories: Plastic Base, Cardboard Backdrop, Door Assembly, Action Lever Assembly
Years Released: 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: This playset followed the Cantina Adventure Set issued by Sears in 1978. It was a smaller base, but it really allowed you to go inside of the Mos Eisley Cantina and re-create all the great scenes from the movie. You had the Han Solo/Greedo corner booth, the famous Cantina bar, the doorway and a great looking backdrop with our favorite intergalactic bar band. The Creature Cantina Action Playset was never re-released with Empire Strikes Back packaging. Kenner really hit it out of the park when it came to action figure accessories for their Star Wars figures and this was another great example of that.

Death Star Space Station

Market Value:
Boxed $300 – $500
Loose $100 – $150

Death Star Space Station
Accessories: 4 Floors, Roof, Tractor Beam, Laser Cannon, Retractable Bridge, Rope Swing, Trash Compactor, Foam Trash, Trash Monster, Trap Door
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: The Death Star Space Station playset was my absolute personal favorite Star Wars playset ever created by Kenner. I mean, this was basically a Barbie Dream House for Star Wars action figures! There were 4 levels of this set to re-create just about every movie scene filmed for Star Wars, to include the Trash Compactor, the famous rope swing, the Tractor Beam, Laser Cannon, and the Death Star command bridge. The highlight of all this amazingness was without a doubt, the trash compactor with all its little foam trash pieces and trash monster. Unfortunately, the foam pieces usually didn’t hold up very well through time, so it’s incredibly hard to still find the foam pieces intact. The playset itself can certainly still be found on the secondary market but it is still extremely popular and command some high prices.

Droid Factory

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $225
Loose $50 – $80

Droid Factory
Accessories: Plastic Base, Crane, Droid Parts x 33
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: This was a lot of fun as a kid, being able to put together different combinations of droids and then using them with your regular action figures. It was pretty cool stuff. With all the droid pieces that came with this set, the most memorable part was a simple 3rd leg piece that could fit on the R2 droid unit. This was the only place that one could find a movie accurate R2-D2 figure, complete with the middle leg. The Droid Factory was later re-released for the Empire Strikes Back line, and then re-purposed for two different Jabba’s Dungeon Playsets.

Land of the Jawas

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $240
Loose $75 – $100

Land of the Jawas
Accessories: Escape Pod, Elevator Lift, Plastic Sliders, Foot Pegs, Cardboard Sandcrawler
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: The Land of the Jawas Playset was pretty simple in design but still a lot of fun to play with. It was a good seller for Kenner, so well in fact, that it was re-used a couple more times for the Hoth Ice Adventure and Rebel Command Center Playsets for the Empire Strikes Back line. The playset contained the droid’s escape pod and a neat looking Tatooine terrain surface to go in front of a cardboard Jawa Sandcrawler. The Sandcrawler also came with a working elevator to transport the characters in and out.

Star Wars (1978-1979): Vehicles

Kenner made a proud tradition of releasing some truly amazing and fun vehicles for their Star Wars lines over the years, and it all began here, with their initial line in 1978-1979. Kenner released eight different vehicles, with one of them (Sonic Controlled Landspeeder) being a retail exclusive to JC Penny.

Darth Vader Tie Fighter

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $250
Loose $75 – $100

Darth Vader Tie Fighter
Accessories: Wings x 2, Cockpit, Top Hatch Flaps, Battery Cover
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: You couldn’t possibly expect that Darth Vader was fly the same kind of fighter that all the other pilots flew, no way. It was a cool looking Tie design with the wings curved inward at the top and bottoms. I thought it was great that Lucasfilm showed us the evolution of Anakin Skywalker’s ship from the Clone Wars to this point. Darth Vader’s Tie Fighter was never released on any other movie packaging and only with the original Star Wars line.

Imperial Troop Transporter

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $225
Loose $55 – $80

Imperial Troop Transporter
Accessories: Prisoner Compartment, 6 Cell Units, Restraints x 2, Rotating Laser Turret and Radar Dish, 6 Sound Buttons
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: This was the first toy that Kenner made that didn’t actually appear in the movies, as it was only inspired by them. Still, the Imperial Troop Transporter gave kids another vehicle to play with and a way to move their figures around. The unique feature that really separated the Troop Transporter was the six sound buttons on the top of the vehicle. It played different sounds or phrases, depending on which one you pushed (“R2-D2 where are you”). Because kids didn’t recognize this vehicle from the movie, it didn’t sell as well as others, but it’s still a solid effort by Kenner to give us something new.

Land Speeder

Market Value:
Boxed $125 – $200
Loose $40 – $60

Land Speeder
Accessories: Retractable Wheels, Windshield, Vehicle Hood
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: The coolest thing about the Landspeeder was the fact that it levitated off the ground while in motion so Kenner had their work cut out for them when designing it, and they delivered. Kenner painted the retractable wheels the same color as the Landspeeder and placed them further inwards to hide them, so at a quick glance, it looked like the levitating effect from the movie. The Landspeeder was never released on any other packaging aside from the original Star Wars line, but was re-issued as a “Collector’s Edition” in 1984.

Millennium Falcon

Market Value:
Boxed $350 – $500
Loose $135 – $185

Millennium Falcon
Accessories: Removable Hull, Ramp, Landing Gear, Cockpit, Hatch, Training Ball, Dejarik Chess Table, Rotating Guns, Smuggling Floor Panel
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: The Millennium Falcon is arguably the most iconic ship from the entire Star Wars saga and is central to any kid’s scene re-creations or Star Wars collector’s collection. This ship had so many things that are mind blowing on it that I could write an entire article on just them. As far as Playability goes, this is it! The Millennium Falcon was simply amazing with lots of different features that were related to the movies. The Falcon was released with the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi packaging as well.

Radio Controlled Jawa Sandcrawler

Market Value:
Boxed $900 – $1,250
Loose $250 – $400

Radio Controlled Jawa Sandcrawler
Accessories: Elevator, stairs, Opening Ramp, Remote Control
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on the secondary market
Notes: How cool was this! a Radio Controlled Sandcrawler that would move around by you controlling it remotely. This was pretty high speed for Kenner back in the day and very innovative to make one of their vehicles radio controlled. What I remember the most from this was the really long metal wire coming from the controller that would flop around when you moved. That wire always got bent to heck and usually broke. This really is a great piece and very tough to find complete on the secondary market, especially in the box. If you want one, then you should start saving.

Sonic Controlled Landspeeder

Market Value:
Boxed $1,000 – $1,500
Loose $250 – $350

Sonic Controlled Landspeeder
Accessories: Remote Controller, Retractable Wheels, Windshield
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Tough to find on secondary market
Notes: The Sonic Controlled Landspeeder was an exclusive to J.C Penny’s, first offered at Christmas 1978 and then 1979 as well. This is basically the same Landspeeder as the regular version but with the radio controlled feature, similar to the Jawa Sandcrawler. It was not nearly as popular as the regular Landspeeder, and remains one of the more rarer pieces to find nowadays on the secondary market, especially in the box.

Tie Fighter

Market Value:
Boxed $150 – $250
Loose $75 – $100

Tie Fighter
Accessories: Wings x 2, Cockpit, Top Hatch Flaps, Battery Cover
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: Like the X-Wing Fighter, you could never have too many of these ships. An unusual design for a fighter craft, what really caught everyone’s attention, along with its distinct roaring sound the Tie’s made as they flew by. I think every kid in the world imitated that sound as they flew their Tie Fighters around the room. The Tie Fighter was also released with the Empire Strikes Back packaging but was replaced by the Battle Damaged Tie for the Return of the Jedi line.

X-Wing Fighter

Market Value:
Boxed $170 – $270
Loose $75 – $100

X-Wing Fighter
Accessories: Laser Cannons x 4, Cockpit Canopy, Landing Gear
Years Released: 1978, 1979
Scarcity Factor: Can still be found, but it’s getting tougher each year
Notes: Like the Tie Fighter, The X-Wing was a must for any kids who wanted to re-create their favorite space battles from the movie. The X-Wing featured a light and sound feature that could replicate the actual sounds, along with a red flashing light. The wings could spread apart for flight action by pushing down on the R2 unit. The X-Wing was also released on the Empire Strikes Back packaging but was replaced by the Battle Damaged version for the Return of the Jedi line.

When George Lucas began shopping around for a company to distribute products and toys from his new Science Fiction movie called Star Wars in 1977, nobody seemed too interested. Mego Toys had famously passed on it, but a small toy company named Kenner stepped up and took a chance on it, and the toy world was forever changed. To that point, Kenner was most known for Easy Bake Oven, Spirograph, Lite Brite and the Six Million Dollar Man figure line. Kenner decided to shrink down their Star Wars figures to a more economical 3.75 inch size. This new action figure design allowed Kenner to create more scaled accessories, playsets and vehicles for their Star Wars line, with a whole new playability factor that many other past action figure lines just didn’t have. It all began with the “promise” of new Star Wars action figures at Christmas in 1977 with the release of the Early Bird Certificate, which led to the first four action figures being sent to eagerly awaiting fans everywhere. The rest of the regular figures were released later in 1978, and the world was never the same. With all of their action figure and accessory innovations, Kenner began a new era in the toy industry and revolutionized how toy lines are marketed and sold.

The first wave consisted of 12 action figures, which were followed by eight more later that year. The last figure released in this line was the mail-away “Rocket Firing” Boba Fett figure in 1979. There were 21 total figures released during Kenner’s initial line. The figures were accompanied by multiple ships and vehicles, along with some pretty awesome playsets. Although playsets and vehicles had certainly been done before in other toy lines (most notably Mego), the smaller size of the action figures allowed for a lot more flexibility by Kenner to produce high quality and fun accessories for their figures. Kenner went all in on with just about anything they could slap a Star Wars label on, including everything from puzzles and board games to electric toothbrushes and die cast ships. A 12 inch line was also released during this time, which has become highly coveted by collectors.

The original line of Star Wars action figures from the seventies remain the gold standard of successful toy lines. Each one of these figures are holy grail items for most Star Wars collectors and are highly sought after. Unfortunately for most of us, we will never own these Hall of Fame worthy action figures in their carded form due to the high prices they fetch on the secondary market but we can all still marvel at these trail blazing items for what they will always be, which is absolute perfection.