If you grew up in the late seventies, you probably remember the feeling of waiting for a package that never quite lived up to the hype. Or, more accurately, a package that arrived with a glaring, plastic hole where a spring-loaded rocket should have been. The boba fett action figure 1979 release isn't just a toy. It is a legendary piece of pop culture history that effectively birthed the modern collector market, mostly because of a safety panic and a character who hadn't even appeared in a mainline movie yet.
He was a mystery.
Before The Empire Strikes Back hit theaters in 1980, Kenner launched a massive marketing campaign. They told kids they could get a "Secret Figure" by mailing in four proof-of-purchase seals from other Star Wars toys. That figure was Boba Fett. But the version we saw in the advertisements—the one with the firing red rocket—wasn't the version that ended up on our bedroom floors.
The Rocket-Firing Myth vs. Reality
Let's get the big one out of the way. You probably don't own a rocket-firing Boba Fett. Seriously.
Almost every "1979 Boba Fett" found in a dusty attic today is the standard version with the missile sonically welded into the backpack. The original prototype featured a spring-loaded mechanism, but Kenner got spooked. Following reports of children choking on small projectiles from Mattel’s Battlestar Galactica line, Kenner's legal team pulled the plug on the firing feature at the eleventh hour.
They didn't even change the box art right away.
Because of that, millions of kids opened their mail-away boxes only to find a note explaining that the toy had been modified for safety. It was a heartbreaker. Today, those unproduced "J-Slot" and "L-Slot" prototypes are the holy grails of the hobby. We are talking about items that fetch upwards of $150,000 or even $500,000 at high-end auctions like Hake's or Goldin. It’s wild to think a plastic dude that stands 3.75 inches tall can cost more than a literal house.
What to Look For on a 1979 Cardback
If you are digging through a bin at a flea market, you need to know what a legitimate boba fett action figure 1979 actually looks like. The first "commercial" release—meaning the one you could actually buy in a store—showed up on the 21-back card.
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Wait, what’s a 21-back?
It basically means there are 21 characters pictured on the back of the packaging. If you find one on a 20-back, you’ve found a rarity because Boba was the transition character. The 21st figure.
Check the copyright on the back of the leg. It should say "© G.M.F.G.I. 1979" and "Hong Kong." The paint on these guys was notoriously finicky. The "half-circle" of yellow on the chest armor and the specific shade of blue-green on the torso are the first things to fade. If the limbs are floppy, it’s been played with hard. If the cape—that little translucent grey piece of plastic—is missing, the value drops by half. Honestly, those capes were the first thing we all lost. They felt like cheap trash bags back then, but now they are worth a fortune if they are original and not modern "repros."
Why This Specific Year Changed Collecting
Before 1979, toys were just toys. You played with them until the limbs popped off or the dog chewed the head. But the Boba Fett release changed the psychology of the Star Wars fandom.
It was the first time a character was "sold" to us through mystery.
Think about it. We didn't know who he was. We hadn't seen him freeze Han Solo in carbonite yet. We just knew he looked cool and he was a "bounty hunter." That mystery, combined with the "limited" nature of the mail-away offer, created a sense of urgency. It taught a generation of kids that some things are harder to get than others.
There’s also the "Tri-Logo" and "Palitoy" variations to consider. If you were in the UK or Europe, your Boba Fett might look slightly different. The plastic might be a different shade, or the card art might have three languages on it. Collectors go absolutely insane for these variations because they represent the global scale of the Star Wars phenomenon during its first peak.
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Spotting the Fakes
Because the boba fett action figure 1979 is so valuable, the market is flooded with "repro" (reproduction) parts. If you are buying a loose figure, bring a small flashlight. Hold it up to the cape. Real vintage capes have a very specific "waffle" texture and a certain level of transparency. If it feels too thick or looks too shiny, it’s probably a fake.
And the blaster? The original "Palitoy" or Kenner blaster is made of a specific type of plastic that doesn't float. If you drop a vintage blaster in a glass of water and it stays at the bottom, that’s a good sign. If it floats like a piece of cheap modern plastic, you've been had.
The Evolution of the Sculpt
It’s easy to look at the 1979 figure now and think it looks basic. The visor is just a black T-shape. The jetpack doesn't even come off. But for 1979, the level of detail was actually pretty impressive. Kenner designers had to work off early concept art by Ralph McQuarrie and Joe Johnston. That’s why the colors on the toy don’t perfectly match the screen version in The Empire Strikes Back.
The toy has a more "baby blue" hue, while the movie costume was much more olive drab and weathered.
This discrepancy actually created two different "looks" for Boba Fett that persist in the fandom today. You have "Movie Accurate" fans and "Vintage Toy Accurate" fans. It’s a strange divide, but it shows just how much impact that first piece of plastic had on our collective imagination.
Identifying the "HK" vs. "Taiwan" Variants
If you really want to get into the weeds, you have to look at the COO (Country of Origin) marks. Most 1979 Fetts were made in Hong Kong. However, there are variants made in Taiwan that have slightly sharper sculpt details.
- Hong Kong: The standard. Balanced colors, slightly softer plastic.
- Taiwan: Often has a "paler" face and the paint on the wrist gauntlets is a bit more vibrant.
- "No COO": These are the ones where the country name was literally scarred off the mold. These are often associated with the later "PBP" (Spanish) or European releases and are highly prized by variant hunters.
It’s all about the mold. As the molds wore down after producing millions of figures, the factory workers would sometimes modify them, leading to these tiny differences that now drive the secondary market prices.
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How to Handle an Original 1979 Fett
If you happen to find one, please, for the love of the Force, do not "clean" it with harsh chemicals.
A lot of people think they are doing a favor by scrubbing off forty years of grime with Windex. Don't do that. You will strip the factory paint right off. A soft-bristled toothbrush and a tiny bit of lukewarm water is all you need. And keep it out of the sun. The "yellowing" of the plastic is caused by UV exposure reacting with the flame retardants used in the 70s plastic. Once it goes yellow, it’s almost impossible to reverse without "Retrobrighting," which many collectors think ruins the integrity of the piece.
The Actionable Truth for Collectors
The boba fett action figure 1979 market is a minefield, but it's also the most rewarding area of Star Wars collecting. If you are looking to buy one today, don't just look for "Boba Fett" on eBay. Look for specific terminology.
- Check for "AFA" or "UKG" grading. If it’s in a hard plastic case with a grade of 80 or higher, it’s a blue-chip investment.
- Verify the blaster. Most loose Fetts are sold with "replacement" blasters. If the seller doesn't explicitly say "Original Kenner Blaster," assume it’s a $2 fake.
- Look at the "limberness." Ask the seller if the figure can stand on its own. If the legs are too loose, it won't display well without a stand.
The 1979 Fett is the soul of Star Wars collecting. It represents a time when our imaginations were fueled by a mail-away catalog and a character who said almost nothing but looked cooler than anyone else in the galaxy. Whether you want a beat-up one for your desk or a mint-on-card specimen for a display case, you are holding a piece of history that survived the "Great Rocket-Firing Recall" that never actually happened—but changed toys forever nonetheless.
Next Steps for Your Collection
To truly verify a 1979 Boba Fett, your first move should be a "float test" on the weapon and a "light test" on the cape's translucency. Before spending more than $100 on a loose figure, cross-reference the paint applications with known high-resolution archives like the Imperial Gunnery or Rebelscum’s photo galleries. If the price seems too good to be true, especially for a figure with a "firing" rocket, it is almost certainly a modern custom or a clever fake. Authentic 1979 Fetts have a specific weight and a matte finish that modern plastics struggle to replicate accurately.