This is my white caped Bib Fortuna on a Walrus Man card. This figure, as well as the red cloaked counterparts, very closely rival, if not exceed in some cases, the mystical and legendary status of the J and L-slot rocket Fetts. The figures are nearly identical to the released brown coat version, but there are a couple of key subtle differences. First, the color of the plastic on the head is just a slight bit paler, more ashen looking than the released versions. The released Bib Fortuna figures have a bit of a tan look to the color of the plastic used to make the head. Also, in comparing the white caped Bib Fortuna figure to several released ones over the years, the paint on the fingers and wrist bands on the white caped one is slightly lighter than on the released figures. The paint on the fingers and wrist bands on released Bib Fortuna figures seem to be a slightly cream color, less white than on the white caped Bib Fortuna figures. Lastly, and this is barely noticeable, but the tentacles that come from the back of Bib Fortunas head on the released Bib Fortuna figures, curl down left to right on both sides and under the arms on the opposite side of the body as the side of the head they come out of. On the Bib Fortuna figure with the white cloak, the tentacles are molded differently and they come up to the shoulders and over the arms.
Besides the figure, the staff appears to be a prototype also. This staff, on the two flat sides of the top of the staff, curve gently to the middle from the rounded edges on the two sides of the top of the staff, with very slight circle patterns inside the center on both sides. On released Bib Fortuna staffs, inside the outer circles on the two sides of the head of the staff, it is flat, and then in the middle, a deeply punched in circle in the middle of both sides of the top, about half the size of what a hole puncher would punch out on paper. This is a very big difference and I’ve never seen a Bib Fortuna staff that is gradually sunken in to the middle of both sides of the staff top with a circle pattern in the middle. I’ve only seen ones with the deeply punched circle in the middle of both sides of the top, so this also indicates that this figure is a prototype / salesmen sample. Of course the biggest difference is the white cloak. And the most authentic detail of that is the fact that the thread is pure white like the cloak itself. And thread does not dye. That is the best way to tell a fake red cloaked Bib Fortuna is by the brown thread on them. It’s very unlikely that Kenner would cross colors like that even in a sample. It is possible, but unlikely. Plus the fact that when the red cloak or cloaks were made, no one knew they would end up brown, so there was no way anyone could know to use brown thread with the red fabric. The cloak looks absolutely perfect though, and this particular one was accounted for as early as 1992, and to my knowledge no one was even making fake Bib Fortuna cloak variations in 1992.
Beyond the figure, cloak and staff there is the fact of the small size of the tester bubble which is a very snug fit with the figure inside. All released figures typically have more room in their bubbles in comparison. The final element that makes this figure almost certainly authentic, is that it is on a Walrus Man 47 back Empire Strikes Back card with the mail in 4-LOM (misnamed Zuckuss) offer. The card is un-punched, but about a C-6 due to bending and creasing and some lifting of the bubble from the card, however the bubble is the thicker tester bubble type with squared corners instead of rounded ones like released vintage figure bubbles had. The only reason I got this one in early 1998 was because it came from a long time collector with a good reputation, and because it matched all the criteria for authentic white cape Bib Fortuna figures. It is at least as authentic as any other white cloaked Bib Fortuna I have seen or heard of before, and there are very few out there. I’ve been told there are possibly no more than a dozen or so of these figures, but it’s not known for sure. This exact one is listed on Gus Lopez’s site, The Star Wars Collectors Archive, on the "Prototypes" section, under "Sample and Mock-Up Carded Figures". The page on my carded white cloak Bib Fortuna is here. I purchased it from a very reliable collector named Tom O’Neil, and it was authenticated by Ron Salvator, who believes it to be authentic, as much as can be believed by close examination. A letter about the figure from Ron Salvator is here. Tom purchased it from collector Gerald Randolph in 1997, who purchased it from the original owner/Kenner employee in 1992. There is a letter from Gerald here. I have blotted out their signatures on the computer to protect them from forgeries. The original owner / Kenner employee also had a MOMC white cloaked Bib Fortuna exactly like this one. He would not sell the MOMC one to Gerald for any price, further hinting that this one is authentic. Otherwise, were it a fake, he would sell it for the huge amount being offered to him. He got these two MOC white cloaked Bib Fortuna figures with many Kenner property passes, required to get items off of Kenner property, and a huge collection of other Kenner items that only an employee would have had access to. While I would have rather had a red cloaked Bib Fortuna because they were the ones on some of the Return Of The Jedi card backs and were nearer to actual release, they are so easily faked that it was a much safer bet getting this white cloaked carded one, since it’s still sealed on the card and mint, and white cloaked ones would be much harder to fake, especially in 1998 when I first bought it, and in 1992 when it was originally purchased from the Kenner employee. I decided having this one was a much safer route than a red cloaked one, of which no authentic ones were ever carded, and the brown cloaks are very easy to dye red, but impossible to dye white, plus the thread will never dye also. It is fun having this one just because of the mystique attached to the cloak variations over the years, and it’s a really interesting and unique figure.
