This is my most treasured piece in my collection, and arguably the most famous and wanted figure in the world, and I’m very humbled that a regular every day collector like me was actually able to get one. An authenticated C-9+ painted J-slot rocket firing Boba Fett prototype figure, with authentic prototype 8-sided rocket. I got it in hand on Saturday, December the 5th, 1998, and later was able to get a prototype rocket to put with it on September 9th, 2004. Frequently called the "Holy Grail" of all action figures, I bought it from Don Gibbs of Toys Plus, in Cincinnati. He purchased it from the grandson of the Kenner employee who had this one, and five other rocket firing Boba Fetts from Kenner, since 1979. There are only 14 painted J-slot rocket firing Boba Fett prototype figures known to exist in the whole world. There are about 36 L-slot rocket firing Boba Fetts known to exist, possibly a couple more than that. Most of those are the blue-gray unpainted ones, but a couple of the L-slot Fetts were made with different color plastic, one was hand painted, and they were possibly assembled by hand. One of the blue-gray unpainted L-slot Fetts is pictured here. All but three of the L-slot Fetts look like that one. It is very difficult to find the exact number of them, as many of the collectors who have authentic rocket Fett figures, do not want it known that they have them. Only a couple people know the exact number of how many authentic ones there are, with a margin of error of one or two probably. Then there are the three L-slot Fetts that are one of a kind. Two of them are probably the first rocket Fetts made from the mold. The first one has a body cast out of opaque white plastic, and the head and limbs of yellow plastic. The cone shaped rocket is white like the body. It is pictured here. The second one has the blue-gray head and body like the other L-slot Fetts, but it has arms cast from white plastic, and legs cast of yellow plastic, like the previous L-slot Fett. There is no rocket with this one of a kind figure. It is pictured here. The third one of a kind L-slot Fett is one that was cast in the gray colored plastic like the J-slot Fetts and the released Boba Fett figures, but it was hand painted by a Kenner employee with a more intricate paint job than the released Boba Fett ended up having. It is pictured here. This was likely the last L-slot Fett made before the J-slot prototype figures were made. Many, over half, of the approximately 55 rocket Fetts are moderately to heavily damaged. Most all of the other J and L-slot rocket Fetts were destroyed by Kenner when they modified it and released the fixed rocket painted figure, because of a choking death linked to a projectile firing Battlestar Galactica toy that year. Some of the surviving rocket Fetts were badly mangled or thrown away over the past 21 years. A few more might still be hidden away and as yet undiscovered, but with so many years having now elapsed since the prototype stage of this figure was completed in 1979, it’s increasingly more doubtful anymore authentic ones will surface. The prototype toys section on The Star Wars Collector’s Archive has several pages of rocket Fett information. It is located here. A very complete history of all the rocket Fett prototype figures is available on those pages.
In 1996, over two years before I bought my J-slot rocket Fett, I went to one of the "Men Behind The Masks" toy conventions that was in Houston, Texas that year. Along with Peter Mayhew and Dave Prowse, I was able to meet Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in Episode IV: A New Hope and Episode V: Empire Strikes Back, and get his autograph. I certainly had no idea that one day I’d ever actually get to have one of the mysterious and highly sought after prototype rocket firing Boba Fett figures, but that had nothing to do with wanting his autograph. That will always be one of the best experiences I will have had relating to Star Wars. He was so far beyond friendly, it makes the autographs even more special to me. I got a couple of the 8x10 pictures autographed, as well as a couple of index cards, which initially, the people working the show said the signers wouldn’t do. When I asked him he was more than happy to do it. I wanted to get extras, since I didn’t know if maybe someday I’d want more than one to put with another Boba Fett figure in my collection. I was also fortunate enough to get there early, and was waiting in line before they were even there. All of them were so friendly. To cap it off, I got to talk to Mr. Bulloch for a while, since he was at the end of the table, on the far side where people would leave the room. He was so friendly, and when I asked him how much it would be for the autographs, he wouldn’t even let me pay for the ones on index cards, just the pictures. It was such a great experience getting to meet and talk to all of them, and they were all so friendly. But being able to get the J-slot rocket Fett figure a couple years later, makes the autographs that much more special to me, especially considering how very friendly Mr. Bulloch is. I enjoy the figure that much more knowing how nice the man is who played the character in the movies.
In 2004, I was able to acquire a mint condition 8-sided prototype rocket to go with my J-slot rocket Fett. I got it from Chris Georgoulias, who bought it directly from a Kenner employee. It, along with a second rocket, had sat forgotten in the back of a drawer of the former Kenner employee’s desk for many years, until he cleaned it out sometime in early 2004 and found them. In the early 80s, something like that would not have been anything much to think about, as very few Kenner employees really thought the vintage figures would be worth much, and probably didn’t give much thought to prototype pieces. To them, they were just testing materials and scrap. Over 20 years of growing popularity of the movies and toys dramatically changed all that forever. As with the figure itself, the deciding factor that led me to get the rocket was the source. Chris Georgoulias, like Don Gibbs has an impeccable reputation and has been heavily involved in Kenner Star Wars toys since the very early 90s, having met dozens of Kenner employees over the years that worked directly with the Star Wars toy development at Kenner. I was never too concerned with trying to get one of the authentic rockets, but when he offered it to me, and knowing it was a rock solid source he got it from; a former Kenner employee he had known for years, proving its definite authenticity, it seemed foolish to pass it up, so I got it to complete the figure. The rocket is almost identicle to the released rocket part that is glued into the released Hong Kong and Taiwan made Boba Fett figures, but there are a few very distinct differences. The most obvious is that it is a very precise brighter red color of plastic than the rockets that came with the figures. Also, there is a small notch on the very bottom of the rocket, whereas the regular released rockets have no notch, just the seam that runs along the long axis of the rocket from the tip to the flat bottom. There are also two circular indentations, one towards the top of the rocket, and one towards the bottom, on one side, made by part of the early molding process. And it is possible the prototype rockets are made of a slightly different, less durable material than the released ones, which would be typical for a prototype figure or accessory. All these things make it relatively easy to tell it is an authentic prototype and not a recently made reproduction, or a released rocket that was removed from a figure. Which would be difficult since there is always damage to those from the glue that holds them in place in the figure. Knowing that it came directly from a former Kenner employee who worked there in the years the Boba Fett figures were first designed and released adds a lot to the history and authenticity of the rocket also, and it’s nice knowing that with that rocket, the figure is complete, having the original prototype 8-sided rocket, and not one from a released figure.
In 2008, I bought one of the vintage Power Of The Force Boba Fett coins from a good friend of mine, Marty. It’s in mint condition, and the vintage Boba Fett coins like this one are among the harder to find ones. Although this coin has nothing to do with the J-slot rocket firing Boba Fett prototype figures, other than being based on the same character, it made sense to match it with the rarest Boba Fett figure I had. Especially since the vintage Power Of The Force coin never came with the vintage released Boba Fett figure on any card. It was strictly a mail away coin. It could just as easily go with the vintage released Boba Fett figure, or the light-gray Tri-Logo Boba Fett figure, but since there isn’t any variant of the vintage Boba Fett figures that it ever came with in stores, I decided to go ahead and put it with the J-slot rocket firing Boba Fett figure in my collection. It’s a really great looking coin, and displays really well with the figure, rocket, and autograph I have from Jeremy Bulloch. The coin just seems to go really well with all of them, and compliments the figure nicely, as do the rocket and autograph, and the vintage gun of course. This was the last thing I really wanted to get relating to the J-slot rocket Fett figure. I hadn’t ever come across one of the coins, though I’d wanted one for several years. When my friend told me he was selling his that he bought years ago, I knew that would be the best time to get one, especially since it was definitely an authentic one.
Kenner mass advertised this J-slot rocket firing figure, the final rocket firing version of the figure, all over the world in magazines, catalogs, and figure card fronts for many months before its set release date. Many kids sent in proof of purchase to Kenner for this figure, then, within a few weeks of mailing them, they put a hold on production. Due to the danger of the launching rocket being an eye and choking hazard, they removed the spring and lever, filled in the back with the same gray molded plastic of the body, and sonic welded the rockets into place. Then they mass produced and mailed those modified figures out in the white mailer boxes to kids all over the world in 1979 before the release of The Empire Strikes Back. The modified non-rocket firing figures came with a note that apologized for the non launching rocket on one side, and told about Boba Fett on the other side. The regular released Boba Fett came in a sealed clear plastic bag. Click here to see a mint in bag mailer Boba Fett and the note and box it came in. Kenner mailed those out to kids like me who expected to get the mass advertised and talked about rocket firing figure. Thousands of kids were disappointed to get the fixed rocket figure, the same figure that was later released on the card. But some of the rocket firing prototypes survived. They were "liberated" from Kenner by different employees. All the prototypes were to have been destroyed by Kenner. And they all would have been if it were not for some employees, who took today’s surviving prototypes away from Kenner, and put them safely away in their homes. Those are the last surviving rocket firing prototype figures. Click here to read an article from the Star Wars Homing Beacon about the rocket firing Boba Fetts.
This J-slot prototype Boba Fett that I have was placed right into Toy Shop magazine by Don Gibbs of Toys Plus of Cincinnati after the original owner sold it. You can see and read the full Toy Shop ad by clicking here. To see the Certificate Of Authenticity for the J-slot rocket Fett, signed by Don Gibbs, Gus Lopez and Tom Tumbush, click here. There is also a letter I got from Don Gibbs when I received the rocket Fett from him, shown here. The Certificate Of Authenticity for the prototype 8-sided rocket, signed by Chris Georgoulias, is here. I have blotted out their signatures on the computer to protect them from forgeries. The five others prototypes, two unpainted L-slots,and three other painted J-slots, all with some damage, were sold privately almost immediately. This is possibly the best example of a painted J-slot rocket firing Boba Fett prototype figure of all 14. That’s why it was publicly auctioned. The limbs and head are tight, the spring works, the lever is totally intact, the small safety tab on the J-slot is undamaged, and there is only very minimal paint wear at two points. Two small places on the backpack, and some kind of small ink mark on the right side of the chest, likely placed there by a Kenner employee, which I will not try to remove. The prototype rocket is very similar in appearance to the eight ribbed rocket that came sonic welded into the production variation, other than the differences mentioned above. The most individualistic feature indicative of this specific rocket Fett, is the writing on the bottoms of the feet. Shown in the picture written in ink are the characters "U2" on the left foot, and "L" on the right foot. This most likely reflects the batch this figure belonged to, and/or what stage of testing it was in. This is also mentioned in the certificate of authenticity I got with the figure. Chris Georgoulias, whom I got the prototype 8-sided rocket from, authenticated this figure shortly after it was discovered, and closely examined the characters and determined that it was "U2" and "L", on the bottoms of the feet in ink. After a great deal of checking and verifying the figures origin, and finding that several top collectors who owned some of the other authentic rocket firing Boba Fett prototypes had authenticated this one, I put a bid in for it. Gus Lopez and Tom Tumbush, publisher of Tomart’s Guide, have closely examined it and signed the certificate of authenticity, along with Don Gibbs, after thoroughly authenticating it with several other serious collectors. Given that, and where it came from, there is no doubt it’s real. I won it in Toy Shop Magazine on July 17th, 1998. It is the first ever authentic rocket firing Boba Fett to be publicly auctioned. After wanting one so bad for many months after getting my first Boba Fett in the mail in 1979, and then dreaming of having a real rocket firing one for years after that, I just couldn’t let this one go when I heard about it. I knew I might not have the chance to own a real rocket Fett of any condition ever again. There have been several authentic ones publicly sold since I got mine, but this one is in slightly better condition than them.
There are many fakes of the rocket firing prototype so please be careful if you ever attempt to buy one. Don’t buy it unless it is from a former Kenner employee or a VERY reputable collector or dealer. And I would recommend having it authenticated by Don Gibbs, Gus Lopez, Tom Tumbush, Chris Georgoulias, or another well known collector/owner of an authentic rocket Fett before buying it. There are many little details that distinguish the real rocket Fetts from fakes. Thanks to Don Gibbs, since 1998 I have been able to live a 19 year old dream and have an authentic rocket firing Boba Fett, to complete my collection. It won’t be leaving my possession. Something that is even rarer than the J and L-slot rocket Fetts is the hand made and painted mock rocket Fett. Also called a "kit bashed" figure, because it was made mostly with parts from other existing figures, this figure is one of a kind, the very first rocket Fett ever made, and more importantly, its whereabouts are totally unknown. Unless of course someone has it and has not revealed that they have it, which is possible. The four existing pictures of it I got from The Star Wars Collectors Archive, courtesy of Gus Lopez , Steve Denny and Chris Georgoulias. Wherever this figure is, I wouldn’t be surprised if it went for well over $25,000.00 if it ever turns up in good shape, but so far it’s no where to be found, and Gus Lopez and others have actively looked for it for years. Click here to see a collage of some great pics of it. It is also pictured here, in this promotional for the rocket firing Boba Fett figure. After now having seen Jango Fett and Boba Fett in the Attack Of The Clones, and having the Prequel Jango Fett and Boba Fett figures, I love having this J-slot rocket Fett and the prototype rocket even more. I’m sure the new movies and new figures will make it even more special to me.
