The red Snaggletooth is a strange figure to do a page with information on I know, but read on and you’ll understand why I did a page on this common vintage figure. You see, to most, the overwhelming majority of collectors, the red Snaggletooth figure was common, and is today just worth a few dollars for a mint loose example, because nearly everyone had it. But, to me, it was a mysterious little figure that I never saw in stores. You see, I had the blue Snaggletooth which I got with the Cantina Showdown play set as a kid, which also came with the Greedo, Hammerhead, and Walrus Man. And even though the blue and red Snaggletooth figures look much different, I still never got the red one. Conversely, to me, it’s a special rare figure because I never had one as a kid. I’ll never forget when I got my first one, sometime in 1995, from a collector friend who was selling several extra figures, one of them, a loose mint one with gun, and another with a little wear and a gun. I had to have both. The first time I saw and held them was as strange experience. Because, to me, the red Snaggletooth was a "new" figure, and holding one for the first time, even though I was in my 20s, and it was to most people a common figure, was a very strange and fun experience.
As a kid, I had only seen the red ones on card backs. For one reason or another, I never saw it in Toys R’ Us, or Sears or any other toy store in the years I was playing with the figures. I wanted one, but since I had the blue one, it didn’t bother me too much, even though I thought having the red one would be fun, as they’d be like "partners" or something. But one never crossed my path. So getting the red one many years later was a very peculiar experience. Even though I knew it was a common figure, there was something almost magical about getting it. This must sound almost crazy to most collectors, but some will understand I’m sure, because of some similar experience. My friend was greatly amused by my fascination with the mint loose but still common little figure with gun. And to this day, even though it only cost me $7, it’s still one that holds a certain fascination for me. No matter how much time goes by, even though I know it’s a common and quite uninteresting figure compared to most, made to represent a background character with a brief screen appearance, it’s still one of my most favorite vintage figures, and the reasoning for that really is hard to put into words. Nostalgia is everything.
