Photography by Bret and review by Chris

Here we have a bit of an odd situation.  Bret has taken the photographs, but he has declined to do the review because he thinks the set is “dumb”.  I have never met anyone so devoid any semblance of nostalgia.  I assume it’s the same gene that carries a full set of cones.  On the flip side, I have a modicum of appreciation for this set, but I have not opened it yet.  So I’m about to write a review for a product I have yet to examine.  But I don’t need to for a couple of reasons.  The first is that all four figures are repaints of figures we’ve already reviewed:

• VC70 - Ponda Baba (Walrus Man)
• VC189 - Zutton (Snaggletooth)
• VC362 - Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead)
• HAS010 - Greedo via the Cantina Haslab

The second reason is that the value of this set lies less in the quality of its contents and more in the mere concept itself.  It’s value is in existing.  As most of you know, this is an homage to the rare vintage Kenner Sears-exclusive Cantina Adventure Set:

(click for the full sized image)

Item pictured is the AFA85 Cantina Adventure set from the Jeff Jacob’s Collection which was recently auctioned by Hakes.

That set contained the legendary Kenner “blue” Snaggletooth.  Snaggletooth, along with Hammerhead, Walrus Man, and Greedo were part of the eight figures that formed the first ever expansion to the Kenner Collection, which ballooned from twelve to twenty figures (plus the mail away Boba Fett).  As was often the case, Kenner was working off scant resources when designing the figures back in the seventies.  In the case of Snaggletooth, he was initially developed using a black and white upper body photo of the Holiday Special character, Zutmore (more on that later).  Thus, Kenner had many blanks to fill in, and they got most of them wrong on their initial attempt.  They made a full height figure wearing a blue jumpsuit and silver boots.  This version was only released in the Sears Cantina Adventure set pictured above.  They then realized that Snaggletooth was supposed to be a shorter character wearing a red jump suit with exposed animal-like feet.  This last aspect was also inaccurate as Zutmore appears to be wearing black dress shoes.  Ackmena ran a classy joint.  Nevertheless, the “red” Snaggletooth was the one that was released on the “20 back” cards, and carried forward through the Return of the Jedi line.

This made the “blue” Snaggletooth relatively rare by comparison, and is a “grail” figure for vintage Kenner collectors to this day.  The other three figures in the set are common as they are identical to their general retail releases, which, like the “red” Snaggletooth, persisted through 1984.  As is often the case with collectibles, even thought that one “blue” Snaggetooth figure is the crown jewel, the entire set earns some prestige by association.  If you are a vintage collector, merely seeing a Sears Cantina Adventure set at a toy show brings some excitement.  The above sample from Jeff Jacob’s collection closed at $27,258 despite a pre-auction estimate of $10,000 to $20,000.  I had actually planned to be in on the bidding if it looked like it was going to hammer at the midrange of its estimate, but it went for nearly double that, and I became a spectator before even taking the field.

As for this Vintage Collection homage to that vintage Sears Cantina Adventure, it exists mostly as a novelty.  As a practice, I don’t believe in grading novelty figures (but have done it in the past).  In this case the replicated Kenner paint schemes are objectively more simplistic than what we get on standard Vintage Collection figures, so they would have to receive a lower score if they were evaluated merely as contemporary releases, which would completely ignore the intent of this set.  It’s value is not in how well the figures reflect their on-screen counterparts because there are none.  For most acquiring this set, it’s value is in the novelty of a modern replica of a true vintage Kenner rarity.  That is completely subjective on a collector by collector basis, and I’m not comfortable grading the set, or the individual figures.  The beauty is in the eye of the beholder on this one.  But I can tell you my personal story.

One of my first grade classmates was the first one in our class to get any of the “20-back” figures.  He brought them to show-and-tell. I thought the clicking legs on the Power Droid was the pinnacle of human technology.  As a kid, I was an obsessive completist.  The “collect all” phrasing at the top of the cards wasn’t a suggestion.  It was a mandate.  I knew I had to track down every single figure my classmate was showing, one of which was this tall, blue-suited Snivvian.  Because he was an idiot first grader, as we all were, he had no recollection of where it came from.  My dad managed to get me the standard “red” Snaggletooth.  I insisted there was another one.  I drove him crazy trying to find it.  After exhausting every resource available to us at the time (i.e. checking all our stores repeatedly), and with no evidence of the figure on the card back cross-sell, my father came to the conclusion that this fabled “blue” Snaggletooth did not exist.  Not as a Star Wars figure anyway.  He said I was either mistaken or my fellow Kenner collector simply mixed in a figure from another toy line in his presentation to the class.  I was literally frustrated to the point of tears because I knew it was legit.

As I aged, I was swayed to my father’s point of view.  I decided “blue” Snaggletooth was a figment of my imagination, albeit one that felt very realistic.  Perhaps I had dreamed it, but my young mind confused it with a waking reality.  Then in late 1990, while sharing this story with some friends in my freshman dorm who were also Kenner Star Wars kids, I found out about the “Sears Cantina” and the source of this memory turned illusion.  It was like Quaid finding out he was really Carl Hauser in Total Recall.  It was like part of my past was suddenly unlocked.  I immediately drove back to my parents house to punch my father in his left pec for giving me a complex that almost landed me in mental hospital [Writer’s Note:  Bret, do not put the indefinite article on “mental hospital”.  I’m trying to sound British!].  Throughout the years, fans have repeatedly asked for Hammerhead, Greedo, and Walrus Man in Kenner colors, and I cringed every time.  Those figures have no value to me in a vacuum, and at the time when these requests were most frequently raised, they would have taken up main line slots if answered.  But by placing those three figures together with “blue” Snaggetooth in a set that is an homage to the vintage Sears Cantina Adventure Set, it hits me right in the feels.  The best part is that it was realized as a Pulse of exclusive, so it did not come at the expense of something else.  That is how novelty items should be done.  They should be available to those that care, and not impact those that don’t.

As for accuracy of the “blue” Snaggletooth, the vintage figure was based on Zutmore as mentioned above and as pictured below:

(click for the full sized image)

As such, the vintage figure is wearing a jumpsuit with a sculpted belt buckle.  This Vintage Collection “blue” Snaggletooth is based in Zutton which finds him wearing a tunic, distinct trousers (British!), and the illusion of a belt buckle via a dab of silver paint to the tunic sash.  It’s not a true counterpart to the Kenner figure.  I personally view “blue” Snaggletooth as more of an idea than a concrete thing, so I accept this interpretation.  As with everything with this set, whether or not that is acceptable is up to the individual collector.

Lastly, while the principal value in this set is in its novelty, as has been stated ad nauseam, there’s nothing stopping anyone from slotting these figures into your Tatooine or Cantina displays for some variety.  “Blue” Snags has always anchored the far left end of the bar in my Cantina displays, and this new one will now replace the Zutmore-based OTC “blue” Snags in that position.