You all know the story.  Boba Fett was the first mail-away figure in the history of the Star Wars line in 1979.  It was originally supposed to come with a “rocket firing” backpack, but in late 1978, a young child tragically choked on a firing projectile from a Battlestar Galactica toy.  This sent shockwaves through the toy industry, and Kenner decided to eliminate the rocket-firing feature.  You can read the whole story HERE at The Star Wars Collector Archive.

I was completely unaware of that initial promise of firing rockets.  This was because, like the trusting lad I was, I assumed the mail-away offer on the reverse side of the 20-back cards told the entire story:

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20-Back Boba Fett offer

But some of my classmates were not so trusting, and peeled off that yellow sticker in the middle of the card to reveal:

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Original 20-Back Boba Fett offer

Removing that sticker was the first Easter Egg in history.  It was the biggest moment of my elementary school career.  When I finally got my figure in the mail, like every other kid of the time, I was devastated that the rocket did not fire.  I tried pressing the back as hard as I could hoping to somehow activate the feature.  Unless you were one of the few souls to get their hands on a true rocket firing Boba Fett prototype, it would be an itch that would go unscratched until 2010.  Thirty one years later, Hasbro would make good on that promise with this Vintage Collection mail away “rocket firing” Boba Fett.

The figure comes with two rockets.  One mimics the inert rocket from the original Boba Fett figure.  The other is much larger, and thus does not present a choking hazard.  This one does fire, and actually packs a bit of a wallop. I’m pretty sure Ralphie’s mother would object to it.  When this was released, it was really more of a curiosity (and portended my personal nightmare that became the Retro Collection).  Today, this fetches well over $100 on the secondary market.  A figure that is a tribute to a vintage Kenner holy grail is becoming a modern holy grail.  My word!

The impetus for updating this review today, aside from being embarrassed by the original photography, is the card.  There is currently a push within Hasbro to complete the “Original 96” Kenner figures in the Vintage Collection.  There is some debate as to what that means.  Some, myself included, feel that means every Kenner figure on their debut card.  Boba Fett debuted on a 21-back Star Wars card with callout text in the fire ball.  This card has not been replicated in either The Vintage Collection mainline or the VOTC/VTSC subsets.  Hasbro is currently releasing an amazing Episode VI based Boba on the “desert” Return of the Jedi card.  That figure should be retooled for Episode V accuracy and released on this Star Wars card with the callout text.

If Hasbro is reluctant to release an Episode V Boba Fett this soon, they could make a Pre-Production #2 (PP2) Boba Fett, which is actually the costume depicted on the card.