We continue our look at the top ten most pricey and rare Star Wars action figures. Check out numbers 1 through 5 by clicking here!

6. Yak Face (Power of the Force, 1985)

Once all three original Star Wars movies were over, and all three accompanying lines of toys had been completed, Kenner continued the Star Wars series of action figures with 1985’s ‘Power of the Force’ line. This included 36 additional figures (22 of which we re-releases), and it addressed many auxiliary characters, as well as main characters in different outfits. Little did they know that every character who appeared in the background of a scene for a millisecond would eventually be getting a complex backstory and an action figure from Hasbro. Each POTF figure included a collectible coin, in addition to the usual accessories. While line was canceled due to declining sales, a 37th figure had already begun production.

This figure was ‘Yak Face’, who is also known in proper Star Wars canon as Saelt-Marae - who appeared for three seconds in Return of the Jedi. As companies are still wont to do when there’s a production oversight or a change in distribution plans, Kenner sent all of their Yak Face figures to Canada and Europe. In the days before the information superhighway, this was a big deal, as these were rendered nearly inaccessible (and were simply unheard of) by the average American kid. We were Yakless, or Faceless, or something.

As a result, a loose Yak Face will get you about $150 if you still have the staff that came with him (which only came with the Canadian edition), and a sealed Yak Face recently sold for $2250 at auction, which is the most respect that a guy named ‘Yak Face’ will ever get.

I have a personal connection to Yak Face, as I accidentally stood next to a life-sized statue of him during New York Comic Con, while a friend very vocally described our physical similarities. Within earshot of a very attractive girl. Dear Yak Face, I feel your pain.

7. Luke Skywalker as Stormtrooper (Power of the Force, 1985)

Another entry from the 1985 ‘POTF’ line, Luke as a Stormtrooper proved a little hard to find because of the fading interest that retailers had in the Star Wars line, without movies to back it up. When Luke was actually found, there was a special interest in him as he was the only figure in the POTF line that came from ‘A New Hope’, and not one of the sequels.

As a side note, this POTF line also included a mail-away Anakin, which came packed in a plastic baggie from Kenner, which is worth about $100 bucks.

8. Vlix

Vlix wasn’t officially from the main Star Wars line, but instead a character from the short-lived Droids cartoon. He’s worth including as he’s regarded as the rarest of all released Star Wars-related figures.

When the Droids line of toys was canceled, Kenner had already sculpted and molded Vlix, planning to include him in the next assortment. Instead of letting the expensive tooling go completely to waste, the molds were sold to a Brazilian company called Glasslite, who proceeded to make the figure - and distribute it only in Brazil. Those guys have all the luck - they have nuts, sexily waxed women, and all of our Vlix figures.

Even a loose Vlix will net you around $4000, and a carded Vlix will probably put you through college a few times. I can only wonder if some Brazilian grandmother is cleaning out her attic and putting Vlix out at a tag sale at this very moment…

9. Anakin-to-Darth Vader Hasbro Press Kit

… which I’m counting as one figure.

Numbers nine and ten in the countdown are the only two on the list that were made after 1990. In fact, the Anakin-to-Darth Vader was released very recently in 2005 - but ONLY to Hasbro’s media guests in their Toy Fair showrooms. I’m still kinda cheesed off that they didn’t give me one. I love me some Vader, and I’d even make an exception to having a young Anakin into my collection, but that Vader could have been the difference between living at home for a few years and paying off my college loans immediately.

The rare press kit included a figure of Anakin Skywalker on a circular base, which rotated into a figure a Darth Vader. The figure was packed along with various press materials, all in a handsome box. While the initial secondary market price of the kit was in the many-thousands, it’s now dipped below $400. And I still don’t have one.

So close to financial solvency, guys. Woulda made braving the sweat-storm of fanboy armpits almost worth it.

10. Freeze-frame Weequay (Power of the Force, 1990s)

The final figure in this list is the thoroughly unlovable Weequay, a skiff guard for Jabba the Hutt, and all-around gross-lookin’ guy. Weequays are a dime a dozen are are pretty worthless when they’re loose. so the big difference with THIS Weequay only comes into play in the packaging, making for another moment of Star Wars collecting completism insanity.

See, this ugly guy from the ‘Power of the Force 2’ line from the mid-90s included a ‘freeze frame’, which was a gimmicky projectable slide that was included with a handful of the figures. Think ‘family vacation photos’, except your family is really ugly and fights in space a lot. Only a handful of these ‘Freeze Frame’ Weequays were released before they were repackaged without the slide, on a much more common green  card with a shiny picture of his ugly mug. A sealed Weequay, on a US card (none of that tri-lingual foreign junk here), with the slide, will run about $400, and an opened ‘Quay is just about the saddest thing I ever did see.

There are a few more uncommon Star Wars figures out there, but none so rare and treasured as these guys - which are likely to pop up in any given attic or tag sale by folks who just want to clean out their attic and don’t give two damns about eBay or us nerds. Keep on hunting!

It’s Star Wars Week here at Collectors’ Quest, and as a longtime Star Wars collector, I’m psyched.

Because the universe of Star Wars toys is so ridiculously vast, I have to limit myself to those things concerning the Original Trilogy, as well as the occasional awesome alien, robot or Jedi. That’s it. You won’t find any Clone Troopers in my collection - no Jar Jars or Wattos, and no Anakins unless they’re bald, old or wearing big, black helmets. I follow a bastardized version of the old poison ivy credo - ‘Not original three, let it be.’ It’s saved me from both poverty and unsightly rashes.

While I don’t own anything especially rare, there’s a short list of action figures that most collectors know about and will keep their eyes open for at a tag sale. Keep in mind that we’re talking about the figures that are roughly 3.75” tall here - the scale that the Star Wars line was introduced in.

Before I count down the list (in no particular order), it’s important to note that I’m only including action figures that were produced and released to the public. The legendary ‘Rocket Firing Boba Fett’ which allegedly choked a 3-year old child with its projectile was never actually produced, though a handful of unpainted prototypes exist (which have gone for $16,000 of more). These were never sold in stores - and the unfortunately airway-obscuring projectile was actually fired from a Battlestar Galactica toy made by Mattel.

1. Blue Snaggletooth (1978)

‘Blue Snaggletooth’ was released in 1978 by Kenner as part of the very first Star Wars figure set, both as a Sears mail-away figure and with the Cantina Adventure Set. When Kenner created this figure, all the modelers had to go on was a black and white photo of the creature’s upper body from ‘A New Hope’, and as a result, the figure differed significantly from the actual character - which was red, barefoot, and a whole lot shorter. Upon realizing this, all figures of Snaggletooth (also known by his Christian name, Takeel) after 1978 were remodeled to appear more film-accurate. While not overwhelmingly rare, this figure fetches prices up to $100 when loose, and over $400 while still sealed.

Recently, Medicom’s fifth line of Star Wars Kubricks even paid tribute to this collecting phenomenon by including a secret, super-rare Blue Snaggletooth figure, which itself fetches prices over $100.

2. Vinyl-Caped Jawa (1978)

Usually regarded as the second-rarest produced figure, the Vinyl-Caped Jawa was the result of a running change in Kenner’s production. The Jawas were released as part of the original 12 Star Wars figures in 1978, though because they were relatively small (even compared to the 4-inch standard of the line), Kenner wanted to give the consumer more bang for their $1.99. In order to make the figure appear more complete and a comparable value when displayed with the rest of the line, they replaced the cheap-looking plastic cape with a sewn fabric cape, which adorned all future Jawas after that initial batch.

That would be that, but toy once profiteers saw that this original Jawa was increasing in value on the collectors’ market, the forgeries began. With little more than an average cloth-robed Jawa figure and a piece of cheap, brown vinyl, people started cobbling together their own ‘VC’ Jawas and passing them off as original. Fortunately, today we have the proper dissemination of information regarding this, and there are extremely detailed webpages detailing the minutae of each version of the Jawa, from how the tiny eyes were painted to mp3s of the sound that your fingernail makes when running across the vinyl. Yeah, Star Wars collectors are wacky. It’s probably the only non-geological item that’s analyzed with a scratch test.

A loose, authenticated Jawa can net you about $1000, while a sealed and authenticated Jawa will get you about $2000. Authentication is important for these figures especially, due to the high rate of forgery. Even unauthenticated figures get get a few hundred bucks. I swear that I played with one of these as a kid.

Of course, we can presuppose that the fake Jawa sellers are only operating in the spirit of the Jawas themselves, who tried pawning off broken droids to the Lars family on Tattooine. If the Jawas had access to the internet, and were real, and could read, they’d surely be giggling and shouting ‘UTINNI!’ at the whole debacle.

3-5. Telescoping Lightsaber Luke / Obi-Wan / Darth Vader (1978)

Right after Star Wars was released in 1977, kids were abuzz for action figures. Because Kenner wasn’t prepared for the popularity of the movie and the Christmas toy interest that it would produce, they instead sold boxed certificates which would entitle the bearer to a complete set of the first four Star Wars figures ever - an ‘Early Bird’ set that included Leia, Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Luke. The box that the certificate was delivered in also functioned as a display base, but the glee of Christmas morning often caused this box to be torn wildly open, so very few exist intact today - and almost none of the mailed in certificates. All those happy, tearing hands finding coupons inside of otherwise potentially valuable boxes - a Christmas morning that sends shivers through the Star Wars collecting world. Forget about the joylessness of a coupon - that box was worth something!

This earliest figure of Luke had a unique feature that wouldn’t be repeated in later Lukes : his lightsaber would extend from his arm, and a tiny little plastic blade would then extend again from within that saber. This ‘double telescoping’ feature would be repeated in the first editions of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. These tiny inner-blades proved to be very fragile and not really convincing as action features, so they were quickly phased out.

Of the three, Luke is the most common, and I distinctly recall playing with just such a Luke as a child, amid the piles of Micronauts and Star Wars guys that my uncle had collected. I also remember stepping on an X-Wing, my uncle freaking out, and chewing on the end of Luke’s rare telescoping lightsaber - well before I knew the potential investment in treating your Star Wars guys kindly, of course. It’s the kind of moment you relive in your head with great regret. A loose telescoping Luke will get you around $600, if it’s in great condition, and only about 15 sealed examples are known to exist.

‘DT’ Vaders and Obi-Wans very rarely even surface, and when they do, a sealed one will earn you about $7000 or more.

Stay tuned for the rest of the countdown!

As a collector who often seeks to complete ongoing collections, I can appreciate what Scott Beatty is going for in his 200-page tome, The DC Comics Action Figure Archive. Indeed, I’ve learned to love the process of archiving things both as a librarian and as an overactive collector who needs to keep things organized lest they ultimately serve as the seeds of my destruction.

The DCCAFA is full of great photographs of toys, cut out arranged in a familiar ‘DK Guide’ style against white backgrounds, with clear labels and brief descriptions that include information about the year of production, the company of origin and accessories that each figure came with. The figures in the book (all, obviously, based on DC Comics characters, so no Spider-Men here), range from companies like the now-defunct Mego, Kenner, and ToyBiz, to Hasbro, DC Direct, and Mattel - all of whom have produced DC toys at some point and get equal time on the pages. This collection of toys displayed next to each other, especially in the vast Batman section, really shows the evolution of the action figure as both collectible and plaything, while the entire book presents the lowly action figure as a not-so-lowly evolving art form and idea that is somehow granted further validity by putting it all in a big, hardcover book. You know, like when you put pin-ups in hardcovers and suddenly they’re ‘art’ and not ‘perverse’.

The discussion of figure making and figure history is minimal as the author presumes a certain level of previous experience with figures on the part of the reader, with the book’s main focus being on the toy photos peppered throughout the columns of descriptions. It serves as a survey of very basic figure information, and an excellent starting point towards completing your own collection. All of the figures are arranged alphabetically throughout, though by character name, and not the series that they appeared in. Most listings are only a few words, with actual pictures appearing for random figures throughout. While I’d love to see every Lex Luthor standing side by side, this is, again, a ’starting point’.

By the definition of the book, ‘action figure’ includes things like Minimates and Pocket Heroes, but omits statues and static things like Heroclix and pewter figurines.

Despite the thoroughness, the book cuts off in the middle of 2007 - which is one of the perils of paper publishing encyclopedic references, especially in a digital age. Mattel’s DC Universe and JLU lines, and DC Direct’s many line, have made significant additions towards this archive in the short time since publication. The pages aren’t arranged in a format that would be especially welcoming towards an updated edition (though there’s a ton of white space on every page) - so don’t expect an ‘every toy ever’ perspective, but so look forward to the pretty pictures. Page 130 seems to omit the DC Superheroes Mongul figure that was released in early 2007. but I’ll allow that it was probably released on the cusp of when the book was being sent to the publishers. Also note that page 140’s ‘The Penguin’ (in the upper right hand corner) has the wrong image attached to it. The pictured Penguin is actually from ‘The New Batman Adventures’, and is very different from the details listed for ‘The Batman’ Penguin. Page 109 misidentifies two of the Killer Crocs listed on the page. So what I’m saying is ‘proceed with caution, but remain delighted’. This is probably the last point that the entirety of the DC action figure world can be encapsulated in a single book this handsomely.

By all accounts, I should have hosted some kind of gala, a costumed extravaganza on May 25th of this year to commemorate the anniversary of Star Wars : A New Hope being released to theaters 30 years ago… or at least cut off my own hand with a plasma sword and thrown it into space to honor the legacy of Luke Skywalker… but I did not.

Star Wars has been around for thirty years now, and by extension, nerd-dom has been stumbling through our culture full-force since that day in 1977, only augmented and fueled by the release of Advanced Dungeons and Dragons that same year. It was a banner year for social awkwardness and breathing conditions indeed. I’ve mentioned Star Wars here before about nine million times, so forgive me, but the advent of Star Wars did mark the beginning of the truly collectible action figure universe as we know it.

In an effort to have Star Wars toys ready by Christmas of 1977, Kenner sold ‘early bird’ kits to parents and children, which were nothing more than flat boxes that said, “we totally swear we have toys somewhere… check back with us later.” By mailing in the included postage-paid coupon, the customer would eventually receive a set of four white-boxed figures, including Luke, Leia, Chewbacca and R2-D2. Three of these figures would be re-released within the regular collection of figures later, but this would be a guarantee that yours would arrive first, enabling you to lord them over your friends and make them convulse with fits of space jealousy before they inevitably kicked your space-butt and stole your space-dolls. The Star Wars universe would see 96 different characters made into action figures in these early collections (along with a few very valuable production variations, including a vinyl caped Jawa and a blue Snaggletooth).

Even predating these first figures, though, was the original concept art by illustrator Ralph McQuarrie. Kenner and Hasbro have action-figurized pretty much every character to ever appear on screen in any Star Wars movie ever, even if said character’s screen time involved them lifting a glass at the Mos Eisley Cantina for one half of a second. Now, for this 30th anniversary, Hasbro has gone back to the original per-cinema McQuarrie envisionings of these characters and turned them into action figures. And as far as Star Wars collectors go, these are hot stuff.

To date, only three of these McQuarrie Concept figures have been released into stores, with a dozen different figures planned out for the next year or so. The first figure to be released was the Stormtrooper, which comes complete with a lightsaber, before such weapons were relegated only to Jedi and indicating an interesting story evolution. While some people go absolutely crazy buying these generic troop ‘army builder’ figures to amass their own armies, I’ve been pretty much full up on Star Wars figures for a while now, and it’ll take something really impressive and unique to work its way into my collecting space at this point. Artist-specific renditions of characters, though, hit my weak spot. For anyone looking to take me down, my weak spot is located just under my left armpit, next to my ‘good / evil’ switch. A similar McQuarrie Stormtrooper was released in 2004 as the fourth ‘Fan’s Choice’ figure, so to be fair, this isn’t the first time that McQuarrie’s work is seeing three dimensions.

The second McQuarrie figure released was the McQuarrie Concept Boba Fett, the feared intergalactic bounty hunter. McQuarrie’s initial concept had him clad in all white, not unlike the Stormtrooper. The figure comes with two alternate head designs to reflect two conceptual versions of the character. Over time, the figure’s outfit was battle-scarred and became his signature Mandalorian Armor. The third McQuarrie figure, a clothed and less hirsute Chewbacca, hit stores this week. While these three figures run at a retail price of about $7 each, they appear less frequently than other figures in case ratios, making their value skyrocket to as much as $30 on the secondary market.

Nine more McQuarrie figures are also slated to be released, including Darth Vader, Luke Starkiller (before he was the less violently monikered Skywalker), Leia Starkiller, Han Solo, and a Snowtrooper. Those looking to complete their McQuarrie collections must unfortunately contend with the annual bane of collectors everywhere : CONVENTION EXCLUSIVES.

Hasbro has decided to release certain pivotal characters exclusively to the attendees of certain conventions. An R2-D2 and C-3PO two-pack was released only to Celebration IV attendees (though an online retailer bought out Hasbro’s remaining stock and has been selling this item through their own website). The aforementioned Luke saw a joint release between Hasbro’s own online shop, Celebration IV and Celebration IV Europe. Finally, a Ben Kenobi / Yoda 2-pack will be exclusive to attendees of the San Diego Comic Con. As would be expected, this kind of increased rarity and inaccessibility has driven up secondary market prices significantly. All of these 30th Anniversary Collection figures include collectible coins.

Hasbro isn’t the only company with the Star Wars license to recognize McQuarrie’s significant contributions of the Star Wars universe, as Japanese company Kotobukiya is producing a vinyl statue scene depicting Luke Starkiller in battle with an early Darth Vader. While these items are not technically ‘canon’, they do reflect a respect for the creative energies that drove one of cinema’s greatest accomplishments. Don’t even question that statement, because it’s irrefutable.

So here’s my question : why the holy hell do I need three dozen Darth Vaders?

As I may have mentioned, I’ve been cleaning out my closets and selling the forgotten and undesirable on eBay, or mailing those things to friends, or feeding them to the dog, because that damned dog will eat just about anything. I knew that I had an ungodly amount of Star Wars action figures and various Wars memorabilia, and I fully expected to encounter the rich, precious veins of space adventure that run through the recesses of my room, like marble through a cave, or mysterious nougat through a delicious candy bar. Unfortunately, I severely underestimated the wealth of awesome that permeates my quarters, and thus, more storage solutions were sought out. New wells of Star Wars were discovered, and among them, oh so many Vaders.

Much more specific than general sci-fi collecting, or Star Wars collecting, I think that I’ve likely never passed on a Darth Vader action figure. As far as fictional villainy goes, he’s the ultimate villain. It’s been said that a successful villain is not a malevolent one, performing destructive deeds for the sheer sake of destruction - he performs ‘evil’ in the name of something that he sees as truly ‘good’ or progressive. From the villain’s perspective, there’s no other way, and he’ll use any means possible to accomplish those ends, and in that way, he’s simply a hero to an unusual logic. Tolkien’s Sauron (another much collected character) suffered from some kind of paranormal megalomania, violently reshaping the world in his own image. Marvel Comics’ Magneto sought to fight against the persecution of mutantkind, and Dr. Doom sought misguided (but passionate) revenge against Mr. Fantastic. Darth Vader, well, he was the servile mouthpiece to a greater evil, and in the end, he had an epiphany and actually proved to be the greatest hero of the Rebellion. And that’s why I love the guy.

Call it idolatry, but I’m surrounded by Darth Vaders. From the inch-tall Micro Machines playset Vader by Galoob, through an endless cache of Hasbro and Kenner 3.75″ - 5” Vaders (all very slightly different from one another, and some merely in different packaging than the last), all the way on up to the king of all Vaders, the arguably perfect 2-foot-tall Darth Vader with light-up sword and cloth cape made by Sideshow Toys. There’s small busts of Vader, statues of all varieties, a Darth Vader that transforms into a tie fighter, an unacceptably cute Galactic Heroes Vader, a Lego Vader, and even a big ol’ chunky Playskool Vader. And they’re almost all big, scary guys dressed all in black snowsuits with breathing problems and half of a payphone strapped to their chests. Some helmets come off to reveal the ghost-white half-man beneath the mask, some arms flail with lightsaber-slashing action when you press buttons. Some remain in their packages, such as the still-in-package original Return of the Jedi Vader, too cool to allow to gather dust.

And I realize that to a vast majority of the population, all of these look exactly the same, and they’re not entirely incorrect. Deanna recently spoke about hoarding items, and the possibility of a biological or genetic reason for some of our collecting compulsions. I think that for collectors, the idea of accumulating a ‘critical mass’ can be a quiet, unarticulated, but dominant urge. Either the idea that possessing every last something-or-other will create some kind of perfection, or creating a perfect balance in a display in a seamlessly-meshing sea of items - these are the impulses that drive a lot of my collecting.

I don’t know if it explains my truckload of Vaders. And let’s be clear here - I’m not talking about whiny Anakin Skywalker - I’m talking about the Episode IV : A New Hope (and beyond) Vader that we knew nothing about. No midichlorians, no hopelessly acted Padme, no boy-genius-who-built-C-3PO crap. Darth. Expletive deleted. Vader. All up in your Death Star, destroyin’ your planet. I’m very guilty of selectively ignoring delusional retcons, mostly for the sake of my delicate grasp on my fleeting youth. Every time I find another hair in my hairbrush, angels die. And maybe some unicorns. But mostly, me.

I’m keeping the Vaders. At least they won’t fall out of my head.