SW 12-back telescoping Luke: One of the rarest production pieces ever made. Actually these were probably never meant to be production pieces but goof-ups always spawn collecting fun. The telescoping-saber Luke is more famous as the version available in the Early Bird Set but some have been found carded. In fact, the lightsaber instructions on the back of 12-backs explain how to operate a telescoping saber. But producing this type of saber proved to be expensive so the idea was abandoned and the sabre was modified into the form we all know. For years, kids wondered what could have possessed Kenner to make the sabre with that damned tip that always broke off. Now we can see that this thin tip was part of the final evolution of the original telescoping sabre.

Description: Chris Georgoulias
Photo: Gus Lopez
From the collection of Gus Lopez