Kenner File Photography: Original Concept (Kit-bashed) Boba Fett Action Figure :

Due to a fantastic find of original photographic reference material, we are now privy to some never before seen images of the infamous Rocket Firing Boba Fett action figure prototype. This appears to be the original concept model created and was no doubt inspired by Boba Fett's visit to Kenner. Lucasfilm shipped the costume to Kenner so that they could get a first-hand glimpse of this new villain which would soon become a highly publicized action figure.

What is of great interest about this prototype is that it's actually a composite of several other body parts culled from the 20 figures existing at that time, namely, the Stormtrooper (arms), Death Squad Commander (legs) and C3PO (torso). The backpack was taken from a Shogun Warriors toy. The parts would have been built-up with some type of putty so that they took on a new form. The head would have been either sculpted from scratch or been a heavily built-up existing figure head, possibly that of C-3PO - which makes sense given the use of the torso. A similar practice of modifying materials at hand and combining them (often referred to as "kit-bashing") was apparently a common practice at Kenner and was used throughout the Star Wars toy line to create a myriad of concept models. Aside from aiding the designers in hashing out the particulars of a figure's appearance, this technique might also have served as a way of filling vacancies in photographic material (such as advertisements) during the time in which the actual production figure as we would come to know it was still in the early design stages. Having gotten a late start, Kenner was working fast at the time in order to catch up and keep up with the Star Wars craze. Getting the Boba Fett promotion on line as a boost for the tail-end of the Star Wars toy line would have been vital and to accomplish this feat some type of figural representations were needed.

Some major points of interest here are the inclusion of a vinyl cape and the overall detail of the figure and the backpack. As far as the paint goes, it's quite complex -even the back of the hands have a black circled "X" on them. The backpack has movable jet pods and has a fair amount of colors and different features. The missile looks quite menacing and would surely have been an eye hazzard since it was so pointed. The head was detailed like the early LFL helmet with the "eyes" on top and the range finder had a real metal rod. The boots even have stripes on the foot. Although it was a nice approximation of the actual costume, it was probably recognized early on that this figure would have to be greatly reduced in complexity to meet it's price point which is likely why the cape was scrapped before the second version was ready to be photographed.

Description: Chris Georgoulias and Ron Salvatore
Photo: Kenner File Photograpy
Photos Provided By: Cloud City Collectibles