| Rocket Firing Boba Fett (L-Slot Version) | |
| This is it! The legendary rocket firing Boba Fett figure. This one is known as the "L-Slot" variety in that the slot in it's back is the shape of a backwards "L". This is in contrast to the J-Slot style of RocketFett. Notice that the bluish color of the plastic used on this figure is distinct from the Boba Fett production figure which is more gray.
The back side of the rocket firing Boba Fett is the more interesting side. Notice that there's no date stamped on the leg. The detail comes out well in this photograph and you can see that there are only a few coils in the spring resulting in a missile that doesn't shoot much more than about 24 vertical inches. Although this is the most prevalent version of this prototype, another stage of prototyping was done to create a figure that would not fire accidentally. This J-slot version (as collectors have named it) made the mechanism safer but part of the backpack could be broken causing a shard of plastic which presented a "sharp" hazard. It was this sharp that ultimately doomed the firing feature. The rocket that accompanies this style of figure has 4 ribs running lengthwise but the design was changed to 8 ribs when the figure was changed to the J-slot version. The 8-rib missile design carried forth to the production action figure. Contrary to popular belief, the rocket-firing feature was not removed from the figure because a child choked on and died from a Battlestar Galactica toy missile. You can read all about it here. |
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| Description by: | Chris Georgoulias |
| Photo: | Michael Duddy |
| From the collection of: | Michael Duddy |
| Country: | United States |
| Film: | A New Hope |
| Licensee: | Kenner |
| Year: | 1978 |
| Category: | Prototypes / Action Figure Related |