World’s most expensive toy found in old figure box despite NEVER going on sale – due to choking hazard

AN ULTRA rare Star Wars action figure has become the most valuable toy in the world after selling for a record £411,000.

Bounty hunter Boba Fett’s hand-painted missile-firing model was considered a choking hazard in the 1970s and never hit shelves.

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According to the letter of provenance from Star Wars enthusiast and dealer Brian Rachfal, it survived after “being recovered from a box of discarded toys deposited there for employees to take home.”

As one of only two toys in the world, it easily surpassed the previous record holder, a unique Barbie with a one-carat diamond, which fetched $302,000 (£236,000) at auction in 2010.

According to Heritage Auctions, the figure’s purchase more than quadrupled the highest value ever for a Star Wars action figure sold at auction.

The previous record was held by a Boba Fett with a rocket launcher, which sold for $236,000 (£185,000) in 2022.

Based on the character who would appear in The Empire Strikes Back the following year, toy manufacturer Kenner developed the model in 1979.

The “rocket firing backpack” toy was exclusive to the toy store and was given away for free to anyone who could prove they had purchased four other Star Wars action figures.

But after rumors circulated that rival Mattel’s missile-firing Battlestar Galactica toys had become choking hazards, the rocket-laden toys were never delivered.

Upon the arrival of the figure, the rocket was cemented into place and a notice was included informing customers that “the launcher has been removed from the product for safety reasons.”

It is believed that up to 100 prototypes were made, but only two of them were hand-painted.

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Heritage Auctions Executive Vice President Joe Maddalena said, “The rocket-firing Boba Fett action figure has long become such a mythical icon that people around the world know about him, even if they don’t collect anything.

“We knew this had a chance to be in the record books and it was exciting to see it become the most valuable toy in the world.”

The Star Wars subscription auction raised $1,662,000 (£1,301,000) from more than 1,500 bidders.

It included a second Boba Fett figurine, a Skywalker lightsaber, and a third draft of George Lucas’ script for the original film, which was still titled The Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Starkiller.

“Projectiles have always been a touchy subject,” says former Kenner engineer Jacob Miles III, an original member of the company’s Star Wars team tasked with keeping that rocket safely in Boba Fett’s backpack.

“But when Battlestar Galactica had its problems, we immediately shut it down and destroyed everything.

“We were worried about disappointing the kids because we had shown that thing (the rocket) taking off. But we had a much bigger concern if we sent it up.”