Ultra-rare Star Wars Figure Variations
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, companies who make toys kept changing the design of Star Wars figures...
The original 'pinhead' Han Solo figure (left) was considered too unrealistic, so was replaced with the 'fifth Beatle' head (middle). The ultra-rare 'Bart' variation (right) was only sold in limited quantities in South America, until Harrison Ford demanded that the 'fifth Beatle' head was reinstated as the Simpsons had yet to be invented.
Packaging variations can cause real problems for collectors, as more and more versions of the same figure are produced with slightly different pieces of cardboard attached. This ultra-rare freeze frame "Princess Leia Organa with a headache" was quickly replaced by "Princess Leia Organa with althlete's foot".
Figures from the new Episode One film, The
Phantom Menace, each come with a small microchip containing
digitally recorded speech. This has enabled toy manufacturer
Hasbro/Kenner to put prices up even further, and provided jobs
for very crap voice actors who pretend to be Liam Neeson.
Most "commtech" chips come with three or four phrases,
but the Darth Maul chip (above) contains only two. An early
prototype of the chip was shipped to some stores in Canada,
containing a third phrase that was cut from the final release of
the movie. Simply click below to hear the sounds from the
Canadian variation:
First
phrase
Second Phrase
Third Phrase
(Prototype only)