Chewbacca was a very popular figure for Kenner and this was the only version of the character produced for the vintage line and was featured on every card back from 1978-1985, including the Power of the Force line.
Every kid who collected Star Wars had to have a fierce looking, tender-hearted Chewie in their collection.
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Kenner did a great job with this figure who towered above members of the Imperial Forces. Chewie was a member of the shaggy, sentient Wookie race, who were renowned for their hair trigger tempers.
Chewbacca was an ardent adventurer who became a hero during the Clone Wars, and even assisted Jedi Master Yoda escape from the clutches of the rising Imperial Empire and became a fugitive.
It is during this period, while fleeing from a cadre of Imperial TIE Fighters, that he crosses paths with a young Imperial Lieutenant called Han Solo who ultimately saves the Wookie from certain death and the two became inseparable friends.
The Chewbacca figure was first released in 1977-1978 as part of the Early Bird Certificate Package and then on the 12-back card.
The Chewbacca figure was one of the tallest in the line and was moulded completely from a brown plastic. On many of these old vintage figures the limbs have become slightly discoloured and are a lighter colour to the body, making it look like a different shade of plastic was used, but this is not the case.
His head sculpt was painted with blue on white eyes, a black nose, combed back “hair” or fur and white snarling teeth as well as white ammo cartridges on his shoulder belt.
He only had four points of articulation on his shoulders and hips that only allowed for an up and down movement, a far cry from the multiple POA on the modern-day action figure, but back in the day kids (or their parents) queued for hours in stores to pick these up.
Due to the fact that there was only one Chewbacca sculpt made for the entire vintage line of Star Wars figures he is easy to find loose in fairly good condition. However, original 12-back or EB Package samples are very difficult to find.
The only accessory he came with was his bowcaster, which is often missing from figures sold on the secondary market. The detail on the sculpt was pretty good, all things considered, and by 1970’s standards
There were three important variations of Chewbacca’s bowcaster, firstly an early version was made of a dark green, translucent plastic, which was probably included in the EB Package.
The second was the standard blue-black bowcaster that was included with most of the carded samples, and thirdly a lighter-blue version packaged with the Empire Strikes Back packages.
There were also two possible colours of his tool pouch, a hard-to-find iridescent green pouch that was featured on the earliest samples and the more standard brown tool pouch.
Values:
MOC 12-back $375
MOC 20/21-back $215
MOC ESB $100
MOC ROTJ $80
MOC POTF $115
MLC Standard bowcaster $16
Green bowcaster $30-$35
This guide is a complete guide to the Vintage Kenner Star Wars Action Figures from the New Hope line to the Power of the Force line.
This guide includes a full gallery of ALL the figures as well as tips on how to spot fake and repro figures.
The listing also includes information on all the variants and the rarest figures and how to spot them.
This guide also includes FREE LIFETIME UPDATES!
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PLEASE NOTE: All prices and values quoted on this site were correct at the time of publication based on the average value across several online and offline auction sites etc. The prices quoted ARE NOT an offer or solicitation to buy any figures at these prices.