Action Figure Overview: Star Wars Blue Snaggletooth (Kenner, 1978)
These photos are of my childhood Blue Snaggletooth figure. As you can see from the paint wear, I played with him quite a lot. I always preferred him to the more common shorter, bootless, red Snaggletooth. Although he didn't take the lead in the majority of my playtime adventures like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, and my Storm Troopers, this relatively uncommon figure was certainly at the very least a regular cast member in the stories that I invented and played out as a kid.
By 1978, Kenner's Star Wars figures were the hottest toys on the market. I still remember the first time I ever saw them: they were in the hands of another kid in my neighborhood and I absolutely had to have a set for myself! I can still remember the trip to the toy store where my first Star Wars figures were purchased, which four figures I chose, and why I chose them. I remember a later trip to a different store where I received my first Land Speeder. I even vaguely remember the day that I finally got a Storm Trooper. However, despite remembering these seemingly random moments with a strange clarity, I have no memory at all of receiving the Sears exclusive Cantina Adventure Set that included my four colorful aliens. I have cloudy memories of having the flimsy, cardboard display around and many memories of playing with the four figures, but no recollection at all of first getting the set.
It must have been a gift on Christmas day 1978. Although Sears offered the set through their Christmas Wish Book in both 1978 and 1979, they had replaced the blue Snaggletooth with the more common red version in the 1979 sets. In 1978, I was 100% a Star Wars kid. I loved my Star Wars figures and I'm sure that I was ridiculously excited about the eight new figures that had recently been released...ok, more like seven of them; Power Droid wasn't exactly quite as exciting as the rest. But all of the cantina creatures were wonderful!
It probably seems strange now, after years of knowing how rare and expensive this figure turned out to be, but as a kid it was just another figure that I played with. I gave absolutely no thought to being careful to keep the paint from wearing or making sure that I didn't move the arms, legs, and head too much which would make them loose at the joints. Although I don't have a mint condition Blue Snaggletooth action figure in my collection, I do have many fond memories of childhood adventure with my blue-suited alien toy!
Did you have a Blue Snaggletooth as a kid? If so, do you remember what you thought of him back when he was just a regular figure, not a valuable collectible? If you didn't have one as a kid, do you have one now? Tell me in the comments!
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I had a Blue Snag growing up in the 1970s. Along with most of the rest of my vintage collection, I stupidly sold my collection when I became too cool for Star Wars in college in the 1990s. Now, as a smarter, and even cooler adult, I am re-collecting my lost treasures. I was reluctant to spend $200 on a Blue Snag, but it was always tempting seeing them on the FB sites. Then, on a beautiful day just a week ago, someone was selling a plastic bag full of vintage beaters. I inspected it, and low and behold, on the bottom, there he was! I asked the price of the whole bag... $30. The world is right again, and a Blue Snag stands in a place of honor in my collection forever!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome! Finding scores like that is my favorite part of collecting!
DeleteI was a kid when the original Star Wars came out, so of course I collected as many figures as I could. I had Red Snaggletooth, but to be honest, I don't even know if I knew that Blue Snaggletooth existed. Fast-forward to the present, where I am an adult collector trying to complete my childhood collection. I've dreaded dropping the $200-300 to buy my own Blue Snag. But then, one day, someone on one of the many Star Wars collecting groups on Facebook was offering his Blue Snag as a prize in a Star Wars trivia contest to be held live in real time. After 90 minutes of furiously answering questions, I won! My Blue Snaggletooth was shipped to me, and I will never get rid him. He's not exactly mint, but he's all mine.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to add a Blue Snaggletooth to your collection! As you can see from the photos, mine isn't mint either. I don't mind at all. If he were mint, I'd probably be nervous picking him up -Haha!
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