1997 STAR WARS 12″ C-3PO Poseable Figure in Box

Imagine waking up Christmas morning in 1977. The biggest movie of all time, Star Wars had come out over the summer and what everyone wanted for Christmas was Star Wars toys. You tear open your presents, and SCORE! The Star Wars logo! But wait a minute, what’s this? It’s only a piece of cardboard, a sheet of stickers, an invitation to join the Star Wars Fan Club, and something called an “Early Bird Certificate”. What’s going on here? Where are the toys? Is Santa ripping me off?

If you’re like me, Christmas 1977 was kind of disappointing, because there were no Star Wars figures yet, no Luke, Leia, Han or Darth Vader. That’s because there was no guarantee Star Wars would be a hit, and by the time a deal was struck with Kenner Toys, there wasn’t enough time to make toy molds for Christmas 1977. Instead, Kenner gave kids a PROMISE of toys, if you mail in your “Early Bird Certificate”. And even then, when they finally showed up, you only got 3 figures at a time. It took forever to collect them!

The good news is you don’t have to go through all that trouble, because I collected them for you. This is the set of 1st Edition Star Wars figures that were promised with the Early Bird Certificate Kit. The kit is long gone, but here are the figures, mostly all original, with some reproduction weapons to replace those lost over time. Princess Leia’s cape was lost so she’s wearing a reproduction, but other than that the figures are all original and have the 1977 copyright date molded in. See the list below.

Also original is the 1st Edition Millennium Falcon, made in 1979, the first year made by Kenner. It’s in great shape, with a little wear on the sticker markings. The original cockpit canopy was lost at some point, as was the radar dish and the interior floorboards, but they’ve been replaced with reproductions. The original sound works too, and we’ll include 2 “C” batteries so the Falcon will be powered up and ready to set a new record for the Kessel Run!

The Millennium Falcon is nearly 2 feet long: 21”long x 15” wide x 9” tall from landing gear to the radar dish and turret guns. Also included is a two sided 11″ x 17″ reproduction of the original instruction sheet. If you want to see additional photos of any of the figures or the Falcon, just let us know and we’ll send them to you.

Here is the description of the figures, as stated on the original 1977 ad:
12 authentically designed figures in realistic STAR WARS costumes. All have moveable parts, scaled to fit inside STAR WARS Space Vehicles.

• Sand People (3 3/4”) in sand fighter costume with Gaderffii Stick
• See-Threepio (3 3/4”) in shining gold finish
• Death Squad Commander (3 3/4”) with Laser Rifle
• Han Solo (3 3/4”) with Laser Pistol
• Chewbacca (4 1/4”) with Laser Rifle
• Princess Leia Organa (3 3/4”) has a removable cape and Laser Pistol
• Luke Skywalker (3 3/4”) with action Light Saber
• Artoo-Detoo (2 1/4”) with movable legs and head that “clicks”
• Darth Vader (4 1/4”) with action Light Saber and removable cape
• Stormtrooper (3 3/4”) with Laser Rifle
• Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (3 3/4”) with action Light Saer and removable cape
• Jawa (2 1/4”) with shining eyes and Laser Gun

Photos are of actual items. Climate controlled storage and minimally handled. Sold as is. Sold as a set only. Only one set available.