This Vintage Star Wars R2-D2 Figure Is One Of A Kind Because Kenner Was Extra Protective Of It

There are plenty of reasons why a particular action figure could be more valuable than the rest. For instance, Kenner’s vintage Star Wars figures with the iconic double telescoping lightsabers are worth a lot of money because they were discontinues, making those found in the wild pretty rare and valuable. There are also some figures that were later updated, making their previous versions highly coveted. However, it’s not always down to the figure itself. Sometimes, the packaging itself plays a huge part in determining an item’s value. Besides its overall condition, it could feature a promotional sticker a different card back format, or even a factory error that makes it pretty rare. However, you know you’ve struck gold when it’s a mix of a few of these factors.

This 1978 Kenner Star Wars R2-D2 action figure has already racked up a bid price of over $1,000 at Heritage Auctions. While its AFA 80 grade is pretty high, it’s not enough to push the figure’s valuation to four figures on its own. That has actually been aided by two separate factors. Firstly, the packaging features a 12-Back A card back, meaning it’s the original card back format with the other 12 launch figures advertised on it. The letter ‘A’ indicates it featured the earlier format, which Kenner eventually changed. However, the second factor is way more interesting. While the Kenner Star Wars toy line’s iconic packaging was known for its design and blister packaging, this particular one features a factory error that resulted in it having two blisters on top of each other. It looks like Kenner was really protective of this R2-D2 figure.

This Kenner Star Wars R2-D2 Has Two Blister Packs On Its Packaging

Factory errors often tend to make items more valuable, primarily because they’re rare one-offs. However, the AFA 80 grade, 12-Back A card back, and this double blister pack have created a truly unique combination that make this item one of a kind. Heritage reports that it’s the only graded example of its kind, and you know what that means to collectors. Just to add to the uniqueness of this figure, its hang tab hasn’t been entirely punched out, making it just that much more valuable. We can all agree that R2-D2 is a truly unique astromech that has seen way more of the Skywalker family drama than he should have, but this Kenner figure is almost as unique as the droid itself.

Unfortunately, you can’t really make out from the picture that there are two blisters on the card back, but one thing is for sure, this R2-D2 figure isn’t going to be subject to any wear and tear anytime soon. This is also the strangest factory error I’ve ever come across. While misprints and wrong items in the packaging are relatively common, I bet there aren’t too many cases of the manufacturer putting two layers of the plastic blister on the packaging. Perhaps someone at the packaging plant was a big fan of the droid. Regardless of that, it’s truly one of a kind, and some collectors love getting their hands on vintage toys with factory errors.