The Boba Fett figure with firing jet pack took over 30 years to get made.
Back in 1979 Kenner had an offer for a free new action figure from the upcoming movie The Empire Strikes Back. It was for Boba Fett which is a character in the sequel to Star Wars. I was so excited!!! Fett looked so cool!!!! My imagination went wild with this character. What is he like? What does he do in the movie? Where does he come from??? I was ready to order the new figure. What made it really cool is the rocket firing jet pack. Wow! No other Star Wars action figure did that!!! Cool!!!! Of course I had the necessary proof of purchases that was required to get the free figure. Back in the day, when toy companies offered something for free, then it was really free. We didn't have to pay for shipping like we do today. So lame!!!!! So, I mangled my action figure cardbacks for the proofs, shoved them in an envelope with an order form and sent it in the mail. I could not wait for my new figure to arrive. The 6 to 8 weeks felt like an eternity!!!!!!!! Finally the small, white, rectangular box arrived. I opened the box feverishly. I could not get the box open fast enough!!!!! I was imagining all of the adventures I would have with this new action figure. I removed the figure from the box and then the plastic baggie. Boba Fett was finally in my hands. Yay!!! But....wait! Why doesn't the rocket fire from the jet pack???? What's going on????? An insert in the box stated that for "safety reasons" the jet pack does not shoot a rocket. DAMN!!!!!! All because little kids could shoot their eye out! UGH!!! Stupid kids! Even though I was disappointed that the figure didn't have the shooting rocket, I was still very happy to have this really cool looking action figure from Empire. Before the movie is in theatres even. So, through the years I saw many bootleg versions of the rocket firing Boba Fett. There were custom versions also. They looked terrible, and people sold the figure at a ridiculous fee as if it was official. Obviously, many fans demanded an official figure. Sooooooo, for the anniversary of Empire, Hasbro made the rocket firing Boba Fett figure!!! I had to get it. I got it. Hooray for my childhood!!!
