Vintage STAR WARS Action Figures With “Double-Telescoping” Lightsabers Are Selling for Insane Money
If you were the kind of kid who ripped open your Star Wars toys and staged epic battles across your living room floor, you might want to sit down for this.
Some of those same figures, especially the earliest ones from Star Wars, are now pulling in jaw-dropping prices on the collector’s market. And weirdly enough, it’s the ones with the most flawed design that are worth the most.
Back in 1978, Kenner rolled out its first wave of Star Wars action figures, including Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. They came with a unique feature that seemed cool at the time but turned out to be a manufacturing nightmare.
The lightsabers had a “double-telescoping” design, meaning a thin inner filament extended from a thicker outer tube to simulate the blade igniting. They broke easily, though.
Because of that, Kenner quickly scrapped the design and switched to a more durable single-piece version. That decision, made out of necessity, accidentally created one of the most valuable niches in toy collecting history.
Fast forward to today, and those fragile early versions are considered holy grails. A great example is a 1978 Darth Vader figure from the Jeff Jacob Collection that sold at a Hake’s auction for a staggering $130,095. The listing was for a Darth Vader 12 Back-A AFA 80 NM (Double-Telescoping, POP 4), and collectors went wild over it.
Only three characters ever got this feature before it was discontinued. Vader’s saber was red, Obi-Wan’s was blue, and Luke’s was yellow. That last detail interestingly bends canon a bit since Luke is famously associated with a green or blue blade depending on the film.
These early toys didn’t quite line up with what fans would later see on screen, but that inconsistency has only made them more interesting and cool.
An Obi-Wan Kenobi figure from the same collection sold for $105,182 in January 2025. A Luke Skywalker version followed in March 2025 for $84,370. Vader’s higher price comes down to rarity.
According to collectors, it is “infinitely rarer,” and it also marked the first AFA 80 Darth Vader figure ever sold at auction.
Mint figures sealed in their original packaging are the ultimate prize. There was even a Reddit user who claimed to own an unopened Obi-Wan figure, noting that only 12 or 13 examples have ever met the grading standard.
If you’ve got an old box of Star Wars toys tucked away somewhere, it might be time to dig it out.