Check your collection: Blue Snaggletooth action figure

Check your collection takes a look at some of the rarest items in that Star Wars collectors are looking for and explores what makes them so special in the world of Star Wars collecting.

All kinds of different vintage Star Wars toys are valuable today as collectors have shelled out top dollar to complete the toy collection that they were never able to fully collect as a child. But one of the more interesting Star Wars toys is the tale of Blue Snaggletooth.

When the first line of toys were being made one of the toys was supposed to be of the character Zutton, an alien called a Snivvian, from Mos Eisley. (Of course, at the time, the character didn’t have a name and was one of many different strange aliens roaming around the city both inside and outside of the cantina.) The Zutton action figure was already going to be one of the less common toys being produced when compared to toys of the more popular characters such as Luke and Darth Vader. The toy was exclusive to Sears and not available on its own. The only way a person could obtain an action figure of this character would be either by purchasing the Star Wars Cantina Adventure Set, available only at Sears, or in a two pack mailer, alongside Greedo, also exclusively from Sears.

But an unexpected miscommunication made this particular toy even rarer. When developing the toy line, the only reference photo Kenner had for this particular character was a partial photo and was black and white on top of that. While the alien in the movie is rather short and is wearing a red uniform for the few moments that he can be seen, the toy of the character was given a blue uniform and was given longer legs similar to the other toys in the line. This taller, blue wearing version of the toy was released in the initial line of toys that were released in 1978. After the first run, the toy was changed to better reflect the way the character actually looked in the movie. All of the Cantina sets and two pack mailers that were produced from 1979 onward all featured the updated version of the character. However, that initial run of the original toy design was still out there, and today it’s one of the most valuable Star Wars toys out there.

Because the character wouldn’t be given the name Zutton until years later, he was referred to as Snaggletooth, with the rare variant being the Blue Snaggletooth, in reference to the incorrect uniform color. Today Blue Snaggletooth is sought after by toy collectors trying to complete the true original line of characters released for the first movie, even if the character didn’t ever technically appear that way in the film. A genuine Blue Snaggletooth toy can go for over $500 on eBay these days, especially if it still has the small blaster accessory that came with it back in 1978.

In a cruel twist of fate, this wasn’t the last time confusion would plague toys of the character Zutton. In 2001, Hasbro would release another toy of Zutton, except the toy that was released, as well as the art that appeared on the packaging, actually resembled a different Snivvian named Zutmore who appeared in the Star Wars Holiday Special.