TV Guide #2411 (June 12, 1999) Jabba the Hutt Cover
Shortly after The Phantom Menace came out in 1999, TV Guide did an issue that had four different interlocking covers featuring Star Wars characters (the other covers had Jar Jar, Watto, and Boss Nass). I guess it was an attempt to get people to buy four copies of the same magazine, and I’m sure some people did just that. Inside was an article about the movie and its digital effects.
Vintage Jabba the Hutt Beach Towel by The Bibb Company
The Bibb Company apparently put out quite a number of Star Wars towels, bedding, and related items back in the day. This beach towel measures around 30″ wide by 58″ long, so it’s quite large. It could easily be used as a sort of hanging tapestry or as a throw on some furniture in a Star Wars room.
I’m pretty impressed with the art. It’s the same old Jabba illustration we’ve seen so many times on vintage items, but this may be the clearest and most nicely colored version yet. Plus I don’t recall seeing all of these extra details like the rotisserie behind Jabba, the arch, or the stairs to the right of his throne on other items. The Rebo Band is also nicely done.
Click the image for a larger version.
Jabba the Hutt Cookie Jar by Star Jars
Star Jars had a line of ceramic Star Wars cookie jars in the late 1990s (this piece was released in 1998). The line consisted of Princess Leia, Obi-wan Kenobi, Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, C-3PO, and Wicket the Ewok. They were going to produce more, including a Boba Fett for which a prototype was produced, but the company went out of business before they were made. Apparently, the list price was originally $250, which is way too expensive in my opinion. You can get these for significantly less than that nowadays, although for some reason Jabba is definitely one of the less common ones. The edition size on this was 1000 pieces, but I see them up for sale so infrequently that I wonder if they actually produced that many.
These are quite large jars. I also have the C-3PO one and it looks to be about 3/4 scale. Jabba is of course a much smaller scale since they included his whole body, but at nearly 15″ tall he’s still considerably larger than most other Jabba collectibles. In fact, the only two that are bigger are the Attakus Jabba and the Illusive Concepts Jabba.
The paint work on this is pretty mediocre. Jabba is just a yellowish cream color and a green color without any other highlights or shading, aside from some green brushstrokes applied to the cream colored parts. Still, I kind of like the sculpt, and the size is impressive. And it’s a Jabba cookie jar! 😀 I’ll always associate it with this picture:
Jabba the Hutt Air Freshener by C&D Visionary Inc.
That’s right. It’s a Jabba air freshener. Because who wouldn’t want to smell like a giant space slug? Technically it’s supposed to be “cherry” scented, but I can’t actually smell anything at all from outside the package and I don’t think I’ll be opening this one up. It’s possible that it’s past its prime, as it was originally released in 2005.
Of course, my guess is that Slave Leia is really the character they were attempting to sell here, more than Jabba.
Link: Samurai-Style Jabba the Hutt Drawing by Steve Bialik
Cartoonist Steve Bialik has done a great series of images that use a sort of pseudo-Japanese style to depict a variety of Star Wars Characters. This is his version of Jabba and Leia, but you should definitely take a look at his site to see how he interprets many of the other main characters. Click the image for a larger version.
I’m hoping he’ll figure out a way to offer these as prints.
Power of the Force 2 Rancor by Kenner
Released in 1998, this was the second rancor figure to be produced, coming after the vintage rancor from the 80s, but before the “Jabba’s Rancor” that came out just last year.
From what I understand, Hasbro Kenner originally considered re-using the vintage figure (perhaps with a better paint job), and even went so far as to make some test prototypes with the original molds before deciding to start from scratch.
While the vintage rancor was made of hard plastic parts made in two-part molds, this appears to be made of rotocast parts (with the exception of the hands). They’re made of a pretty hard material though, and have very little give even if you try to squeeze them.
It’s fairly well done, but there’s just something about it that I’m not crazy about. They sculpt is good, even though the jowl area of the face looks too big, so I think it must be the paint job, which seems almost cartoony — overly contrasty and exaggerated. I mean, did the rancor really have stripes?
He also doesn’t have any kind of action feature, unlike the other two versions (no opening mouth, etc.). For me, it’s definitely my least favorite of the three rancors. While it’s a lot more accurate than the vintage rancor, the vintage figure has nostalgia going for it. And if it’s accuracy you want, you’re really better off going for the “Jabba’s Rancor” figure anyway.
Still, it’s an inexpensive option if you just want one for kids to play with. It originally came with a Jedi Luke figure and a bone to stick in his mouth. I have one loose rancor out of the box and one still in the box, but no loose Luke so I can’t provide closeups of that figure.
Vintage Topps Return of the Jedi Trading Cards
These were put out by Topps in 1983, and as the package says, each “wax pack” included 10 cards, 1 sticker, and 1 stick of bubble gum. They came with several different characters on the package, including Darth Vader, Luke, and an Ewok in addition to Jabba.
There were 132 cards all together (including two helpful “checklist” cards) and 33 stickers. Since there was only one sticker per pack (randomly inserted) and each sticker apparently came in two different background colors, it must have been quite a task to get all of the stickers.
You can look here for a list of all of the cards, but I’m just going to post a few to give you an idea. I don’t yet have all of the Jabba ones, but I plan to get them eventually. Each card had a photo on one side and a drawing and some text on the other. The stickers had a piece of a larger image on their reverse side, allowing you to put them together like a puzzle.
Jabba and Oola Ink Drawing by Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson did this great ink drawing of Jabba on his throne with Oola (before their unfortunate breakup). It measures 9″ x 12″. Click the image for a larger version.
EDIT: I just stumbled upon an entry on DeviantArt of this image digitally colored. Great job, although I think I prefer it in B&W.
This another one of the sterling silver Star Wars rings that the Japanese company JAP Inc. put out in the late 1990s (I also have the Rancor). It’s quite a large ring, so it might be difficult for most people to wear well. This particular one is too small for me to wear except as a pinky ring. You probably can’t tell from the pictures, but Jabba’s tail is separate from his body and coils around your finger to make up the bottom part of the ring. These rings are not easy to find. I think they only made 500 of them in the first place, and they were only officially sold in Japan. I got this on a Japanese auction site.
This is a unique statue that I got in Japan. I don’t know a whole lot about it, but I do know that it’s manufactured by a company called Leadworks, and I believe that it was only released in Japan. Or at least the only place I’ve seen these are on Japanese auction sites. The box makes no mention of Jabba specifically (the statue has the enigmatic name “AG Four Creature Skeleton”) but it’s pretty obvious that it’s intended to be Jabba’s skeleton. Of course I don’t think Hutts would really have skeletons in the Star Wars world — I’ve always thought of them as being closest to slugs in terms of their physiology.
It’s about 8 inches tall by 6 inches wide, so it’s fairly large. I’ve found 3 or 4 of these on auction sites over the last few months, and all but this one have had fingers missing from the hands, so that’s clearly a weak point. The box is almost entirely in English. It’s actually kind of humorous and not the kind of “Engrish” that you might expect:
At the end of this century 1999, the AG Creature is born. Why it was born, or where it was born, no on can say for sure. Absorbing all human hatred, desire and jealousy, even now it is said to be continuously multiplying…
How to take care of the AG Creature:
- Never give it food or water after 12 midnight. It won’t get bigger, but it may develop a stomach ache.
- It loves movies, so watch one together sometime.
- Try touching your finger to the creature’s finger. You should be able to share your feelings.
- Do not put it in your bicycle basket, as flying may occur.
- Avoid direct sunlight.
- Take it for the occasional walk.
Distinctive features and habitat
- It’s rather bony looking…
- It’s [sic] habitat is puzzling.
- Maybe from the Galapagos Islands?
Mighty Jabba's Collection 