Preproduction Shadows of the Empire Prototypes Featured in Tomart's Action Figure Digest Issue #29
In April 1996, Tomart's Action Figure Digest, Issue #29 revealed a variety of new Shadow of the Empire toys that were exhibited at the New York Toy Fair Show. A considerable portion of the displayed items consisted of preproduction prototypes or samples.
This conceptual mockup seems to feature a hand-cut cardboard representation of Luke Skywalker dressed in his Imperial Guard disguise. The blister lacks an inner tray, and the cover also appears to be of non-production quality.
This 2-pack of Boba Fett and IG-88 includes hand-cut figures. Additionally, you will observe that the cover art for the novel replaces the comic book that was issued in the production counterpart.
Dash Rendar had a different paint deco that included some extra black accents.
The loose Luke Skywalker action figure on display features a slightly altered paint decoration, particularly noticeable on the shins. His weapon is of an earlier design, characterized by longer extension tips at the end. First shot prototypes have been discovered to incorporate this same design.
The Outrider vehicle exhibited a metallic silver finish, similar to that depicted on the actual product packaging. Nevertheless, the final production vehicle was produced with a non-metallic tan finish.
The Swoop vehicle is presented alongside a hand-cut cardboard figure, similar to several other mockups that have been exhibited. The warning disclaimer specified the age range for the toys, which was distinctly separated in the final package design.
A conceptual illustration of Prince Xizor's Virago (not Verago) is located adjacent to a hand-painted model of Boba Fett's Slave I spacecraft. The production version of the Slave I vehicle featured an airbrushed variant akin to this one.
Thanks for sharing. I always love the origin stories. While I'm biased to the red card packaging I did love these figures when they were release. I've tried to catalog most of my collection here, and this is the page for the SOTE section - https://savrip.com/sote/ I loved that the comic books were released in different languages across the markets.