Palitoy Mailers
Frank Mewes
Chihuahua
Chihuahua
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SINGLE FIGURE MAILERS
– Palitoy Issued Mailers
Survival Kit
4-LOM
Admiral Ackbar
Anakin
Boba Fett
Dengar
The Emperor
Nien Nunb
Rancor Keeper
Refund of Postage Cost Note
Apology Note
Flyers & Comic Book Adverts
ROTJ era Mail-in Offer
Luke Jedi, Madine, C-3PO Letter
– Clipper
– Toltoys
– Kenner
– Kenner Canada
– Poch/PBP
– Harbert
KENNER REPLACEMENT PARTS PROGRAM
Palitoy mailers came as a plain white box with just the recipients address label & a bagged figure, no catalogs & paperwork like their Kenner counterparts, each country had its own mail away issued figures & some were issued in several.
Survival kit
The early issued Palitoy SK mailers came with Kenner baggies & were later changed to the Palitoy versions which did not have the Blue Box Kenner logo on them, similar to the Toltoys 4-Lom being issued in a Kenner baggie, assumed due to the fact production of euro baggies had not yet stared when these earlier offers were available, later issue above with Palitoy baggie.
4-LOM
Heat sealed
Palitoy-b baggie
The Anakin was an offer that went ahead in the States, but from what any of us can gather it never actually got as far as being offered up as a mail away promotion either here in the UK or In Australia, all the stock would seem to have been made & packed ready for the promotion to go ahead, yet (speculation) it would seem that due to the decline of the toy line through the POTF era they never actually got as far as doing the Anakin promotion outside of the U.S.
Not one addressed example of this mailer has ever turned up either in the UK or in Australia, no flyers/cardbacks stickers or wraparounds – nothing a total blank canvas, though we do know that the mailers have turned up sealed as overstock in the UK directly from Palitoy & also as overstock/dead stock in Australia.
So in short it being labeled as TT’s is no more wrong or right than it being labeled Palitoy, IMO they should be labeled as neither, but just graded as non kenner overstock Anakin mailers.
If anyone has any further information regarding these I would really appreciate it
Palitoy-a baggie
Palitoy Fett mailer photo now included with what is “considered” to be the correct combination of baggie & box I think for the ROTJ era promotion (overstock box – no address), no flyer was included with the Palitoy issued ones, but there is still speculation the jedi era promotion Fett via the envelope stuffer slip “could have” come with a different box size & possibly even a different baggie type – mine field! this example has the Palitoy-a baggie & the regular size Fett mailer box which I am now fairly convinced would have been the correct pairing for this period offer.
ESB-a (1st issue)
The first issue mail-in offer Fetts have now been confirmed to have been issued with the Kenner ESB-a (1st issue) baggie, again just the box & baggie (no flyer or paperwork), but this was not the first one to actually be issued, it was the 1st the be mailed out, BUT!…
There is also a 3rd known incarnation of the Palitoy Fett mailer, this was handed out on toy store visits of Darth Vader & possibly boba Fett, those contained a small font SW-d Kenner issued baggie again with an overstock blank box of the same dimensions as the 2 examples above, see below image & further information below image.
SW-d small font
1st known incarnation of the fett mailer 1 of 3, but never actually offered with this baggie type in the mail in offers (see above info) – SW-d small font Kenner baggie, click to expand the below images which confirm these mailers were handed out by Boba Fett on the toy store visits to anyone spending a minimum of 3 pounds in store & by the looks of things possibly also handing out the now quite rare Palitoy mini catalogues.
Finally a posted example to show.
Additional – There were also some in-store promotions where a mailer version of the Fett was given out to children, I think on Fett visits to toy stores, these examples are even earlier than the ESB-a version & were given out with overstock plain white boxes which had the Kenner SW-d (small font version) & sometimes a red sticker (shown above) offering the promotion, some of this is older info but I have left it in, as the SW-d version 1 is now shown above, though there is a 2nd version of the Kenner SW-d small font (font variation) I have as yet to get images of to share.
Please also see this (now very outdated) thread for what, very little, is known to be right to date. SWFUK Palitoy Mailer Missing Link
Palitoy-j / ESB-d – Heat sealed
Above is the most well known example of the Palitoy Dengar mailer (left) with the Palitoy-j baggie & D1108 Coded box & with the later issue ROTJ era offered version (Right) with a nice mailed out example of the box, which is the same dimensions with the same flap arrangement (identical) but did not have the D1108 code printed on the box like the earlier ESB era one offered & came via the ROTJ era slip stuffer offer.
ESB-d – Heat seal
Above are 2 further examples, ESB era D1108 Coded box with alternate ESB-d baggie which has been confirmed to have been found in the mailer though infrequently, we are not sure if these were issued prior to the Palitoy/Bradgate/Parker Palitoy-j versions or afterward, either after to make up shortfall of stock, or prior to them before UK issued baggie stock became available, much like the Toltoys issued 4-Lom with Kenner baggie & the Palitoy fett mailers with SW-d & ESB-a baggies.
The other example is he same as the one shown in Dengar one above, but this time with an overstock un-mailed example box where you can clearly see they were never printed with the codes.
Some further great info on the Dengar Palitoy mailer above in the form of the apology letter from Palitoy for the delay in postage of the figure due to the demand for it.
Finally some solid conformation on which baggie came with at least one of the 2 issued Dengar mailers, this is now 100% confirmed as the baggie which came with the first issue ESB era Palitoy Dengar mailer, same as the apology letter above but having come from a childhood collection with both the letter & the baggie, its very nice to put this one to rest after several years of speculation regarding the baggie type, though it is still not know if the same baggie & mailer box was used for the later ROTJ mail in offer (new info added above confirming more).
A cracking group photo of the Dengars that were sold in the final Astons auctions sale, the seller had a total of 8 Dengars / 5 Fett’s & 13 survival kit mailers all in the same auction, apparently a long time collector who passed away leaving a garage full of toys for his elderly neighbours in his will which included all of these fantastic mailers which almost ended up binned with the rest of the collection from what I gather, thankfully they were saved from the pending skip & sold off along with the rest of the collection in the Astons auction, a little paper clipping below the Dengar group shot for a little more detail.
Please note that one of the Dengars is in a Kenner issued ESB-d baggie which makes for another confirmed example of baggie type issued with the Palitoy Dengar mail in offer, we can confirm it’s correct with it coming from this collection, this is the 1st time this baggie has ever been seen with the mailer & likely used as a substitute due to a shortfall of the Bradgate font baggies normally seen with the ESB era mailer, another interesting snippet of info in the history of Palitoy issued mail away figures (more info on the above images)
Also note that 3 of the 8 in the auction are still sealed, these are the first ever known examples of a sealed Dengar mailer to date & then 3 in one go, amazing what still turns up, I think maybe even more amazing is the fact the owner was obviously quite fanatical about the offers as 3 of the Denars are bundled together with a single address label & a single postage stamp mark, there was a 2nd box which also had 3 Dengars written on the box, so one would assume the collector ordered 3 at a time at least twice as well as some individually.
Dengar QVC mailer
And lastly the 4th & final incarnation of the Dengar Palitoy mailer ( what a 4th type I hear you cry?? ), this was not an official Palitoy offer, but rather a promotion offered after the death of the toy line by the Q.V.C shopping channel. The details are a little hazy but lots of examples have been confirmed. The offer was for 2 figures (now at least 3 different figures confirmed & possibly 2 others bringing the total offered by QVC to 5 different figures in these jiffy mailers, though Madine & Anakin have never surfaced). Both in Palitoy-a baggies & came in a rather plain padded envelope. All examples confirmed to date are un-mailed examples as it is assumed they never did shift all the stock even through the shopping channel, seems at least 3 figures were offered up in this promotion via QVC (Dengar/Emperor/Rancor Keeper) confirmed. They are all identical bar the stickers on the back confirming the figure inside though 2 different size Jiffy mailers are confirmed, now updated.
It is speculated that some other single mailer issued baggies/figures were also available through this offer, likely Anakin & possibly others (more info added to the previous paragraph re other figures), but this has not been 100% confirmed.
Rounding the Dengar section off the apology note for the Dengar offer, same as the previously included Boba Fett one, Photo courtesy of Walkie.
With Palitoy-a baggie.
PHOTO TO BE ADDED
With Palitoy-a baggie, paint app’s error (unpainted left hand)
Palitoy-n – all these 3 examples came from the same shipping case, so I assume a new shipment of baggies came in halfway through packing the case & it was of no concern which baggie type came with the mailers back then & most likely not even considered at the time, though of great interest to myself now.
There was another stash of Palitoy Emperors found a few years after my shipping case find (mad as they were insanely rare till I found the shipper), this find was actually under some guys bed, they’d been sat there for over 20 years & when he opened one only then was it known what they were as he had assumed they were in fact Hornby train parts – mad world, this type was fractionally different though with a Mat rather then Glossy finish to the boxes & was 2mm wider in size, so one would assume from a different total count shipper, likely 200 count like most other shippers discovered.
Both versions of the Palitoy Emperor mailer comparison images, showing the size difference as well as the finish of the boxes, the right one being a glossy finish (2mm wider) & the left being a matt finish, the matt versions are from the under the bed find & the glossy versions coming from the shipping case shown in the Shipping boxes section.
Emperor in Palitoy-a factory error paint drag error, obviously a problem with the print press when this one went through, of little consequence to most I assume, but I love the quirky & the unusual, it makes a welcome addition to my unintentional Emperor side focus.
Emperor in QVC shopping channel promotion mailer envelope, which would have had the Palitoy-a baggie included. Code for all 3 figures in this offer seems to be the same (012071).
Available as a blank box in overstock form, the above shows one of the very few mailed out examples known to exist. Note the Palitoy-r baggie.
Nien Nunb in Palitoy-a baggie overstock mailer, shown with a sealed example, font close up below.
Nien Nunb in Kenner box but Palitoy address label & Clipper mailer baggie (Palitoy-r) 
Talk about just get it together & sell it with whatever we have at hand to fill the shortfalls on orders, two examples of this cobbled together (in house) version have been found & confirmed.
Palitoy single figure mailers are IMO one of the toughest of all items to track down when it comes to baggies, well when it comes to ones other than Anakin, you would think there would be plenty in circulation – now try finding them 😕 New info 14.10.21 – obviously there have been a couple of decent size finds since this was written in the early 2000’s, but they are still very very rare compared to their Kenner counterparts & out there in significantly smaller numbers.
I’ve removed a lot of the older info for this one as it all got a bit confusing. In short plenty of these have now surfaced including a few sealed examples. Most of the examples known are overstock versions (plain white box, never sent out so no address or postage markings) though a couple of mailed out examples exist, non of them sealed though. This is the only known box type for the RK mailer and is unique to this figure as the box has an opposing end flap orientation, which no other single mailers have.
I will try to get an image for the mailed out version shown as there are also some fake ones in circulation tracing directly back to a known faker, these have a very different postage marking.
Some interesting background history on the sealed examples that were eventually discovered. These were from a fairground stall, apparently many many overstock mailers had been bought in bulk directly from Palitoy by the stall holder, multiple figures not just Rancor keepers. They were used as a booby prize & handed out to folks who did not get a big win on the stall. Sadly further details are not known, but what an awesome peek into the past of the toys.
Another find of many sealed examples has been found in 2024 and is now shown in the “Bulk Baggie Finds” section, sadly these are all in a very poor condition.
Rancor Keeper in QVC shopping channel promotion mailer envelope, which would have had the Palitoy-a baggie included
I have no confirmation of which figure this came with, but as it has been with me all my life, I can only surmise & speculate it came with the Dengar as that was the only mail away figure I got as a kid, well that I remember. A couple more examples of this slip has since been found, still an insanely rare little piece of paper though and I have since added the correct stamp to it & had it custom cased for protection, it is speculated by some that this came with the Rancor Keeper rather than Dengar, sadly we can’t confirm which is way 100%.
Rancor Keeper offer official flyer which came in tear off pad form thought to be via toy shops, thought to be at least 100 count.
Comic advert
Counter top flyer, these are individual, unlike the Rancor Keeper type & wee not on a tear off bulk pad.
Emperor official flyer, there were also comic book adverts as well as full size posters.
Flyers & comic book adverts for the above bar the Dengar which is already shown in the post above.
This is a hugely exciting find, the photo was kindly sent to me by a fellow member on SWFUK (theguiltyone) it is a slip included in a mailer he has, this is a huge find in terms of both baggie & Palitoy mailer collecting, it was speculated that there was a 6 figure mail in offer run by Palitoy towards the end of the toy line, presumably to get rid of remaining overstock, though not one scrap of information can (till this find) be found about the offer, note that not just figures but also the Darth Vader’s collectors case & the display arena were available in this offer & the postage is marked Altrincham rather than Birmingham like other known ESB & SW era Palitoy mailers, this really is a huge missing piece of the mailer history & Palitoy puzzle, it is obvious this was a separate mail in campaign from the previous offers, as from what I know (see pic of the cardback sticker offers) the postage prices increased for this offer, the 4-lom was previously offered for 14 pence rather than the 15 pence stated in this later offer which would tie in perfectly with an increase in postage costs though minimal by today’s standards 😆
Additional, I now have one of these slips myself as does a friend & I noted that one of the figures offered is not included on mine, so one would assume they updated the stuffer slips to indicate which offers wee still available.
Further info – note that this “stuffer slip” promotion did not require the addition of name plate cut outs or bounty hunter pops etc, this was obviously a last ditch attempt to move the dead stock of a toy-line that was dwindling & becoming difficult to get rid of.
Some great Kenner cards with Palitoy mail in offer stickers applied.
Some great recently unearthed info within this simple letter pertaining to the Survival kit offer, which according to the letter had at least 50,000 applications (where did they all go??), seems they ran out of stock & made this offer of alternative figures, though no example of either the Luke nor the Madine have surfaced to date, it is not even know if these figures were sent out in mailer boxes or even baggies for that matter, but one would assume they were.
FULL list of order codes for the mailers (PENDING) many are shown in the above letter EXAMPLE – Boba Fett = AH
General Madine – No example has ever been found.
Luke Jedi – No example has ever been found.
C-3P0 – No example has ever been found.
Special thanks to these contributors for their knowledge and image contributions:
Laurence Dyer, Arnaud Heyser, Andrew Neo, AJ, Snaggletooth, Kevin Bletsoe, Brett Meyer, DEL, Gary Borbidge, Edd Grant, Chris Eddleman, Vince Hely, Nathan Maunder, Jamie Woollard, Niels Pit, Andrew MacLachlan, cantina_patron, Franck Gadal, Joe, Richard Temple, Sven Schneider, Steve Savory, Shane Carter, Chris Fawcett, Andy Clarke, psybertech, Jake Neilheisel, Alex Pardi, Marc Caraway, Spookedhippy, Frank Ferro, James Body, Jonathan Freeman, Grant Criddle, Chris Arbizzani, RobbieZombbie, Narayan S. Naik, Mark Yeo, SHAWN_K, Andy Raymond, MOMIKE, theguiltyone, Sublevel Studios, Mike Silver, Mr Palitoy, Ronny Anngren, Willem-Jan Bos, Robert Heron, Darren H, REBELALLIANCE, Uncle Ron, LandoSkiff (Dan), Mike Horn, Pat O’Brien, Benjamin, Samir Krim, Pete Fizke, Final Frontier, Mike Heel, MR KENNER, John Kellerman, Paul Naylor, Matthieu Barthelemy, Stéphane Faucourt, Yogi, Chris Simmons, Stormtrooper37, Thomas Derby, Todd G, Sheldon Wagstaffe, Derek Ho, Broc Walker, Adam Marks, James Gallo, Charles Jones, Darrell Johnson & Brendi Burton, Christian Somma, Johnpaul Ragusa, Jesse Cedar Soberman, Dorothée Drouin, Dennis Hall, Javier Ruilopez, Enric Rovira, Matthew Carlise, Stephen Tzaras.
Photos in the guide galleries below are compiled from a number of photo sources. It’s not been possible to find credits for each one, however, if you own one of the featured images and want to have your credit added, or don’t wish to have your photo included, please let me know and I’ll arrange.
Thanks, Chihuahua.
