Kenner and Hasbro have made eight different Bossk action figure sculpts, from the 1980 Kenner original to the 2022 Retro Collection remake. Counting the re-releases, there are twelve Bossk figures, all listed here in release order.
Some of the new sculpts were only sold in multipacks, and they’re in the list because the figure itself is new. Where a multipack just reused an earlier Bossk, it’s mentioned under the figure it reused.
I own a loose example of almost every Bossk on this list, as well as carded examples of most of them and two first shot prototypes. Every photo on this page is of my own collection.
Bossk’s Bounty is compensated for any purchases made through any eBay links that may appear below.
Who is Bossk?
Bossk is the Trandoshan bounty hunter on the bridge of the Executor in The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader briefs the bounty hunters sent after the Millennium Falcon. He turns up again in Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi, and a younger Bossk runs with Boba Fett and Aurra Sing in The Clone Wars.
Every Bossk figure, in release order
1. Bossk (Bounty Hunter), Kenner, 1980
This is the original Bossk, released in 1980 in the first wave of The Empire Strikes Back figures at $2.49, and he stayed in the line for years. In the US he appeared on Empire Strikes Back cards from the 31-back to the 48-back, then on Return of the Jedi 48, 65 and 77-back cards. In the UK, Palitoy sold him on Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi cards and the multi-language Tri-Logo card.
The mail-away Bossk. Before he reached the shops, Bossk was a mail-away figure. Kenner advertised him on the backs of Star Wars cards as a “secret” figure from the upcoming sequel, and you needed four proofs of purchase to send off for him. A sticker added to later packaging revealed who the secret figure was. He arrived bagged, in a mailer box with a flyer, and complete examples with the mailer are now among the hardest of the mail-away figures to find. I have a mail-away Bossk in my collection.
Two head colours. Bossk’s head comes in olive green or orange. Orange heads are usually found on the early cards, such as the 31 and 32-backs, and the mail-away Bossk has an orange head too.
Shiny and matte limbs. The finish on the arms and legs comes down to the factory. Bossk was made in three Hong Kong factories, Unitoy, Smile and Kader, and depending on which one made a figure, its limbs are either shiny or matte.
Factory codes on the card back. From the 32-back onwards, most cards have a small letter on the back that shows which factory made the figure: K for Kader, S for Smile or U for Unitoy. Return of the Jedi cards use two-letter codes instead, such as HT for Unitoy.
The Spanish “toxic limbs” Bossk. The rarest version of all was made in Spain, in the early period of Spanish production that collectors call Poch. Its arms and feet are a bright, grassy green, completely unlike the brownish green on every other Bossk. Poch figures were only sold on the Spanish 31-back and 37/41 cards, and very few survive. Collectors had recorded just five or six by 2020, and I’d put the number in existence at 20 to 30 at most. I have one, and it’s the figure in the photo below.
The Spanish “Fat Lips” Bossk. Another Spanish Bossk, made by PBP, is known to collectors as the Fat Lips Bossk because of its thick red painted lips. It also has very hard limbs and a mix of colours that no other Bossk has. I have one of these as well.
Line: Kenner, The Empire Strikes Back
Released: 1980
Original price: $2.49
Accessories: Rifle
Sculpt: Original
2. Bossk, Power of the Force, 1997
This was Bossk’s first modern figure, sold on a green Power of the Force card. His flight suit and vest are moulded on, and he has six points of articulation.
I have two different first shots of this figure, one with the vest moulded in yellow and the other in white. A first shot is one of the earliest pieces to come out of the production moulds, made to check the tooling before a figure goes into production, so it’s usually unpainted, with each part moulded in a single colour of plastic. They were never meant to be sold, which is what makes them so collectable.
This sculpt came back in 2003 in the Ultimate Bounty 4-Pack, a Toys R Us exclusive with Aurra Sing, Boba Fett, IG-88 and a swoop bike. That Bossk is a repaint without the shoulder insignia, not a new figure.
Line: Power of the Force
Released: 1997
Original price: $4.99
Accessories: Blaster, blaster rifle
Sculpt: New
3. Bossk (Executor Meeting), Saga, 2004
He was number 18 in the Saga line, named for the scene on the Executor’s bridge. The sculpt was new, with ten points of articulation, although he can’t hold his rifle in either hand. Later in 2004 the same figure was repacked in the Original Trilogy Collection, and my photo of that release is below.
Line: Star Wars Saga, #18
Released: 2004
Original price: $4.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: New
4. Bossk, Original Trilogy Collection, 2004
This is the same figure as the Saga release, repacked later in 2004 as number 28 in the Original Trilogy Collection, with a display stand added.
Line: Original Trilogy Collection, #28
Released: 2004
Original price: $4.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle, display stand
Sculpt: Re-release of the 2004 Saga figure
5. Bossk, The Saga Collection, 2007
For me, this is the best Bossk figure ever made, and nothing since has bettered it. Released in August 2007 on a Kenner-style vintage card, he has 14 points of articulation, including ball-jointed knees and ankles, and a removable neck piece.
That vintage-style card causes a lot of confusion. It came out three years before The Vintage Collection started, so it isn’t part of that line, even though it looks like it. The same sculpt was repainted for the 2011 Imperial Forces 3-Pack, a Target exclusive with a Snowtrooper and IG-88, which is the only time Bossk has appeared in The Vintage Collection.
Line: The Saga Collection (vintage-style card)
Released: August 2007
Original price: $9.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle, removable neck piece
Sculpt: New
6. Bossk, The Clone Wars, 2010
This is the only animated-style Bossk. He came in The Rise of Boba Fett, a Toys R Us exclusive Ultimate Battlepack based on the Boba Fett episodes at the end of the second season of The Clone Wars. The set also included Slave I, Mace Windu’s Jedi starfighter, Anakin Skywalker, a young Boba Fett, Mace Windu and R8-B7.
Line: The Clone Wars, The Rise of Boba Fett (Toys R Us)
Released: August 2010
Original price: $109.99 (the whole set)
Accessories: Blaster rifle, flight suit cable
Sculpt: New (animated style)
7. Bossk, Shadow of the Dark Side, 2010
This is the 2007 figure pictured above, re-released as number 1 in Shadow of the Dark Side, a sub-line of Saga Legends. The difference is in the packaging: he came with a cardboard weapons locker holding six extra blasters.
Line: Shadow of the Dark Side, #1
Released: August 2010
Original price: $7.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle, removable neck piece, cardboard weapons locker with six blasters
Sculpt: Re-release of the 2007 figure
8. Bossk, The Black Series 6-inch, 2015
This was Bossk’s first 6-inch figure, number 10 in The Black Series, in the blue-line packaging. He has 21 points of articulation, including a jaw that opens. He’s in the Blue Line section of my Black Series checklist.
Line: The Black Series, #10
Released: 2015 (the figure is dated 2014)
Original price: $19.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: New (6-inch)
9. Bossk, Saga Legends, 2015
This is a simpler 3.75-inch sculpt with five points of articulation, sold in a Saga Legends Mission Series 2-pack with IG-88. The same figure came back in 2020 in the Celebrate the Saga Bounty Hunters 5-Pack, with Boba Fett, Jango Fett, IG-88 and R5-P8.
Line: Saga Legends, Mission Series (with IG-88)
Released: 2015
Original price: $9.99 (the 2-pack)
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: New
10. Bossk, The Black Series Archive, 2019
This is the 2015 figure again, reissued in January 2019 as one of the first four Black Series Archive figures, alongside Boba Fett, IG-88 and Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot). The Archive line brings back hard-to-find figures in new packaging. It’s the same sculpt, but the colours are slightly different from the 2015 release.
Line: The Black Series Archive, wave 1
Released: January 2019
Original price: $19.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: Re-release of the 2015 Black Series figure
11. Bossk, The Retro Collection, 2022
This is a remake of the 1980 Kenner figure, with the same simple sculpt, yellow and brown paint and five points of articulation. He was an Amazon exclusive in November 2022, boxed together with Boba Fett, although each figure has its own card. Like the original, he can only hold his rifle in his right hand. There’s more in my Retro Collection guide.
Line: The Retro Collection, 2-Pack with Boba Fett (Amazon)
Released: November 2022
Original price: $27.99 (the 2-pack)
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: New (a remake of the 1980 original)
12. Bossk, The Black Series Archive, 2024
Hasbro reissued the Archive Bossk in 2024. At a glance it looks like the 2019 release, but the skin is a slightly darker shade and the text and logos on the packaging changed. If you want both, check the box before you buy.
Line: The Black Series Archive (reissue)
Released: October 2024
Original price: $24.99
Accessories: Blaster rifle
Sculpt: Re-release of the 2015 Black Series figure, with a darker skin tone
Bossk on the card
The Kenner and Palitoy cards are where vintage Bossk collecting gets serious. I have him on more than ten different cards, and these are two of my Palitoy ones: the Empire Strikes Back 41-back and the multi-language Tri-Logo card from Return of the Jedi.
The Vintage Collection question
Bossk has never had his own card in The Vintage Collection. His only TVC release is the 2011 Imperial Forces 3-Pack, and that figure is a repaint of the 2007 Saga Collection sculpt.
If you’ve seen a vintage-carded modern Bossk on its own, it’s the 2007 Saga Collection release, which came out three years before The Vintage Collection began. You can see everything TVC has released in my Vintage Collection checklist.
Which Bossk to buy
- 3.75-inch display figure: the 2007 Saga Collection release. The 2010 Shadow of the Dark Side figure is the same sculpt, so buy whichever is cheaper, bearing in mind that the 2010 one comes with the weapons locker
- 6-inch: the 2015 Black Series, 2019 Archive and 2024 Archive figures are the same sculpt. The colours vary slightly between the three, and the 2024 figure has darker skin, so buy the cheapest unless you want a particular paint
- The 1980 Kenner original: a loose, complete figure is the affordable way in. Carded examples cost far more, and the early Empire Strikes Back cards most of all. The Retro Collection remake is the budget way to get the original look