As promised - my grail item!
Let me start with the story. Back when guys got back from Peru, they talked about the Basa line
in this thread. New stuff was discovered, like that all the Basa figures were manufactured by Kenner and shipped down there. The big mystery was the origin of their ESB45-RL 3POs, since they aren't believed to have ever been actually produced by Kenner, and there are no known examples. The Basa figures are definitive proof they were produced by Kenner... though maybe they were all shipped to Peru. Or maybe just none of the ones that shipped to US retailers survived or have been found. Who knows?
Luis, the owner of the cardback featured on the Archive, saw the thread and sent me an IM. He noticed I said it was a grail of mine, and said he might know someone in Peru who owned another and would be open to offers. And that his mom was flying down to Peru to visit, and could pick it up for me. Flights from Mexico to Peru to Mexico to Orlando... and well... check it out:
And the proud new owner:
My head's still swimming over it. This is only the second known production example Kenner ESB45 3PO. It's a goal I'd completely given up on. All those debut cardback collectors looking for one over more than a decade (not to mention me...), and not one ever turned up. The only English-language one known was Luis' Basa, which was mistakenly assumed to be foreign. It wasn't. Really it's just crazy. And now I own one.
The cardback is in pretty nice shape - not pristine like Luis' but other than the bubble damage it's solid. I checked and the punch stamp matches those of my other production ESB45s. It's a beautiful thing.
Huge thanks to Luis and Luis' mom for helping me out with this. I'll always be in their debt.
The cardback now resides on a shelf next to the rest of my Kenner MOCs.
http://www.creaturecantina.com/news_images/2012/0829/basa-esb45-3po-c.jpg