Star Wars Day: May the fourth be with you - these are the most valuable Star Wars figures to own with Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Boba Fett and Ewok figures

I’m old enough - just - to have seen Return of the Jedi in the cinema, and the three original films were frequently played when we had the luxury of VHS player a few years later (taped off the telly, obviously, we weren’t made of money).

Being bought a Star Wars figure was an occasional treat - they were on sale in the local Woolworths and Tesco and I can see the packaging as if it were yesterday... the cardboard backing and on top the clear plastic holder which contained the character, and its accessories. Everyone knows that pristine, unopened figures such as these are always worth loads years down the line, whether Star Wars or another toy franchise, but in anticipation of May 4 this year I did some idle Googling, and what I found shocked me - it turns out that just loose, run-of-the-mill figures are worth a fortune.

The website GalacticCollector.com has a very handy calculator - which also, pleasingly, comes with small pictures of the figures and evokes memories even more strongly than Proust’s madeleines ever could - and means you can tot up the value of your collection easily.

But for people - cough - who have no idea about where their Star Wars figures from decades previous may be, and who would quite like help in paying this month’s mortgage (I’m looking at me here), it’s a bittersweet experience.

Boba Fett was always one of the coolest characters in Star Wars, and it’s no surprise that he went out to be more a central character in his own right in some of the spin-offs. And I’m delighted to see that the C3-PO figure I had which could be taken to pieces and put in a small plastic sack (for Chewbacca to carry) make an appearance. But some of the less-known characters are worth a packet. Here are the figures that I can remember.

• Boba Fett - £40.70
• Bib Fortuna - £13.52
• Biker Scout - £20.96

• C3PO with detachable limbs - £20.78
• Chewbacca - £14.14
• Chief Chirpa - £15.43
• Darth Vader - £30.93

• Emperor’s Royal Guard - £24.63
• Gamorrean Guard - £16.40

• Imperial Stormtrooper - £8.33
• Logray - £14.49

• Luke Skywalker as Jedi Knight - £71.33
• Princess Leia as Boushh - £23.43

• R2D2 - £22.88
• Squidhead - £22.14

Total: £360.17

And, to rub it in even more, I was the kind of kid who made sure that nothing got broken and all accessories were kept hold of. It’s time to go and forensically examine my parents’ loft. This time next year, Obi-Wan, we’ll be millionaires...

The most valuable Star Wars figures

1. Yak Face - £447
2. R2-D2 with pop-up Lightsaber - £406
3. Luke Skywalker (Imperial Stormtrooper) - £281
4. Snaggletooth - £269
5. Imperial Gunner - £239
6. A-Wing Pilot - £224
7. EV-9D9 - £211
8. Luke Skywalker (in battle poncho) - £202
9. Amanaman - £179
10. Lando Calrissian (general pilot) - £76

These are the prices for the most valuable figures according to Galacticcollector.com, using the average sum raised in auctions. The website also estimates that if you owned every Star Wars figure in an average condition, your collection would be worth about £5465.