The exclusives are brimming over at 2004's San Diego International Comic-Con, and the buck stops literally at Gentle Giant Studios' gargantuan booth. Their exhibit is hard to miss this year, with a humongous Boba Fett bust placed prominently over their booth for the whole Con congregation to gaze in awe. Flanking Fett are equally huge fiber glass models of the X-Wing Fighter and TIE Fighter (from FAO's closed stores), which are currently being auctioned off on eBay during the show.

This year's featured exclusives include a Luke Skywalker Stormtrooper minibust (3500 pieces) and a Spirits of the Rebellion bust up set (5000 pieces) featuring clear versions of the production pieces. As an added incentive, Gentle Giant randomly produced 500 sets of the bust ups with glow in the dark plastic for that added ghostly effect. Both exclusives are packaged in plain white mailer boxes and are one of the hottest exclusives in the show. Attendees must once again try their luck  in a raffle system due to San Diego Convention Center's crowd control guidelines. 

A few new pieces were posted for exhibit in this year's con. A Han Solo in Stormtrooper  minibust is offered as the perfect doppleganger for the Luke exclusive. Utilizing the same torso while adding a new head, a set of arms, and helmet (hollow), the Han bust offers an astounding likeness coupled with the cocky poise we've come to love from the Correllian smuggler. Han has no set release date at press but probably won't be available until 2005.

The next Galactic Hunter to be busted is the assasin killer droid IG-88. Looking at the impressive detail of the droid, one would think that Gentle Giant used their trademark scan data to capture its likeness. But the artist instead relied on Lucasfilm photographs for the sculpt references, making this piece quite the accomplishment. We can expect IG-88 to be available by January to February next year.

Gentle Giant upgraded the "bling" for the new C-3PO minibust from the 18k to 24k gold plate and still manages to keep the pricepoint the same. Scan data of Anthony Daniels in costume was used for this Original Trilogy version of the golden droid.

Also on display are the new Sandtrooper with Dewback and the 12" scale Chewbacca and C-3PO statues. The Wookiee stands 15" tall and is based on his Bespin escape scene from The Empire Strikes Back with a dismantled C-3PO hauled on his back. Once again, the detail is amazing as Gentlle Giant captures the essence of Chewie right down to the fur. Gentle Giant tells us they are in the primary stages of developing a revolutionary method on the statue to prevent the fur strands from breaking off. No confirmation yet on whether C-3PO will be gold plated, but he is planned on being released next February.

A couple of new helmets were previewed for their upcoming Armory Collection. Two versions of the TIE Pilot helmet were on display as well as Wedge Antilles' Rogue Squadron helmet. Gentle Giant is still determining the price point for these 1/6 scale accessories and is anticipating a 2005 launch. With dozens of styles of helmets in the Star Wars galaxy, look for this to be another breakthrough line for the company.

Gentle Giant is also holding a silent auction at their booth for three unpainted minibust porcelain prototypes of the 2003 exclusive Clone Trooper (Thursday), Luke Stormtrooper (Friday), and Boba Fett (Saturday).