GENTLE GIANT
By Dave Yeh and Mike Sullenger
Photography by Mike Sullenger

SAN DIEGO JULY 16, 2005-- With only ten years in operation, Gentle Giant Studios has grown to become one of the leaders in scanning technology and officially licensed collectibles.  Though the studio is better known for their state of the art scanning facilities, they still have between 30-40 sculptors and painters on hand, working on a number of movie properties such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, Clash of the Titans, The Simpsons, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just to name a few.

For Star Wars fans, Gentle Giant has a handful of incredible product in store to be released between Fall 2005 and Winter 2006. Their booth, always impressive with their giant scale Boba Fett minibust and Clone Trooper statue overlooking the floor and a full scale Darth Vader statue standing guard in front, was even larger than previous years and is now also showcasing their Harry Potter and Ray Harryhausen/Clash of the Titans offerings. The Harry Potter busts were inside a cool Hogwarts Castle display while an exciting new line based on the works of stop motion animator extraordinaire Ray Harryhausen featured character statues of Calibos, Medusa, and the Kraken monster showcased inside a tall Greek pillar. Last but not least, an "ooh-ah" inspiring Corpse Bride wedding diorama featuring their upcoming statues based on the film was a definite eye catcher.

Gentle Giant always draws a crowd at Comic-Con, and this year was no different with their exclusive Silver Jango Bust-Up and the "First 1000" edition of their new Han Solo minibust being the main attractions. Freebies were being given away as well, including an awesome poster featuring the entire line of Star Wars Bust-Ups. Always sensitive about their upcoming product prototypes being scrutinized on the web too early, Gentle Giant had "no photography signs" on some spectacular Star Wars product which only Comic-Con attendees were privy to, including the ultimate Darth Maul and Boba Fett statues slated for release in '06 as well as the third offering from their Star Wars 7" scale diorama statues, Luke on Tauntaun. 

Other new stuff on display that we could show you are the next assortment of Bust-Ups based on Hoth. This series includes Han Hoth, Luke Hoth, the Wampa Monster, Snowtrooper, and AT-AT Driver. There were also samples of the new Lando Calrissian in Skiff Guard Disguise minibust and a chrome Darth Vader statue.

Gentle Giant also continues their annual Con tradition of silent auctioning unpainted prototype minibusts. This year it's Bossk, the Biker Scout, and the verrry limited edition Chrome Holiday Sandtrooper.

MAQUETTES

Last year, five maquettes based on the Emmy Award-winning series Star Wars: Clone Wars series were released to much fan praise and approval.  The line was so popular that more are to be released (including the just released Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Armor).

-Anakin Skywalker

-General Grievous

-Barriss Offee with Luminara Unduli

MINI-BUSTS

What began with Attack of the Clones has soon become some of the most sought after product from the Saga. 

-Lando Calrissian in Skiff Guard Disguise

-Yoda (Empire Strikes Back)

-C-3PO (Attack of the Clones)

-Leia in Boushh Disguise (with alternate helmet/head)

-Sandtroopers (white & orange pauldrons)

-Darth Vader (Revenge of the Sith)

STATUES

-Boba Fett

-Darth Maul

-Chrome Darth Vader with light up lightsaber (release date TBD)

 STATUE DIORAMAS

A new line that is introduced this year  is the Statue Diorama line.  Though the scale is smaller than the mini-busts and statues, the attention to detail is the same.  Luke on Taun Taun features an icy Hoth base rather than the standard black base.  The Biker Scout on Speeder Bike features a functional design that requires no pole for support; the Biker Scout's leg is what holds this speeder in the air.  Although this is part of the statue diorama line, a simple black base is used. A forest base was designed for this piece but the end result became far too distracting from the overall design.

BUST-UPS

Based on the concept of Japanese capsule collectibles, the smaller scale Bust-Ups are for the collectors that don't have the space for the larger pieces.  Variant pieces feature clear and holographic versions of select characters.  An all Hoth wave is on display for an upcoming release.

The line doesn't end there, of course.  There are a lot more Star Wars product in the works for all six films and though they aren't telling us what's in store, you can count that it'll be as impressive as their Darth Vader statue or Yoda replica.  Only they'll be a bit smaller.