MINIBUSTS

The popular minibust line continues with six new characters from the Original Trilogy. Gentle Giant took a trip to the Lucasfilm archives to ensure that the scan data is as accurate as possible. What to do for a character featuring a young twenty-something Mark Hamill? Why, rely on the gifted talent of human hands of course. As you can tell, the captured likeness of the ANH era Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot is on the spot. We can also expect an all new packaging design beginning with Bossk.

Bossk
The Trandosshan bounty hunter is the lizard of the moment in 2004, with  Hasbro releasing their own basic and Unleashed versions, and now Gentle Giant creating a minibust with the same pose and quality as last year's Boba Fett (one of Galactic Hunter's Best of 2003). Careful research needed to be done, since the archived mask and costume were crumbling and in a bad state. This resulted on the sculpt using no scan data at all. Bossk is due for shipment in July with a limited run of 5000 pieces. As far as other bounty hunters go, some chatty birds in the immediate area hinted at IG-88 in the unforeseeable future.

Luke Skywalker X-Wing Pilot
Given that this character's head was not scanned, praise is rightfully credited to the talented hands at Gentle Giant. The helmet (based on a Vietnam era helmet) was scanned though, and no detail or marking was missed, right down to the metal components of the microphone.

C-3PO
The prototype piece (no photos allowed) in the showroom is not the completed product. Based on 100% scan data, the protocol droid will sport some "bling" with 24 karat gold plate.

Gamorrean Guard
An early sample of Jabba's piggies was shown. No set release date yet, but expect some metal components for the armor. If you care to see other Jabba's denizens made, the chatty bird also discloses a possible Salacious Crumb, again in the unforseeable future.

Deluxe Stormtooper
With interchangeable arms first seen with last year's Clone Troopers, the new Stormtrooper bust will come with two weapons- a blaster and a long rifle. No set release date yet.

Deluxe Sandtrooper
The new Sandtrooper bust will follow the Stormtrooper's release and include 2 different color rankings with specific weapons and accessories. The orange pauldroned version will come with 3 blasters, a long rifle, and a bazooka, while the white sargeant will include a long rifle, blaster, binoculars, and the droid ring the Sandtroopers found in the desert from the oft quoted sequence from A New Hope ("Look sir, Droids!").

LIMITED EDITION STATUES

Also coming out later this year are 2 lines of limited edition statues. The first scale will be 6-7" (same as Hasbro's Unleashed) and will come with their own mini-dioramas. Although we weren't allowed to photograph, they did show an unpainted Dewback with Sandtrooper prototype, which will eventually come with a genuine leather bridle and C-3PO's tracks on the base. The first statue to be released in this scale will be Luke Skywalker on his Tauntaun (a total of 3 is planned so far). Expect the pricepoint to be between $150-200.

The next scale will be a 12" line of statues due out later this year. A Bespin Escape Chewbacca was shown (again, no photos allowed), and comes with a Stormtrooper Blaster and C-3PO on his back. The scan data was taken from the original costume, so no detail is spared. Also planned is C-3PO, which will also be plated in 24 karat gold like the minibust. Scale was carefully considered for these statues, as Chewie measures a tall 15 inches (per scale with his 2.5 meter tall character). Pricepoint is between $150-250.

CLONE WARS MAQUETTES

The new Clone Wars Maquettes are inspired by the hit Cartoon Network animated microseries. The characters planned for release are Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Trooper Armor, Assaj Ventress, Yoda, Padme Amidala, and the red ARC Trooper (not shown). Yoda will be the first statue to be released in August. Pricepoint for the maquettes is projected to be between $45-99.

ARMORY VAULT

Taking the baton from the late great Riddell minihelmets comes a mini line of 1/6 scale helmets featuring various characters from the saga. Two pieces will be released per wave, with an anticipated pricepoint of $30 each. Planned for release in the first couple of waves are three versions of the X-Wing helmet (Luke, Wedge, and a nondescript pilot) and a TIE pilot helmet. Each helmet will come with their own stands and are in direct scale to Hasbro's 12" action figures.

BUST UPS

Inspired by the popular mini model kits from Japan, the new Star Wars Bust Ups are 2-3" tall versions of their larger minibust cousins. They're painted , pressed to fit, and assembled from 4-5 parts. Just because they're small doesn't mean that they aren't authentic, as Gentle Giant used scan data as much as possible to create them. The Bust Ups are expected to retail for $5 each and will come in three waves beginning in Fall '04.

Wave 1/ Heroes of the Rebellion: Luke Skywalker (Medal Ceremony), Han Solo (Medal Ceremony), Princess Leia, Chewbacca, C-3PO (from oil bath), and Yoda

Wave 2/ Sith Lords: Darth Vader, Darth Maul, Darth Sidious, Count Dooku, Emperor, Royal Guard

Wave 3 / Bounty Hunters: Boba Fett, Bossk, 4-LOM and others still to be determined.

Bust Ups come in their own decorative retro style box which may or may not include a window. The box will also list the case ratio for each wave.

MISCELLANEOUS

Also shown was the MBNA exclusive Jango Fett Chrome Bust. The sample is a prototype with a silver finish, with the final version sporting a more copper chrome once released similar to the Darth Vader offer. Expected production run is 5,000 pieces.

Gentle Giant also gave out a Toy Fair exclusive Bust Up Blue Clone Trooper Lieutenant to their guests, a small nod to the  Summer' 03 convention exclusive Blue Clone Bust.