I’m a huge fan of Boba Fett. No, not because I think he’s some major bad ass who didn’t deserve to die screaming like a little girl just because somebody bumped into his backpack. I never thought he had a particularly impressive moment on screen, and in fact it’s not really Boba I’m a fan of at all. It’s the outfit, man. Boba Fett’s armor is one of the coolest costume designs ever developed, and that’s why I have so damn many different versions of it.
The animated Clone Wars allowed for many of the prequel characters to get toon versions. Boba was a mere boy during the Clone Wars, although he’d seen his own father decapitated by Mace Windu. Since he was still years away from wearing the costume, he was thankfully missing from the cartoon. But that doesn’t mean Lucas or Gentle Giant, creators of the Star Wars mini-busts and statues, was going to miss out on an opportunity to print some more money.
Gentle Giant has produced a series of animated Star Wars statues. Some of these are based on the cartoon, like General Greivious or Anakin Skywalker, but they’ve done several that were not part of the show, including Vader, Leia, and now, Boba Fett. You can find him at some comic shops, and at the online suggestions I have below. Expect to pay around $65 – $70.
Boba Fett – All Tooned Up!
As you’d expect with a Gentle Giant statue, these are a limited edition. In this case though, they’re using the term ‘limited’ in the loosest possible fashion, since they’ve produced 7,000 of these statues.
Packaging – ***
The box is pretty standard, with a photo or two of the actual statue on the exterior. The foam is the high quality, dense stuff, and there are small hunks of foam placed in strategic spots on his body. Even with all that, there have been a number of reports of breakage, especially the funky Wookie braids, which stick out from the body at a very odd angle.
And as usual, there’s a small Certificate of Authenticity, done once again in the baseball card style.
Sculpting/Design – ***1/2
When dealing with animated designs, you aren’t going to see extreme small detail, intricate texturing, or amazing realism. that’s not the style, so it wouldn’t make sense to expect it. What you are going to see though is extremely clean, sharp, well defined lines and shapes, which is what makes any animated style so attractive.
I think Fett’s costume is extremely well suited to this style, as is Vader’s and the Troopers. Fett’s armor is all sculpted on his body, with a nice depth to the cuts along the edges. Proportions are excellent, with the head being just about the right size, and all the various body parts – torso, arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. – all coming together nicely, with nothing over or undersized.
Boba is sculpted in a dynamic action pose, having just drawn his blaster. I’m not sure where he drew it from, as there’s no sign of a holster, but that’s a minor nit. His blaster rifle is in his other hand at the ready, as he takes aim with the pistol. He’s striking a nice L stance, designed to make him a smaller target. His cape and Wookie braids are flowing out from his body, either from the movement of the draw, or some invisible high speed fan.
The base is decorated with some residual flames from his backpack, rolling along the ground. They are rolling in the same direction as the cape is flowing (thankfully), implying that he’s facing into the wind. While the flames might not make complete sense, they are very cool visually, and that makes up for any bending of the laws of physics.
There have been lots of reports of broken Wookie braids, which is no surprise considering the drastic angle at which they flow from the body. Oddly enough, mine are NOT glued into the slots as I assume they should be, but are simply inserted. I removed them and replaced them quite easily. Perhaps GG should have had these as a separate attachment all along.
Nothing else on the statue is removable or detachable however, and Fett is firmly attached to the base.
Paint – ***1/2
I’ve heard some reports of less than stellar paint ops from other buyers, but I’m happy to report that mine was extremely good. There are a few spots where the cuts between the colors aren’t quite as clean as they could be, particularly with the yellow pads and the gray body suit, but overall the application is quite clean.
I’m particularly happy with the colors used in the flames on the base, which follow the animated style, yet add tons of color and pop to the overall statue.
Value – ***
At around 8″ tall, not including the base, these are a fairly decent size. They are also part of one of the most expensive licenses, where nothing ever comes cheap. I’m going to assume you pick him up for less than $65, which is just about the right price for these. In fact, I was kind of surprised these could be had at that price point, and I’m betting that with a run size of 7000, you might even be able to get some deals.
Things to watch out for –
Ah, those damn Wookie braids. They’ll snap on you pretty easily, so take care to pay attention to them as your handling and moving the statue. That’s about it!
Overall – ***1/2
This is the only one of the animates Star Wars maquettes I’ve bought, but that’s only been because I’ve avoided getting sucked into another already established line. It’s certainly not because they don’t look terrific, and Gentle Giant now has plans to extend this animated success to the Lord of the Rings license. Will folks go for tooned versions of Gandalf, Sauron and the rest, even if they’ve never graced the big or small screen that way? GG is betting that’s a yes!
Where to buy –
Online options include:
– Fireside Collectibles has him in stock for $63, along with pre-orders for upcoming statues.
– Dark Shadow Collectibles has him for $68, and they also have many of the others (including up coming releases) in the $60 – $70 range.
– CornerStoreComics has him as well, at $75.
Related Links:
Being a big Fett fan, I’ve reviewed quite a number of items:
– here’s a guest review of the recent VCD figure from Medicom.
– I reviewed the re-release of the Hasbro Unleashed version of Fett.
– the first time the face under the mask was ever revealed in toy form is the Titanium version with removable helmet.
– Hasbro did a 12″ version of Fett of course, but we’re all hopeful that Sideshow will do an improved version.
– if you’re looking for Fett in a smaller size, there’s the Carkoon Pit version, or the 300th Edition version.
– and if you’re looking for cute, the Palm Talker has it covered.
– for the last, I saved my two favorites – the Marmit 12″ version, and the Kotobukiya kit.
– And if you’re looking for the ultimate Boba Fett, Sideshow is producing a huge Premium Format version, due out in 2007. You can get on the Wait List at Sideshow for him at this point. ( )
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