Jabba the Hutt is one bad mamma jamma. Oh, Lucas tried to ruin the character by adding in that ridiculous scene at the hanger, turning him briefly into a whiny bitch, willing to leg that poor white trash Solo step on his tail without repercussion. But some of us can still remember him fondly as the disgusting, bloated, stinky and dangerous crime lord.
While Jabba didn’t have all that much screen time, he was the center piece of two of the best loved sequences in all the films, first when Luke arrives to speak with him and then goes on to battle the Rancor, and then again on the barge in the sequence that spelled doom for so many, including Jabba and Fett. These two sequences produced so many unforgettable scenes – dancing slave girls, the terrific Rancor, Han in carbonite and Leia in her brass bra… and Jabba was at the center of it all.
Therefore it’s no surprise that he’s been a regular in the action figure and statue world. Now Sideshow is releasing a huge sixth scale version of both The Hutt and his impressive throne (or dais). I’m going to review Jabba and his throne separately, because that’s how you buy them from Sideshow, and you might – for some bizarre reason – only want one or the other. I’ll be covering the throne here at QSE, with my review of Jabba going up later today at MROTW.
“Jabba’s Throne”
Jabba’s Throne was sold as a regular release, but in the U.S. was available only through Sideshow’s website. The edition size is 4200, and the cost was $199.
Packaging – ***
The throne comes in a large box – a very large box. There’s some very simple photos on the exterior of the prototype version, with a little text. There’s the edition number on the base, but although this is a ‘Sideshow site exclusive’, there’s no exclusive sticker on the front. The base is packed quite safely inside, but getting it out isn’t as huge a nightmare as say, the Premium Format Mummy.
Sculpting – ****
The throne is made out of polystone, with some metal, rubber and other goodies thrown in for fun. The website estimates the weight at 20 lbs, which is probably a bit more than it actually is, but it’s damn close. This is one big, honkin’ display. It is about 17″ deep and 29″ wide, with plenty of room to fit Jabba, Salacious Crumb, and even Bib Fortuna. The actual throne is about 13″ tall if you measure up to the height of the hooka bowl.
I’ve learned through years of reviewing figures that it’s almost impossible to give someone a feel for how large the truly large collectibles are. No matter what you photograph them with, including people, it doesn’t really impress the sheer volume they take up. That’s what this throne (and the companion Jabba) are like. Until you have this thing in your hands, you won’t be able to process just how big it really is.
But I’ll tell you anyway – it’s huge. This is a centerpiece of the collection sort of thing, the type of item that would look great in a museum and even better in your home theater.
The throne sports a beautiful sculpt. The rocky lower base has perfect texturing, giving the appearance of actual stone blocks with grout lines in between. The single eyed gargoyle serpents around the front (six in all) have the texture and appearance of metal, and have real metal rings in their mouths. The rail behind the base is more smooth than the base, but has enough texture to appear as carved stone. On top of the rail, hidden by the hooka from anyone standing in front of Jabba, is the small control panel that can open the trap door to the Rancor. There are actually a couple buttons – perhaps one of them releases the hounds.
The hooka and bowl have the most intricate of the small details, but these are a tad softer than I had expected. It looks like the original prototype sculpt was quite intricate, but that some of this detail was lost in the manufacturing process. The hooka bowl on top is a hard plastic, with the clear ‘food’ bowl underneath. There’s a couple little tasty treats down inside the nasty looking liquid in this bowl as well.
The hooka pipe is connected to the bowl with a PVC tube. It is quite sturdy, and is less likely to wear or break than cheaper alternatives. That also means that it is tough to straighten it out though, once folded up inside the box. It will take some time for it to return to a more relaxed look.
I do wish that they had some sort of added hook for the pipe itself to attach. If Jabba isn’t holding it, you end up hooking it on the bowl itself in a makeshift way, and while it might not be movie accurate, adding a place to attach it would have made the diorama more attractive.
You will be putting this diorama together of course. The base has two holes for the large steel pegs on the railing, and the hooka attachs to the rail with a magnet set inside an indentation. While that’s it for assembly, you’ll probably find yourself dealing with the metal hoops quite a bit. These can fall out of the mouths or get turned at odd angles within the teeth fairly easily. To move or replace them, find the small break in the metal hoop and use that to put the hoop over the teeth. Put it over the back teeth on one side then turn the hoop until the space is on the other side and put it over those back teeth. Obviously, take some care to avoide damaging the fangs.
Paint – ***1/2
For such a large scale item, there isn’t a huge number of colors, or even a large number of small paint details. Most things are pretty broadly decorated, but it’s the subtle variations in individual colors and the shading of different areas that makes the throne so realistic in appearance.
The paint application is clean and even, with almost no slop – at least none that’s unintentional. The gold on the hooka bowl is a little too bright and untarnished for my tastes, making the hooka look a tad more toy-ish than I expected, but it’s a pretty minor annoyance. Adding a light inside the hooka would have been great, and would have definitely justified the two hundred buck price tag.
Articulation – Bupkis
There’s no real moving parts on this set. Oh, I suppose you could say the hooka pipe moves, but that’s not a point of articulation. Still, I had no expectation that anything would move, so this score will have no effect on my overall.
Accessories – ***
The set comes with a nice group of accessories, although I think folks will wish that some of the additional creatures that had been sold separately were actually included.
The diorama comes with two sculpted resin pillows, that look as uncomfortable as they sound; a plate of goodies for Mr. Hutt; and a leather (and it’s real leather) ‘drape’ that can be placed anywhere you like, although most of the time it’s under Jabba’s big ass, keeping him soft and secure.
The pillow sculpts and paint work is fine, but not outstanding. Neither look too convincingly like actual pillows, although I don’t know how you could have pulled off the mangy, nasty, stained look going with the real thing. The bronze plate of food looks good, and is nicely scaled to the rest of the environment. The throw rug is made from a nice, high quality leather, but is much, much less ragged and beaten than the prototype version. There’s a feeble attempt to rough it up, and a couple holes are punched on one edge, but this is clearly a brand new throw rug that Jabba just picked up at the local Ikea.
All the best goodies for this diorama have been sold separately in two different creature packs through Sideshow. The Salacious Crumb pack included Salacious of course, along with a Goul, Wortt, Sand Skitter and Veractyl, and the Buboicullaar pack includes Bubo, a couple Womp rats and a rock wart. Several of these creatures would be right at home on Jabba’s throne, but you’ll need to shell out the extra cash to outfit it right.
Fun Factor – ***
This is clearly not a kid’s toy, but that doesn’t mean the kid in you won’t have some fun with it. It’s a ‘set up it and look at it’ sort of fun, but adults find the oddest things entertaining. The ooh’s and ahh’s from your Star Wars fan friends will be their own sort of fun.
Value – **1/2
At $200, the throne isn’t cheap. But considering the size and detail, along with a decent assortment of extras, it’s priced about right. At around $150 it would have been an easy three stars. The big issue here really isn’t the cost of the throne, it’s the cost of the complete package. I do think it was a good idea to split Jabba and the throne up for purchasing, because there will be folks that decide getting Jabba by himself is good enough. I don’t know anyone though that will be picking up just the throne, so in reality you’re looking at another $120 for the big guy.
Things to Watch Out For –
Be very careful with those metal hoops. You don’t want your poor gargoyles to be missing teeth.
Overall – ***1/2
This is a truly impressive throne for a truly disgusting character. It has a few minor issues, but this is a diorama that is very much a ‘center of the collection’ type item. Add in Bib, Jedi Luke, and Salacious Crumb, along with the upcoming Boussh Leia and Buboicullaar, and you’ll have a diorama that will rival almost anything in the collections of even the big boys.
Scoring Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpt – ****
Paint – ***1/2
Articulation – Bupkis
Accessories – ***
Fun Factor – ***
Value – **1/2
Overall – ***1/2
Where to Buy –
Sideshow’s the spot – click here to head over and get on the wait list. You have other options for the regular release of Jabba as well:
– Dark Figures is the only dealer I know that has the throne available outside of Sideshow. Technically, this is a Sideshow site exclusive, but Dark Figures has them listed at the full $199 as well.
– CornerStoreComics has him at $101.99.
– Alter Ego Comics also has him fro 101.99
– as does Amazing Toyz, who has just gotten him in stock.
– if you’re in the U.K., you can find this throne at Forbidden Planet for 140 pounds, or the Jabba for 70.
– the Salacious figure to go with the throne is just $28 right now on sale over at Dark Shadow Collectibles.
Related Links –
I’ve reviewed a ton of Star Wars 12″ figures, the the ones that go most specifically with this set are Bib Fortuna and Jedi Luke.
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