In every universe, there’s a Rodney Dangerfield, some poor schlupp that just can’t get any respect. In the Star Wars universe, that would be Dengar. While his colleague’s Boba Fett, Bossk, Zuckuss and even IG-88 were treated with admiration by fans for their cruel bravery, old Dengar was just some fat guy with a towel on his head. And the towel wasn’t even wrapped very neatly.

It should be no suprise then that all the aforementioned characters have been treated to mini-busts by Gentle Giant, and yet poor Dengar has been the excluded bounty hunter. That situation has finally been rectified however, and Dengar’s bust is now available online and perhaps at your LCS. He’s a limited edition of 4000 (although you could argue that it’s not particularly ‘limited’ at that kind of quantity), and will run around $45.

“Dengar – Gentle Giant Mini-bust”

While he might not get much respect, Dengar is definitely one of the crueler and rougher bounty hunters. Capturing the cold, emotionless danger was GG’s real challenge. How’d they do? Let’s see!

Packaging – ***
When you’ve seen one recent GG Star Wars box, you’ve pretty much seen them all. While the basic look is still rather plain, this one benefits from having the window (occasionally they do not) which allows you to inspect your particular purchase. It also includes the cool baseball card style COA, which I’ve always thought was a bright move on GG’s part.

Sculpting – ****
Yep, this is Dengar alright. He has enough of a unique look that he’ll be instantaneously recognized by any Star Wars fan, but isn’t a popular enough character to end up being scrutinized on every detail for screen accuracy.

The head sculpt is excellent with the scarring etched realisticly into his face. He has Han Solo to thank for that. And GG of course. The cloth has a nice texturing added to it to differentiate it, and in fact, this bust has appropriate textures added everywhere. One of the flaws of some GG mini-busts is the lack of realistic texturing on clothing and skin, making the overall appearance too consistent. Here we see a nice break from that, with unique textures on the various pieces of cloth, the skin, and the leather pieces. It’s not perfect yet, and some of the areas still tend to blend in together, but it’s a big step forward.

Some of the best sculpting on this bust is in back, where you rarely look. Dengar has his backpack, which I believe also worked with his cybernetic parts to help keep him alive. There’s tons of detail here, with a nice use of both the sculpt and paint to add visual pop to the basic character. Gentle Giant seems to take extra care with all the bounty hunters, and it’s nice to see Dengar get the same level of treatment.

Paint – ***
While the paint isn’t bad, there were a couple distinct issues I had that held him back from a higher score. The overall quality of the paint operations is solid, with clean cuts between colors and a nice, consistent application. There’s also a nice mix of color, which is a surprise considering how bland most folks assume this character is.

My two issues revolve around the eyes and the lips. The eyes lack the shiny gloss application that gives them that wet, alive look. With a flat finish, the character looks more like a mannequinn than an actual person.

The other issue is the lips, which are a very bright red. The lines are also very clean, which actually adds to the appearance of lipstick. They needed to back off a bit on this dark color, giving him a more natural color.

Design – ***1/2
Dengar’s expression is well designed, giving him a cold, emotionless look. The poor guy had his emotions all mucked up with the surgeries on his brain, making him a pure killing machine. There’s just enough mean in his look to get the point across, and a feel of impending violence. The overall design isn’t overly dynamic, but has just the right style for the character.

Value – **1/2
At an SRP of $50, with street prices closer to $40 – $45, these are about an average price for the current market. Considering how much other pop culture collectibles have risen over the last few years, it’s nice to see that mini-busts have remained fairly constant. Let’s hope that continues!

Things to Watch Out For –
As I mentioned, the hand/gun piece comes separate in the package and must be attached. To do so, you need to put the gun in between his posed left hand and body, and get the post for the right hand in *just* the right spot to slide it on. Once in place, it’s going to stay there, but you don’t want to get too impatient or you could damage the gun pretty easily.

Overall – ***1/2
Gee, with those scores above, do you think this is a ***1/2 star figure overall? Solid sculpting, clean paint and a terrific design all add up to a much nicer version of Dengar than we usually get. My only real quibble here is that they didn’t give his eyes that coat of shine that adds so much life and realism to the bust. Had they added that touch, this would have been a near perfect representation of a much ignored character.

Score Recap –
Packaging – ***
Sculpting – ****
Paint – ***
Design – ***1/2
Value – **1/2
Overall – ***1/2

Where to Buy –
There’s plenty of great options online:

– Urban-Collector has this bust at just $38, and they have some of the new pre-orders like Shaak Ti and Aayla Secura at just $39! That’s an excellent price all around.

– Fireside Collectibles has him at just $40.

– Alter Ego Comics has him at $42.50.

– Amazing Toyz has him at $43.

– CornerStoreComics also has him at $43.

– Andrews Toyz has him at $45.

Related Links:
I’ve reviewed plenty of Star Wars mini-busts, including:

– recently, I checked out Zuckuss right here at QSE.

– Other Star Wars mini-busts I’ve covered include Chewbacca and Darth Maul, Jedi Luke, Qui-Gon Jinn, Palpatine and Skiff Lando.

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