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08/18/2008 Gentle Giant SDCC Exclusive Star Wars Scout Trooper On Speeder Bike Kustomz Review
Today brings yet another SDCC exclusive. Today is the Gentle Giant Star Wars Scout Trooper On Speeder Bike Kustomz figure. I wasn't really looking forward to this line as it seems more steered to the Rat Fink and hot rod crowd than the main Star Wars fan base. However after I started seeing these figures more and more, the more they are growing on me. I didn't preorder this before going to SDCC nor did I pick it up while I was at the show. It took awhile for it to grow on me and I finally picked it up after the show when the leftovers went on sale on the Gentle Giant web site. In the end I am glad I did pick it up.
The box is once again sports the standard high end collectible pattern to it shared by several companies including Gentle Giant. Once again it is really boring me as it has been in use for awhile now. I welcome a change. One big plus is there is a nice big window to the packaging so you can see the figure inside and get a good view of what you are getting.
At six inches tall and 11 inches long, I am calling this a figure rather than a statue as it is made of vinyl rather than resin or porcelain or something like that. Call it what you will, it is really well made. The sculpt is fun in deformed hot rod culture kind of way making it unique in the sea of Star Wars collectibles. It will stand out on a shelf of other Star Wars items and make your friends say "What is that?". I was actually surprised to see it was made of vinyl. I probably just didn't pay attention when information on this line was released and missed that detail. I don't have a problem with it but I can imagine some people will have an issue paying $70 for a vinyl figure. I can tell you after observing a friend of mine collecting artistic vinyl figures, $70 can be quite reasonable.
The paint job is rather stellar as well. This exclusive features a military camouflage style that we are all familiar with rather than the standard Imperial army gray. This is in part why I got this one. Being a former Marine, I tend to like things painted up in camo. There is no slop on mine - the paint job is really well applied.
At every angle you will see the care that was taken in making this. I was ready to poo-poo this because it was so different but I just can't. To top things off there are little fun things hidden into the sculpt that make the piece even more fun. Besides the peace symbol flag on the back there is 'Dark Side' imprinted on the Scout's glove fingers.
Another example is a Stanley looking screwdriver as part of the instrument panel.
And a random toothbrush on the back. These little things don't make the piece but as I said, it makes it a little more fun and unique in a silly kind of way.
This figure sold out at SDCC and the allotted leftover on the Gentle Giant site. I paid $69.99 for it but I suspect you might be able to find it for retail or maybe even less for sometime despite the fact they only made 500 of these. I think it is going to take sometime for the mainstream Star Wars collectors to warm up to these. I am giving this figure a *** 1/2 out of five star rating. It is very cool looking but it is an acquired taste for most collectors. The price also might scare some off for a vinyl figure. Zoom Zoom!
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