Jango Fett - Life-Size Busts

Typically if a high-end collectible company makes some sort of Boba Fett piece, it’s likely collectors are going to soon see a Jango Fett version of it running shortly behind it. When all a company needs to do is repaint a few details or tool a few new parts at best, it makes sense to make the next characters ones that shares these parts to help save on costs. It just makes sense. As expected, that’s exactly what happened in Sideshow’s exclusive Life-Size Bust line. This absolutely fabulous line of only 15 pieces, (as of Jango Fett) barely gains the notoriety it deserves. These are some of Sideshow Collectibles greatest artistic triumphs under their Star Wars license. It’s a line that is expensive, takes up too much space and appeals to only a niche facet of collectors. But those that have the bug, have it bad. Let’s face it, the Life-Size Bust line is borderline creepy. Admitting that you’re collecting “heads” of your favorite Star Wars characters may not be the most balanced in terms of interests, but for us we’re unabashed in our love for them. We have fallen in love with the line and hope that it continues for years to come, despite there appearing to be a dramatic slowdown/cutback (complete halt) in how many pieces Sideshow Collectible has brought into the line recently. We hope that changes. At the end of 2010 just in time for Christmas that year, Sideshow Collectibles delivered the stunning Boba Fett Life-Size Bust, in conjunction with Spectral Motion. Long sold out, the piece goes for a lot more than its original MSRP on the aftermarket and online auctions. (The same is true for all of the pieces in this collection.) Jango Fett is expected to follow suit in high aftermarket value, but it hasn’t picked up the same momentum as all of the other previous releases in the line interestingly, and that’s even with the small edition size of a mere 300 units. That will soon change.

Anyway, back to the stunning Jango Fett Life-Size Bust. Jango Fett brings about more of the same as other pieces in this line have, but in this instance we feel Sideshow really made sure accuracy was priority number one. Even though Sideshow Collectibles had the beautiful Boba Fett Life-Size Busts under their belts already, they needed to sculpt a few new parts to make Jango Fett screen accurate from Attack Of The Clones. What's incredible here is that Jango Fett is cut in a way that doesn't include either jetpack, making him essentially screen agnostic in Episode II. It's comforting to know that they just won’t repaint it and allow the inaccurate parts stay in place. They will retool/resculpt when needed thank goodness. Only a fraction as popular as his son Boba Fett, the Jango Fett Life-Size Bust is not to be overlooked because the artisans at Sideshow Collectibles have done a remarkable job on this very expensive collectible. The Jango Fett Life-Size Bust stands tall and has such a commanding presence. But it’s the “art” of the piece that really captures your attention. The sculpting is dynamic. The polystone elements have been sculpted to look like real metal and/or denim (as seen with the armor and jumpsuit parts). And the paint operations are nothing short of spectacular, especially the helmet. The helmet's base silver color is enhanced with a blue that falls within the range of the cobalt spectrum. And there is a nice and shiny black visor to polish it off. You’ll find collections of rust and dirt in the crevices throughout the helmet. This stunning deco, necessary to make things feel lived in and lifelike, is a testament to the preciseness Sideshow Collectibles expects their finalized collectibles to deliver unto collectors. As a result, we’re not disappointed with this piece’s hand-painted details in the least. Although we only get to ogle a portion of his jumpsuit on this particular collectibleSideshow has decided to go with blue, which will obviously make one of two camps feel slighted. But don't worry, because Jango Fett looks completely faithful to the stills we have seen in the film.

Sideshow Collectibles is a clever company and they're all about satiating the often impossible demand of a Star Wars collector’s discriminating eye. We believe you will find complete satisfaction and solace in this piece. There is much to enjoy here and we even appreciate the finer details. For example, Jango Fett’s rangefinder is articulated. Although this is not a detail we witnessed in Attack Of The Clones, it's nice to receive the option here. Maybe it’s articulated because Boba Fett’s rangefinder was articulated and they used the same molds in this instance. But who really knows for sure? One thing we have ALWAYS appreciated in the Life-Size Busts line is Sideshow Collectibles’ insistence on utilizing the same base and name plate to keep the line uniform regardless of where the characters are sourced. Keeping these two parts the same across all of the Life-Size Busts is a faithfulness to the line that we haven never taken for granted and it’s amazing how these details gel the line together. And the base in particular looks so “Star Wars-y” that it couldn’t be bettered in our own estimation. We also love the glassy style of the name plate. It really gives the piece that finishing touch of pure museum quality that Sideshow Collectibles likens many of their pieces. If you look back over the history of the Sideshow Collectibles Life-Size Bust line, you’ll see instantly how balanced they’ve kept the line. We have characters from across the entire Star Wars saga, including the Expanded Universe, so there is literally something for everyone here. We have grown concerned over the lack of new announcements in this line. If Sideshow Collectibles has plans to retire this line, it will sadden us. But if they do, we hope that we will see characters like Momaw Nadon (Hammerhead), Ponda Baba (Walrus Man), Commander Cody (or any of the Revenge Of The Sith clone commanders), Stormtrooper, Biker Scout and Saelt Marae (Yak Face) before they call it quits. Jango Fett is a beautiful piece and we’re glad we have them all (up to Jango Fett) to date!