Tusken Raider (Sand People) - Scum & Villainy - 1:6 Scale Figures

Fearsome desert savages inhabiting the rocky Jundland Wastes, Tusken Raiders, or Sand People as they are also known, are the foremost reason Tatooine colonists do not wander far from their isolated communities. Extremely territorial and aggressive, Tusken Raiders will attack with very little provocation. They show no allegiance to even their native world-mates and have been known to attack Jawa scouting parties on occasion. They brandish a deadly bladed club known as a gaderffii and also carry projectile rifles with which to shoot at passing vehicles. For transportation, Sand People have domesticated the hardy bantha, a longhaired spiral-horned quadruped also found on Tatooine. These nomads purposely travel in single file, to conceal their numbers.

On the desert planet Tatooine, a moisture farmer named Owen Lars buys a pair of droids named R2D2 and C3PO. He leaves the droids in the charge of his nephew Luke Skywalker, but when R2D2 escapes, Luke and C3PO set out in a landspeeder to find him, knowing that dangerous Tusken Raiders inhabit the area. They soon locate R2 on the scanner and catch up with him, only to learn that danger is nearby. R2 tells them that he detects several creatures closing in on their location, and as Luke fears, the creatures are Tusken Raiders. They are quickly attacked, leaving Luke unconscious as the landspeeder is raided for parts.

The Tusken Raiders flee at the sound of a vicious creature, discovered to be a mysterious hooded figure approaching from across the desert sand. Once the figure has checked on the fallen Luke, his hood is removed to reveal an older bearded man. Luke awakens to see that the man is the local hermit Ben Kenobi, who later reveals that he is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight who had known Luke's father and suspects a great potential for Luke to be strong in the Force. Their chance meeting through this Tusken Raider attack would begin the series of events that saves the Galaxy from certain destruction at the hands of Darth Vader.

Whether you’re a collector of the 1:6 Scale Figures line or not, sometimes all collectors need a reality check from Sideshow Collectibles to put in perspective what we’re not getting from Hasbro. Take for instance their awesome Tusken Raider (Sand People) from their rarely attended Scum & Villainy line. This figure is spectacular and better than anything Hasbro will be able ever to do. Granted, 3.75” scale is very different that one-sixth scale, but the multi-layered costumes and exquisitely detailed accessories that Sideshow Collectibles proudly releases in the 1:6 Scale Figures line is nothing short of amazing. Tusken Raider (Sand People) is one of their most memorable 12” scaled figure in a very long time. Sure, all of the Militaries Of Star Wars clones released one after another recently are amazing as well. But we’ve developed a resistance to them to the point that the last few clones have been interpreted as just “more of the same”. We never want to grow complacent in a collectibles line, but Sideshow Collectibles needs to fine tune a delicate balance across all of the categories/collections they’ve created in their stunning 1:6 Scale Figure lineup. That’s a long aside, but bringing the Tusken Raider (Sand People) figure into the line could be considered a lifeline. We’re excited again and we assume the same is true for you.

Not only is it refreshing to see a figure in one-sixth scale that isn’t a clone, it’s also refreshing that a classic Original Trilogy character has been reintroduced (really in any scale) because these types of characters are truly the bread and butter of collecting. So the Tusken Raider (Sand People) figure wins two ways for us. As far as the nuts and bolts of the figure are concerned, the Tusken Raider is a significant accomplishment. If we were part of the design team, this figure would be somewhere at the top of our resume. It has one annoying issue: the inability to stand up unassisted, but we find this to be a chronic problem in any 12” scaled figure line (save for maybe Real Action Heroes), so it’s something we can overlook. That being said, we still think that the Prometheus body type still needs some refining. Whether Sideshow Collectibles needs to tighten up the joints or whatever else, there is still a learning curve they haven’t been able to master yet. The Tusken Raider (Sand People) figure however is a sight to behold. For example, the portrait is gorgeous. Just as they were able to successfully make polystone look like real bandages, this time they’ve been able to make plastic look equally as realistic. Sideshow has great potential to make some pretty amazing environments to accompany this figure. We wonder if they’ll ever come to pass.

But the greatness doesn’t stop there. The worn outer robes have been woven from a very soft fabric, yet has a heaviness so a nice drape forms. Then the Tusken Raider has layers of inner robes that have been nicely tattered and worn as well to bring in that “lived in” look for what the Star Wars universe is known. Sideshow Collectibles matched the colors flawlessly and this perfect combination of soft-goods and hard-goods work in tandem with each other to bring collectors a truly quality piece. Even the feet and forearms have individual “mummy” wraps to give the figure it's edge in dynamic realism. The accessories couldn’t make us happier. Sideshow Collectibles didn’t overload the Tusken Raider with umpteen interchangeable hands and weapons. His respirator is spectacularly created. It’s a free floating accessory around his neck. He comes with a gaderffi stick, a slug thrower rifle (it’s awesome by the way) and a gaffi weapon with a gun stock (and this piece is a Sideshow Exclusive). The action figure display stand has a special accessory too. Sideshow added a desert base to it to make the Tusken Raider feel a bit more at home. We haven’t seen this in the line since the Darth Maul (Sith Lord) 1:6 Scale Figure was released in 2006. The Tusken Raider (Sand People) figure is a breath of fresh air. We hope Sideshow Collectibles brings more Scum & Villainy figures before bringing us any more clones.