Emperor Palpatine - Mini Busts

There have been some “off” moments in Gentle Giant’s illustrious Mini Bust line career, but when they do make a great piece watch out because words will likely be unable to express just how magnificent they are. That’s exactly how we feel about 2006’s Emperor Palpatine Mini Bust based on his Senate duel with Yoda in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. The level of authenticity is staggering. There really is no other way to put it. While it goes without saying that the sculptor who designed/created this piece knew what he/she was doing, we believe the most impressive talent lies with the painters who evidently brought this piece to life on an enormously grand scale. We’re getting a bit ahead of ourselves, but you should know that the Emperor Palpatine Mini Bust is one of Gentle Giant’s finest efforts to date. It will be highly sought even with an edition size of 4500 pieces. It’s that well done.

The evil grimace, the cocked manner of his head, the angle at which he wields his red signature lightsaber and the flow of his robes are absolutely perfectly frozen in time. Emperor Palpatine has a penchant for looking evil thanks to his facial scars and deformities and all of that has been captured in perfect detail and with a flawless paint job. We’re even impressed with some of the finest details, like his teeth and inside of his mouth. The artists painted his deep set-in eyes in an expertly replicated fashion and the “Sith mode” they chose confirms the evilness that lies within him. A nice feature to this Mini Bust is that he can be displayed with or without the lightsaber blade ignited giving this piece some unexpected (and realistic) versatility. Emperor Palpatine succeeds on pretty much every level and we are at a loss where to find faults and complain about it. It’s done that well.

As mentioned earlier, Emperor Palpatine has been limited to 4500 pieces. That actually is a hefty number, but Gentle Giant’s popular Mini Bust line is a hard collection to gauge. Mini Busts that you think will disappear in an instant can hang around and others that might be interpreted as sleeper hits could fly out of retail in a moments notice. Emperor Palpatine will stand the test of time and remain one of their finest efforts of all time. While we cannot find any complaints with the actual piece, we do wish that Gentle Giant Ltd. chose a different “name” for him. For all intents and purposes, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Sidious synonymous, but we would have preferred that a Prequel Trilogy rendering of him be labeled as Darth Sidious. That’s just our two cents. Emperor Palpatine for us refers to the character we saw in Return Of The Jedi (as well as the Special Edition of The Empire Strikes Back). Whatever you do, be sure to grab this incredible piece and make it a priority for your collection. It’s done that well.