C-3PO (McQuarrie Concept) - Mini Busts

Ralph McQuarrie's early designs of C-3PO are uniquely different from that of the final screen version. Based on original pre-production illustrations for Star Wars: A New Hope, this mini bust displays a fascinating look at McQuarrie's conceptual development of the beloved protocol droid.

What San Diego Comic Con would be complete without a McQuarrie concept Mini Bust by Gentle Giant Ltd.? They certainly have been making it a habit annually by releasing a fantastic Mini Bust collectible based on the late Ralph McQuarrie. This well-deserved sub-series of polystone Mini Busts are a bit more special than the general releases created for normal distribution channels because it was these art concepts that brought us the beloved Star Wars characters we still adore today. Without Ralph McQuarrie’s vision, Star Wars would have looked completely different than it does. So it’s important to pay homage to some of these concepts that defined a universe of unforgettable heroes and villains. C-3PO (McQuarrie Concept) Mini Bust follows in almost the same exact footsteps of its predecessors. Exquisite attention to detail is a given, but this piece also takes advantage of interchangeable portraits to offer as much versatility as possible. Many times Ralph McQuarrie’s drawings only offer one particular style of a character’s concept. But Gentle Giant Ltd. takes the opportunity to research and provide some much-needed versatility to these pieces to make them more interesting.

As mentioned earlier, C-3PO (McQuarrie Concept) comes with two unique portraits, based on the various steps in the evolution of the character on paper. They attach to the main body of the Mini Bust via very strong magnets. The head sculpt will snap into its spot rather vigorously if you don’t hold onto it while securing it into place. The portrait can not be posed in various ways. In other words, the portrait prefers to lock in one place and one place only. This is definitely limiting, or perhaps a “weaker” magnet may have been ideal if it was their intent to have this Mini Bust’s head turn. Both portraits “lock” tightly into place and we don’t believe you should encounter any issues with them being too lose and at worst fall out because the magnetic attraction isn’t strong. Other than that, the C-3PO (McQuarrie Concept) Mini Bust is rather static, but you probably won’t care because of how beautifully he is painted. (More on that in a moment.) We still think that despite containing an interchangeable part, $75 is still pushing the envelope for what collectors can afford of find acceptable. These Mini Busts really need to stay in the fifties range. Otherwise, more and more collectors will continue to be alienated.

As promised, we want to talk about the paint job in as great detail as we can. Obviously C-3PO is mostly golden in color, and that certainly is true for this piece. But check out our photo gallery carefully and see just how much stunning effort went into this piece’s deco. The paint job given to C-3PO (McQuarrie Concept) is absolutely mesmerizing. The shadowing, the dark crevices and the dark shape defining lines are unbelievably applied. C-3PO’s finish is metallic, but it also has a flat matte quality to it as well. This perplexing style unbelievably makes what seems to be a simple paint job absolutely complicated and thoroughly impressive. Spend some time and pay attention to these details. We thoroughly believe that you will find wonderment in this gorgeously painted collectible. Limited to only 1008 pieces (Gentle Giant Ltd. really couldn’t have produced 30 more pieces to pay homage to another Star Wars reference here?), C-3PO (Mini Bust) is one of the smaller edition sizes of the McQuarrie concept pieces. As a droid, he should be a bit more popular than some of the other Mini Busts released, but his price may keep him in stock for a little while longer. Don’t delay however.