Boba Fett With Han Solo In Carbonite (Star Wars Animated) - Maquettes

Wow. The animated maquettes line from Gentle Giant Ltd.. is back with a vengeance. And it has returned in the form of Boba Fett With Han Solo In Carbonite. Made so well that is has exceeded our expectations tenfold, it will no doubt invigorate this smaller line of high end collectibles. It has a higher price tag than all the other maquettes released to date and we can assure you that it is worth every penny. While all of the maquettes themselves are remarkable pieces of art, the line was becoming slightly bland. A character on a black base is nice, but a little scene of multiple characters is ultimately better. This piece adds a whole new level of interaction which the line desperately needed. While Boba Fett certainly has an attitude of ownership (you can see it all over his "face") the attitude you feel from him is unprecedented in this line. And the success of this piece shines through brighter than a trouper light. Let us just say that this is a piece not to pass over for your collection. It is that good. You already know that Boba Fett is a surefire hit in any collectible form and this animated maquette is no different.

Boba Fett has been cast in a guarded pose. Since he obviously needs to keep an eye on Han Solo (in both frozen and unfrozen states), Gentle Giant has assured a pose that captures this much-needed security coupled with a confidence in Boba Fett's demeanor and stature that seemed to be lacking in the first Return Of The Jedi inspired animated maquette. While the original has a very cool pose, its strength lies in the sensory overload of the sculpt and not so much with every detail being perfect. This maquette is perfect, well almost. We will nit pick about the orange glare being cast on the frozen Han Solo. We think it may distract or mislead the collector into thinking that he has started the defrosting process. (Well, maybe he is - after all, there tends to be major artistic license taken with these pieces.) But we don't think this was the intent and clearly these orange accents are meant to recreate all the orange lighting cast from the Bespin freezing chamber as seen in Episode V. We suppose the final interpretation will have to lie in the eye of the beholder. (Remember how fans wanted an Bespin-reflection stormtrooper? Same thing here - we think.)

As an Entertainment Earth exclusive, the edition size has been set at a moderately low 1750 units. This may be enough for the time being, but this is certainly one of the finest maquettes Gentle Giant has ever made and we suspect it will be a sell through. If it doesn't, then we have to surmise that collecting is coming to an end. It would be an egregious decision to skip over this collectible. That in combination with the most popular bounty hunter of all time and our favorite scoundrel frozen in time will undoubtedly make this a very popular collectible and should ensure its success. The maquette has it everywhere it counts. The figure is colored beautifully in multiple colors. The oranges are extremely bright and the blues and green work together to tie the whole "diorama" together. The carbonite block serves as not only a second figure to this maquette but a backdrop to Boba Fett. It looks spectacular. Plus, how often do we see the back side of the carbonite chamber? Gentle Giant took it upon themselves to give the back of the carbonite block its own unique design pattern. (Check out the pictures!) In summary, we are thrilled with this piece. It is their best animated piece in years. Be sure to give this piece the proper consideration it deserves.