Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn - Mini Busts

A venerable if maverick Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn is a student of the living Force. Unlike other Jedi Masters, who often lose themselves in the meditation of the unifying Force, Qui-Gon lived for the moment, espousing a philosophy of "feel, don't think -- use your instincts."

Gentle Giant Ltd. fell for Hasbro’s trap. Often noted for developing many original Hasbro concepts for their own Mini Busts line, Gentle Giant Ltd. has now developed the Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn Mini Bust, a screen inaccurate interpretation of the character based directly from a Hasbro figure released in 1999. Qui-Gon Jinn never appeared in holographic form in The Phantom Menace. But because Hasbro created a light-up figure (released as a Walmart exclusive), it has become somewhat of an urban legend that we all saw him in this configuration in some random scene of Episode I. Gentle Giant (or Hasbro for that matter) can’t even claim that this is a “ghost” of Qui-Gon Jinn either because we never saw that apparition materialize in the film either. So you’re going to have to source this Mini Bust to the Expanded Universe, or until Lucasfilm Ltd. finds a way to add a Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn into a special edition of The Phantom Menace.

Although screen inaccurate, Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn comes across much more interesting than 2008’s Holographic Darth Maul released earlier in the year. A 2008 Convention Exclusive, Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn was especially released for Celebration Japan held in July. Limited to a mere 1000 pieces, the Mini Bust sold out quickly. But as they always do, Gentle Giant Ltd. held back a portion in reserve for the PGMs that wanted to ensure they could add this piece into their collections as well. We’re fans of the regular Qui-Gon Jinn Mini Bust. We think the likeness and the overall sculpt are done extremely well, so the sculpt translates well using transparent blue plastic to simulate a hologram effect. Batteries are used to power the light-up feature and the plastic evenly illuminates and the overall appearance of the Mini Bust looks fantastic in this mode. It really is a favorable Mini Bust.

Holographic Qui-Gon Jinn flew off of the radar of many Gentle Giant collectors. In fact, many collectors ensured that they made time to make a panicked call to Gentle Giant to see what they could do to lock one down for their Mini Busts collection. Thankfully most requests were granted. But the Mini Bust typically goes for more than its original MSRP on the aftermarket. Qui-Gon Jinn is a fan favorite Star Wars character, and it may be one of the leading factors to why this Mini Bust will maintain its inflated value on auction sites. If you casually collect Mini Busts, this may be one you can easily pass on but if you do collect them all, this one may be one of the harder ones to secure. It has the same edition size as the Blackhole Stormtrooper and that Japanese exclusive costs a fortune today. We have to credit Gentle Giant Ltd. for doing a great job with the holographic effect. It’s just too bad this is technically an Expanded Universe take on this Jedi Master.