Mini-Busts | Statues | Animated | Classics Busts | Kustomz | Exclusives
Star Wars Chess | Miscellaneous

Gentle Giant continues to celebrate the Star Wars saga with their own unique line of offerings for 2008.  Most of the lines are well established, and the offerings have been seen before at some point.  But with regard to new products, please take note of the fact that some of the items in our gallery are pending final approval by Lucasfilm and may change.  Gentle Giant took some questions about some hot-button issues, as well as on those lines that may not exist yet.

-BUST UPS - Gentle Giant is rethinking their approach to the Bust Ups line.  It was shown with new features last year, including a Build A Figure scheme.  However those Bust Ups never shipped.  So the fate of this line is still somewhat up in the air. As of right now, there are no new offerings for 2008.

-THE CLONE WARS - There were no offerings for this year's television series THE CLONE WARS in Gentle Giant's showroom.  However, every Lucasfilm licensee seems to be on board with this mega-media project.  Gentle Giant would not confirm any CLONE WARS products, and would only offer that any offerings would be in the development stages.  And the earliest we might see any new CLONE WARS product would be late this year or early next year.

-THE FORCE UNLEASHED - Again, this is a major Lucasfilm multimedia offering.  But again there was no presence of any FORCE UNLEASHED product to be found in the Gentle Giant showroom.  There may be a FORCE UNLEASHED release in the works for some time later in 2008.

Mini Busts

The mini-bust line is likely to have 9 or 10 releases in the course of the year.  Gentle Giant is consciously scaling back in light of just how much product was offered in 2007, the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars.

Pricing has increased slightly.  Standard mini-busts are now being offered at the suggested retail price of $55 per bust.  Deluxe mini-busts which tend to have interchangeable arms will sell for $60 each.  Mini-busts which are currently in the pipeline include:
     Admiral Ackbar - IN STORES THIS MONTH (not displayed)
     Aayla Secura - IN STORES MAY/JUNE '08
     Shaak Ti - IN STORES MAY/JUNE '08
     Deluxe Tusken Raider - IN STORES MARCH/APRIL '08

Statues

As a line, Gentle Giant is looking to offer 3 - 4 of these pieces per year.  They are conscious of the cost of the products and are hoping to not break the collector's banks.  Here's a rundown of what was on display:

     Darth Vader on holo-pad - IN STORES NOW
     Darth Maul with Bloodfin speeder - IN STORES THIS MONTH
     Count Dooku with Asajj Ventress - IN STORES MAY/JUNE '08
     Han Solo - NOT ON DISPLAY, IN STORES SOON
     Yoda - THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK - Collectors can expect a different base on this piece, and not the one seen in our photos.  A Dagobah seems the most likely candidate.  IN STORES SUMMER '08
     R2-D2 - This is one of the truly spectacular offerings in Gentle Giant's show room.  Artoo features a number of interchangeable panels and tools that can be set however you want to display them.  It makes this piece very remarkable, and much more impressive than the statue that was shown at Celebration 4.  RELEASE DATE TBD

Animated Maquettes

The animated maquette line continues with at least two new offerings for 2008.  Here's what was on display:
     Emporer Palpatine - IN STORES MAY/JUNE '08
     Darth Maul - shirtless, with lightsaber & force lightning - RELEASE DATE TBD
     Obi-Wan Kenobi - A NEW HOPE - RELEASE DATE TBD

Classics Busts

The first three waves of the Classics busts were on display in the Gentle Giant showroom.  The classic line continues to grow, and has made in impact in some mass retail outlets.  Here's what the line looks like now:

     Wave 1 - Boba Fett, TIE Fighter Pilot & Kit Fisto - IN STORES NOW
     Wave 2 - Queen Amidala, Snowtrooper & Hammerhead - IN STORES THIS MONTH
     Wave 3 - Jar Jar Binks, Ep 3 Obi-Wan Kenobi & AT-AT Driver - IN STORES SUMMER '08

Kustomz

The Kustomz line continues to try to push the Star Wars universe in a new, hot rodding direction.  Four pieces were on display, three of which have been previously seen.
     Scout Trooper on Speeder Bike - IN STORES NOW
     TIE Fighter Pilot in TIE Fighter - IN STORES MARCH/APRIL '08
     Darth Vader with Star Destroyer - IN STORES MAY/JUNE '08
     Jawa with Sandcrawler - IN STORES SUMMER '08

Exclusives

2007 was a banner year for Gentle Giant exclusives.  We are not likely to see so many exclusives offered in a single year ever again, mainly because 2007 was the 30th Anniversary year.  Exclusives will be scaled back this year to a much more manageable level for collectors.

     Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone armor mini-bust- This is set to be a Gentle Giant exclusive, offered solely through their website.  There will be a special purchase plan for customers who bought the Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone armor statue.  Complete details will be released in the next week.

     Anakin Skywalker - REVENGE OF THE SITH mini-bust -This piece depicts Anakin from the end of his duel with Count Dooku on The Invisible Hand, wielding two lightsabers.  This will be a San Diego Comic Con exclusive.

     Lieutenant Renz mini-bust - GENTLE GIANT & REBELSCUM.COM EXCLUSIVE - GG and Rebelscum have teamed up to offer this new mini-bust.  It depicts Lt. Renz who utters the infamous line "You rebel scum!".  The bust includes a voice chip with that line as well as an autographed card of the character signed by actor Barrie Holland.  According to Rebelscum, this mini-bust will be a limited edition of 2,500 pieces.  It will be offered on both Gentle Giant's and Rebelscum's websites.

     Clone Trooper Lieutenant Classics bust - 2008 Gentle Giant Premier Guild gift.  Gentle Giant seems to be poking fun at themselves here, given the extremely limited run on 2003's Clone Trooper Lieutenant mini-bust which was a summer exclusive.

     Holographic Darth Maul mini-bust - NOT PICTURED - This piece is set to be an exclusive for an event in Belgium, but is also slated to be offered through Gentle Giant's web site.

Star Wars Chess

The Star Wars Chess Set showed up at Toy Fair last year, and again at SDCC. There's still no release date, and the product (which we are now allowed to photograph) is still not finished. Although it looks like there are drawers on both sides, they are currently not functional.

Miscellaneous

Mini Helmets:
Gentle Giant seems to be picking up the torch on mini-helmets in 2008.  This license had recently been vacated by Master Replicas.  On display were the following:
     Clone Trooper - REVENGE OF THE SITH
     Clone Trooper - 501st Legion
     Clone Trooper - Shock Trooper markings
     Boba Fett

Chubbies:
Gentle Giant is continuing to offer the Hot Toys Chubbies nesting dolls in the US.  These are something of a mass retail item, showing up in stores like FYE.  Here are some of the 2008 offerings:
     Rebel Pilots
     Princess Leia
     Ewoks
     Clone Trooper to Stormtrooper evolution
     Boba Fett (young), Jango Fett & Boba Fett (OT)
     Luke Skywalker

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