GENTLE GIANT'S BOOTH GALLERY

Ever since their Attack Of The Clones busts in 2002, Gentle Giant has done nothing but improve on their already classic designs, always offering collectors truly iconic Star Wars collectibles. What they are offering up next is nothing short of their best work and draws us further into a galaxy far, far away.

If there is one word to sum up their latest pieces, it would be nostalgic. Whether it is drawing from one of the most sought after Kenner action figures or diligently dissecting the Jabba the Hutt set, the end result is nothing less than perfect.

While we saw images of their blue Snaggletooth statue months ago, seeing it in person leaves us slack-jawed and weak in the knees. No detail was missed on this piece, and it is easy to tell that its creation was labour of love.

Beyond that, the busts that were displayed are some of the finest Gentle Giant has ever made. Looking past the negative opinions of some collectors, the Rebel Commando busts are spectacular, and are worth the efforts to acquire. Gentle Giant has told us the four busts will be packed -in their original boxes- in a larger box. This set, which will be offered after the four individual pieces are released, will see a limited production run of 200 pieces, and there may be an additional incentive added to the set as well.

Also seen for the first time were the Slave Leia, Lando Calrissian and Darth Vader Force Unleashed busts. All three are quite stunning. The Hoth Leia figure, which we showed you a few weeks back, is spectacular, and the exclusive edition, which we affectionately call Mynock Leia, takes a great sculpt and makes it even cooler. That said, covering up that sculpt is criminal, so you'd better get both versions.

Not forgetting the Yak Face bust, which was also shown for the first time here, we thought it was note worthy enough to talk about in a separate paragraph since it will be the basis of this year's Holiday Bust.

In addition to the Snaggletooth 1/6 scale bust, Gentle Giant presented a bunch of other equally impressive statues and maquettes including the Tusken Raider on Bantha statue. This piece, though not shown, will feature an exclusive version with an additional Sand Person holding a rifle.

The Leia and Speeder Bike statue is a great companion piece to the much-earlier released Biker Scout statue. The exclusive version features a special Wicket piece. At this time it hasn't been determined how he'll be attached to the base, but if he needs additional support it is more likely that Gentle Giant will opt for magnets over foot pegs.

The next piece in the Animated Maquettes collection is Slave Leia. Buddied up with the scantly clad daughter of the chosen one is everyone's favourite creature, Salacious Crumb.

The already outstanding Bookends collection gets a serious kick in the derrière with the Jabbas Palace set, which leaves no detail over looked and offers up a vert tasteful display with some of the most recognizable characters from the first act of Return Of The Jedi. Before you ask, yes, there actually was a Tauntaun head mounted on one of the palace's walls. At this point it hasn't been decided if it will be an exclusive version or not, Gentle Giant has plans on offering an interchangeable Leia head so through the use of hidden magnets she can either be your kind of scum, fearless and inventive or she can be someone who loves you.