Review – Star Wars Blue Snaggletooth Statue

Line: Star Wars * Manufacturer: Gentle Giant * Year: 2009

I think it’s completely fair to place all of the blame on Sideshow Collectibles*. You see, back in January I was excited about the 12-inch scale Hammerhead action figure* and that excitement led to a post in which I asked Sideshow for a Blue Snaggletooth. Nothing overly fancy or exciting, just a 12-inch scale version of the character. But then in the comments, Seth L (website) turned me on to the Blue Snaggletooth statue . . . and well, here’s the statue.

Blue Snaggletooth?

Back in the late seventies Kenner was raking in cash with Star Wars action figures* and they were cranking the toys out faster than they could get accurate photographic reference . . . at least, that’s how a character from the cantina when from a short alien in a red suit to a human-sized alien in a blue suit. And since the kids of the seventies drive a lot of the money behind Star Wars — especially when it comes to high-end collectibles — Gentle Giant stepped up recently and brought us a massive statue of the mistake.

I love how an error from over thirty years ago turned into a limited edition statue; this piece is limited to just 400.

So How Big is He?

As soon as the package arrived I knew I was in for a seriously large statue. The package measures 15″ x 11″ x 11″ and is well-designed and sturdy. I love the Gentle Giant gave a little history about the Blue Snaggletooth on the box, but there’s nothing written on the box that we didn’t already know. Once opened up and removed from the styrofoam the statue itself is 11-inches tall (including the base) and a fairly substantial piece. I had read online that the statue was scaled with 12-inch scale action figures and while I don’t think it’s an exact match — after all, he’s sitting and roughly 10-inches tall — it’s close enough that it’s going to look great next to the Sideshow cantina characters.

Sculpt

No complaints at all, which shouldn’t be surprising since the piece comes from Gentle Giant. The character design is a close match for the old action figure, but the sculpted details are far better than any action figure from the seventies could have hoped for. The folds of the skin, the detailed piping and folds in the costume, and the boot details are excellent. There’s an ugly seam on the underside of the hand holding the class, but that’s more of a manufacturing problem than it is a problem with the statue’s sculpt.

Paint

The paintwork on the statue is nearly as great as the sculpt. There are actually very few colors — which is fitting since this is based on a toy and not an actual movie costume design — but washes across the skin and cloth help bring out the sculpted details. Most of the paint is crisp, with just a few tiny spots slopping from one part to another. Unfortunately, the sleeves have specks of silver paint in places; it’s only noticeable when you get very close to the statue but I expect higher quality paint on a high-end, limited statue.

The lips look slightly moist, as do the eyes, where gloss was used in place of the flat paint the covers the rest of the statue. It’s a simple paint trick we’ve seen before, but it’s one of those details that’s nice to see.

That’s the “Technical” Stuff, but How is It?

Expensive. Sweet. Massive. Looks really, really cool next to Hammerhead*. But, realistically, it’s not something you should feel bad about missing or worry about tracking down. Let’s think this through:

• Limited to 400 pieces.
  
• An obscure character based on a mistake.
  
• Not perfect.
  
• A statue.

It’s not that there’s a problem with this Blue Snaggletooth statue. No, it’s cool and I’m glad I managed to get my hands on one without too much difficulty. And I’m serious when I say it looks good next to the 12-inch scale action figures — see the photo, below — but unless you are a serious Star Wars fan and have just gotta get the rare and obscure stuff into your collection you’ll do just fine without this statue.

I’m not trying to tell you to ignore it. All I’m trying to say is that unless you’ve slobbered all over your keyboard after seeing these pics you can put the statue out of your mind. Your collection will survive without it.

Closing Thoughts

There have been very few Blue Snaggletooth collectibles out there so you could look at this as a very important piece to a Star Wars collection. Or, maybe, you could look at this as a cool statue that only the truly insane should ever try to own. After all, it’s not as if this is a Stormtrooper.

The Blue Snaggletooth statue from Gentle Giant is great. A wonderful sculpt, almost-excellent paint, and an obscure character design all come together to create a Star Wars statue that I’m even now redesigning the living room shelves to properly display. After all, this guy is cool enough he needs to be down at eye-level where everyone can enjoy him.

Am I happy I have this statue? Hell, yes. I mean, just look at it. Quite cool.

Philip Reed must admit that if this statue did just one thing it’s make him want that Blue Snaggletooth action figue from Sideshow even more than he already did. No, there is not a 12-inch scale Blue Snaggletooth . . . but there should be one. Right?