January 2005 - Gentle Giant recently fielded a slew of questions about their upcoming products:

Question: I've noticed a paint error on the Clone Wars ARC Trooper maquette, what is being done about it?
Answer: Yes, we are aware of the error. We caught the error and a running change was made. We do not know when in the production run the error was caught. This will not change over time. All Gentle Giant products are sold with the disclaimer that the Final Product May Vary on both packaging and advertisements. Because these products are each individually hand-produced and hand-painted, discrepancies are going to occur, sometimes on a small scale, sometimes on a larger scale. Is it regrettable? Of course. Are we going to issue a repair kit or massive recall? No. We feel that this error falls within a level of tolerance where it does not greatly affect the average consumer's enjoyment of the piece.

If individuals are extremely unhappy with their purchase, they should contact the retailer from whom they purchased it and find out that retailer's return policy.

Q: What are the 2005 convention exclusives?
A: Still being determined, as are the specific conventions Gentle Giant will be attending.

Q: Any chance we'll see a re-issue of some of the older, more popular busts?
A: Our policy is we do not re-issue our older, sold-out pieces.

Q: What movie is the Darth Vader Statue supposed to be from?
A: In creating the ultimate villain, we went to pain-staking lengths to make this piece be the quintessential Vader in everyone's collection. The Darth Vader statue is not created from one specific movie in the Star Wars saga. Rather we took the best from each version and molded it into the Vader you see today. We worked off of digital data from ILM, various scans of the costume, and reference photos taken from the Original Trilogy.

Q: Will we see any GG statues (2 or more) that can be put together to make a scene?
A: While all GG statues are meant to be displayed together, there are currently no plans on producing statues that can be 'put together' like a jigsaw puzzle to create a specific scene from the Star Wars movies.

Q: What is up with the Star Wars Armory collection? What's the delay? Are they still scheduled for production?
A: We still have plans to release the Star Wars Armory collection. Our hopes are to release the first set of helmets late summer/early fall of 2005.

Q: And what's going on with the Star Wars bust-ups after Series 3?
A: Series 4 and 5 of the Star Wars bust-ups are currently in development, and we plan on having plenty to show at US Toy Fair in New York next month.

Q: Any plans for more maquettes? Either more Clone Wars characters or perhaps OT characters?
A: We promised from the beginning that the Clone Wars maquettes would be a finite collection, but reaction to this series has been so overwhelmingly positive that we have considered expanding the series to include a few more characters. We would like to thank the fans for their support of this endeavor, and we will certainly let you know if the possibility of making more pieces becomes a certainty.

Q: Would you ever do a new version of some of the sold out busts? Perhaps a new pose for Boba Fett?
A: The idea has crossed our minds. It is a tough decision, some fans who weren't able to pick up the previous one would love it, while those who did would rather see us spend the time creating new characters in bust format.

Q: Comparing the C-3PO statue and Mini-Bust, is it fair to say the statue is a "full" version of the mini-bust or are the two completely different from the waist up?
A: Well they are based on the same data and the same sculpting. The poses are a little different.
Q: Is the scale the same for both pieces?
A: Yes, they are both 1/6 scale.

Q: A reader wrote in telling us the chest emblem on his Clone Trooper mini-bust was peeling up, any suggestions how to repair this?
A: I assume you mean the colored dots on the chest of the red and yellow troopers. We suggest either a dab of glue or spray adhesive.
Q: Would QuickTite work for that?
A: The quicktite liquid formula might work, but the gel formula is better for resin.

Q: The current series of bust-ups (2) hosts 5 chase figures where the first series only hosted one. Will we continue to see multiple chase figures per series or is this just odd assortment?
A: We don't consider the Stormtroopers as chase figures. They are packed evenly and they were announced from the beginning, more of a troop building than a hunt for chase figures. We would consider this series to have 2 sets of chase - Vader and Maul. Each series will vary in how many chase figures, some my have none, some two.

Q: Previews UK is offering a Chrome Stormtrooper Mini-Bust for January 2005, any plans to make this available in the U.S.?
A: The Chrome Stormtrooper is a UK exclusive that is our story and we're sticking to it. But then again, what kind of company would we be if couldn't take care of our core customers here in the US. I would expect to see them make their way to the US through an appropriate outlet.

Q: Will (Gentle Giant) have a "Preview" piece for Revenge of the Sith, or will those items be released after the movie opens?
A: Well considering the most recent products we've announced have a release date of May, any ROTS products will be released once the movie has opened.

Q: What's the current status of the Padme maquette and Han Solo Stormtrooper mini-bust, have all the bugs been worked out? Have dates been set for ordering?
A: The bugs have taken over the world - we're trying to fight them off. The exterminators have been called. We hope to be up soon.

Q: In theory, if Lucasfilm were to take Star Wars to television, would GGS follow with product based on those characters, or stick with movie items?
A: We would have to evaluate that based on the content. With Clone Wars, we really liked the look and feel of the cartoon and the characters. If we feel the same way about the theoretical television show, we might be inclined to produce product based on those characters.

Q: Any current plans for a Mara Jade Bust-Up?
A: As much as Eric would love to, we have no plans to.

Q: Will the Simpsons Bust Ups come in the same kind of packaging as the Star Wars Bust Ups? Basically blind boxed, but with the little windows so that the truly hardcore collectors can figure out who is in which package before opening them?
A: It has yet to be decided on how the Simpsons Bust-Ups will be packed (blind-no window, blind-window, or each figure own packaging).

Q: The initial announcement said four series per year for the Simpsons. Is that four releases per year TOTAL for the Simpsons, or four releases in each of the different categories of Simpsons Bust Ups? (Four busts, four full-figures, four dioramas, etc.)
A: Four releases per year total.

Q: For the full-figure Bust Ups, how large will those be? (For example, the Star Wars Bust Ups are a nice fit with the 3.75" action figures.)
A: All of the Bust-Ups are around 2-3 inches tall.

Q: Will the Simpsons Bust Ups see a wider release than the Star Wars ones? Or will they also be mostly in places like comic shops, Suncoasts, and online stores?
A: We are working on expanding the release outlets for the Simpsons Bust-Up line. They will also be available in comic shops, online stores and Suncoast/Hot Topic like places.

Q: Why am I seeing such a wide range of prices for some of Gentle Giant's products?
A: Unfortunately, we do not have any method of controlling the final retail price of our products. However, we STRONGLY encourage consumers to be careful from whom they buy ANY products and to not always just look for the lowest price. Many deep-discount retailers can do so by sacrificing other services that may be valuable, such as an adequate return policy. We recommend that consumers develop and maintain a relation with their preferred retailer, or, if their retailer is not meeting their standards of service, we maintain a list of suggested retailers on the Network page of our website.

Q: Are there any plans to expand the Bust Ups into other licenses, such as the Matrix?
A: We do have plans to expand the Bust-Ups beyond Star Wars and Simpsons, but Matrix is highly doubtful at this point.

Q: Is the action figure world an area the company has always wanted to get into, or is this merely a side project?
A: It seems like every collectible company wants to do action figures and every action figure company wants to do collectibles, doesn't it? We have always wanted to expand our horizons and try our hands at other product categories, and the Death Jr. action figures will be a great start to this.

Q: What has been the response to the Bust-Ups, and will you be adding any more properties to the line?
A: The response we've gotten on the first couple of series of Star Wars Bust-Ups has been very positive so far. We feel we've improved on the line with each new series. We're really excited for the Bounty Hunters of series 3 coming out in a few months. We do have plans to expand the Bust-Ups beyond Star Wars and Simpsons.

Q: Delays pushed back a number of items last year, what seems to be the number one cause of these delays and what steps are you taking to minimize them in the future?
A: There isn't really one cause. Every situation is different. With Bust-Ups, it was the first time we ever used plastic. With the Chewbacca statue, it was the first time we used soft and hard resin together. There was a dock strike during the 4th of July holiday that led to delays of up to 3 weeks long. Some of these things we can predict and add time to the production schedule, but some will always be unpredictable.