Gentle Giant DEATH TROOPER Bust

[JeffSaylor]

Long live the Empire...

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Gentle Giant's Star Wars Death Trooper Bust is in-stock now at BigBadToyStore.com. It is limited to 2500 pieces and priced at $69.99.

For a great selection of action figures and collectibles, check out BigBadToyStore.com.

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Some things were just made for each other. Bacon and eggs. Bert and Ernie. Zombies and stormtroopers. Star Wars fans can thank Joe Schreiber for the latter. He's the author of Death Troopers, a surprising Star Wars novel that released in October 2009 depicting an Imperial bio-weapons project gone awry. The book made the New York Times Bestseller's list, partly due to the incredible buzz over the cover art by Indika and Dave Stevenson: a bloody stormtrooper helmet impaled on a metal hook. It's the kind of thing that makes Star Wars fans stop dead in their tracks and utter "woah".

I recall seeing Death Troopers numerous times in my local bookstore, always drawn in by that amazing art. But Star Wars and the walking undead? The idea - while geeky cool - also struck me as really out of place in this beloved galaxy far, far away. It wasn't until Gentle Giant released images for a new Death Trooper mini-bust that all my doubts were erased. Here it was in the flesh (or polyresin as the case may be), a fully realized zombie stormtrooper collectible. And oh man, did it look awesome.

Recently released in limited numbers, Gentle Giant's Death Trooper bust comes in two versions: a standard edition and a deluxe website exclusive. While the deluxe version allows for more customization, the standard includes a sweet bonus that the other doesn't: a copy of the Death Troopers novel. If you're like me and haven't read it yet, getting the standard edition is like killing two birds with one stone.

The Death Trooper ships in a large closed window box. The window isn't huge, but it does allow for a tempting sneak peek of the bust inside and is preferable to no window at all. The sides feature actual product photos while the back opens up to another window view, this time revealing the bonus Death Troopers novel inside. A nice touch and sure to lure buyers seeing this in a store; that cool cover art is hard to pass by. There's also a brief write up telling you about the undead Imperial uprising.

Immediately after opening the top flop you'll find a small certificate of authenticity with edition size taped to the sturdy Styrofoam container (none of that flakey cheap stuff). Mine's 450 out of 2500 made. You'll find the edition number on the bottom of your bust as well. The Death Troopers novel slips right out of it's own carved out niche on one side of the Styrofoam and the bust comes safely stowed between the two shells.

Which version of the Death Trooper bust you choose really amounts to whether you like the partially exposed rotting face underneath the helmet or not. The deluxe version lets you remove part of the trooper's mask while the standard does not. Personally I am more partial to the fully helmeted head; the off-white cracked and marred stormtrooper helmet closely resembling that of a human skull. It's a more "pure" look, appearing like a zombie stormtrooper without screaming it out.

Standing close to 7 inches tall, the Death Trooper packs one helluva tight sculpt in a very dynamic pose. With its head slightly tilted to one side and its right arm hungrily outstretched, this sculpture is a textbook example of the walking undead as seen in countless zombie movies.

If the stormtrooper's twisted posture wasn't a clear giveaway to its undead nature, then the gaping wounds and deteriorating armor hammer the message home. This poor guy looks like he took on an army of angry Rebels, some rabid Ewoks and perhaps a starving Wampa to boot. A maze of finely sculpted cracks and fissures astound on this bust; from blaster fire pockmarks to a battered and worn helmet. This trooper's armor has been through hell and back. As an added bonus, two removable armor shards are included with the bust, one for covering the massive hole on his torso and one for his left wrist. Again, it's a matter of personal taste, but I think he looks much cooler with the plates removed, exposing the raw, red rotting flesh beneath.

Bringing this mini-bust home is a beautiful paint job, if a decaying stormtrooper zombie can be considered beautiful. Bone white is used prominently on this piece lending the trooper a very skeleton-like vibe. Realistic shades of brown are used to great effect for shading and in making the fractures really stand out. It's all very grungy, down and dirty; a breath taking palette of zombie Armageddon.

Fans of Star Wars and zombies (I know you're out there!) are going to eat this mini-bust up. I can't stop gawking at its ghoulishly good looks. Oh, the book was amazing too. Yes, I finally got to read Death Troopers thanks to this mini-bust package and I must say, it is an extremely entertaining and gruesome read. Star Wars and zombies CAN happily coexist. In fact, they were made for each other...

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Gentle Giant's Star Wars Death Trooper Bust is in-stock now at BigBadToyStore.com. It is limited to 2500 pieces and priced at $69.99.

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Review and Photos by Jeff Saylor

Review Sample Courtesy of BigBadToyStore.com

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