Jabba the Hutt Kubrick and Cardboard Display Background

Let’s face it. Jabba himself is the real draw for the Jabba’s Palace wave of Kubricks. Each of the other figures in the wave comes with “bonus” parts that can be assembled to create Jabba on his throne. How cool is that? They really did a good job on him. I think the paint is just about perfect, both in terms of the colors they chose and how they were applied. Of course it’s really only the trademark Kubrick arms that really make him obviously a Kubrick, but that’s a minor issue.

Each “master case” (containing 4 boxes of 12 figures) came with a single cardboard background that you could use to display the figures. Medicom claimed they were really for use by stores, but I think that’s bull. Even in Japan there are relatively few stores that would have a display of open Kubricks. This background is really just another “chase” for the customers to search after. In any case, they are relatively rare since only people buying master cases got them, leading to prices of nearly $100 on eBay. Even in the pricey world of Kubricks, paying $100 for a cardboard background seems dumb. I did hear of some online merchants selling some for $40, but I missed out on those. I was starting to think I wouldn’t be able to get one when I tried submitting a “best offer” of $40 to an eBay seller who had listed theirs for a lot more. Luckily my offer was accepted. $40 is still too much, but I’ll have to admit that it does add to the display. (Just in case anyone notices, I forgot to include Boba Fett in these pictures, and I don’t have the Yak Face Kubrick, as it’s rather expensive.)

The background is clearly an homage to the cardboard Power of the Force diorama, right down to the Rancor in the pit below, but it’s much simpler in design and uses thicker cardboard, so I actually prefer this to the original.