Jabba the Hutt Rubber Strap by Glico Japan
As I write this, we are sitting at the gate in the airport waiting for our flight back to the US. A few days ago, I heard about the new Star Wars campaign that Glico was going to be starting in Japan on July 2nd. That happened to be the day we were leaving Japan, so I wasn’t sure I would be able to see any of the stuff in stores. But we stopped at a convenience store in the airport, and sure enough, they had a number of the candy products on the shelves.
I picked up a few boxes of stuff just for the heck of it. Pocky is a classic Japanese candy, although I’m not a huge fan of it. I’ve never tried “Cecil” before, but it appears to just be chocolate. You can also get a lenticular trading card with every two Glico Star Wars products you buy. The most interesting thing to me were the rubber cell phone straps since I didn’t know about them. They come with a few pieces of candy, presumably because Glico doesn’t have the license to just sell the straps.
There are 10 possible characters you can get, and at first I didn’t notice that Jabba was on the list. Luckily, I checked twice. I ended up buying 8 packs (they’re a little under $2 apiece) and got 7 unique characters (including Jabba) so I was pretty happy with that. In the past, items like these would have come with thin straps designed to fit thorough the wrist strap holes in cell phones, but now that most smartphones don’t have those holes, they are increasingly coming with plugs that can fit into your earphone jack. Anyway, I was pretty excited to find a Jabba collectible I never even knew about, literally a couple of hours before leaving Japan.
This may be one of only a handful of Jabba-related collectibles that I will never own. Released in 1998, it was limited to 50 pieces and sold for $3,000. It’s up on eBay at the moment with a starting bid of $14,000 and a Buy-It-Now of $18,500. I feel these prices are totally insane, but I did hear about one of these statues selling for a similar amount a few years ago.
It’s a very nicely sculpted piece, but I don’t think I would even buy it for the original price. One thing you can’t see well in the first picture above is how the bronze has been treated somehow to produce colors. (I’ve included a shot from “PrincessLee” on Statue Forum that lets you see this better.) It’s an interesting effect, but I don’t really care for it. It seems to cheapen the look, in my opinion. I think if you’re going to make a bronze statue, it should look like bronze — more like a classical statue.
Link: How to Make Amazing Jabba the Hutt Cookies
Semi Sweet Designs has a very detailed set of instructions about how to make Jabba the Hutt cookies. I’ll definitely have to give it a try, although I think I’ll have to simplify them a bit.
I posted about Gentle Giant’s Jumbo Power of the Force Gamorrean Guard figure a few months ago. It was only available to Premier Guild members, but you could choose it as the “free” item you got when joining the club. The Yak Face figure is only the second Jabba-related figure to be released. It’s also only available to Premier Guild members (unless you are actually going to be at the show), but unfortunately it can’t be chosen as your “free” item. This effectively brings the price to $160 ($80 for the figure and $80 for the membership).
I was very happy with the Gamorrean Guard figure, so I’d really like this one as well, but the cost of entry is quite high. If I want to get the SDCC-exclusive Boba Fett bust and this figure, the cost with membership (but without shipping) will be $310! That seems exceedingly high, but I’m afraid the aftermarket prices will be even higher, given their status as exclusives.
I first wrote about this bust over a year ago, and it’s finally up for preorder. However, it turns out that they’re releasing it a San Diego Comic Con exclusive, which means you have to get it at the show unless you’re a Premier Guild member, in which case you have it shipped to you after the show. PGM membership costs $80 a year, and while it does include some other benefits like discounts and a “free” bust, it essentially brings the total cost for this bust to $230 — and that’s before shipping.
This image shows both poses, but note that you don’t actually get two busts.
Gentle Giant’s prices have been steadily rising, so what was once a $40 or $50 bust a few years ago now costs $80 or more. And as an exclusive “deluxe” bust with extra parts, this takes it to the next level, retailing for $150! Yes, it comes in a metal tin and has some extra arms so you can put him in another pose, but there have been a number of busts with that feature sold in the past for less than half as much. Originally I figured this bust would be a no-brainer, but Gentle Giant seem intent on pushing the envelope of what their customers will accept. I’m still on the fence about it, but I do need a Fett for my Jabba’s Palace bust display, and it looks like there will be at least one other Premier Guild item that I will want, so I’ll probably end up buying it. But I won’t be happy about it, and I’ve heard the same thing from a lot of people.
LEGO Jabba’s Sail Barge (75020)
Long-time readers of Mighty Jabba’s Collection may recall that when I was in Japan last year, I was able to get the new Jabba’s Palace (9516) and Desert Skiff (9496) sets a couple of months before their release in the US. As it turned out, I was able to do the same thing with the Sail Barge this year, so I am going to do a little review of it. The set was released just a few days ago in Japan, but I got it from Amazon Japan for a pretty nice discount — it ended up being just slightly more than I would’ve paid in the US (and almost certainly less than Toys R Us will be selling it for…) As soon as my schedule allowed, I got to work building it, even though I’ll have to largely take it apart to get it back home. It’s all for you, gentle reader. 🙂 (And also because I couldn’t wait to see what it would look like in person.)
Since I’m at my in-laws house in Japan, I decided to borrow their garden for the photo shoot. It’s not quite the Dune Sea, but it’ll have to do. Overall, I’d say that the barge looks really nice. It even has wheels on the bottom, allowing it to roll!
Since this is the second version of the Sail Barge that LEGO has made, there will inevitably be comparisons made between the two. My first impression was that it reminded me a lot of the previous version in terms of the overall feel, and even some of the parts used. But this is a smaller, sleeker version of the barge. I don’t have the original one with me to compare them side by side, but my feeling is that it’s noticeably longer than this one. Some people were concerned about the shape being off, but it looks much more accurate to the actual vehicle than old one. The longer nose portion helps with this quite a bit, but that does mean that you have less room “on deck” for figures than you did on the old barge, and the inside is pretty darned cramped. (And of course it’s not even close in size to the BaronSat custom I built a few months ago.)
The sails were a cloth material on the old barge, but now they are made of plastic sheeting. I’m not sure if it’s an improvement, since they’re rather shiny now, but otherwise they’re fine. I really like how they made the stabilizer fins (or whatever they are) on the sides fold in. On the old one they were on posts and seemed to come off all the time. Since the side panels that they are attached to now fold down, making them fold in was probably a necessity.
The old barge opened up to allow access to the inside, but this one seems to take it to the next level. The top lifts completely off for easy access to the inside, and there are four fold-down side panels (one of which I forgot to fold down in the photo above). Three pieces in the rear fold down to expose Max Rebo and his piano.
Of course there is a space for Jabba and Leia.
Plus, there’s a kitchen area and a little jail cell.
There is also a hidden cannon in the nose of the ship. While this didn’t appear in the film, it certainly makes sense that Jabba’s ship would be armed.
Like the previous version, there are “shutters” that you can move up and down. I like how they put two of them just in the right place for Jabba to look out.
The set comes with several new minifigures. The first version of Slave Leia that LEGO produced was a yellow-skinned one that came with the original Jabba’s Palace set. They then redesigned her to have caucasian-looking skin for the old Sail Barge set (you can see that version here). This figure is the third version they have produced, and it’s easily the best. More attractive, and better details. You can’t see it, but she has a nice long ponytail, plus she also has an “angry” face on the other side of her head.
The figure that people seem to be most excited about is Max Rebo. He’s pretty cute, although it’s a bit of shame we don’t have the whole band. His head is a unique piece made of a rubbery material.
We also get Ree Yees, also with a rubbery head.
The last totally new figure is the Weequay guard, who is more of a traditional minifigure.
Of course we also get an R2-D2, but as far as I can tell, he’s just the normal R2 minifigure with a few cups and a 2×4 plate added in between his head and body.
And finally, we get another Jabba. It seems to be the same one that came in the Palace, but it’s still a very nice figure.
The box advertises that you get a poster inside, and it’s actually fairly large. I don’t have any way to measure it, but I would guess it’s around 3 feet by 4 feet. On one side are pictures of some recent Star Wars mini-figures. On the other is a “painting” of a scene involving the sail barge. I think it’s actually a photo that they embellished to look like a painting, but it’s still pretty cool. Sorry for the poor photo.
The Sail Barge will retail for $120, which is a bit on the high side, but I’m quite happy with the set. Used in conjunction with the new skiff and sarlacc set (9496), it will look fantastic and have a lot of play value as well.
Video: Hagrid Gets a New Pet
Since we’re big Harry Potter fans at our house, I just had to share this video.
West Michigan Whitecaps T-Shirts and Baseballs Feature Jabba the Hutt During “Star Wars Night”
Recently a number of minor league baseball teams have started holding “Star Wars Nights” in an attempt to get people to attend their games. The West Michigan Whitecaps (motto: “our caps are actually black” — okay, I just made that up) are having their Star Wars night on June 29th. These events usually have costumed members of the 501st doing various things, as well as some sort of giveaway or special merchandise. In this case, there are going to be t-shirts and baseballs featuring everyone’s favorite Hutt throwing out a pitch! The shirts come in tan and neon green (pretty appropriate choices for Jabba) and the balls are either black & white or all-black (not pictured).
Even if you can’t make it to the game, you can still get these for the next few days. Here’s the info. I’ve ordered one of each. 🙂
Whitecaps Star Wars Night t-shirts and baseballs are available now! The t-shirt comes in Sand (tan) and Neon Green. Both shirts look awesome! Baseballs come in black/white or all black (not pictured). These are LucasFilm approved and proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish and the Whitecaps Community Foundation.
T-shirts come in sizes Youth XS through Adult 4X. Youth prices are $16, adults are $18 (XXL and higher are $20). Baseballs are $8. Price includes paypal fees, shipping and tax. This is a deal, as in the ballpark retail store they will be the same price plus tax.
We have sold out of most sizes of the shirts at the game for the past several years, so I recommend ordering before the game to ensure you get the sizes and color you want. I am printing another batch of shirts the day before the game, so if I don’t have your size, I will order it and you’re guaranteed to receive it.
To order, please send paypal to lashcroft@comcast.net and let me know the size(s), color(s) and quantity of shirts and balls, and your address. No need to reply to this post. I will ship them starting on Thursday (June 20). All orders shipped by next Wednesday should arrive before the game; if you would like me to hold your paid order for pickup at the game, I can do that too (same price). If you’re not coming to the game, this is the only way to get them!
Disney Star Wars Weekends 2013 Jabba the Hutt Button (“Your mind powers will not work on me.”)
I’m not positive if this is actually a Star Wars Weekends exclusive, but in any case it was sold there and appears to be a Disney product. It’s a relatively small pin — around 1″ in diameter. It reminds me of the “I am your father” pin I posted about a while back, and not just because it uses the same photo.
The parade of Star Wars Weekends exclusives continues with this action figure set. It features Goofy as Chewbacca, Donald Duck as Han Solo, Minnie Mouse as Slave Leia, Micky Mouse as Luke, and Pete as Boba Fett. While I am generally an “opener” when it comes to things like this and don’t feel the need to keep things mint in the package, this package does such a good job of displaying them, with a cardboard skiff and sarlacc, that I think I’ll keep them in the package for the foreseeable future.
Mighty Jabba's Collection 
