There Will Be No Bargain - Dioramas

Sideshow is certainly inventive when it comes to their Star Wars products! Providing collectors with a vast array of collectible types, each format can find an audience of avid and excited collectors. The appeal of their products are a culmination of some of the most basic parts of what makes a collectible awesome. Authentic sculpts, beautiful paint jobs, quality polystone with some weight to it and clever and unique concepts all work together to deliver the epitome of what a great Star Wars collectible should be. After first starting out with Premium Format figures, they quickly picked up the 12" figure and 1:1 life-size busts in the Star Wars license as well. But a few years later they delved into the polystone diorama vicinity. This immediately perplexed collectors because we didn't fully understand how this was separate from what Gentle Giant, Ltd. was able to do with the license they held. And to be honest, the differences are still muddy to us. What we do know however is that Sideshow has for the most part knocked Gentle Giant Ltd. for a loop because many of Sideshow's polystone dioramas have come out better than some of their statues and other products.

Relatively new to the diorama line is exclusivity. Only the last couple of products have come with an exclusive version. There Will Be No Bargain is one of these said pieces. The stunning sculpture is beautiful and it comes with an interchangeable hand that holds a squealing Gamorrean Guard (the exclusive) as well as the standard hand with Luke Skywalker holding a femur. The sculpting on the characters is nothing short of amazing, although we are entirely crazy about the expression on Luke's face. But the outfits and the fine details of the costumes are crafted in marvelous accuracy and we are thoroughly impressed with the final production piece. The Rancor monster itself is incredible as well. Flawlessly colored from the puppet we saw in the film, there is plenty of "jaws", slime and anger all captured in this sculpture. Sideshow has also included a real metal chain that attaches to the handcuff and it too has been weathered in a way that looks like natural oxidation has taken place. It is very realistic and a great extra detail to this already great diorama.

The base is another nice touch to the piece. Looking like "something" that must be somewhere in Jabba's Palace, it has an aged bronze coating with lots of classic looking patterns throughout it. Of particular note, the diorama becomes a little top heavy with the Gamorrean Guard attachment. This section of the hand is too heavy. The base does manage to remain upright but if you push it or brush it in the slightest way, it does want to fall over. This is certainly a setback for something that is designed out of fragile polystone. Even so, if you place the base on the flattest surface possible, it is unlikely to want to tip over and fall. There Will Be No Bargain will be a piece that lovers of Return Of The Jedi will absolutely adore. We have gotten quite a few Rancor products over the years. While this one doesn't rank as the best one we received, it is nonetheless excellent and a worthy addition to high-end collectors. There Will Be No Bargain actually functions like a bust as it has a strange cut around the Rancor's body similar to what we saw on the Legendary Commander Cody bust, so if this is a feature that is not palpable for you, this may not be your piece, But we believe that most will be happy with the execution of this product because it is truly excellent.