Darth Maul - Mini Busts

Originally a Zabrak from the planet Iridonia, Darth Maul abandoned all traces of his former identity when he took on his Sith name and became a deadly disciple of the evil Darth Sidious. His devotion to the dark side was so extreme that he underwent the application of detailed Sith tattoos to his entire body.

Darth Maul's primary weapon is a double-ended Sith lightsaber. It can be selectively used with only one end ignited. Customized controls increase its lethality and allow each blade's length to extend from half a meter to one-and-a-half meters.

Darth Maul will remain a guaranteed Star Wars character that will see multiple releases across all licenses. The impact he had on Star Wars fans was tangible and despite appearing what many claim the weakest Star Wars film of all, he never seems to lose his popularity. When a Star Wars character reaches a status of symbolic superiority as a direct result of how cool he/she/it looks, collectors and fans typically can’t get enough collectibles of that character in their collections. And this is exactly true for Darth Maul. When it came time for Gentle Giant Ltd. to step up to the plate and produce a Darth Maul Mini Bust, most were excited about the news. But unfortunately, the artists agreed on a style for the sculpt that doesn’t really showcase the entire menace of the character. Gentle Giant Ltd. decided to go with a “hood up” style for the mini bust. It’s a good effort, but it really doesn’t stack up to the many other awesome mini busts Gentle Giant Ltd. has created.

Because all of the collectibles in the Mini Busts line are hand painted, the face of Darth Maul isn’t perfect. As you can see from the photos, the artists have very little space to work their magic and breathe life into the piece. As a result, lines aren’t clean and his tattooed diamond pattern is muddy and anyting but cleanly applied. Unless you’re appreciating this piece from a distance, you’ll likely be bothered by the unavoidable errors it has, especially in the portrait. Despite the lack of evenness with the black tattoos, Gentle Giant Ltd. has managed to make up for it in other ways. This is particularly true the eyes. Darth Maul's eyes are expertly decorated and are truly the saving grace of this Mini Bust. But since we don’t pay $50 or more for nicely painted eyes, there must be other reasons to purchase this collectible, right? There is actually. Darth Maul is absolutely not one of Gentle Giant Ltd.’s best efforts, but it should satisfy many collectors. The pose is neat and screen accurate. And while it's not an ideal sculpt to show off his entire head, it does show his attitude.

It isn’t much to write home about, but the outside sculpting is beautiful. Gentle Giant Ltd. excels at recreating the folds and imperfections in cloth into polystone statues and they exceed expectations again with Darth Maul. The silhouette of the hood atop his head is proportionate and you’re left with the impression that some very sharp horns lie below its service as evidenced by its peaking. BUt perhaps we're most impressed with the fine pleats in his outer robed that can be seen in the middle section of this Mini Bust. It really looks fantastic. The whole Mini Bust is dark and unassuming and will definitely serve as a great addition (and perhaps centerpiece) for any Darth Maul collection. We would eventually like to see a version of Darth Maul without the hood in the Mini Bust line and there are many scenes in Episode I that can give Gentle Giant Ltd. some inspiration. We’ll just have to sit and be patient and see if that ever comes to fruition for collectors. The creators at Gentle Giant Ltd. would certainly be able to make a more exciting collectible if they went that route. We have high hopes. Darth Maul is a character that usually isn't avoided.