31
May
Tauntaun and Jerba Busts for The Book of Boba Fett
Lifesized Tauntaun and Jerba wall-mount busts for The Book of Boba Fett™!
We’ve been so lucky to be able to make some small contributions to the ever expanding Star Wars™ galaxy, including props, set dressing and even some creatures to the hit shows, The Mandalorian™ and The Book of Boba Fett. Last year, at our sister company, Regal Robot, we debuted detailed 1:1 prop replica Tauntaun busts. What we weren’t able to share at the time was that those tauntauns actually have lineage to props used in those productions.
In the series, Boba Fett™ takes over the tatooine palace of Jabba the Hutt™. For the alcove that once displayed Han Solo™ frozen in carbonite as Jabba’s favorite decoration, the fx artists on our team crafted both a lifesized jerba bust and also a tauntaun wall mount to match the beasts originally on set in Return of the Jedi™. Though they were barely glimpsed on screen in the new shows, at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, both the tauntaun and jerba busts we made were prominently displayed among the other amazing props, costumes, puppets and droids from the two series.
Drawing on our experience restoring original tauntauns from The Empire Strikes Back, our crew had the ideal history to recreate the beast as set dressing for the new series. After that, we used the very same molds to create the face, eyes, ears, teeth and even the tongue of the Regal Robot life-sized busts, giving the replicas we now offer direct lineage to the screen props. On the Regal Robot website, we offer two amazing variations in custom numbered editions and each is made-to-order in the U.S.A. and hand crafted by those same FX artists in our New York studio. Use this link to learn more about these life-sized Tauntaun wall busts or order yours today!
Many of the fx artists on our team worked very hard to create the tauntaun. Richard Riley and Ricky Vitus sculpted the head and horns. Samantha Martino sculpted, molded and finished the eyes, teeth and tongue. Additional sculpting, fabrication, mold and cast work was done by Patrick Louie, Nate Hernandez and Marcus Loscalzo. Ricky and Nate also applied the hair and the detailed paint and styling was done by Tom Spina and Melissa Ocampo.
The large jerba bust was another really fun challenge. Our friends at Prop Store of London had shared some wonderful images from Fred Pearl, whose Art Models Inc sculpted the beast of burden for Star Wars in 1977. Additional vintage photos from Lucasfilm’s image archives also assisted, as did our trips to visit the original prop jerba head in the prop archives. At our studio, Patrick Louie took the lead on the project, carving the head as a one-off from rigid foam, sculpting 3D eye forms and adding the wrinkles and textures to the giant-sized head. Large horns and hair were added to match the way the 1983 team modified the re-used 1977 jerba for its re-appearance in Jabba’s palace.
As artists that grew up inspired by the original Star Wars films, we’re honored to have been a small part of this new series and to bring new life to these classic creatures!
Need custom props, aliens, costumes or creatures for your next production? Email or call today and let’s discuss your project!
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