C-3PO - Life-Size Busts

Cobbled together from scraps and salvaged parts, C-3PO is a fussy and worrying protocol droid built by the young Anakin Skywalker on the desert planet Tatooine. When Anakin befriended Padme Naberrie of Naboo, C-3PO first met her astromech droid, R2-D2. The two formed a fast friendship, working together to perfect Master Anakin's Podracer for an upcoming competition. The more experienced R2 told 3PO of the hazards of space travel, to which C-3PO proclaimed that he would never set foot into one of those, as he put it, dreadful starships.

Years later, C-3PO and R2-D2 would become the property of the Royal House of Alderaan, an influential family of nobles with ties to the growing Rebel Alliance. The two droids were aboard Princess Leia Organa's consular vessel when it was attacked by an Imperial Star Destroyer. The vessel crippled, Leia stored vital Rebel information in R2's memory systems -- unbeknownst to 3PO. R2 then took it upon himself to complete Leia's failed mission, though 3PO knew nothing of its details.

R2 commandeered an escape pod, and rocketed away from the captured craft, crash-landing on the barren desert world of Tatooine, returning C-3PO to his homeland. There, the droids were taken captive by Jawa traders, and sold to moisture farmer Owen Lars and his nephew Luke Skywalker. Determined to complete his mission of finding famed war hero General Obi-Wan Kenobi, R2 ran away in the middle of the night, leaving 3PO and Luke to search for him the next morning. C-3PO and Luke eventually found R2, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi. This started an incredible chain of events that saw C-3PO catapulted into an adventure beyond his imagination.

When you have an item like the C-3PO Life-Size Bust in your collection, you actually can better understand why the Ewoks worshipped him as a graven image on Endor. Because as a collector you’re about to do the same thing with the Life-Size Bust of C-3PO. We of course kid with you, but the C-3PO Life-Size Bust may be the quintessential C-3PO collectible available to us. We were stunned (literally) when we removed the item from the box and discovered how remarkably accurate and well made this collectible is. Life-Size Figure collectibles are inordinately expensive, and most cannot afford them since they range in the thousands of dollars. Besides, most of the “personality” in the character can be found in the “face,” so it goes without saying that a Life-Size Bust of C-3PO is all you need for your collection if you like 1:1 scaled collectibles. (We would even go as far as saying that the likeness is better portrayed on the Life-Size Bust than Sideshow’s Life-Size Figure companion piece. Something about C-3PO’s proportions and paint job work much better on the Life-Size Bust collectible when compared to the full collectible.) C-3PO is, of course, the most popular protocol droid in the entire Star Wars saga and Sideshow Collectibles has truly created an amazing work of art that will easily become your most favorite Life-Size Bust to date. Based on the scene where we see C-3PO and R2-D2 with a krayt dragon skeleton in the background, the droid is leaking oil and has a sand-blasted finish to imitate the harsh conditions of the Tatooine desert.

Sideshow opted to go with an Episode IV battle-worn interpretation of C-3PO. The interesting thing, however, is that the final version didn’t come out half as dirty (and worn) as the prototype in the preliminary photography that was shown at Sideshow Collectibles’ website when he was first teased. This is a great thing because you are presented with the best of both worlds here. First, the Life-Size Bust has all the elements of the harsh Tatooine desert worked into it flawlessly. C-3PO has grease drippings from his gears and other parts, and it is evident that the sun, sand, and wind have done a great deal of damage to C-3PO’s exterior and Sideshow replicated this all very well. But what’s more, C-3PO still looks relatively glossy, glittery and shiny to show off his golden shell beautifully. Upon closer inspection, you’ll find how much work went into replicating these details to look extremely believable. Details like the scratches from the windblown sand and other imperfections all in the right places which give it a sense of realism like no other. C-3PO is also only the second Life-Size Bust to come with electronics. His eyes light up by pressing a "hidden" button in detail on the back of his head with visually stunning brightness, and there are three equidistant round bulbs in each photoreceptor which illuminate them exactly as what you see in the films. And as a bonus, C-3PO also comes with a moving (swiveling) head (just like the Boba Fett Life-Size Bust), and the included articulation for a collectible of this scale is very welcomed.

Every little attention to detail was captured in the C-3PO Life-Size Bust. Sideshow Collectibles also included a removable magnetic restraining bolt and C-3PO looks great with or without it. It's nice to have a feature that is interchangeable. But we have to honest and say that we prefer C-3PO with the restraining bolt on him. When you look at this Life-Size Bust and enjoy it, you aren’t thinking about how nice of a piece it is. You are overwhelmed with its gorgeousness as it confidently sits in your collection. As we have mentioned, this is absolutely the greatest C-3PO collectible on the market now, and between the accuracy of the form to the beautiful finishing touches, C-3PO has a lot to offer both you as a collector and your collection as one of its finest pieces. It’s perfectly in scale with the other pieces in the Life-Size Bust line, and it stands out from amongst the rest obviously because of its shiny and metallic paint job. C-3PO is universal in the fact that everyone seems to recognize him. This puts extra pressure on sculptors and artists because the most finicky fans will notice that something is out of place. The articulated head is a huge bonus here. It provides near-limitless options when displaying it in your collection. We can confirm that nothing is out of place with the C-3PO Life-Size Bust. It’s become our most favorite 1:1 scaled collectible in our collection, and we couldn’t suggest a better first life-size collectible to start with than this one. Check C-3PO out. It’s quite an overwhelming experience interacting with it.