Shaak Ti - Mini Busts

Jedi Master Shaak Ti was an exotic alien female with colorful patterning decorating her flexible lekku. Shaak Ti continued to serve on the Jedi Council throughout the Clone Wars. Shaak Ti was one of the 200 Jedi that traveled to Geonosis on a mission to rescue captives from the growing Separatist forces. She was regarded as one of the most cunning warriors in the Jedi order.

One of the most memorable mini busts to come out from Gentle Giant Ltd.'s long line of mini busts was Shaak Ti. It’s a mini bust that never got the full credit it deserved. But perhaps a lot of that is to blame on Gentle Giant who had a very difficult time keeping up with their own announced release dates. Product for 2008 and 2009 in general came very late in and sometimes production pieces didn’t come out as well as the prototypes. The good news is that Shaak Ti's quality wasn't affected at all. And to be honest, the Shaak Ti mini bust was released at a time when there was a glut of Hasbro product and many collectors including ourselves found that she got lost in the shuffle because the focus was elsewhere. Thankfully, the Shaak Ti mini bust came out better than expected and it’s one of the standout pieces in all of Gentle Giant’s career. Female Jedi will always be a hit with collectors, but often it’s hard to get exacting likenesses. Gentle Giant did extraordinarily well with the Shaak Ti mini bust and we are so glad she is a part of our collection.

One of the most exquisitely painted mini busts in a very long time, it is evident that Gentle Giant spared no expense to capture every color and detail of this Jedi Master in mini bust form. From the horns on her head to the painted details of her nails, Shaak Ti is a stupendously flawless work of art. Below her belt is a gorgeous pattern with ornate colors that looks like something you would see in a church’s stained glass window. And this complements the inside edging (or lining) of her Jedi robes which also has a complicated pattern. (This is a detail we never expected Gentle Giant to capture!) The color of her outer robes have been done is a rich chocolate brown and it sharply contrasts with her colorful skin and tundra white head structure. The zebra-like patterns may be applied a little sloppily in spots, but Shaak Ti has a “lived in” look about her and we think the imperfections are quite appropriate. Her expression is quite stoic and the attention to detail Gentle Giant gave her facial jewelry is nothing short of amazing. You can actually make out pieces of separately molded pearls and jewels and we can’t imagine it looking better than it does now. The eyes are all black except for a tiny dot of white that serves as some reflection. In general, she's gorgeous.

Shaak Ti has a very nice pose. It’s definitely an action-oriented pose, but since this bust is based on her appearance in Attack Of The Clones, this is more than fitting for her. Nothing is exaggerated about it and we don't think Gentle Giant could have picked a better stance for her. We have always preferred more of the static poses for the mini bust line, especially for the clone troopers because sometimes their poses are too action oriented and for those that have them, the large guns take up too much shelf space. But Shaak Ti in this particular manner is excellent and we don’t think “simple” would have worked as well. There is very little to fault with the Shaak Ti mini bust. With a phenomenal likeness and even better paint job, it should definitely stand out in your mini bust collection. If Gentle Giant Ltd. can keep the mini bust line at this high level, it should remain a line that thrives. Shaak Ti is a spectacular display of artistic ingenuity and despite having a healthy edition size, we suggest making her a goal for your collection beacuse she will be highly desired as time moves forward. She is definitely one of the highlights of the mini bust line now.