Any conversation about iconic and influential action figure lines would have to include Star Wars. Kenner’s line of figures that were released during the original trilogy’s time in theatres were a huge part of that era’s action figure offerings. The property has consistently churned out toys for close to four decades, making Star Wars a mainstay in action figure aisles and collections.
The team at Four Horsemen Studios are big Star Wars fans, especially Eric Treadaway. While we have had the chance to work on some of the most iconic action figure properties around, Star Wars was one we never knew if we’d have a crack at. When Sideshow Collectibles contacted us about doing some work for their 1:6 scale Star Wars line (this would’ve been around 2009ish), we were thrilled to have a chance to visit this galaxy far, far away and get to help make some cool Star Wars toys! This “Horsemen for Hire” article will look at some of the pieces we were able to create as part of this project.
Nadon and His Nook
One of the first pieces we worked on for Sideshow was the Momaw Nadon figure (more commonly known as “Hammerhead”, since that was the name used on the original 3 ¾” figure), as well as an environment for him that was called “Nadon’s Nook”. This environment was meant to be a small part of the iconic “Mos Eisely Cantina” set, which is where Momaw Nadon had his few seconds of screen time in “Episode IV: A New Hope”. That environment consisted of 2 chairs and a table with some glasses of tasty beverages (blue milk, anyone?).
The Momaw Nadon figure himself was a great one to work on. Like many of the cantina aliens, his character design is really off-the-wall, starting with his huge head. The entire figure was a joy to help create, and the environment pieces made the project even better. You can see shots of these pieces, which were released by Sideshow in 2011, above.
Bounty Hunters, Gamorreans, and Sandpeople
One of the best things about the Star Wars project we did for Sideshow was the variety of characters we got a chance to work on – plus the fact that they were all toys which we had played with versions of as kids! There is something incredibly cool about being able to bring to life an updated version of a toy that you remember having adventures with in your youth!
The first of the figures we will look at in this part of the article are a pair of bounty hunters, including the ill-fated Greedo (Han shot first) and the vicious Trandoshan known as Bossk. These two, along with the aforementioned Momaw Nadon, were part of Sideshow's “Scum and Villiany” series. The company has since released another version of Bossk, but the one shown below was the one we had a hand in. You can also see a shot of the in-progress sculpture as the last image, and a few shots of Greedo sitting at the Cantina environment pieces we helped create.
The Gamorrean Guard was another figure that were had a chance to create for this line. He is a big, burly figure that is very different than many of the other 1:6-scale Star Wars figures that have been available over the years. Being able to work on his unique body shape was a challenge that we readily accepted! There was also an exclusve version of this figure that included a second axe weapon.
While the Sandpeople, or Tusken Raiders as they are properly known, have made appearances in the Star Wars prequels and most recently in multiple episodes of The Mandalorian, the version we worked on was from their original appearance in “Episode IV”, where they attack Luke and are driven away by Obi-Wan Kenobi. Another really interesting character design which included the iconic Tusken mask, robes, and gaffi-stick weapon, these denizens of the sands of Tatooine was absolutely a high-point for us in working on these Star Wars figures with Sideshow!
The Most Powerful Jedi He Is
There is no doubt that one of the most recognizable and popular characters to come out of the Star Wars franchise is the diminutive Jedi master known as Yoda. When the assignment to work on this wise Jedi came to us, we knew it was an important one. Even though Yoda himself was kind of a toy in the original films (or a puppet at least), translating him into action figure form has always been a challenge. Our work apparently hit the mark, because Sideshow ended up using the work we did on a few versions of Yoda,. Their first version was the one we worked on, and they took that work and made some changes for a few later releases, including the prequal version that came with the Jedi Council chair (which we did not work on), and possibly the coolest of all – as the figure base for the “Santa Yoda” that was a holiday gift to Sideshow employees, based on artwork from Ralph McQuarrie that was used on a Christmas card from Lucasfilm in 1981!
Mind Your Versions
The photos shown in this article represent the work we did on these characters/toys as part of this assignment. Some of them were released years after we did the initial work, and many of these characters have been redone by Sideshow over the years and those figures are ones we did not work on. While all of the properties we are lucky enough to work on are special to us in one way or another, some of those projects do stick out from the rest, and this was certainly one of those projects to remember!
Published on 02.09.21