SEARCH      FEATURES    NEWSLETTER    EMAIL     HOME
White Space
Captain Toy/Michael's Review of the Week
Review Header Bar
White Space

Review of Gamorrean Guard - Star Wars
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Sideshow Collectibles
Date Published:
Written By:
Overall Average Rating: 3.5 out of 4

Please share with your friends!

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Introduction

I love to read, and in particular, I love to read a series of books. From The Dark Tower to The Hunger Games, if there's more than one book to the story of the characters (and they're well written), then I'm all over that like stink on a Gamorrean Guard.

The series I'm currently working my way through is often called the "Ender books" that started with Ender's Game. Written by Orson Scott Card, at one point the series involves a race of aliens called the 'piggies' by local humans. While Card's written descriptions of them never comes close to what we know and love as a Gamorrean, I simply can't help but think of old Gammie.

What does all that have to do with Sideshow's release of their 12" Gamorrean Guard? Not a damn thing. I do recommend reading Ender's Game if you haven't, although it won't bring you any closer to deciding whether or not you should shell out $110 or so for this sixth scale Star Wars alien.

There isn't really an 'exclusive' this time around, but there ARE two versions of the Guard. The one I'm looking at tonight is the regular, generic Gamorrean, but there is also Gartogg, one of the specific on screen guards from Jabba's Palace. I've got one of those on order too, but mine hasn't arrived yet. There are two differences between this generic version and Gartogg - Gartogg comes with an additional Gamorrean ax, and his head sculpt is slightly different, sporting an expression with a slightly open mouth. In the world of Gamorreans, where they are all as dumb as dirt, Gartogg is a mouth breather.

These are a 'limited' edition of course, but Sideshow has not yet published the numbers on the edition size.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Packaging - ***1/2
For those long term collectors of Sideshow's Star Wars sixth scale figures, the package will be no surprise. When they first began with this new style of box in 2006, it was pretty ground breaking stuff. With a wrap around lid, magnetic closures and nary a twisty tie in sight, it remains one of the best on the market. Of course, over a 5 year period, others catch up and surpass you, and even Sideshow themselves have had some packaging innovations in their other more recent series. But they've stuck with a consistent look and feel here, and I think collectors will be pleased with that decision.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Sculpting - ***1/2
In this category and the next, every company currently producing 12" action figures is invariably getting compared to Hot Toys. And more often than not, they come up short.

I'm certainly not immune to making those comparisons. The detail work on GG's head is nice, but while there is some wrinkling and basic texturing, it does not have the realism we might have seen from a Hot Toys release. Still, this is very strong work, and considering the rubber suit look of the character on film, there's an appropriate amount of detail.

The eyes are very deeply set, and quite close together, but again, this matches well with my memory of the character. If you go back to reference photos, you'll find some minor variances - the top of the nose seems a little too pointed, and the shape of the jowls isn't quite as round. But these are very minor nits, and in fact may not be valid at all, since there were several different guards in Jabba's Palace.

The hand sculpts work well with the accessories, and the figure stands great on his own in a wide variety of poses. His center of gravity works well, and the sculpt and articulation are designed to work in concert.

The figure is largely hollow, which is pretty standard with large action figures these days.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Paint - ***
Like the sculpt, it's unavoidable to compare the production paint work here to what we've been spoiled with by Hot Toys.

While the work comes up slightly short, it isn't that wide a margin. The various green colors look great, and the use of a high gloss finish below his nose gives him that ever present congested look.

While it might appear in some photos that he's cross eyed, that's not the case. The pupils both look forward and are evenly spaced, but they are very close together, and with the very large, wide nose, the effect can be a bit weird.

The best feature in this category is the dirt, particularly on his finger and toenails. I wouldn't be surprised that personal hygiene would not be a top priority - he is a bipedal pig, after all. The dirt is done with exceptional realism, and adds quite a bit to the final look.

That's not to say there aren't some issues, though. You'll notice poor cut lines and slop around the tusks, and some of the shading of the skin changes too abruptly. My personal peeve is the dirt on his horns, which looks like the paint effect it is. I see what they were going for, but they missed the mark.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Articulation - ***1/2
The articulation here is much, much better than I expected. As I mentioned earlier, he is largely a hollow rotocast figure, but over the last ten years the industry has come a very long way when it comes to articulating this type of toy.

He has ball joints at the neck, wrists, shoulders, hips and ankles, and all these work extremely well. I was most impressed with the neck, which maintains an excellent range of movement even with the large jaw.

The shoulders and hips allow the arms and legs to take fairly wide poses, and the ball jointed ankles allow the feet to remain flat on the ground in just about any stance. The ankles are fairly well disguised too, and in general, it's hard to see the joints anywhere on this figure.

The hands pop onto pegs at the wrists, and these work as cut joints largely because of the sculpted gauntlets. A little more wrist articulation would have been nice, but it isn't necessary for most poses with the weapons, including some two handed holds.

He stands great on his own of course, and you can give him quite a bit of personality using the included articulation. This is particularly nice for those of us buying both versions of the Guard - you'll be able to give them unique poses without much trouble.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Accessories - ***1/2
The regular guard comes with two main accessories - his vibro-ax and his vibro-lance (referred to as a 'polearm' on the Sideshow site). These two weapons are extremely well sculpted, with a ton of realistic detail. The wood grain on the ax handle looks great, and is nicely complimented by the metallic texture of the deadly blade. The lance fits nicely in both hands, and has a terrific paint wash that brings out the finer details.

Most folks will include his helmet as an accessory too, since it's removable. It fits tightly, but I didn't notice any wear on the paint after removing it several times. There's also sculpted hair sticking down the back of the helmet. I never thought of a Gamorrean as having hair on his head, but the bald head does look a little weird without it (or the helmet).

There's also a second set of hands. There are three closed hands that can hold the weapons, all made from a fairly soft rubber. That's good, as they are less likely to scratch or break the harder (and more brittle) lance. There's also an open gesturing left hand.

One of the two gripping right hands has the thumb up, the other down. Your choice as to which looks better in any particular pose.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Outfit - ***1/2
There's quite a bit of soft goods here, and all of it is made from high quality material.

The soft, furry 'skirt' looks terrific, with none of the poofiness or bagginess that we saw on smaller scale figures. The larger size allowed them to find a material better suited to the application, and the nap is short enough to not stick up or out.

Under the fur, there's a faux leather skirt as well, along with a belt. There's also a soft leather and cloth tunic, leather wrap sandals that mesh in with the actual sculpted sandals, and several pieces of sculpted armor.

The armor looks great as well, with a battered iron texture and excellent detail work. I did notice that they wrapped the shoulder armor on before putting the leather tunic in place, which makes the shirt want to ride over and on top of the plates. You can get the shirt to sit under the shoulder armor for short periods, but the long term solution is going to be undressing and redressing him.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Fun Factor - ***1/2
This is a very sturdy 12" figure, at least by today's standards. Kid's could still damage the costume of course, but that was true with G.I. Joe back in 1967 too. Under normal play circumstances, I think this guy would hold up as well as most mass market figures in the same scale.

Of course, he's not a toy you can buy at your local Toys R Us, and you might be hesitant to hand over a figure you just spend more than $100 on to a drooling 7 year old. But if you did, he'd have a lot of fun with it while you stressed out.

Value - **
Some folks are going to feel that paying just south of $110 for this guy is ridiculous. They'll cite the Hasbro version which only cost $30...9 years ago. But if you were wondering if there was really any comparison, check out this guest review of that previous incarnation.

This figure IS a little more expensive than I think it should be, hence the loss of a half star here taking it slightly below average. But the quality of the sculpt, paint, outfit and accessories puts it in line with other high end sixth scale figures on the market right now. Add in the fact that he's not just a re-use of a standard body but a whole new sculpt, and you get some idea of where that price tag comes from.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. This guy seems very sturdy, and could actually hold his own with most older kids.

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Dividing Bar

Overall - ***1/2
Everybody loves their Gammy, but when their Gammy looks this good, it's a whole lot easier. Even with all the issues that the old Hasbro Gamorrean Guard had, I loved him too, but he'll be replaced on the my shelf by these new versions.

Sideshow's best Star Wars work has been around the aliens and creatures, and this guy continues that trend. If you have the sixth scale Jabba and throne, then this figure really is a must have to complete the ensemble.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ***1/2
Paint - ***
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***1/2
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ***1/2
Value - **
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has this regular version in stock for $120, as well as having Gartogg on pre-order for the same.

- has him at $108.

- has him for $108.

- has him at $115.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -

I haven't been covering the Sideshow Star Wars line as heavily in recent months, due in large part to the focus on multiple Troopers. But over the years, I've covered a fair share:

- the last review I personally did was on Admiral Thrawn and his command chair.

- prior to that was Lando Calrissian, and the Shock Trooper.

- Darth Vader was perhaps Sideshow's best Star Wars release.

- prior to that, there's the Utapau Trooper, the Imperial Stormtrooper, and Captain Antilles.

- I wasn't as thrilled with Ki-Adi-Mundi, but Obi-Wan in Clone Armor is easily one of their best. Then there's Aayla Secura, Tatooine Luke and Han Solo.

- Sideshow had a strong year in 2008 with Commander Praji, the exceptional Palpatine/Sidous and ANH Obi-Wan, and the not quite so exceptional Ilum Padme.

- also in the sixth scale line, I've reviewed Leia and Bespin Luke, the Holo-chess set, Sideshow's Asajj, a terrific figure, Yavin Luke, the Endor Troops, Jabba the Hutt and his throne, Bib Fortuna, Jedi Luke, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, Bespin Han Solo, regular Anakin Skywalker and Kit Fisto.

- I also have guest reviews of the SDCC Anakin Skywalker, Mace Windu, Emperor Palpatine and his throne, and Qui-Gon Jinn.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

Discussion:
Want to chat about this review?  Try out one of these terrific forums where I'll be discussing it!

Enjoyed this review? Be sure to head back to the main page to find thousands more just like it!

Dividing Bar

Dividing Bar

Please share with your friends!

Star Wars Gamorrean Guard action figure by Sideshow

Back to Main Page
This product was purchased for the review by the reviewer. Photos and text by Michael Crawford.

White Space
Review Bottom Edge
This page copyright 2000 - 2017, Michael Crawford. All rights reserved. Click here for copyright permissions!