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Other Images from the Show         Yodasnews Exclusive Interview with Amanda Burns (Part 2 5-4-2006)

Yodasnews Exclusive Interview with Amanda Burns from Gentle Giant Ltd. (Part 1 5-2-2006)

By: Mark and Amy Piccirilli

Yodasnews: We want to take the time to thank you for sitting down with us today, we know it must be crazy here so we'll jump right into some reader questions, up first is regarding the Luke on Tauntaun, do you have any plans for a Wampa to go with it?

Amanda Burns: No Wampa for Luke on Tauntaun at the moment,  but you never know!

 YN: When/where/cost and info about the Black Hole Trooper can you let us know? Will we get an e-mail with the link at the time they go on sale or will we get an e-mail in advance telling us what date and/or time they will be available?

AB: The Black Hole Trooper will be same as the other Deluxe Star Wars Mini Busts (range of $55-$60). The when and where will be sometime after the show (Wizard World Philadelphia) and before Comic Con.

 YN:  Will collectors get an e-mail with the link at the time they go on sale or will we get an e-mail in advance telling us what date and/or time they will be available?

AB: That has yet to be decided.  I am hoping to have that decision when we get back home. I honestly do not know at this time. We are trying to work it out so that it does as smoothly as possible.

YN:  I think most collectors are hoping that we have some kind of advance warning of this so that we can be prepared to be online at the time but at the same time your servers have not always held up when items are announced  in advance, any updates on the sever?

AB: We realize it's not a perfect system with the server and it does have some  problems, which is why we are really doing our best to think of the best way to offer this. We have gotten tons of suggestions and are looking at the best way to offer this.

 YN: It's been 2 months since GG asked on their blog about  how we would prefer to have our items picked up at SDCC and GenCon for the convention exclusives. Have they finally made a decision  and will they at least consider preordering those items for those events for people on the GG Collector's Club?

AB: We are considering pre-orders. We should know in the next couple of weeks.

YN: The Chrome Darth Vader Mini Bust has not been doing well, he is beginning to show cracks  and chips, can anything be done about this?

AB: That was one of our first chrome pieces, we have since greatly improved our chroming process. As far as what can be done, I honestly don't know, you can try to polish it, keep it out of the sun and direct light.

YN: But,  this does not seem to happen with Jango and the others.

AB: Vader was smoked chrome, he was a completely different chrome and we have improved that process.

YN: Some folks are apprehensive about picking up the Chrome Blister Exclusive Statue because they are afraid it will suffer the same fate as the Chrome Vader. Is the Vader Statue made with the new or old process?

AB: The Chrome Blister Exclusive was made using the new process and it's not the same process we used for the Vader Smoked Chrome. It is not the same chrome either. The first Vader is the only smoked chrome bust, all the others, including the Blister Exclusive are listed as chrome and use the new process.

YN: Will there be any more clone trooper busts after the ROTS 3?

AB: You never know. I can't say yes or no, we have a lot of possibilities.

YN: When will we get to see proto's of the Lord of the Rings Maquettes?

AB: There is one on display right behind us, but it is a very early prototype and we ask that you don't photograph. That and much more will be on display at Comic Con.

YN: What are their plans for Harry Potter down the road?

AB: We plan on expanding the line.

YN: Are they going to offer Mara Jade anywhere else? And what is the edition size?

AB: Like all summer show exclusives, we will offer anything we have left to the collector's club on our site. I do know the edition size but cannot disclose it at this time.

YN:  What new licenses do you plan on adding?

AB:  None, that I can say at this time, No. But all I can say is be at Comic Con, there will be a ton on new things debuted!

YN: Why is it no one from GG seems to want to post on their blog or on any forums like Yodasnews and other fans sites?

AB: I am going to be honest, if I could I would post everyday. But there is just so much going on with the summer schedule we simply don't have the time. My plan is that once the shows are over to start posting more!

YN: Will GG try expanding their convention exclusives to include Clone Wars/Star Wars maquette busts and statues?

AB: That's never out of the question!

YN: Any chance that GG and ACME Archives can team up and create maquette/animation cel limited edition collections?

AB: That's not out of the question either!

YN: Any update on the Clash of the Titans rotocast exclusives for San Diego Comic-Con - and will Ray Harryhausen be at the GG booth there?

AB: Ray will be at the booth and we are keeping our fingers crossed at having an exclusive! 

YN: How about any chance we will see a painted Republic Commando limited edition maquette? Gold is nice, but fully-painted would be excellent!

AB: That question comes up all the time, and I want to say this once and for all that item is not our piece. That is not a Gentle Giant piece, we did a prototype, like we have for other companies for LucasFilm. Any questions regarding that has to be directed to LucasArts/LucasFilm. What had happened was that when StarWarsShop put the item up for sale, they stated it was sculpted by Gentle Giant so everyone assumed it was our product but Gentle Giant works on numerous projects at any given time but that piece is not ours.

YN: Will there be any other Harryhausen rotocast figures, or does X-Plus USA still hold the license for those?

AB: I'm not really sure who holds the license for them, we are hoping to do more with Ray but for right now it's just clash of the titans.

YN: Are any other The Phantom Menace busts planned?

AB: Can't say yes or no, but we have lots more Star Wars busts in the works.

YN: Will there be a Jabba of any size to go with Salacious, Boush Leia, Skiff  Lando etc. busts in the near future?

AB: You never know!

YN: Will there be any display stands made available?

AB: We have thought about it, there is the cost issue and the size issue since each piece is slightly different. For the Bust Ups we have looked into it but beyond actually mass producing something, it is not yet fully developed. 

YN:  Any new lines GG will be picking up? How about Firefly?

AB: We have a lot in the works, we get suggestions all the time on lines our fans would like and we never say no, it just has to work for all parties involved so you never know!

YN: Why does Wizard World Philly never get any big exclusives?

AB: This is the first time we have ever been at the show. We had wanted to do an east coast show so we picked Philly. The reason why there is no exclusive is that the Flame Vader is a tour exclusive and with this being our first time we don't know what to expect and if we decide to do the show again next year we may try something bigger!

YN: Any updates on the  Holo Qui Gon Mini-Bust show in NY? Will that be an exclusive down the road?

AB: Maybe. It has yet to be determined. That was made purely for display only at that time. 

YN: Will the SDCC shock trooper be sold outside the con?

AB: Like all summer show exclusives, we will offer anything we have left to the collector's club on our site.

YN: Will you ever make maquette replacement blades for sale to the public?

AB: We can only make so many with the factory and we cannot continue to keep producing the older blades. We only produce so many and only have so many,  so once they run out, they run out. If we have them, we will send them to our customers but if we don't have them (like the Asajj we are 100% out of), we just can't send them. We have made improvements in the blades and changed the plastic base to a metal base, its always evolving to make them better, we may decide next time to do all metal blade, you never know!

YN: With the success of the Clone Wars Animated Maquettes, will you ever consider re-releasing them in larger numbers.

AB: No, we have no plans to release any of the previously made Gentle Giant products. We never want to re-release any items that have been released and sold out.

YN: Thank you again for taking the time to talk with us and for answering all of the questions our readers had! We can't wait to see what's in store for Comic Con!

AB: You are more than welcome, if you have any other questions feel free to bring them over this weekend and I will be happy to answer them. San Diego is going to be a wild place with tons of new products, you won't want to miss it!

*If you would like us to ask a question for you this weekend, please post in this thread and we will do our best to it answered for you!

Click  here for Images from the Gentle Giant Booth!