Toy Review: Star Wars Milestones The Child (Grogu) 1:2 Statue

BoxLunch was the first store to widely offer merchandise based on the character then known as “Baby Yoda,” so it’s fitting Diamond Select helped them get a good exclusive for him. Via regular Star Wars sculptors Gentle Giant, who use Lucasfilm digital files and skilled sculptors to get near-perfect likenesses, The Child with soup comes in a limited run of 5000. Based on the first season episode in which the galaxy’s youngest fifty year-old consumes liquid adorably, he comes clad in his usual robe, on a dirt-ground base. Interestingly, this is a rare Grogu product to not even mention his TV show, The Mandalorian, on the package,

Grogu in “real life” stands about a foot tall, and this statue, at half the size, is close to eight inches. Because the character is so small, full-body sculpts remain affordable. $149.90 at BoxLunch nabs you one of these. Try to imagine a three-foot tall half-scale Boba Fett, and cringe at the potential hit in the wallet there…

Like most statues and resin collectibles, he comes packed in a closed box, inside a styrofoam sandwich. Outside of the styrofoam is a card/certificate of authenticity, with the statue’s individual number on it.

That same number is hand-written on the base of the statue, so if buying one of these secondhand, make sure they match. The base also sports four rubber-ish coasters, to keep it from sliding across smooth surfaces.

Gentle Giant effectively pioneered digital scanning for toys, so it’s no surprise the character looks as he should. But digital scans alone aren’t enough. They aren’t what achieves the clearness and multi-levels of Grogu’s eyes, for example. A sculptor’s finesse should always finish a figure. Things like getting the pursed lips just right require a human eye. And the base is presumably not a chunk of scanned location, so the details of the ground matter too.

RELATED: The Mandalorian’s Ahsoka and Grogu Make Quite the Hot Toys Pair

One thing that is tough to nail on anything but a mixed-media piece is Grogu’s peach-fuzz baby hair. For that, prop replicas are the way to go. Grogu’s head is the right shape, but fuzziness in abstract doesn’t necessarily come across in a medium where fuzz is impossible. Every baby wrinkle looks great, but his head looks effectively bald.

For a real sense of scale, here’s Grogu with a Black Series Kuiil:

The fact that even from camera distance, it looks like he could come off his base and roll up his sleeves attests to a great job of texturing. Paintwork on the skin also comes across remarkably subtle. making him just green would seem easy, but lots of pink highlights and shading really bring the little guy to life. And something about those big eyes, with a just a little white in the corners, taps into the cuteness glands. The insides of his ears look like watermelon radishes.

Note that even the robe very subtly uses different shade gradations. The cuffs and the robe feature browns that only really separate to the eye up close.

For folks who want a higher-end Grogu than Hasbro or Mattel can provide at mass retail, and would rather not drop $400 on Hot Toys or Sideshow, this strikes a good compromise. The statue’s full of personality, and stretches the budget without necessarily breaking it. And thankfully, despite the limited run, BoxLunch still has some as of this writing. Seize the bounty!

Still undecided? We have more photos in the gallery below. Take a look, and let us know what you think in comments.

Recommended Reading: The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season One)

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