Artist Dan Grumeretz didn't originally intend to build a bust of C-3PO from the detention room scene in The Empire Strikes Back. In fact, it was Dan's goal to build a life-sized statue of the golden droid built by a slave boy built a long time ago on a desert planet far, far way. Despite his goal for a life-sized replica, there was always the vision of a broken C-3PO in the back of his mind. Over the course of many years, he was able to gather almost all the bits and pieces to build his yet unfinished full sized statue, and as it turned out, he had enough extra pieces to build this bust as well.

Looking back at the overall six part saga that is Star Wars it was in that scene when Chewbacca managed to rebuild enough of Threepio to reactivate that his true heroic side broke to the surface. While most of the time in the Saga, the droid seemed to be nothing more than a self-centered coward, but the second he is turned back on he vocalizes his last thought before his "death", and he didn't say "oh my, I must save myself!" Nope, he said, "I must tell the others!" In what could very well have been his last moment, he instinctively thought of not of himself, but of those around him. In our unstable world, those are the thoughts of a hero, so despite outward appearances, it would seem that C-3PO was just as heroic as the other characters in the films.

About the artist: Dan has enjoyed building models for as long back as he can remember, but with the exception of a few blasters he has constructed, this is the only 1:1 scale piece he has completed. He was his love of robots, C-3PO in particular, that lead him to build this bust. "I always loved it that 3PO could be in pieces yet still complain constantly about everything."

When looking back at the time it took to gather all the pieces, the bust itself has been a six-year project from start to finish, but it was finding the a nice pair of arms about 5 months ago that truly got Dan focused on completing the project. When all was said and done, the actual build took between 24-30 hours.

Check out more of Dan Grumeretz's work (including some very well painted resin Star Wars kits) on his website: grumeretz.com


This edition of eBay Today was inspired by the following auction: Star Wars Lifesize life size C-3PO bust statue ESB prop




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Random thought: While on the topic of C-3PO's state in Cloud City, let us take a moment to ponder the freezing chamber scene. Do you think that Darth Vader pushed Boba Fett's rifle away from the heroes to stop him from blasting Chewie, or do you think there's a chance that he recognized 3PO and wanted to protect him? Head over to the Rebelscum Classic Trilogy Forum to let your opinion be heard.