An Anatomy of Star Wars Aliens: Pets & Beasts
Posted by The_Rancor,
During last year I looked at all the sentient Lego Star Wars alien minifigures up until the surprisingly generous release of Mos Eisley Cantina for 2020 - but what about the alien species that can’t talk to the others characters or think for themselves?
Throughout Star Wars we’ve seen a variety of alien animals accompany our characters and flesh out their environments – ranging from semi-sentient pets, to beasts of burden, plenty of wild animals, and always a bigger fish. Let’s take a look at what and how we’ve seen these creatures in Lego, starting small, getting bigger, and then a surprise or two to follow the previous article series.
Small animals & fish
Star Wars is awash with small creatures; from reptiles to mammals they could sit in the background, or be a delicacy for another species. One that’ll be immediately familiar to many is the Klatooine Paddy Frog (below, left). The amphibian with a green lower body, brown head and external gills is a favourite snack of Jabba the Hutt. It has appeared in 3 sets since 2003 as the Lego frog mould, first in trans green and then green. Episode VI did use real frogs before Jabba ate one, but a dual moulded frog would be even better.
We’ve also seen Spiders in Star Wars, but Lego have used more creative license for their inclusion. A black spider (pictured below, left) was used in Ewok Village in 2013 after a trans neon green spider appeared in Jabba’s Sail Barge in 2006. There were no obvious species inspirations, but the latter could be assumed to be an Assassin-spider, based on the phosphorescent pattern.
One of the frequently mentioned but rarely seen animals in Star Wars is the Womp Rat (above, centre right), which has also only appeared in Lego form twice as the light grey old rat mould since 2015. Including this as a small creature is misleading however, because despite the Lego version appearing small with minifigures, the rodent is famously around 2m in size! A similar point could be made for the snakes that have appeared in Star Wars sets 3 times. For example, real anacondas were used to film Dagobah scenes, which are potentially much larger than the classic Lego snake mould.
Marine creatures tend to have been kept small as Lego representations, ironically. 1999’s emphasis on Naboo gave us a generic ray, starfish and clams but sadly no deadly fish from the Planet Core. We didn’t have a ‘regular’ fish (above, right) until 2013 when the silver fish mould was used as food on Jabba’s Sail Barge. We’ve since seen it as a representation of the Spetan Channelfish that Luke spears on Ahch-To in two sets which is accurate, though perhaps slightly small.
Porgs
Let’s take a break for a second to focus on an animal that seems to have enraptured Lego (and some fans) since 2017 when it was ‘fully’ introduced in Episode VIII. Unlike many other Star Wars animals, the Porg has already had 5 different Lego iterations including from the advent calendar for 2020, which makes me question why no dedicated mould was created for it. 3 of these variants are shown below.
Porgs are stocky sea birds with large eyes and no beaks – and have white & grey feathers with orange around males’ heads. All Lego Porgs use the same construction including a ‘BB-8 head’ printed slightly differently with their faces and orange feathers, but we have seen black, dark grey and white accents repositioned around their body, plus a red Christmas version.
Pets & Pests
The semi-sentient & widely recognisable Kowakian Monkey-lizard (below, left) is sometimes used as a pet and known for its sense of humour. These reptilian creatures vary in colour, but have wide mouths with small beaks, long thin ears and feathery appendages around their body. Due to their unique appearance, Lego only produced a dedicated mould for Salacious B Crumb in 2012 and its accuracy for these features makes it one of my personal favourites.
The intimidating Corellian Hound was introduced through Solo: A Star Wars Story in 2018 and appeared in two sets for the film. The canine-like animals have white skin, a muscular upper body, plus a large mouth and nose, so another dedicated mould was created just for these creatures (above, centre). It’s accurate in all respects but the scale next to minifigures – as it seems more like a Corellian Puppy.
A much earlier alien to be introduced to Star Wars was the Mynock (above, right), famously seen bothering the crew of the Millennium Falcon inside an Exogorth’s gullet in Episode V. The Lego version of the bat-like parasite introduced in 2017 is entirely brick built which means some compromises have been made on the normally brown colour and sleek body of the creature, though the use of small bat wings and ‘nipple’ piece for the round mouth are great.
Medium sized animals
The earliest rideable Star Wars animal to receive a dedicated Lego mould was the Kaadu in 2000, the Gungans’ agile avian mount on Naboo. The orangey brown skin, duck billed mouth and short tail were captured very well for the time (albeit in a single piece) but it’s a shame we haven’t seen them ever again since, leaving our Lego Gungans vastly underequipped to fight the Trade Federation. My Kaadu seem to have escaped me for now but you can see their original set here, 7115 Gungan Patrol.
A more iconic steed, the Tauntaun (above, left) is most prominently seen used by Rebel scouts on Hoth as a more adaptable form of transport than speeders. Our first full Lego interpretation wasn’t until 2009, with no expense spared in the dedicated organic parts – a great printed head with ears, horns, small ‘arms’, muscular legs and a long tail. The admittedly oversized beast reappeared in 3 more sets up to 2016 though its tail changed to a more flexible material.
How could I mention Hoth without also covering the fearsome Wampa (above, right)? These hulking bipeds resemble our idea of a Yeti very closely, with sharp claws, fangs and small horns. The animal is known for attacking Luke and suitably first appeared in Lego form in 8089 Hoth Wampa Cave. Dedicated moulds make the Lego version more like a ‘bigfig’ with movable arms and moulded fur, and the creature returned in 2016’s Assault on Hoth.
From one predator to another that’s even more deadly, this next animal will be familiar to most by causing mayhem on Han Solo’s freighter the Eravana in Episode VII. Rathtars (above) are cephalopod creatures with many tentacles, light-sensitive orbs over their round body and huge concentric mouths. Due to their complexity the Lego versions introduced in 2017 were entirely brick built but captured many key features, with two different skin colours – the black a less accurate colour variation than the dark red.
Large rideable beasts
Bigger creatures are often used as a mount or to carry supplies in Star Wars and the reptilian Dewback (below) is no exception, used prominently by the Empire to scout Tatooine in Episode IV thanks to some VFX. These green scaly creatures have large rounded heads, tails and comparatively small legs, with room for riding equipment on their back.
The first Lego Dewback in 4501 Mos Eisley Cantina in 2004 (still on my wanted list) consisted of 12 body parts. Many of these were recoloured joints from the previous ‘Dinosaur’ theme in 2001, but with a flattened custom head. The pictured olive green design above didn’t come until 2014 with only 2 moulds for the main body and opening jaw, reused for the 2020 Cantina with just slightly different printing. The shape and scale is impressive, though its posability is very limited.
Fans of the prequels will likely recognise another loyal mount by call alone – the Varactyl (below) is a ‘reptavian’ with a mix of bird and reptile features, much like our current understanding of Cretaceous dinosaurs. Obi-Wan Kenobi borrows one named Boga from the Utapauns to track down General Grievous, chase his wheel bike and scout the upper levels of Pau City in Episode III.
Varactyls are most easily identified by their green & iridescent colours, including scales and large head plumage - plus a beaked mouth, powerful legs and sharp clawed feet. The only Lego Boga consists of 33 body parts including more 2001 Dinosaur elements, plus a custom dark green head. It also has a tan underbelly with some dark grey areas. It’s just larger than minifigure scale – but it’s a shame that it was never printed to add character and colour to the plumage.
From Prequel to Sequel, another rideable animal first introduced in Episode VII was the cybernetic Luggabeast (below). The tan skinned rhino-like animal is enhanced with robotic implants, armour plates fused to its body, and nutrient feeding tubes to take the animal far beyond its normal stamina and durability – perfect for a desolate planet like Jakku.
Our only Lego Luggabeast comprised around 40% of the piece count of 75148 Encounter on Jakku, similar to Boga in 7255 General Grievous Chase. Four independently posable moulds were introduced for each leg, creating better shaping and allowing ‘armour’ to be attached. But most of the focus was on the generously detailed head casing, perfectly capturing its sensors & tubes surrounded by eye-catching blue plates.
The biggest monsters
Size often counts in Star Wars – my namesake and Jabba’s pet Rancor (below) is used to intimidate his guests in Episode VI, but the semi-sentient species originating from the fearsome world of Dathomir has also appeared in various other guises. The reptilians have huge mouths, claws, long arms to reach their victims and a thick plated hide that can repel blaster fire.
In Lego, the Rancor’s features were split across an extensive 6 unique moulds for generous posability across the arms and mouth, much more so than most other Lego Star Wars beasts and at a good scale. I particularly like the resultant combination of authenticity and ‘Lego character’. Hopefully the moulds haven’t been decommissioned since 2013.
Meanwhile, the humongous Sarlacc (well, only its mouth) has been rendered in minifigure scale 3 times, similarly used as way for Jabba to dispose of his worst enemies. The creature itself can be up to 100m long but buried deep enough that only its mouth and concentric teeth are visible, hence that’s all we’ve seen in Lego’s renditions from 6210 Jabba's Sail Barge, 9496 Desert Skiff and 75174 Desert Skiff Escape. The creature itself is not only massive but can live for tens of thousands of years, making one thousand year old meals seem fast!
Animals not at minifigure scale
At this point some fans may have noticed a few omissions to my study. This is because Lego have produced a number of alien beasts at microscale, Microfighter scale or even larger scale over time.
Many of these Star Wars creatures already have minifigure-sized equivalents. Since 2015’s advent calendar, we’ve seen a Sarlacc, Luggabeast, Rathtar (all pictured below), a Tauntaun, larger scaled Porgs and a Microfighter Dewback. All these focus on key features and colours well to make them identifiable, particularly when at a very small scale.
Intriguingly, we’ve also seen some Star Wars creatures that were never scaled up to normal minifigure size. The six-legged Acklay that attacks the Jedi on Geonosis in Episode II, the Tuskens’ preferred beast of burden the Bantha, and the Exogorth/Space Slug that almost swallows Han’s crew in Episode V, have never appeared to the same scale as the other creatures in this article. The Exogorth may be understandable due to its immense size but the others certainly less so and I’d hope to see them again.
Some quirky additions
In my original article series for Star Wars alien minifigures, some readers noticed one or two omissions. True enough, there will be some outliers but I think it would be interesting to point them out. For example, humanoid skeletons (below right) have appeared a couple of times in Lego Star Wars. Are they definitely humans or other similar alien species? We’ll never know.
A more unconventional addition to the Star Wars alien minifigure pantheon is the Asogians in the form of ET (above left). The stubby brown species with extended necks and famous healing powers are canon to Star Wars and appear in the Senate in Episode I as a cameo dedication to Steven Spielberg’s iconic movie. Strictly speaking ET is not part of the Star Wars range, instead coming from Dimensions, but it makes sense to consider as a more quirky inclusion!
What next?
Thinking of recent properties, there’s a good handful of creatures that appear in The Mandalorian’s second season and I expect we’ll see more in The Bad Batch and Andor TV series. But there are still some omissions from the Skywalker Saga I would love to see, or be brought back again, such as the Kaadu and Fambaa of the Gungan Grand Army, or the Acklay, Reek or Nexu from Geonosis. Let me know what you think in the comments.
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69 comments on this article
They need to make a womp rat mold
All of the Space Police 3 aliens end up in Jabba The Hutt's palace or the Mos Eisley Cantina.
All the more reason for a Geonosis arena set from episode 2
Still waiting for a Bantha mold :(
Nice article! I hope that they make more Star Wars aliens in the future, particularly since many creatures are missing or in need of an update.
I really like these in-depth analyses. Some of these creatures are long overdue to be included in some more sets.
(Besides, the article is missing links to the sets.)
I want a new Rancor, Varactyl, Acklay, Reek, Nexu, and Pikk Mukmuk.
An updated Kaadu and Varactyl would be nice. Still waiting on that Bantha, as well as the 3 arena beasts from AOTC. Once all those are done I can die a happy LEGO Star Wars fan.
Hol up, ET is CANON?!
Rathtars... makes me want to have them built again.
A brick built rancor (similar to the recent t.rex) would be an awesome set.
Cool article!
I believe the exogorth has been done officially by LEGO (albeit obviously not at Minifigures scale)- 6176782 Escape From The Space Slug... I think it was 2016, maybe a comic-con exclusive or something?
Edit: I checked, it was an 'invite only' May 4th promotional... So rare... But there's no exclusive parts, so the extortionate secondary market prices are ultimately for the box and printed instructions (which can be found elsewhere)
We are surely due a Bantha by now! The brick built Microfighters version is a good representation but a molded one is my most wanted new SW creature.
What's next? A BLURRG! That seems to me to be the most glaring omission, especially considering the popularity of the Mandalorian, and how prominently they were featured in that show.
My guess is that we will get a Kuiil with a Blurrg in a future set . . . just not sure if the Blurrg will be brick-built or molded. I'll take either!
I expected the mammoth from 2018 City Arctic to get redone as a bantha (with a new head). I think Acklay, Reek, Nexu, three columns with chains, and Padme, Anakin, and Obi-wan would make an awesome set! Also a Geonosian warrior battle pack.
There was a 'bantha mould' used on the trailer for the (allegedly still) upcoming LEGO Star Wars Skywalker Saga game- though I imagine this was just a concept and never intended to be part of a set... But you never know...
I guess in the same vein the cover of the game has a Death Star that looks an appropriate scale to be a new 'UCS' Death Star...
I doubt we'll ever see either of these versions...
But a Bantha is so hard to get right texturally!
Was the Dianoga covered under one of the previous articles?
@randomly_generated:
Ep1, there’s a cluster of them in one of the Senate pods.
@Johnny__Thunder97:
It was part of the Black Friday Preview Events, I believe. For a few years, besides doing Black Friday offers the weekend before for registered VIP members, if you lived within a certain distance of a LEGO Store, and you were one of the top spenders (or you got a “pity invite” from the store manager, like I did a couple times), you could get a special invite to a pre-opening event at your local store. This is where the dated train ornament came from. One year, I think they did an offer where you could spend $X on SW sets, or just in general, and you’d get the Space Slug set for free.
The dream Sarlacc is one based on the original 'sphincter' version of the Sarlacc from 1983... Never been a big fan of the beak- it seems less threatening somehow?
Still need a porg mold! (Particularly since "molded" porgs appeared in last year's Holiday Special.)
@PurpleDave said:
"Was the Dianoga covered under one of the previous articles?
@randomly_generated:
Ep1, there’s a cluster of them in one of the Senate pods.
@Johnny__Thunder97:
It was part of the Black Friday Preview Events, I believe. For a few years, besides doing Black Friday offers the weekend before for registered VIP members, if you lived within a certain distance of a LEGO Store, and you were one of the top spenders (or you got a “pity invite” from the store manager, like I did a couple times), you could get a special invite to a pre-opening event at your local store. This is where the dated train ornament came from. One year, I think they did an offer where you could spend $X on SW sets, or just in general, and you’d get the Space Slug set for free."
This sounds exactly right- only it seems to have been a May 4th, not a Black Friday... Thanks for the insight!
@The_Rancor , Thank you for that most enjoyable article! I'm a big fan of moulded critters, so seeing them featured together is a real treat.
I think I'm right in saying that the rancor is the only moulded SW creature that can fit an entire minifigure in its mouth ( @PurpleDave , correct me if I'm wrong). This one is starting to show how it is done: https://brickshelf.com/gallery/AmperZand/Fantasy/s17_cmf_mocs.jpg
As @CT8088 also noticed, some of the links in the piece are broken. A CTRL+F or 'Find on page' search for 'link' will take you to them.
I would really like a Bantha.
This was a much shorter list than I expected.
Regarding the porgs, I'd guess they're probably brick-built for just that reason; if they were moulded, making variants with different coloured markings would require a different unique print run for each one; while being brick-built, you can just swap out the colour of a few small parts and achieve the same effect with less effort. That's my thought, at least.
I think the only one of these I had in my collection, apart from a few of the generic small animals, was the kaadu; I thought they were pretty cool, how they followed the same design approach as the Lego horses (even down to using the same saddle pieces) while at the same time being a completely different animal. I always wanted to get the varactyl too, but somehow I never did pick up General Grievous chase in 2005... the animal design doesn't look super-accurate for Boga, but I guess the Lego designers only had concept art to work from at that point, not the finished movie itself.
"Varactyls are most easily identified by their green & iridescent colours"
Objection! Male varactyls are dull brown or orange.
@randomly_generated said:
"Hol up, ET is CANON?!"
He is sort of canon. In episode one , the Asogians are in the senate, including one named senator Grebleips(Spielberg backwards). Also, in E.T. , E.T. Points to a kid in a Yoda costume and says “home”. There is debate about whether the E.T. Movie and Star Wars take place in the same cinematic universe or if it is just Lucas’ and Spielberg’s references to each other’s movies.
FANTASTIC article. Love stuff like this that gives context to a theme.
I’d love to see a Midi-Scale or larger Escape from the Exogorth set from TLG. Could be cool.
I would kill for a minifig scale Krait Dragon. Even if it’s just the head.
@Clutch_P said:
"They need to make a womp rat mold"
Have those things ever actually appeared on screen though?
@Iguanaboy said:
" @randomly_generated said:
"Hol up, ET is CANON?!"
He is sort of canon. In episode one , the Asogians are in the senate, including one named senator Grebleips(Spielberg backwards). Also, in E.T. , E.T. Points to a kid in a Yoda costume and says “home”. There is debate about whether the E.T. Movie and Star Wars take place in the same cinematic universe or if it is just Lucas’ and Spielberg’s references to each other’s movies. "
They're in a senator pod in the Republic Senate when Jar Jar calls for emergency powers for the Chancelor. It's canonical.
@watermelon123 said:
"Still waiting for a Bantha mold :("
Agree, and so.is everybody who saw the models they have for their videogames, the small brick built was great but come on....
Really enjoyed the article, reminded me I needed some rathtars, so just cost me more money on BrickLink for those parts lol
@SearchlightRG said:
" @Clutch_P said:
"They need to make a womp rat mold"
Have those things ever actually appeared on screen though?"
WHOA, how did I never realize that?? I guess the first time I saw them was in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga from 2007.
@Johnny__Thunder97 said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"Was the Dianoga covered under one of the previous articles?
@randomly_generated:
Ep1, there’s a cluster of them in one of the Senate pods.
@Johnny__Thunder97:
It was part of the Black Friday Preview Events, I believe. For a few years, besides doing Black Friday offers the weekend before for registered VIP members, if you lived within a certain distance of a LEGO Store, and you were one of the top spenders (or you got a “pity invite” from the store manager, like I did a couple times), you could get a special invite to a pre-opening event at your local store. This is where the dated train ornament came from. One year, I think they did an offer where you could spend $X on SW sets, or just in general, and you’d get the Space Slug set for free."
This sounds exactly right- only it seems to have been a May 4th, not a Black Friday... Thanks for the insight!"
The new EU books have actually stated that both Dianogas and Exogorths (Space Slugs) are sentient species. Maybe that’s why they aren’t in the beast article?
@Clutch_P said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
" @Clutch_P said:
"They need to make a womp rat mold"
Have those things ever actually appeared on screen though?"
WHOA, how did I never realize that?? I guess the first time I saw them was in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga from 2007."
They do appear in the Mandalorian season 2, and Mando rides into Mos Pelgo. They look pretty much exactly like the LEGO game ones. Also I think there are some in the VFX update versions of episode four.
@Johnny__Thunder97:
Never count stuff you see in the games until you see it in person. There has been a baby rancor the size of a chunky minifig (exclusive to one of the handheld games). There has been a minifig of Clayface. Venom could turn into a bigfig. The game designers are probably given current and recent sets and minifigs that they have to utilize, but they make a ton of stuff up because there wouldn’t be much content to work with otherwise.
For the sarlaac, I do know that Lucas felt it was too sedentary to appear threatening back in ‘83, but it always bugged me that you had a giant pit lined with downward-pointing teeth to keep prey from climbing back out...and then this Dune sandworm would lunge out of it (unharmed by all those daggerlike teeth!) and swallow you above the first row of teeth. One or the other works, but not both.
And May 4 makes more sense, but I definitely got a few invites to the Black Friday Preview Event, and I don’t really remember there being something similar for May 4. But I do know the Space Slug was exclusive to a pre-opening event, because I remember another member of my LUG making the drive up and realizing he left his method of payment at home. It was too far to drive round trip before they officially opened, and any Space Slug sets that were left at that point had to be returned for destruction.
@Zander:
As far as I’m aware, that is true. For SW animals, at least (there’s a Duplo whale that can fit multiple minifigs in one mouthful). The LEGO rancor had bariatric surgery, though. Because they didn’t want parts getting stuck inside, there’s nothing but mouth (no gut), and it’s not as big as it looks. The Gammorrean in particular is _barely_ able to fit in one mouthful. I had to bend the legs back as far as they go, and then gently slide the shoulder armor past the toothy fangs before I could actually get the jaw fully closed again. Getting it back out is a chore (poor guy hasn’t really mastered the act of regurgitation).
Conversely, I know I got the Galoob Action Fleet rancor (about the same size), and I think I got Hasbro’s modern reissue of the old Kenner version. One of them (probably Galoob’s) has a flip-up tail so you could, uh, just pour everything out after it’s done eating.
@Iguanaboy:
Sure, ET, the character, probably wouldn’t have even been born yet. There’s no official proof that they’re the same species (although Earth exists in both stories), but they look as similar as Vulcans and Romulans.
@Clutch_P:
The first so ever saw of them was on a trading card featuring original art. But weren’t they added to Ep4:SE?
We’re well overdue more Jabbas Palace sets. I really need a Rancor!
Minor nitpick: "Anacondas" were not used in the Dagobah scenes. Anacondas are a specific lineage of heavy-bodied river boas, the snakes used in ESB were California Kingsnakes, Boa Constrictors and Burmese Pythons best I can tell. Kingsnakes, Boas and Burms are all fairly chill snakes that are often captive-bred and kept as pets, Anacondas are not nearly as gentle since we don't see much keeping or breeding of them (for good reason, they're large semiaquatic reptiles which can be dangerous and are just a pain to house and care for). Just giving you some minor reptile corrections!
@PurpleDave said:
" @Zander:
As far as I’m aware, that is true. For SW animals, at least (there’s a Duplo whale that can fit multiple minifigs in one mouthful)."
Thanks for confirming. For non-SW, the City great white shark and PotC ghost/zombie shark can swallow a whole minifigure. I know as I have them. But they aren’t SW of course.
Thank you all for the feedback - glad to get back in writing mode and for me it’s always fun to explore more in depth about Star Wars and Lego.
@CT8088 I’m not sure what the situation was with the linking of the sets. But hopefully knowing the set numbers it’s easy enough to find on Brickset.
@randomly_generated and various others - Asogians are an unusual canon example because they don’t have a Star Wars Data Bank entry - likely because ET is not Lucasfilm’s IP
@PurpleDave the Dianoga is covered in my previous anatomy articles as a sentient creature - though because I was sticking to minifigure style characters it also made sense to keep the Exogorth as an outlier - so I brought it back in this article.
@Graupensuppe I believe the male appearance of a Varactyl you’re referring to is not actually shown in canon - perhaps one to file under the much debated ‘Asajj’s species’ topic that overlapped between canon and Legends in my previous articles.
@JMaster I’m always happy to learn something new and in this case I generalised the real snakes to anacondas. Nowadays of course real animals like snakes are used much more sparingly without CGI.
@Zander :
If you’re referring to the shark I’m thinking of, it’s not from City. Two of them first appeared in Agents set 8633 with friggen lasers in their heads. The only other appearance is Pirates II 6243 . I’ve got one of the regular ones for my TLBM Phantom Zone villains, and two of the zombie sharks that were based on it (one with my hunger of zombies, and the other sometimes gets used as an actual rotting corpse of a shark). You are correct that both have gullets big enough to fit a minifig, but as with the rancor, some posing is required. At least one arm needs to be raised, but ideally both should be. The mouths do close, and the sharks are much better at regurgitating what they eat. But there’s apparently a Duplo shark that’s even bigger! As with the adult whale (which can carry the baby whale in its mouth like a guppy), I suspect there’s a lot more room inside.
I just checked the modern T-Rex (got one of those for the Phantom Zone, too), and the jaws are too narrow, and the tongue too close to the roof of the mouth. They can chomp, but they’d choke on a whole minifig. I don’t have any of the other large carnosaurs, but I suspect the same is true for them.
@The_Rancor :
I’d check with site staff for how to embed links in articles. The method we use in posts clearly doesn’t work for articles, but maybe HTML links do?
@ResIpsaLoquitur:
The advantage to a brick-built design is that you can put one on a spit and replace the body of another with a skeleton arm.
Strange the Wampa is not counted as a bigfig in the database, but the LOTR Cave Troll is.
@Zander said:
" @The_Rancor , Thank you for that most enjoyable article! I'm a big fan of moulded critters, so seeing them featured together is a real treat.
I think I'm right in saying that the rancor is the only moulded SW creature that can fit an entire minifigure in its mouth ( @PurpleDave , correct me if I'm wrong). This one is starting to show how it is done: https://brickshelf.com/gallery/AmperZand/Fantasy/s17_cmf_mocs.jpg
As @CT8088 also noticed, some of the links in the piece are broken. A CTRL+F or 'Find on page' search for 'link' will take you to them."
Though not molded, the Sarlacc from the desert skiff set 9496 could also fit a mini figure in its mouth or beak
No mention of dianogas?
@Rimefang said:
" @Iguanaboy said:
" @randomly_generated said:
"Hol up, ET is CANON?!"
He is sort of canon. In episode one , the Asogians are in the senate, including one named senator Grebleips(Spielberg backwards). Also, in E.T. , E.T. Points to a kid in a Yoda costume and says “home”. There is debate about whether the E.T. Movie and Star Wars take place in the same cinematic universe or if it is just Lucas’ and Spielberg’s references to each other’s movies. "
They're in a senator pod in the Republic Senate when Jar Jar calls for emergency powers for the Chancelor. It's canonical. "
Valid Point. I can't argue with that. I am all for them being in the same universe, others may still debate it , but I am all for considering them to be in the same universe in the canon.
Are there any goats in Star Wars?
@The_Rancor said:
"I believe the male appearance of a Varactyl you’re referring to is not actually shown in canon"
Brown Varactyls are seen in Episode 3 (though it's not stated in the movie itself that they're male).
I miss Jabba's Kowakian Monkey-lizard, and wish they would redo Jabba's palace 9516 from 2012 combined with the Rancor pit 75005 from 2013 as a larger UCS. Also don't forget the Kaadu which appeared in 7115.
Sorry about the set links, I published the article in too much of a hurry yesterday. I've added them now.
Anyone else down for a UCS scale Exogorth (space slug)?
@Daveismyhero:
If the Falcon is just a few studs wide, that could be cool. If you’re talking minifig-scale, the set would have to be towable by fifth wheel, and include a steel armature.
I want a Ronto!
I wish LEGO did more creatures. I mean we have 123 Millenium Falcons but not a single minifigure-sized bantha. There are so many iconic creatures in the series but most of them don't exist in LEGO. Brick-built or bigfig, I don't care, gimme these sweet banthas and arena monsters.
The kaadu and varactyl would be good fits for future Microfighter dual packs (paired with AAT and Wheel Bike respectively). The blurg from The Mandalorian would be a good fit for that as well.
Great article! Compliments on your writing style The_Rancor. Not only is this article well researched (from the perspective of an average Star Wars fan), but it's well written and laced with humor. Well done! Please keep these kinds of articles coming.
@boneheadhh1 said:
"Though not molded, the Sarlacc from the desert skiff set 9496 could also fit a mini figure in its mouth or beak
"
Wouldn't be much of a sarlacc if it couldn't swallow a whole minifigure, right? ;~)
@PurpleDave said:
" @Zander :
If you’re referring to the shark I’m thinking of, it’s not from City. Two of them first appeared in Agents set 8633 with friggen lasers in their heads. The only other appearance is Pirates II 6243 . I’ve got one of the regular ones for my TLBM Phantom Zone villains, and two of the zombie sharks that were based on it (one with my hunger of zombies, and the other sometimes gets used as an actual rotting corpse of a shark). You are correct that both have gullets big enough to fit a minifig, but as with the rancor, some posing is required. At least one arm needs to be raised, but ideally both should be. The mouths do close, and the sharks are much better at regurgitating what they eat. But there’s apparently a Duplo shark that’s even bigger! As with the adult whale (which can carry the baby whale in its mouth like a guppy), I suspect there’s a lot more room inside.
I just checked the modern T-Rex (got one of those for the Phantom Zone, too), and the jaws are too narrow, and the tongue too close to the roof of the mouth. They can chomp, but they’d choke on a whole minifig. I don’t have any of the other large carnosaurs, but I suspect the same is true for them.
"
The great white's mould was indeed originally from Agents but mine has different print and is from 60266 Ocean Exploration Ship which was from the City line. My zombie/ghost shark is from 71042 Silent Mary which, as I said, is from PotC. Specifically, it's 'Dead Men Tell No Tales'. I don't think it was available in any other set though may have been obtainable from Bricks & Pieces in some regions - I'm not sure about that.
Looking forward to seeing much more of Ahsoka's Morai.
The Canto Bight fathiers did not have a large role, but would be welcome additions.
And of course, the Lothal wolves!
@Zander:
There was a “desktop game” (so called because you played it in a window on your computer desktop) called Yoda Stories where one of the hazards of the desert setting was mini-sarlaacs that, as far as you could tell from the graphics, would just lash you with their tentacles if you stood next to them. The game didn’t allow two sprites to share the same space, so as soon as you stepped a space where one was hidden, it would burst out if the sand and you’d get shoved back to whatever space you’d just stepped off of. It could kill you, but it was unable to swallow you.
I didn’t see an updated large shark when I checked Bricklink, so I’ll have to go look that up (frankly, between the hammerhead, the stingray, and the anglerfish, I kinda zoned out on the rest of that theme). I don’t know that I’ll try to get one, since the Agents version is what appears in TLBM’s Phantom Zone. And yes, the zombie shark is exclusive to the Silent Mary. But you could buy them on Bricklink...
@PurpleDave said:
" @Zander:
There was a “desktop game” (so called because you played it in a window on your computer desktop) called Yoda Stories where one of the hazards of the desert setting was mini-sarlaacs that, as far as you could tell from the graphics, would just lash you with their tentacles if you stood next to them. The game didn’t allow two sprites to share the same space, so as soon as you stepped a space where one was hidden, it would burst out if the sand and you’d get shoved back to whatever space you’d just stepped off of. It could kill you, but it was unable to swallow you.
I didn’t see an updated large shark when I checked Bricklink, so I’ll have to go look that up (frankly, between the hammerhead, the stingray, and the anglerfish, I kinda zoned out on the rest of that theme). I don’t know that I’ll try to get one, since the Agents version is what appears in TLBM’s Phantom Zone. And yes, the zombie shark is exclusive to the Silent Mary. But you could buy them on Bricklink..."
I think what you described is known as a "browser game" because it is a game you play in a window of your browser. A desktop game would be one that you had downloaded onto your computer (desktop) and could launch on its own.
I want those horse things (whatever they are called) that get used in the attack on the star destroyers in the last movie.
@fulcrumbop said:
"Looking forward to seeing much more of Ahsoka's Morai.
The Canto Bight fathiers did not have a large role, but would be welcome additions.
And of course, the Lothal wolves!"
YES - Lothal Wolves . . . big Rebels fan . . . that is a must!!!
@Slithus_Venom:
Nope. Desktop game. Yoda Stories and a comparable Indiana Jones game (which I never managed to find) were purchasable software that came on a CD-ROM. You installed the game to your computer, and it opened in its own window, which was notable for the fact that you could not resize it nor could you maximize it. In that regard, it was much like the Minesweeper game that came preinstalled on older versions of Windows.
The thing is, though, it used an insanely small amount of your computer's resources, and could conceivably be run through a browser window (there might actually be places you can play it on the internet, but I haven't looked). There were no game saves. Each time you started a new mission, it was randomly generated. There were three basic settings (desert, snow, and temperate), which would be randomly picked. Each of the three settings had exclusive endgame parameters that were appropriate to the climate (you wouldn't bring stuff to Jabba on an ice planet, or help out the Ewoks on a desert planet). There was a chain of items you had to collect, and the design was robust enough that I never once stalled out a game because I had to unlock an area to obtain the key that would unlock that same area. You could select how "hard" the game would be, which basically just consisted of how big a chain of items you had to collect, and how large a map you had to explore (combat, such as it was, was never affected by this setting). Gameplay was pretty low-key, so there were never any complicated combo movies that you had to learn. There was even a resource pack full of stuff you could raid to customize your computer, including desktop icons, mouse pointers (which weren't even used in the game), and sound files. I used to have the first Death Star shooting its main laser as my mouse pointer. It took a little more work, but I was able to isolate the sprites for Han and Carbonite Han, and I had those set as my empty and full trash cans, respectively (with the game's "unfreeze" sound file tacked on so when I emptied my trash it would unfreeze Han with a distinctive "bzzzzt" sound).
Both games got terrible reviews, but they were being compared to stuff like the latest FPS with high-end graphics, and not against what they were really designed to be, which is a replacement for Windows Solitaire. They were time-killer games. I guess they ported Yoda Stories to Gameboy Color, and it sucked because it was really designed to be played with a mouse (I believe you just click on your intended destination, and your character would automatically walk until he reached that spot).
The Battle of Geonosis needs some sets. Those 3 beasts would look in Lego. The Bantha is also sorely missing. But, I want a Ronto too!
I hope to get the Geonosis Arena in the Master Builder Series.
I'm surprised there's no mention of the recent microfighter beasts (want to see Grievous unicycle vs. Varactyl in '2!2). The mini Rathtar from the 2018 AC is a juvenile specimen to me =)
And 911612?
@Clutch_P said:
"They need to make a womp rat mold"
And a bantha!!
Where are the gungans in this list. Wasn’t it Quigon who said the ability to speak does not make you intelligent?
I think that it would be alright to include the bantha microfighter in this list as a handful of these animals are brick built. There’s also the dewback and tuantuan from this line as well.