A Message From the Editor...

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While researching items for the Station, I was sad to discover the recent passing of conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie. A short article about his legacy was posted previously on the date of his passing, March 12th.

This month's feature was of the collection of figures created after an exhibit of McQuarrie's original artwork used for books and movie concepts of the original Star Wars.

May this feature be in tribute to the artistry that Ralph McQuarrie provided in designing the look of Lucas' story.

-Danny

Darth Vader: Star Wars 30th Anniversary Concept Action Figure

Celebrate three decades of George Lucas' epic chronicle with this marvelous assortment of 30th anniversary Action Figures! Each figure is packed with its own accessories and includes a bonus metal collector's coin.

Darth Vader was not originally supposed to wear a facemask.
Ralph McQuarrie's concept drawing of Vader baording the Tantive IV was based on the idea that Vader would fly through space to reach the ship, requiring him to wear a breathing apparatus.


McQuarrie Novel Cover Originals


McQuarrie Vader lightsaber duel sketch.

The facemask remained and has become a modern-day icon of chilling doom.



This special figure includes 2 different mask designs.

Chewbacca: Star Wars 30th Anniversary Concept Action Figure

Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection A New Hope Chewbacca (McQuarrie Signature Series Concept) Action Figure from the 2007 toy series. The vivid imagination of conceptual artist Ralph McQuarrie brought to life the characters and worlds envisioned by George Lucas.


McQuarrie concepts poster


McQuarrie Chewbacca sketch.

McQuarrie’s paintings and drawings were instrumental in the push to bring Lucas’s saga to the big screen, giving shape and form to a multitude of fantastic individuals, creatures, planets and technology encompassed in this epic tale.



Developed in collaboration with McQuarrie himself, this remarkable action figure series pays tribute to the man whose art defined some of the most memorable characters in film history. Inspired by his Alaskan malamute, George Lucas created one of the most enduring and well-loved non-human characters of his saga.

R2-D2 & C-3PO: Star Wars 30th Anniversary Concept Action Figures

Star Wars 30th Anniversary McQuarrie Concept Collection Action Figures.

30th Anniversary 3 3/4-Inch Action Figures. Each figure is packed with its own accessories and includes a bonus metal collector's coin.


McQuarrie Threepio, R2-D2 concept drawings.


McQuarrie C-3PO and R2-D2 desert sketch.

I love the idea behind this. It's so seldom that we see anything
regarding Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for the original Star Wars.
These figures are a great representation of what might have been.



R2 looks pretty cool. He is all grey, but he has a bunch of neat
gadgets.

C-3PO looks like a miniature version of the Oscars award statue.

Stormtrooper: Star Wars 30th Anniversary Concept Action Figure

Star Wars Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series Concept Stormtrooper with Exclusive Collector Coin.


McQuarrie_Stormtrooper with Lightsaber sketch.

I love the idea behind this. It's so seldom that we see anything regarding Ralph McQuarrie's concept art for the original Star Wars. These figures are a great representation of what might have been. I love the image of a stormtrooper with a lightsaber! That totally shakes up everything we knew about Star Wars. The figure itself is highly posable and has great detail. This is easily one of my favorites.

Boba Fett: Star Wars 30th Anniversary McQuarrie Concept Action Figure

Ralph McQuarrie Signature Series Concept Figure.

Includes a Rare Exclusive Collector Coin.


McQuarrie Boba Fett sketch.

Concept Boba Fett comes with 2 helmet designs.

Obi-wan & Yoda: Star Wars 30th Anniversary McQuarrie Concept Action Figures

Ralph McQuarrie Concept Figures

2007 Comic Con Exclusive

These figures are a great representation of what might have been.
Ben Kenobi's outfit is pretty different from his drab brown in the final movie. Moreover, he's bald!

The Yoda figure is cute, but actually not that different from his final self.


McQuarrie Yoda concept sketches.

Snowtrooper: Star Wars 30th Anniversary McQuarrie Concept Action Figure

 

Star Wars Basic Figure McQuarrie Series #6 Snowtrooper

It has great articulation in the arms, head, waist, and legs, although standing it up is hard because there is no articulation in the ankles. I like this figure's paint job and sculpt, it's just something different from the standard stormtrooper or clonetrooper. Plus, its face mask can be removed. After popping off the head, you can also remove its backpack

Darth Maul, Darth Nihilous, Darth Bane: Clone Wars Sith Legacy Evolutions Pack

Set of 3 collectible action figures based on characters in the sinister Sith Star Wars legacy.

Includes Darth Bane, Darth Maul and Darth Nihilus

Detailed figures each come with a weapon accessory

Darth Maul: I love the detail, if you look closly you can see pointed yellow teeth. His lightsaber is the darkest of this set. At first I was skepticel about his shirtlessness but I don't mind now. Part of his skirt-thing is cloth, as with everyone's in this set, a cool little addition. I recently bought another Maul figure with a cloth cloak, and I put it on this guy and he looks awsome.

Darth Bane: His lightsaber is puple. His removable armor (face-plate, wrist-gaurds) is pretty tight, however is the only extra the set comes with. His cape is removable, a cool little additon.

Darth Nihilous: This guy is from the video game Knights of the Old Republic 2, and being a game charecter I doubted much articulation. I noticed his left arm (your right side) was bent strangly in the photo. I assumed it could only swivel side to side. How wrong I was. His arm can actually bend like that, which is tight. His lightsaber is red, however lighter than Maul's. His cape is cloth and has an odd feel to it, perfect for Nihilous' character. His hood is removable revealing his hair tied in dreadlocks. His mask is nicly dietailed, and his hand is in a nice force posture.

This is an awsome set.

It's great to finally have some of the Sith Lords from the Expanded Universe. I got this set particularly for Darth Bane, who has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters ever after reading Drew Karpyshyn's Path of Destruction. KOTOR II fans will also want to get Darth Nihilus.

The Darth Bane accessories are probably not technically accurate according to Path of Destruction, which describes Bane's robes as black. Also, Bane's lightsaber is clearly red and is frequently described as having a hook, like Dooku's. But I like them anyway.

Hasbro did a nice job of giving Bane a purple color scheme, with subtle purple highlights on the cape. Also, his lightsaber is amethyst, like Mace Windu's. The overall effect is to give Bane a somewhat more exotic yet royal look, which complements the otherwise ridiculous-looking orbalisks.

I have seen some fans repaint this figure black and give him a red lightsaber, but then Bane looks like just another Dark Jedi. This is one case where Hasbro's "mistake" made for a visually more interesting figure. I only wish they had taken more care with the orbalisks. They are a see-through yellowish plastic, which isn't horrible but almost look a bit too bright. Also, when you take the orbalisks off Bane's chest, there's not much underneath - indeed, he looks like he shed 100 pounds.

Darth Nihilus. He LOOKS like a Sith, with the creepy skull helmet. The tattered cloth cape has a great effect, flowing behind him. In fact, this is one of the few figures I wish had entirely cape clothing because I think it would have given the figure a real sense of formlessness. As it stands, this figure is great. However, my understanding was that Nihilus was like a vacuum of Dark energy. This figure has dreadlocks under the hood, which seems to imply that there was a man behind the mask.

Boba Fett & RA-7: Star Wars Expanded Universe Action Figures

Special Comic Inspired Action Figure Two-Pack with droid RA-7.

Includes Star Wars Comic Book #81

Xizor's VIRAGO: Star Wars EXPANDED UNIVERSE Titanium Die Cast Vehicle

As fast and maneuverable as a TIE Interceptor, but with firepower equal to an X-Wing, the Virago was unmatched in deadly effectiveness.

It was the perfect extension of the personality of its pilot and owner - the cunning, brilliant criminal mastermind Prince Xizor, head of the Black Sun syndicate. It appears to have been destroyed, along with Xizor, by the star destroyer Executor over Coruscant.

From Hasbro.

Cool looking ship for a GREAT PRICE!

Star Wars Concept Artist Ralph McQuarrie Dies at Age 82

March 04, 2012

Ralph McQuarrie, the concept artist who brought the Star Wars ideas of George Lucas to visual life, had died at the age of 82.

McQuarrie began his career in design at Boeing in the 1960s and eventually moved on to the entertainment industry with CBS News, specifically the Apollo space program. He was eventually offered the opportunity to work on concept art for a film project and took the leap into another world.

It was on this job that George Lucas first saw McQuarrie's work and took notice. Lucas had already hatched the idea for Star Wars and was in need of a man to give that idea a look and feel based on verbal and textual descriptions. McQuarrie was hired, and his concept art not only helped forge the first Star Wars film, it helped Lucas sell the risky and expensive idea to Twentieth Century Fox.

McQuarrie went on to provide all the concept art for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. From there he also worked as a consultant or artist on many other sci-fi and adventure classics from the 1970s and 1980s including Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park and ET: The Extraterrestrial, as well as the original Battlestar Galactica television series, Batteries Not Included, Total Recall, Back to the Future and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, amongst others.

By the mid 1990s, George Lucas was ready to begin working on the Star Wars prequel films and once again called upon McQuarrie to bring those ideas from the page to life on the screen. McQuarrie, however, passed on the opportunity, instead urging George to let a new generation of designers take on the challenge. Those designers in turn used some of McQuarrie's scrapped ideas from the original Star Wars trilogy in their prequel designs.

 

Within the past five years, Hasbro paid tribute to Ralph McQuarrie by turning many of McQuarrie's early concept art renderings for characters such as Chewbacca, Han Solo and the Imperial Snowtrooper into action figures.

Ralph McQuarrie was a true visionary, father of modern day science fiction art and one of a kind talent. He will be missed.

Please visit www.ralphmcquarrie.com to view Ralph McQuarrie's extensive gallery of work.