An Anatomy of Star Wars Aliens: Part 2

Posted by The_Rancor, 04 Jul 2020 12:00
Following on from my first article on the subject, I’m back with more about some of our favourite licensed alien minifigures. Last time we looked at Star Wars species introduced from 1999 to 2004. In response to public opinion I’m pleased to say more comparison photos are now the order of the day to cover all the species I’ll be talking about.
This time we’ll be looking at 2005-2010, when we saw two more feature films, much-loved games, and the early years of Clone Wars on TV. I’ll still be judging the minifigures’ development based on their custom moulds, accuracy and in some cases whether they feel ‘Lego’ enough. So let’s take a look…
To abridge the definition on our first article I’m including all non-human sentient species in Star Wars that still have identifiable organic features. In this time period, that also means the Dianoga make it in later.
2005
This year gave us three new species, from Episode III and across the trilogy – the mysterious Kaleesh, Mirialans and the iconic Jawas.
Even in their natural form, the red-skinned reptilian Kaleesh usually covered up their most identifiable features with masks. Our only Lego Kaleesh General Grievous is a cyborg, so the only biological elements left are some of his organs and parts of his face under his cybernetic body.
Our original minifigure version had only two custom parts – a torso with the capability for 4 arm connections and a head. The former helped to effectively recreate his ‘arm splitting’ capability but the latter felt oddly wide and looked very little like Grievous’ mask on film.
A new (famously expensive but fully articulated) set of five moulds was introduced in 2010 in tan and dark bley, with oddly large printed yellow eyes. This was improved again in 2014 by recolouring the tan back to white and making the eye printing more discrete, and more sinister.
Mirialans were also introduced in the form of Jedi Master Luminara Unduli, but later we also saw her apprentice Barriss Offee and an unnamed Jedi Consular. Mirialans are very close to humans in appearance, but for their different range of skin colours and that they often tattoo their faces with a geometric pattern.
This species has the distinction of being the only one to be introduced as a light up lightsaber figure (I don’t own) where the facial tattoos were present and a new clothing element was introduced as an identifiable head garment (albeit stuck on). All future Mirialans up to 2018 have progressively introduced more detailed facial printing keeping the tattoos and sometimes reusing the ‘hat’ element as a further identifier of the species.
Jawas were also introduced in 2005, and they struck a very good likeness from the beginning. Little is known about what they look like beneath their robes and hoods, so we know them primarily for their tatty robes and bright yellow round eyes.
The original minifigs printed these eyes at a fairly small scale on a black head, which when combined with a hood and short legs for their small stature made them feel very accurate. Future versions from 2014 & 2018 removed the cape and also printed eyes that seem slightly too big in comparison (see above).
2006
The only new Lego species we saw in 2006 was the Sullustans, in the form of Ten Numb. This species is most identifiable for their pupil-less eyes, large ears and dewflaps (overlapping cheeks). Because their heads are otherwise fairly rounded, these features were printed on a regular head (see below), which was successful in bringing out the eyes and dewflaps (and showed some breathing apparatus).
Even a new version in 2014 only significantly changed the attire whilst the head printing was very similar. The community often clamours for a Nien Nunb so surely it can only be a matter of time…
2007
This year also only introduced one new species – Nautolans, an amphibious race identified by their cool skin tones, black eyes and most prominently their long head tentacles. The only Nautolan we’ve had is Kit Fisto, one of the first Star Wars minifigures to benefit from a rubbery custom head mould. This was essential to add some strength and flexibility to the thin tentacles on the front and back of Fisto’s body which might otherwise have snapped if moulded in hard plastic. A further Fisto was added in 2012 though only his attire changed to suit Episode III more closely.
2008
This year added more species for Star Wars fans, including Togruta, Kel Dor and Rattataki through the medium of the Clone Wars, as well as the Dianoga. The latter is far from humanoid and resembles a cephalopod with seven tentacles and an eyestalk – most famously seen in the Death Star trash compactor. For this reason the Dianoga (see below) was introduced as brick-built, though it only had five tentacles and an oddly forward-facing neck. A version introduced in 2016 (not shown) pronounced the eye better but was constructed in a similar way.
We were first introduced to Kel Dor with Plo Koon and he’s still the only character we’ve seen of his species in Lego (below). We’re able to see the Kel Dor’s thick skin and delicate facial features around the sides of their head, but they otherwise require anti-oxygen protection on their mouth, nose and eyes when they’re off-world.
A rubbery mould was introduced picking out the apparatus including its thin tendrils in bley and the skin in a dark orange, which was used again in 2014. The shapes & textures are mostly accurate but the head does look slightly too tall and the tendrils are too prominent.
Togrutas are amongst the most colourful Star Wars species and our first in Lego form was (teenage) Ahsoka Tano. They’re known for their facial patterns, montrals (horns) and lekku (head tails) that grow longer as they age.
The first Ahsoka captures the facial pattern with a regular head print and a dedicated head element captured the other features well based on her age. A larger rubbery element with much longer montrals & lekku was introduced in 2011 for Shaak Ti, which was then in turn reprinted for an adult Ahsoka in 2016 and will be used again in 2020 for a younger version at the end of the Clone Wars.
Now the controversial one! Whether Asajj Ventress is Zabrak or Rattataki seems to be in the balance based on response to Part 1. She was raised as Rattataki and shares their appearance of white skin with no hair, but her birth origins are often noted as Zabrak. Since we don’t have any other Rattataki characters yet, another more universal description for this character could be ‘female Dathomirian’.
Asajj’s identifiable features are discrete but the minifigure has always used a white head showing her facial tattoos. A later version based on the original ‘Clone Wars’ in 2015 toned down the facial print to more closely match the source material (see above).
2009
We saw three more species this year – Weequay, Neimoidians and Mon Calamari.
The Weequay appear throughout Star Wars, often as pirates or serving the Hutt Clan. They’re known for their tan or brown tough leathery skin with pronounced facial features and spines along their jawline. We saw two characters in their first year – the fan-favourite Hondo Ohnaka and Turk Falso. Both used regular head facial prints for their pronounced faces and spines but their bley colour felt odd. We later had Shahan Alama in 2010, and then two similar skiff guards in 2013 and 2017 that were a warmer tone and had a more ‘leathery’ appearance.
Despite ‘opening’ Episode I, it took us 10 years to see a Lego Neimoidian and our first was the infamous Nute Gunray. The species has greenish grey skin, no nose and large orangey eyes, which were all accurately captured via head print from the beginning, through to a 2012 Gunray and 2014 warrior. Neimoidians are often seen with elaborate headgear so a unique element has also been used on both versions of Gunray. I’d like to see more characters like Lott Dod though.
Mon Calamari were also introduced with two figures at once – Gial Ackbar (‘Admiral’ is not his first name) and an officer. This species has aquatic features such as webbed hands, a domed head and large protruding eyes like an octopus, which immediately called for a dedicated hard mould that captured them very well. It’s still in use up to 2020 with more colours, characters and detail, including Nahdar Vebb (2010) and Raddus (2017). Quarrie is on my wanted list, who introduced another mould to incorporate facial hair and some headgear.
2010
At the turn of a new decade we received another three new species – Duros, Talz and Trandoshans.
Duros are somewhat similar in appearance to Neimoidians, usually with more blue or green skin tones, smooth skin and solid red eyes – therefore their features have only been captured as face prints to focus on these. We’ve had two versions of the bounty hunter Cad Bane, the first of which introduced a new element for his wide brimmed hat and another for his breathing apparatus. In 2016, we also saw an unnamed Rebel Duros trooper without these elements.
The Talz (see below) are covered mostly in thick white fur, have four eyes and a proboscis as a mouth – all features very different to humans. Our only Lego Talz minifigure is Thi-Sen, who as clan chieftan also wore a protective shell and headdress. To show all these features, this marked the return of another dual moulded and printed sandwich board, although the bley colours didn’t reflect the white fur accurately and the headdress seemed a little too large.
Our final species for this part are the Trandoshans, who we’ve only seen in Lego form as the bounty hunter Bossk. This group has probably the most obvious reptilian features with scaly skin, sharp teeth and clawed limbs. Our first Bossk introduced a dedicated element reflecting these features and the shape of his head very effectively. A version in 2017 improved the print detail, edited the colour to olive and amusingly printed his feet – as this is one of few species that often stay barefoot!
Next time…
We’re still under halfway through Lego’s sentient alien species after 2 parts and 12 years of the Star Wars theme at 31 unique types. Our next time period will be 2011-2014; four years that yielded a wide array of new aliens as the Clone Wars progressed, and we were introduced to Rebels.
Which of these species I’ve mentioned do you still want to see more characters from? Are you a fan of rubber moulded vs hard plastic elements? Are you still sore about my categorisation of Asajj Ventress? I’m still keen to see what people think in the comments!
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