Day 326, Quasi-Quarantine: Adding To The Tattooine Feng Shui With A Dewback And Sandtrooper

 

Since many of our missions center on -- or eventually end up on -- Tattooine (hence our cantina and Bantha builds), our collection simply wasn't complete without a Dewback. As a result, the Dewback and Imperial sandtrooper felt like a must-add.

The Dewbacks were one of the really striking creatures seen early on in "Star Wars: A New Hope," an indicator species that you were truly in a unique universe.

These omnivorous reptiles were native to Tattooine and well-adapted to a desert planet with twin suns, able to withstand heat and sand. They were trained to be ridden by Imperial Sandtroopers for scouting, travel, and mounted combat.

To my knowledge, the only set you can find the Dewback in is the Mos Eisley Cantina (set 4501), although this version has more distinctive marketings and more of an olive green color. The saddle mechanism is clever, the reins fit nicely, and the Dewback jaw opens and closes. As a laser-printed reproduction, this is a nifty piece of work.

This combo also came with a well-constructed Dewback Rider, a sandtrooper that comes with an electric rod to jolt the Dewback, two T-21 light repeating blasters, a cape, and a backpack.

The price was not unreasonable considering that finding a standalone Dewback and sandtrooper was always going to mean a little extra. The nostalgia elicited by this combination is well worth the cost, not to mention the usefulness of having a Dewback on hand for vital missions in and around Mos Eisley ...