The Little Differences - Bespin Guard, Ugnaught and Rebel Technician

Welcome to February's "Little Differences"!  This month I am going to focus on diversifying your Bespin Guards, Ugnaughts and Rebel Technician troops! 

Bespin Wing Guards

Bespin, the land of Lando, the city in the clouds featuring a 70's bachelor pad décor that's sure to impress the ladies! Lando knew how to run a tight city, his right hand man Lobot was an integral part of keeping the daily operations running as smooth as a Colt 45! (When you look at Lobot's outfit, outside of the mobile Boom box attached to his bald noggin, he would blend perfectly in Threes Company choice restaurant and bar, the Regal Beagle!) In order to keep the peace in the city Bespin had a police force called the Wing Guard. The guard had a diverse group of people enlisted in it, interestingly enough most of them sported facial hair. Mustaches and beards were all the rage on Bespin, Lando was a real trend setter. (Even the 80's vintage line had a Bespin Guard that sported a huge Foo-Man-Choo handle bar mustache!)

We got our first modern Bespin guard in 2001. While he was a nice figure overall he was not screen accurate as he had an open jacket, they were never seen open in the film. To add to our disappointment, he did not have a mustache. Not too long after that figures release we got another Bespin guard this time it was part of an exclusive Freezing Chamber play set. This figure was a real step backwards, the head sculpt was terrible, it had a huge schnoz and the body was even worse. The outfit was painted on the figure, it literally looked like one of those naked people with an clothes painted on their body. This figure also did not have a mustache, a real negative, it makes Tom Selleck cry. It took 8.5 years to get our next Bespin guard figure, this release was part of the 2009 Legacy line. There were two different heads sculpts one this figure. One was an alien (that was cut from the final film) and the other is questionably considered the modern incarnation of the Black Bespin guard, Sgt. Edian. Why it's questionable is based on the sculpted features of the head sculpt, it appears to be Caucasian but it can also pass for someone of Indian descent. It looks nothing like the actor who played Sgt. Edian. Personally I do not consider this figure him, he is just a generic Bespin guard to me. The sculpt of the figure overall is great, the only real issue I have with it is the height, it's a little too tall. (It's not a deal breaker.) long term,  I really hope they re-release this figure with different head sculpts, until they do I took matter into my own hands to diversify my guards. Like all my other "Little Differences" segments these mods require no tools, just extra parts that easily pop and swap. Since I make a lot of customs I have the luxury of having a lot of extra heads on hand to experiment with. I tested a lot of heads that would fit perfect on the Bespin guard neck post. They would also pass the hat test, the hat is a crucial part of the outfit if it does not fit they will not look right as a Bespin guard.. For my custom troops I used the following heads:

- Evolutions TFU Starkiller Jedi Apprentice
- AOTC Owen Lars
- Evolutions A-Wing Pilot Jake Farrell
- ROTJ rebel commando
- EE Comic pack Rohlan Dyre
- G.I.Joe ROC Ripcord (I did dremmel the head on this one)

Ugnaughts

Since we are hanging in cloud city today I will show you some quick ways to further diversify some of the other inhabitants of Bespin like our favorite little piggy people the Ugnaughts. Using both of the Ugnaught releases, I mixed and matched their parts to make them look different. You will see two of the three shown below just have their heads swapped but if you closely look at the third one you will notice it's the second release with the first release's legs. The pants are normally gray on the second release but as you can see they are blue. It's a minor detail but it does help him make look different enough if you interchange the legs. I'm not sure that I have a yearning for more Ugnaught releases after these mods but these can help holdover those who do. they might be waiting a very long time. (If they make a sweet Freezing Chamber Diorama one day I would want more!)

Rebel Technicians

To close out this months LD segment we will leave Cloud City and head to Yavin. to visit the Rebel Technician from the very rare Scramble on Yavin Battle Pack. I bought six of these sets when they first came out so I was more fortunate than other collectors that waited too long to stock up before it became so scarce. Luckily the Rebel Tech and his cool cart are going to re-released this year as an exclusive at TRU. Tungohri, the eBay seller from Hong Kong who gets in SW figures early actually had theses Techs in stock. It was a great way to stock up economically on these guys plus you did not have to wait for the TRU releases later this year. I took advantage while they were in stock on eBay. Like the Bespin guards, I experimented with several different heads that would fit perfectly on the neck post. Like the hats that had to be ones that would also work with the helmet. I have found that the Hoth Rebel soldiers and the new Endor Rebel Commando fit absolutely perfect! (Even the helmets fit great on them!) Take a look at the final result:

As you can see the "Little Differences" can make a big difference to your figures! Until next time!