Yesterday, we reviewed the Geonosis Battle Arena.  It was the culmination of many not-so-random reviews on Banthaskull.com over the past couple of months that were sourced from the Geonosis sequence from “Attack of the Clones”.  It’s one of the Hasbro’s most fleshed out set pieces from the entire saga in the 3.75” scale.  Regardless of how one may feel about the source material itself, there’s no doubt that Hasbro’s attention to this part of the films is the epitome of world building.  The amount of figures of Jedi, Clones, Droids, heroes, and villains, as well as beasts, vehicles, and playsets of all sizes make this an example of why it’s fun to collect the one true scale.  Amazingly, there really aren’t too many examples of toys that are missing from the across the entire sequence on Geonosis, which is something close to an hour of screen time if you start from the time Obi-Wan makes his secret landing. 

There are a few missing pieces, although surprisingly few in number.  One of the most important unmade items from Hasbro is the Orray.  This beast has several on screen moments.  It is first seen pulling a cart with Anakin and Padmé into the execution arena.  A few more are ridden by Geonosian picadors as they guide the 3 dangerous beasts that act as would-be executioners, and then again as they try to chase down Anakin on the Reek.  Finally, Padmé commandeers an orray and picks up Anakin into the cart, where they blast and slice their way through the battle droid army. 

The orray is something I find severely lacking in m Geonosis displays, so I finally gave up hope of Hasbro ever making one - even though this would have been an easy sell in 2002/2003.  On Instagram, I follow a very talented sculptor from Spain, named Morris Lorenzo, who goes by the handle @lordsixthcustoms.  He has done some incredible work, in multiple scales.  When I saw that he had made a small run of fully painted Orrays, I couldn’t pass one up. 

When the piece arrived from Spain, I was thrilled immediately upon opening up the package.  It’s a beautiful piece.  It’s a true statue, as it lacks any articulation, but this work of art isn’t meant to be an action toy.  While I would blast hasbro if they released a non-articulated Orray, Mr. Lorenzo gets full credit for an incredible effort.  The sculpt is amazing, and looks just like the on screen CGI beast.  The paint applications are also tremendous, as his talents are clearly not limited to just sculpting.  The harness straps are made of leather (or leather-like) pieces, adding an excellent bit of depth and texture to the sculpture.  The saddle is a separate piece, and connects perfectly to the Orray’s back via a magnet.  The reigns are also separate.  The ends are loops which slide onto the bit, while the length is perfect for being held by the rider.

Hasbro’s Geonosian Warrior figure fits amazingly well onto the saddle, and holds the aforementioned reigns tightly in either hand (or both).  The Orray looks to be scaled perfectly with the 3.75” Geonosian figure.  This is one of my favorite things in my collection, and looks incredible in my display.  It’s obviously a special piece that looks much better than anything Hasbro would mass produce, but I still wish Hasbro would make the orray, as I’d love to have several in my arena diorama.

Check out @lordsixthcustoms, and give him a follow.  You won’t be disappointed.