I Don’t Think The Cantina’s Modularity Is Being Appreciated By Some

One of the most important things that Hasbro needed to demonstrate about the Cantina HasLab was that they were highly faithful to the footprint of the set at Elstree Studios in England. While the Cantina scenes were shot in three different locations (exteriors in Tunisia, the interiors at Elstree Studios, and the close-ups at Hollywood Center Studios), as fans of the film, we experience the feel of the Cantina from the Elstree layout which is approximately (but not quite) this:


Note the above shows the bandstand which was NOT at Elstree. The band was shot at Hollywood Center Studios and edited into the Elstree footage together with the close-ups, hence the lack of a bandstand is actually accurate. There never was one. To demonstrate that the HasLab Cantina can in fact mimic that layout, Hasbro showed off a lot of shots similar to this one:

That's brilliant. I need to know that my Cantina can do that if I want it to, but I'm probably never going to display it that way. I think those shots showing the layout have prejudiced some fans into thinking about this set as a "top down" display, and leading to complaints such as "the top looks unfinished". This is a profile display. Most of us are going to display this on a shelf and not looking down on it. An enclosed Cantina on a shelf would make for a pretty lackluster display. You'd be staring at the back sides of the alcoves with no way to see the figures inside.

The way I want to display my Cantina would be like a "pano" shot on an iPhone. Imagine starting at the entrance with Luke walking in, and then turning 360 while taking the pano. The resulting photo would have the entrance to the far left, and the last alcove on the far right. That is exactly my preference for configuring the Cantina. It is the most shelf installable layout, and it lets me take in all the glorious figures that will be populating my Mos Esiley watering hole. Amazingly, it sure looks like Hasbro baked this flexibility in without me even having to beg and whine for it. Take a look at the two corners. They appear to be separate, removable pieces:


There are clearly seams where the corners meet the archways on the back wall, and where they meet the alcove sections. By removing these pieces and attaching the alcoves directly to the archways, the alcoves will run perpendicular to the bar as opposed to parallel. This is the ideal "shelf installable" configuration. Furthermore, if you look at the lead in image, there is a separate wedge piece that cantilevers the last alcove toward the entrance. By also removing that, the flat, butterflied "pano" appearance can truly be achieved. This is actually why I'm not bothered by the lack of a floor. A floor would lock me into a footprint, and would hamstring the amazing modularity of this play set. I'm just going to go to Hobby Lobby and find the appropriate project sheet to use as a floor for under $10 that matches how I want to configure this.

Having said all of that, I realize what I'm describing would require over 60" of contiguous shelf space. That means I'm probably going to have to place the "hero" side of the cantina in the parallel configuration I described, and preserve the corner piece for the opposite side. That should fit the shelves that you see behind me on live streams (which are 48" wide). But I also need to remind you that you can completely remove some of the alcoves, should you choose, in my proposed pano display to shorten the width.

I am still blown away by this Cantina, and the modularity makes it a dream come true. This is exactly what I've always wanted in any play set. I want to be able to make it fit the movie, or make it fit my shelves. I know some people have expressed some concerns about "where am I going to put this thing". I hope by highlighting how I plan to take advantage of the configurable nature of the HasLab Cantina, I have allayed some of those fears.

CLICK HERE if your would like to back the Vintage Collection Cantina HasLab

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