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Nathan Hamill’s Drorgs

hen your son’s first word is “ Kenner ,” then it may seem that he’s fated for a career designing toys. But in the case of Nathan Hamill , the Star Wars franchise was as ingrained into his soul as anything: from being born in London while his famous father was filming The Empire Strikes Back to being able to view the Return of the Jedi ‘s set as an inspirational playground. Despite cameo appearances in The Phantom Menace and The Last Jedi , Hamill’s primary path has been illustration since 2003, his classic American cartoon aesthetic evolving over time towards a more modern, Japanese-inspired style. Regularly lending his big-eyed imagery to Topps Star Wars Galaxy card series since 2009, that year would also debut Hamill’s first art toy, the sly raccoon Boris from U1 Toy Arts . And while Hamill flourished in this designer toy direction over the next decade, it would take until 2019 for him to introduce a sculptural edition inspired by his Star Wars heritage: the aptly named Drorgs set.

Within the Star Wars film franchise, Luke Skywalker‘s life-altering adventure began with his uncle’s purchase of the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, and Luke intended it to end with his self-imposed exile on Ahch-To, the watery planet of the Porgs. Thus Hamill’s Drorgs can be interpreted as an homage to the journey of his father’s character, incorporating hallmark elements from the beginning with those from the ending, merging the unmistakable detailing of the affable droids with the pudgy Porg profile. Made wholly the artist’s own without compromising the essence of these iconic creations, Hamill revealed his initial illustration publicly in September of 2018, enamel pin versions being issued only two months later. And, on June 28th of 2019, the sculptural rendition debuted in Starfield and Carbonite vinyl editions, the limited edition sets first offered during a special event at Hollywood’s geek-themed Scum & Villainy Cantina.



Individually handmade through the labor-intense slush casting process by Cory “Science Patrol” Privitera , the Drorgs will be returning during San Diego Comic-Con in colorations inspired by their droid antecedents. Produced a blue-grey hue representative of R2-D2 and a golden tone similar to C-3PO, this Classic Edition perfectly embodies the parody value as well as the reverence with which these 2¾- and 3-inch tall Drorg forms were created. And while these pieces are visually appealing to even non-Star Wars fans, it is the aficionados of that franchise that appreciate them the most, that dedicated core’s reaction perhaps even mirroring that of Mark Hamill , who decreed in parody of the famous line from the first film : “These are the Drorgs we’re looking for!”The Classic Edition of the Drorgs set will debut at War Machine Marketing ‘s San Diego Comic-Con booth #1415, available on Saturday, July 20th of 2019 from 3-4pm. Following this, at an undisclosed time and date, there will be online availability through Science Patrol’s shop

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