I texted Dave the other day, wondering if we needed any articles for this month. After he finally remembered who I was, he said, “Sure, I guess?… What do you have in mind?” Of course, I had no clue. But I had been thinking, earlier that day, that it’s been as cold as a Tauntaun’s butt around here for the past couple of weeks, you know, like Hoth cold. Then it hit me: a Tauntaun round-up!

Tauntaun Action Figure

Tauntaun with bridal and alive expression

The Tauntaun, according to Wookieepedia, are a reptomammal native to the planet Hoth, where the Rebel Alliance set up its super secret base to hide from the dreaded Galactic Empire in the movie The Empire Strikes Back. In spite of all the advanced technology, the Rebels preferred to ride these beasts around the icy, snowball of a planet, patrolling for various things… that needed patrolling, I suppose.

Tauntaun Action Modified

LEGO produced a few versions of this creature, from the standard, fixed-tail version above to one with a flexible tail. I’ll have to dig through my Tauntaun collection, but I don’t think I have one of these. Not sure why the flexitail was necessary, but feel free to leave a note in the comments. I’m sure TLG had a good reason. Probably a safety issue, for those who remember the whole Boba Fett backpack fiasco in the ‘70s.

Tauntaun Alternates

There are also a couple of brick-built Tauntauns of various scales:

We’ve got the insanely expensive Miniland-scale LEGO Ambassador giveaway set (more about that here), an Advent Calendar (Day 19 from 2020), and lastly, a minifig-scale Tauntaun that was part of a Micro Fighters set (that also features a mini AT-AT, but according to our editor I’m not supposed to mention those or Snow Speeders because there are too many).

Tauntaun MOCs

Now for some MOCs! Here’s Ochre Jelly’s rendition in Miniland scale of the famous scene where Han saves Luke from freezing. I guess they didn’t have one of those big aluminum foil space blankets? Anyway, it worked!

And in traditional fashion, Iain Heath rendered a lovely fake LEGO Star Wars box of his creation. The box number choice, notwithstanding, the whole set looks pretty convincing to me!

But all jokes aside, the detail and form of the Tauntaun is quite lifelike, including the tongue hanging out to indicate definitive deadness. Wouldn’t want any animal rights people getting worked up over the whole disembowelment thing.

Playability

I found this on Instagram by farawaybricks. Nicely poseable, as you can see, and not nearly as bricky looking as the other brick-built versions, if you know what I mean.

Ultimate Tauntaun

Lastly is probably the most detailed version of a LEGO Tauntaun I’ve been able to find by Robert Lundmark. Texture, balance, detail—this one has it all! Even a serious sense of purpose, you know, for all of that patrolling that’s going on.

Round-Up Wrap-Up

Alright, BrickNerd fans, that’s all I’ve got for Tauntauns today. But if you happen to live in a place that’s got some snow, it might be fun to go out and recreate your own Hoth scene! (And maybe get out those Snow Speeders and AT-ATs while you’re at it!!!)

Given a choice, what would you ride: Snow Speeder or Tauntaun? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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