I’m always on the lookout for backdrop pieces for photography and I’ve found that Empire Toy Works makes many excellent custom playsets for 3.75 inch Star Wars figures that work with my Black Series 6 inch scaled figures nicely. Recently he released a cargo sled designed to work with six inch figures and had to pick it up. Let’s take a look!
If you aren’t familiar with Empire Toy Works, I would direct you to check out his facebook page ASAP. He has built the most enviable space station playset in his toy room. He calls it Rotgut Station and it’s a brilliant mix of Star Wars, Star Trek, Moebius, Fisher Price Adventure People,and sci-fi of every stripe into one amazing play set. He’s got custom vehicles, figures, a police station, diner, cargo loading areas, seedy back alleys and so much more packed into this place.
I’ve been a big fan of Rotgut Station and the unique aesthetic created there, so when I saw the creator also sold playsets I really wanted to get in on them. They are usually for 3.75 inch figures, which I don’t really collect, but I have made some pieces work in 1/12 scale. This cargo sled was designed to allow a black series droid to pilot, so I needed it.
The sled is made up of what feels like a solid resin. It comes with two cargo crates cast in a similar solid resin. These feel like tough toys, similar to old Adventure People toys I had as a kid, except these toys come pre-weathered. The design has a great simplicity to it and an aesthetic that is unique to the Rotgut Station style, but also feels like it belongs in the lived-in Star Wars universe. He’s not copying the designs in the films, but these fit into the world.
The crates are cast in these lovely ’70s colors that remind me of the old Tupperware sets it seemed like every family I knew had back then. The parts scale well with both the 6 and 3.75 inch scales.
The sled has a box up front that can fit a Black Series astromech driver (Bandai Droids are a little bit too big) which really completes the look. Unfortunately Chopper from the Black Series is a little too wide to fit.
The only suggested change I would have made is to raise up the bottom on a couple of clear beams so as to give a floating effect as most Star Wars vehicles of this type ride on repulsors. At $50, this accessory doesn’t come cheap, but it is a hand-made item, so I understand the cost.
I also picked up a couple more cargo box sets. The above set of three comes some larger boxes and a barrel that match that Rotgut Station style that I think looks great with Star Wars and work well with the cargo sled.
Finally, I also bought a pack of barrels in various colors. I like the wide variety of shapes and sizes.
These also work well with the sled.
I can’t recommend this stuff enough. I feel like they add so much to my photos and displays and enjoy setting them up. I am definitely inspired to create some more Rotgut Station inspired backdrops for my figures. Empire Toy Works posts on Facebook when new items are for sale and they sell through eBay and new stuff usually goes fast, so I make sure to check out their Facebook frequently.
Full disclosure, I propped the sled up on a piece of balsa wood to get more of a floating effect in the above pictures.
