This may smell bad, kid...but it’ll keep you warm...

The tenacious smuggler turned burgeoning rebel general, Han Solo, really saved the galaxy by cutting open that poor Tauntaun. Thankfully, his quick thinking made good use of the dead creature’s lingering heat. Before you start wondering if that residual heat would really keep Luke alive through a night on Hoth, just remember that Han says he’s putting up a shelter. The real tragedy is that Han knew he’d be sacrificing that, er, magnificent creature when he left Echo base. He was warned! Still, I’m sure Luke was grateful, both for being saved and for being unconscious during his nap in a Tauntaun carcass. Mostly. Anyway, this playful Miniland-scale Star Wars model by Ochre Jelly hits me right in the nostalgia.

The Miniland building style allows for playful details in brick-built figures. Ochre Jelly is fond of this style and has built some iconic scenes and memes in the past. Here he’s done a wonderful job with the Hoth versions of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker from the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back. Their respective outfits translate well to bricks and plates with proper color blocking. Han’s fuzzy hood achieved with exposed studs is pretty neat and his stance captures his mood perfectly.

The scale of the figures definitely allowed for more detail and curves in the Tauntaun. Big, thick legs and distinctive claws, along with a saddle and amazing horns, match well with the source material. Those Minifigure arms used as guts are a real clincher, though. A mess of blue clips and plates seem like blood pooling under the multi-colored assortment of Minifigure body parts with hotdogs thrown in for good measure. Delusional Luke probably appreciates that warm goo a little bit, right?

I’m just glad that the LEGO Group hasn’t made scented bricks because we do not need to know the actual difference between the outside and inside smells of a Tauntaun.