Closer Look at the Pepsi Maul - Undressing and Taking Him Apart

[shenphong]

After receiving several messages on the matter and also out of my own curiosity, I've begun to completely take apart my Pepsi Darth Maul and will be listing some images as I go along in hopes that it may help other owners wishing to upgrade their Maul.

A bit of back story on this piece was that after a long search spanning almost 3 years, I finally was able to acquire a full size Pepsi Promotion Darth Maul. The owners of it were a nice couple in the bay area that took fairly decent care of it. It was kept in the garage with its original shipping carton included and even the red beam portions of the lightsaber were never attached (a piece that is frequently found broken or missing from these items). However a pipe had broken in the home and water had flooded the garage slightly. This had caused some rust on the base and water marks on the black plastic covering the base.

Fast forward 1 year later, the couple listed it on craigslist and after competing against a couple buyers, I was able to acquire the Pepsi Maul at a measly $200.

 

[shenphong]

The beginning of his disrobing was actually much easier than I had thought. Most of his pieces were velcroed on except for one portion on the neck where there was a small stitching holding the two parts of the robe together. The area is circled in red in the image.

I had simply pulled it apart to break that one stitching and it came apart rather easily. From that portion down, there were only small bits of velcro holding his robe together.

 

[shenphong]

As many of you can tell, the frame/body of the Maul looks to be made mainly of styrafoam and PVC pipes. The gloves/hands are, what I believe, made out of ABS plastic and not flexible whatsoever. The boots also seem to have been molded out of the material and are actually hollow except for one pipe going down the leg, through the boot and into the support stand in the base.

 

[StevenRogers84]

I don't even collect Star Wars, but for 200$ for that...I would be sorely tempted!

 

[shenphong]

The head of the Maul is actually made of flexible PVC material and was filled with foam material mounted on the T shaped PVC pipe coming from the neck. It took quite a bit of force to remove it from the body as it seemed fairly planted on. My suggestion to anyone taking the head off is to first disrobe his upper body and remove the 4 pieces of tape, holding the head onto the styrafoam body.

 

[jtmtmtl]

Great pics! Cant wait to see more progress! What kind of upgrades are you planning?

 

[NakedMoleRat]

Dude! You killed Darth Maul with your BARE HANDS! Calling the Jedi counsel, sign this guy up now!

 

[shenphong]

Great pics! Cant wait to see more progress! What kind of upgrades are you planning?

Planning to replace the head, the lightsaber with the dual FX saber, a new stand, and possibly replace the styrafoam body with a plastic version.

 

[USS Endeav]

Planning to replace the head, the lightsaber with the dual FX saber, a new stand, and possibly replace the styrafoam body with a plastic version.

I can't help but ask, what part of the Pepsi Maul are you keeping? aside
from the robe!

 

[TridCloudwalker]

I'd love to have the head (that's what she said) if you're just gonna chuck it. I could turn it into a display bust for my Maul saber display case.

 

[shenphong]

I can't help but ask, what part of the Pepsi Maul are you keeping? aside
from the robe!

I've had several people ask me that in person actually, including my gf (she seems to think its a waste for me to have driven out and picked this thing up in my truck only to rip it apart). I may stick with the styrafoam body for a bit but I am worried about its longevity. I've had styrafoam heads before and I've seen them, soften up or deteriorate over time. I was hoping to avoid that with this as I hope to hold onto this piece for quite some time. I do plan to keep all of the robes, belts, the boots, gloves and the frame of the base to the Pepsi Maul.

I was even able to salvage the plaques from the stand and hope to incorporate them into the new stand I'll be building. The surprising part is that it looks like the plaques are seperate parts of the stand and were fairly easy to remove. One is just plastic but one is made of metal. The metal one is riddled with water marks, but some quick work with polish and my dremel will make shine like new.

Really though, the Pepsi Maul stand is crud. Its flimsy plastic that is often times cracked or warped (aside from water marks, mine was actually in very good condition) with ugly stickers on the back. Underneath is the metal skeletal frame to the base that house the two mounts that go into the boots and into the Maul legs. This is all surrounded by styrafoam that you can see in the picture, which keeps it lightweight, but did cause the Maul to lean forward too much.

 

[shenphong]

I'd love to have the head (that's what she said) if you're just gonna chuck it. I could turn it into a display bust for my Maul saber display case.

I've actually had a few people message me about it already on another forum but nothing has been set yet. I was hoping to set a WTT thread and see if anyone had something to trade for the head and the lightsaber. I'll be posting that very soon.

Here's a shot of its current state:

 

[USS Endeav]

I've had several people ask me that in person actually, including my gf (she seems to think its a waste for me to have driven out and picked this thing up in my truck only to rip it apart). I may stick with the styrafoam body for a bit but I am worried about its longevity. I've had styrafoam heads before and I've seen them, soften up or deteriorate over time. I was hoping to avoid that with this as I hope to hold onto this piece for quite some time. I do plan to keep all of the robes, belts, the boots, gloves and the frame of the base to the Pepsi Maul.

I was even able to salvage the plaques from the stand and hope to incorporate them into the new stand I'll be building. The surprising part is that it looks like the plaques are seperate parts of the stand and were fairly easy to remove. One is just plastic but one is made of metal. The metal one is riddled with water marks, but some quick work with polish and my dremel will make shine like new.


Really though, the Pepsi Maul stand is crud. Its flimsy plastic that is often times cracked or warped (aside from water marks, mine was actually in very good condition) with ugly stickers on the back. Underneath is the metal skeletal frame to the base that house the two mounts that go into the boots and into the Maul legs. This is all surrounded by styrafoam that you can see in the picture, which keeps it lightweight, but did cause the Maul to lean forward too much.

I know what you mean about foam....and it won't withstand much in the
way of reinforcing its surface or structure without taking detail away or
disfiguring it.

I suppose for the little it cost, I'd have kept it as is and used it as inspiration to scratch build another one.

 

[kirkstikesback]

hi i own a darth maul also and am interested in the lightsaber since the one i have is missing the red blades, so please let me know thanks

 

[Atlanthia]

That's a pretty bad case of athlete's foot!!!!:lol

 

[TridCloudwalker]

That's a pretty bad case of athlete's foot!!!!:lol

Especially considering that's the head.

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Cool to see the insides of this thing. Are you planning on re-posing it or are you going for the same Pepsi Maul pose it came in? Always liked the pose on the Attakus kit and this Pepsi statue seems pretty likely to get into that pose with a little trimming, repositioning and gluing of one of the hands.

 

[Bowelrock]

Rumor has it the saber on the Pepsi statue was pulled off the hero saber, Any way to verify that?

 

[shenphong]

Sorry guys, this was pushed on the back burner a bit since my storage unit was broken into, luckily this was not in it.

Bowelrock: I'm not sure how I could verify it although it is in the same size/length as the MR full Maul saber and the FX saber, although thinner than the FX counterpart. I'd love for someone to verify it if any pictures or measurements I can take of it can help.

Too Much Garlic: That was actually a pose I was thinking of. As I was planning to repaint the boots and gloves anyways (I believe they are made of ABS plastic) Cutting off the fingers and reattaching them wasn't going to bother me in the slightest. I also feel the hand that is on his side not holding the saber in the original Pepsi Maul was oddly posed. If it gets too difficult though, I may just alter the arms a bit, but keep it fairly similar.

 

[jtmtmtl]

Man that's too bad about the storage unit. Hopefully nothing too important was in there. I've always thought that non saber hand was shaped weird. Kinda gives off the vibe of "Is he trying to hold someones hand?"