I genuinely thought that there was a chance I was going to get away scot-free without having to buy any of this year’s Gentle Giant San Diego Comic Con 2014 exclusives. I’m okay living without a mini bust of the Rebel Alliance’s resident butterball, Jek Porkins, and I need a two foot tall, $500 neon green, glow-in-the-dark Aliens figure even less. But then Gentle Giant had to go and do it. They had to make their Marvel exclusive something that I absolutely cannot live without. He’s about to take the world by storm and become more popular than Spider-Man and Wolverine combined, so this exclusive is gonna be hot: the SDCC 2014 Rocket Raccoon Mini Bust has now been revealed!

Gentle Giant likes to do small characters as their San Diego Comic Con exclusive Marvel mini busts. So following up the success of previous SDCC Exclusives like Squirrelpool and last year’s awesome Spider-Ham mini-bust, it seemed like a no-brainer which little character should get the coveted San Diego Comic Con 2014 exclusive spot: the character who’s about to star in a sure-to-be-blockbuster movie in under one month!

And sure enough, the world’s most beloved anthropomorphic raccoon is in fact going to be making an appearance at the 2014 SDCC in Gentle Giant mini bust exclusive form! But while the fact that Rocket Raccoon is coming to San Diego Comic Con 2014 isn’t a move that stuns me in the least, I was a hair surprised that it’s a movie version Rocket Raccoon mini-bust exclusive.

Gentle Giant has previously only put one Guardians of the Galaxy product up for sale ever–and it’s a comic-based Star Lord mini bust. As such, I was sort of expecting a comic-based Rocket Raccoon mini bust as this year’s Gentle Giant SDCC 2014 exclusive. Perhaps we’ll get a comic book inspired Rocket Raccoon mini bust as a mass release in 2015…? We’ll have to wait and see.

As far as this Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon bust that we’re actually getting goes, however–it’s flat-out terrific. Neither Sideshow nor Hot Toys have fully revealed their own Rocket Raccoon products yet, so this is the first high-end Rocket Raccoon collectible to ever see release.

Gentle Giant’s years of sculpting furry aliens like Chewbacca, Muftak and Wicket for their Star Wars mini bust line have paid off–the level of detail on the SDCC Rocket Raccoon mini bust’s sculpt is superb. And while Gentle Giant does decent human likenesses, their alien likenesses are always killer–as is their case on their Rocky Raccoon bust.

From head to bushy tail, the Gentle Giant Rocket Raccoon mini bust is an outstanding piece of work!

The Guardians of the Galaxy Rocket Raccoon mini-bust will carry a price-point of $70. That’s definitely not cheap for a 4.7″ item, but it’s an acceptable value for a high-end exclusive mini-bust with a very limited run size.

Gentle Giant wisely increased the edition size from last year’s Spider-Man mini bust for the San Diego Comic Con Rocket Raccoon bust, as Rocket is likely to be vastly more popular. But with Rocket’s current popularity and a total edition size of just 800, I think there’s a fair chance that this may be a rare Gentle Giant piece that sells out totally at SDCC 2014.

If you’re a Gentle Giant Premiere Guild Member (and most people are not), you can pre-order a non-attendee Rocket Raccoon mini bust at their website now. If not, plenty of online sellers are pre-selling the Rocket Raccoon mini-bust now (though he is going to be pricey on the secondary market).

Marvel Collectors (and raccoon lovers): What do you think of the Gentle Giant’s SDCC 2014 Marvel exclusive mini bust? Is the first-to-market high-end Rocket Raccoon sculpture worth your $70 (and up!), or will you be holding out to see Sideshow and Hot Toys’ Rocket Raccoon offerings?