Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion
Medium: Painted cast vinyl, fabric
Year: 2008
Dimensions: 25x12x8 cm (9-3/4 x 4-5/8 x 3 inches)
Edition: 500, unnumbered
Co-Produced by: Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s marks to the underside
‘©2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Designed by KAWS MEDICOM TOY 2008 CHINA’
Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion released in 2008 represents another remarkable collaboration between contemporary artist Brian Donnelly and the Japanese collectible manufacturer Medicom Toy. Created in partnership with the Star Wars universe conceived by George Lucas, the sculpture merges KAWS’s iconic Companion character with the instantly recognizable armor of the Imperial Stormtrooper. Produced in a limited edition of 500 examples, the work belongs to a small group of highly sought-after collectible figures in which KAWS reinterpreted characters from the Star Wars saga through his distinctive artistic vocabulary.
Standing approximately 12 inches tall, the figure exemplifies the meeting point between contemporary sculpture, collectible design, and pop culture iconography. By the late 2000s, KAWS had already established himself as one of the most influential artists to emerge from the designer toy movement, transforming vinyl figures into legitimate artistic objects that bridge the worlds of street culture, fashion, and contemporary art. Collaborations with Medicom Toy played a decisive role in this evolution, allowing the artist to produce sculptural objects that circulated internationally among collectors.
The sculpture depicts KAWS’s Companion character wearing the distinctive armor of a Stormtrooper. The Companion remains immediately identifiable through its defining visual traits, including the rounded ear-like protrusions, the skull-inspired head, and the characteristic crossed-out X-shaped eyes that have become the artist’s signature motif. These features are integrated seamlessly into the Stormtrooper helmet, which has been carefully adapted to accommodate the character’s head shape while preserving the recognizable design language of the original film costume.
The figure is rendered primarily in white vinyl, faithfully reflecting the iconic color palette of the Imperial Stormtrooper armor. Subtle sculptural details recreate the chest panel, armor segments, and belt components associated with the character. The black gloves and boots introduce visual contrast, while small accents of blue on the chest control panel echo the functional elements seen in the original cinematic design. Despite the strict adherence to the Stormtrooper aesthetic, the presence of the X-shaped eyes immediately signals the intervention of KAWS, transforming the familiar film character into a hybrid figure that belongs equally to the universe of contemporary art.
The work is fabricated using cast vinyl, a material closely associated with the designer toy movement that gained prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The production process involves the creation of sculptural models followed by mold casting and careful paint application. Medicom Toy has long been recognized for its ability to translate artistic concepts into high-quality collectible figures, collaborating with artists, designers, and major entertainment franchises. Through such partnerships, the company played a crucial role in elevating vinyl toys from niche collectibles into objects with growing cultural and artistic significance.
The Stormtrooper Companion forms part of a broader series of Star Wars reinterpretations created by KAWS during this period. By appropriating characters from one of the most influential film franchises in modern culture, the artist continues his long-standing exploration of familiar visual icons. Since the late 1990s, KAWS has built his artistic language around the transformation of widely recognized characters drawn from advertising, animation, and popular culture. Through subtle modifications—most notably the use of crossed-out eyes and simplified anatomical forms—these figures become reflective objects that invite viewers to reconsider their emotional and cultural associations.
Within the context of the Star Wars mythology, Stormtroopers are often perceived as anonymous soldiers representing the power and uniformity of the Galactic Empire. By merging this imagery with the Companion figure, KAWS introduces an unexpected layer of personality and introspection. The otherwise faceless Stormtrooper becomes an individualized character, marked by the artist’s signature visual intervention. This transformation exemplifies KAWS’s ability to convert symbols of mass culture into expressive artistic forms.
The emergence of designer toys as a significant cultural phenomenon during the early twenty-first century provided artists like KAWS with a new sculptural medium that operated outside traditional gallery systems. These objects circulated among collectors, designers, and enthusiasts who recognized their hybrid nature as both artworks and cultural artifacts. Over time, the boundaries between collectible design and contemporary sculpture became increasingly fluid, and KAWS emerged as one of the leading figures responsible for this shift.
Today, the artist’s work is exhibited in major museums around the world and collected internationally. Early vinyl editions produced in collaboration with Medicom Toy are therefore considered important markers in the development of his practice. They document the moment when KAWS’s visual language expanded beyond street interventions and graphic work into a sculptural universe populated by recurring characters such as the Companion.
Within this trajectory, the Stormtrooper Companion occupies a particularly compelling position. By combining the visual language of KAWS with one of the most recognizable figures in cinematic history, the sculpture becomes both a playful collectible and a meaningful artifact of contemporary culture. It reflects the broader transformation of popular imagery into a central component of contemporary art, demonstrating how artists like KAWS have redefined the relationship between mass culture, design, and sculpture in the twenty-first century.
Auction Results
LA Modern: 17 March 2026
Estimated: USD 3,000 – 5,000
USD 2,816
KAWS (Brian Donnelly, b.1974)
Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion, 2008
Painted cast vinyl
Impressed signature, date and manufacturer’s marks to the underside
‘©2008 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All rights reserved. Designed by KAWS MEDICOM TOY 2008 CHINA’
This work is from the edition of 500
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Sold with original box
Heritage Auctions: 30 October 2025
USD 2,125
KAWS X Lucasfilm
Stormtrooper, 2008
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped on underside of feet
Produced by Medicom Toy and OriginalFake, Tokyo
LA Modern: 25 September 2025
Estimated: USD 2,000 – 3,000
USD 3,048
KAWS (Brian Donnelly, b.1974)
Star Wars Stormtrooper Companion, 2008
Painted cast vinyl
Impressed manufacturer’s marks to the underside
‘Designed by KAWS / Medicom Toy 2008 China’
This work is from the edition of 500
Co-produced by Medicom Toy, Tokyo and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Sold with original packaging
Heritage Auctions: 27 March 2025
USD 2,250
KAWS X Lucasfilm
Stormtrooper, 2008
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped on underside of feet
Produced by Medicom Toy and OriginalFake, Tokyo
Seoul Auction: 11 August 2021
Estimated: KRW 12,000,000 – 24,000,000
KRW 13,800,000 / USD 11,925
AUCTION RECORD FOR STORMTROOPER
KAWS
Stormtrooper, 2008
Painted cast vinyl
Stamped on underside of feet