As many fans of the Star Wars universe know, 501st and Rebel Legion members across the globe dedicate time and effort year-round in support of local community and charitable organizations to help raise funds and bring smiles to Star Wars fans of all ages. And with spring just around the corner, that means “con season” is back! Officially kicking things off for everyone on the West Coast, Comic-Con International presented WonderCon 2013 with three days of convention fun.
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Tags: Celebrities, clone wars, Comic-Con, Conventions, Costumes, Rebel Legion, The 501st Legion, WonderCon
Collecting, Events, Fans and Community | 
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“If there’s a bright center to the universe you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.”
Any Star Wars fan worth his or her salt knows that Luke Skywalker was talking about his adopted home world of Tatooine, but last month, Farthest From — a retro Star Wars toy show — was right here on planet earth in the UK, in the middle of the New Forest and a small village called Fordingbridge.
For the past three years, event organizer Dave Tree (you may know him as the brains behind Celebration Europe’s massively popular 2007 Palitoy Archive exhibit, a display so incredible it reduced Dengar himself, Simon Pegg, to nostalgic tears of joy) has held events in the town. First he hosted two Fordingbridge Film and TV Festivals, the first of which saw original trilogy and Indiana Jones producer Robert Watts present the UK’s only showing that year of Raiders of the Lost Ark and then bringing Farthest From to the Town Hall in September and now December of 2012.
5 Comments » | Tags: Collecting, Conventions, farthest from, Toys
Collecting | Permalink
Star Wars fans from around the globe have their minds full of possibilities and excitement since the spectacular news broke that Disney had acquired Lucasfilm Ltd., and the eye-popping announcement that after many years of speculation and hope, additional episodes of the Star Wars saga will be released! While global fandom and movie news sites wait for the next bit of news on what the future has in store for Star Wars, fans in Southern California were able to enjoy a weekend of Star Wars glory and fun, turning out en mass for the 4th annual Long Beach Comic Con.
No Comments » | Tags: Conventions, Costumes, long beach comic con, Mandalorian Mercs, Rebel Legion, The 501st Legion, The Clone Wars
Events, Fans and Community | Permalink
Until the 13th century, Ghent was the second largest city in Europe and it was even bigger than London. Silent (but popular) witnesses of Ghent’s glorious past are medieval buildings like Gravensteen Castle, built in 1180. But during rare occasions you can still find noble knights and evil warlocks lingering around in Ghent, only now they are better known as Jedi Knights and Sith Lords. The 20th and 21st of October was not a weekend easy to forget for Belgian Star Wars fans. It was the weekend of F.A.C.T.S. (Fantasy, Animation, Comics, Toys and Space), the largest convention in the Benelux (Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxemburg) and one of the largest conventions in Europe.
3 Comments » | Tags: belgium, Conventions, europe, f.a.c.t.s.
Fans and Community | Permalink
5 Comments » | Tags: After Hours, Conventions, Costumes, Dragon*Con, Humor, The 501st Legion
Creativity, Events, Fans and Community | Permalink
Sold exclusively at next week’s WonderCon in Anaheim, California, Kotobukiya will be offering an exclusive Shock Trooper 2-pack pre-painted snap-fit kit through Action Figure Xpress (booth #457)!
The 1/10 scale statue stands over 7 inches tall and is limited to just 1,000 pieces. From Kotobukiya:
Outfitted in standard Clone Trooper armor, these elite security forces were immediately recognizable by their bold red markings, the same that differentiate these ARTFX+ statues from the clones that came before them! Perfect miniature versions of the onscreen characters, these dynamic Clone Trooper repaints have fully detailed armor and weapons. Both included Shock Troopers come with multiple arm and leg parts giving you a variety of poses to choose from, and they’re ready for battle with both DC-15S blaster carbines and DC-15A blaster rifles! Finally, like the other ARTFX+ Star Wars figures the elite units have magnets in their feet for display on included bases.
If you’ll be attending WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center March 16-18, stop by Action Figure Xpress (booth #457) to add this stunning pair to your collection! There are also a limited number of pre-orders available at Action Figure Xpress.
7 Comments » | Tags: Conventions, Kotobukiya, WonderCon
Collecting, Events | Permalink
The ‘Yoda in 3D glasses’ design you may have spotted on t-shirts and elsewhere last year is now available – you guessed it — in 3D!
Gentle Giant Premier Guild Members and attendees of this year’s WonderCon in Anaheim, California have a chance to snag a nifty new Mini Bust of Yoda sporting classic ‘50s-style 3D glasses and a box of “Obi-Wan Cinemas” popcorn.
The description from Gentle Giant:
To celebrate the return of 1999’s Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D, Gentle Giant presents a special commemorative exclusive Yoda mini bust. This highly-detailed, film-accurate collectible puts the Jedi Master in the theater seat, with a box of “Obi-Wan Cinemas” popcorn and a removable pair of “3-D” styled glasses which sport real red and blue cellophane gel lenses. This hand-numbered limited edition is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity.
Check out the pics of this cool convention exclusive below, and head on over to Gentle Giant for more details!
5 Comments » | Tags: Conventions
Collecting, Events | Permalink
Hallmark Gold Crown Stores has its annual Keepsake Ornament Debut event this weekend, Oct 8 & 9, which will include the launch of the highly anticipated LEGO Star Wars Darth Vader ornament.
This comes in addition to this year’s collection of Star Wars ornaments announced in July, which includes “Showdown at the Cantina,” Jedi Master Yoda, and Boba Fett’s Slave I (the limited edition Bossk is sold out!). Check out the 2011 collection!
For those making it to New York Comic-Con October 13-16 this year, an exclusive two pack of astromech droids featuring R2-Q5 and R2-A3 will be sold in limited quantities while supplies last at their booth #110 (see our previous announcement here).
6 Comments » | Tags: Conventions, Hallmark, LEGO
Collecting, Events, The Movies | Permalink
Drew Struzan, the artist responsible for many of the iconic poster images used throughout the Star Wars and Indiana Jones movie sagas, will soon be featured in an upcoming documentary which examines his life, craft and expansive portfolio of film posters.
To celebrate the near completion of Drew: The Man Behind The Poster, a portion of the documentary feature film will screen at the New York Comic Con on October 15, 2011. The presentation will be followed by a discussion with the film’s creators and special guests from the documentary itself, and audience members will be given a limited edition Drew Struzan poster (while supplies last)!
The NYCC screening will take place October 15th at 9pm at the Jacob Javitz Center, Room 1A24.
Drew: The Man Behind The Poster delves into some of Struzan’s most memorable works, including the Back To The Future, Indiana Jones and Star Wars film series, as well as The Thing, Harry Potter, E.T., along with much of the original artwork for the early Muppet films. Stories are told via an impressive lineup of Hollywood talents, including exclusive interviews with, among many others, George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Guillermo del Toro, Frank Darabont, Michael J. Fox, Alice Cooper, Michael Uslan, Thomas Jane, Sam Witwer, Bob Gale, Leonard Maltin, Carroll Spinney, Greg Hildebrant, Steven Spielberg and, of course, Drew Struzan.
The full feature, which is expected to be completed next month, will premiere at a film festival this coming year.
Read more about Drew: The Man Behind The Poster at the official New York Comic Con website or visit the official movie website.
No Comments » | Tags: Conventions, George Lucas, Indiana Jones
Behind The Scenes, Events | Permalink
The official Celebration VI site just posted an announcement for the “As You Wish” charity art helmet project, which will present scores of artist-designed Boba Fett and Stormtrooper helmets to be auctioned off online after the show.
Art Andrews from The Dented Helmet costuming group, and Chris Romines from the 501st Legion are heading up the effort with support from eFx.
“Some of the artists involved in this project include Joe Johnston (the original designer/painter for Boba Fett and the director of Captain America); Weta Workshop (New Zealand FX Studio: Lord of the Rings and District 9); and Jim Lee (DC Comic Artist),” says Andrews.
Check out the full announcement at the CVI site and get updates on the project at Facebook.
1 Comment » | Tags: Charity, Conventions, The 501st Legion
Collecting, Events | Permalink
