Star Wars Dweebing SEVEN: STUFF TO BUY (my favorite)

Cardboard Sith, Standing By
June 07, 2005
Ever wish Chewie could hang out with you at work? EDITOR’S NOTE: NOT REALLY, NO. (OR DO YOU MEAN, AS OPPOSED TO SOME OF THE OTHER PEOPLE AT THE OFFICE? OH, WELL, YEAH).


Or have Yoda over to watch over you as you sleep? EDITORS’ NOTE: CREEPY. NO.


Now you can have life-size, midsize and tabletop size Revenge of the Sith characters in your home with the new line of cardboard standees, also known as standups, from Advanced Graphics.









Standees of Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Chewbacca, General Grievous, clone trooper, Darth Sidious, C-3PO and R2-D2 are available now at starwarsshop.com.

"Cardboard people are cool first because not everyone you know has one so you are a more die-hard fan than the average Joe," Advanced Graphics Vice President of Licensing/Marketing/Sales Steve Hoagland says.EDITOR’S NOTE: WELL, EVERYONE I KNOW HAS ONE. HE MUST NOT HANG OUT WITH THE COOL KIDS. "Standups provide a cool visual at home, the office or at trade shows to draw attention to the owner and its placement. Some fans do not have room in their homes for a full-size standup but are such true Star Wars fans they have to have something. Tabletop standups meet that need. You can have the figures you love and still not take up lots of floor space. Tabletops fit great on desks, file cabinet tops, dressers, tables, or even hung on the wall as art." EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS IS SOMETHING NEW! ADRIAN….YOU GONNA CARRY THE TABLETOP ONES?

Of course, fans don't just buy standees as a cool visual, but also to show their pride for a fan community that stretches across the globe. While some fans use the standees for decoration around the office, others make them the life of the party.

"We know of fans who have them in the living room so when you first walk in their door you know you are in the home of a true Star Wars fan," Hoagland says. "They have them in the bedroom so their favorite Star Wars character is the last thing they see at night and the first thing they see in the morning. Some have them in their offices at work to show their co-workers that they are the true fan. Fans even plan entire parties and celebrations around a Star Wars theme with our standups playing a large part in them." EDITOR’S NOTE: WELL….DUH. (TELL US SOMETHING WE DON’T ALREADY KNOW?)



Fans who prefer Princess Leia in a metal bikini to a menacing General Grievous can also choose from a wide range of characters from the original trilogy.




"In addition to Revenge of the Sith, Advanced Graphics also carries standups from all the Star Wars films so fans can get their favorite cardboard people and show their true allegiance to the Force," Hoagland says. EDITOR'S NOTE: I THINK THIS GUY MOST DEFINITELY DRANK THE COOL-AID....IF YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

FYI....HERE'S THE ONE I WANT (AND WE KNOW FOR SURE WHAT TO GET OUR DIRECTOR BUDDY ROB FOR A GOOD-SHOW GIFT, HUH? MAYBE WE HOLD OBI-WAN FOR RANSOM TILL ROB CASTS US AGAIN?)

EDITOR'S NOTE: YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY.......

Announcing Republic Commando: Triple Zero
June 08, 2005
Fans of hard-hitting specialty-clone military literary action have reason to cheer as author Karen Traviss is set to continue the Republic Commando adventures (inspired by LucasArts' Star Wars Republic Commando video game) in a new mass market paperback due for release in spring 2006.

Star Wars Republic Commando: Triple Zero - the sequel to Star Wars Republic Commando: Hard Contact - is set a year after the battle of Geonosis, and follows the continuing missions of Omega Squad.

As the Clone Wars casualties mount, the commandos find themselves deployed on increasingly dangerous missions that take them beyond the battlefield and further into sabotage and intelligence operations in the heart of Separatist territory. Newly-promoted Jedi Generals Etain Tur-Mukan and Bardan Jusik are also catapulted into front line combat roles and find themselves identifying strongly with the clone soldiers under their command, who turn out to be anything but predictable cannon fodder.

Omega Squad survives a close brush with disaster to end up in the most potentially dangerous hot spot in the galaxy - pursuing a Separatist terror group in the skylanes and underworld of Coruscant itself, known as Triple Zero in the Grand Army's slang because its galactic chart co-ordinates are 000. And, as any soldier knows, urban operations on your own turf can be the most deadly of all. So it's just as well that Omega Squad find themselves working with Delta Squad, and teamed up again with Etain and Jusik - as well as their legendary training sergeant Kal Skirata, and his secret military intelligence unit of "Null" ARC troopers, the black ops team that even the Kaminoans thought were too dangerous to unleash.

It's a critical mission unlike anything any of them have ever tackled - and it tests their friendship and courage to the limit. EDITOR’S NOTE: KAREN TRAVISS’ EARLIER WORK IS QUITE GOOD. AND THE TROOPERS WERE FUN TO HANG OUT WITH. BUT ISN’T ANYONE ELSE CREEPED OUT ABOUT THE CLONES NOW? I MEAN, BEFORE ROTS, IT WAS FUN TO READ ABOUT THE GRUNTS IN ACTION, AND IT WAS TOUCHING TO WATCH THE JEDI GENERALS TRY TO GET THE CLONES TO EMBRACE/ACCEPT THEIR HUMANITY. BUT KNOWING WHAT WE KNOW NOW ABOUT WHAT THE CLONES WILL DO TO THEIR NOBLE AND BRAVE JEDI GENERALS, WITHOUT HESITATION OR A HINT OF THAT SUPPOSED HUMANITY, IT JUST DOESN’T SEEM AS ENTERTAINING TO BIVUAC WITH THEM. (NOT TO SAY I WON’T IMMEDIATELY GO OUT AND BUY THE BOOK…..BUT I’M JUST SAYIN….)

Hasbro Post-Sith Preview
June 07, 2005
The toy action doesn't end with the release of Episode III. The adventures in play continue this summer with all-new items from Hasbro. Check out our slide show for images of some of the excitement now on-shelves or coming soon.

Collectors will want to pick up some extra power-converters so they can travel around town to pick up these retail exclusives...

Revenge of the Sith Collector's Cups (Target exclusive) - These special edition collector's cups tell a part of the climactic Episode III story. Each comes with a poseable action figure and accessory that mirrors the action depicted on the cup. EDITOR’S NOTE: I GOT ME A VERY COOL OBI-WAN CUP. AND TOY. QUITE QUITE GROOVY!

Jedi Starfighter with Anakin figure (Toys R Us exclusive) - Open the canopy and place the Anakin Skywalker action figure inside. Fire the launching missiles at enemy fighters, or activate the spring-open wings.

12-inch Chewbacca (KB Toys exclusive) -

Comes with an authentically styled Kashyyyk blaster from the new movie, arriving this spring. EDITOR’S NOTE: MY TRUSTY KB TOYS WENT BYE BYE. ANYONE KNOW WHERE THERE’S A KB ANYMORE?

Darth Vader Carrying Case (Wal-Mart exclusive) - The classic carry case is new again, with straps that hold your figures in place and character name labels so you can customize how you store or display your figures. Hinges snap shut for secure closure. And it holds more than 30 Star Wars action figures (sold separately). The case comes with Anakin Skywalker and Clone Trooper action figures to start off your collection. EDITOR’S NOTE: OH GOODIE! I CAN CARRY MY TOYS WITH ME EVERYWHERE I GO!!! (LIFE IS GOOD AGAIN).

Micro Battle Sets (Target exclusive) - Relive the exciting battles of the newest Star Wars chapter with thrilling action features like launching mini ships, firing weapons and cool micro figures. Convert the playset into a Star Wars vehicle and continue the galactic-sized adventure.
Arriving soon is the second wave of Revenge of the Sith-inspired dramatic unleashed designs of molded statues, including Asajj Ventress, Darth Vader and the duel between Darth Sidious and Yoda.

EDITOR'S NOTE: THE KASHYYYK MICROSET ABOVE, AND MUSTAFAR, BELOW

The Force Battlers action figure line is taking your favorite Star Wars characters, growing them to seven inches high, and adding cool accessories, outfits, working weapons and a unique style all their own. The next wave includes Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Since 1977, you've been enjoying M&M's chocolate candies while watching your favorite Star Wars movies... and now that perfect combination "comes to life" with The Star Wars M-Pire line.

Your favorite heroes and villains from the galactic saga are here, and not one of them will melt in your hands. A unique addition to any Star Wars- or chocolate-lover's collection. EDITOR'S NOTE: CHECK THESE OUT....TOO TOO CUTE FOR WORDS!

GRIEVOUS AND OBI-WAN

CHEWBACCA AND MACE

LEIA AND LUKE

EMPEROR AND ANAKIN

HAN SOLO AND BOBA FETT

AMIDALA, R2D2, AND C3P0

STORMTROOPER AND DARTH VADER

AND JUST FOR ODDBOB....DARTH MAUL AND DOOKU!

While the Jedi employ the elegant lightsaber, sometimes you just feel a little more secure having a blaster on hand. The Energy Beam Blaster fires "energy beam" string for high-action battles.

Just load the canister, pull the trigger, and launch your attack to save the galaxy. The blaster includes two canisters of "energy beam" string, but you can kick up the action a notch with refills in four cool colors. EDITOR’S NOTE: OK…..I THINK THIS IS A MUST HAVE, DON’T YOU? A NIFTY STAR WARS GUN THAT FIRES BRIGHTLY COLORED SILLY STRING!! (WHO ELSE WANTS TO BUY ONE TOO AND SHOOT AT ME?)

COME ON......HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET SUCH AN EASY INVITE AS THAT?!!!

Playskool's Galactic Potato: Spudtrooper

Now available for pre-order at StarwarsShop.com, The Spudtrooper! The perfect spud for the job of Galactic Enforcer. Don't get on his bad side or he'll mash you up!EDITOR’S NOTE: SPUDDY HUMOR ASIDE….CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE CUTE!

A FEW ITEMS NOT QUITE TO BUY...BUT FUN TO PERUSE -----

All Too Queasy: Virgin Airlines' Unique Collectibles
June 14, 2005
While some Star Wars fans collect action figures or comics, others are on a quest to find unique items that most of us only notice when a plane ride gets a bit too action-packed.

In collaboration with Virgin Airlines and Activision, LucasArts has released limited-edition airsickness bags to promote the Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Video Game, available in stores now. EDITOR'S NOTE: THROWING UP AND STAR WARS....TWO OF MY FAVORITE PASTTIMES! (LOOK JOEL....I COULD TAKE A STAR WARS BARF-BAG WITH ME ON THE "STAR TOURS" RIDE!)

Available on Virgin Atlantic flights, the four designs include: Knowing Your Lightsaber, Lightsaber Etiquette, The Art of Jedi Combat and Seating Jedi and Sith.

The backs of the bags all have the same Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith Video Game cover art. The collectible bags are limited in number and will be available while supplies last.

"Three of the four designs were re-jigged from an industry-only sales brochure for the Episode III video game," Head of Media of Virgin Atlantic Lysette Gauna says. "The last design -- with the aircraft seating plan -- was specially designed by the agency that put together the final bags: Hijack Media, based in London." EDITOR'S NOTE: AN AIRPLANE PROMOTION DONE BY A COMPANY CALLED 'HIJACK'? GIGGLE.

This also marks the first time Virgin Atlantic has had airsickness bags promoting a LucasArts video game, but after the airline ran a competition last December for designers to create original art for sick bags, they quickly became sought-after collectors' items.

"The reaction has been really positive," Gauna says. "Some crew will make passengers aware of them, others allow them to discover them themselves -- and of course there are also some people who, from the press reports, are aware of them already and eager to get their collection going."

While some of the bags are instructional in nature, giving passengers tips on how to handle and fight with a lightsaber, another bag offers advice to the airline staff on where to seat the Jedi and Sith. Which begs the question, which Star Wars characters can properly handle themselves on a Virgin Atlantic flight?

"Anakin would make the best pilot with his skills -- remember the Podrace in Episode I?" Gauna suggests. "The best cabin crew member would have to be C-3PO -- a protocol droid would make for a happy cabin. I imagine Count Dooku would have a few issues if he didn't have the entire plane to himself, which would make him the most likely unruly passenger. And I have a feeling General Grievous wouldn't get past the metal detectors without a fairly thorough frisking."EDITOR'S NOTE: I HAVE A FEELING ONLY SOUTHWEST AIRLINES...OF THOSE FLYING STATESIDE...WOULD COME ANYWHERE CLOSE TO THIS SORT OF HIGH-END HUMOR. (I CAN'T PICTURE CONTINENTAL GETTING THE JOKE...PITY....).

Outdoor Provides International Impact
Shortly before the release of Episode III, international fans may have noticed several characters from their favorite faraway galaxy riding city street busses or waiting behind passengers at local transit stations. A virtual army of Jedi and Sith had apparently infiltrated cities abroad in a fantastic outdoor campaign lavished across city billboards, busses, transit stations, and more with Revenge of the Sith iconography.

Fans may recall a similar phenomenon occurring shortly before the release of Episodes I and II, where the prequel cast was introduced or featured in a stunning series of images designed to tease and intrigue passers-by. EDITOR’S NOTE: YEAH. AND ALMOST NONE HERE IN THE US. DRAT IT ALL!

This latest set for Episode III has clearly turned up the heat in promoting the saga's final prequel, with an aggressively visual style designed to engage any viewer who happens to wander within eyeshot of them.

Working with New Wave Entertainment, a Los Angeles creative agency, Lucasfilm Marketing devised a set of six grabbing images for use abroad, where outdoor campaigning is an essential mode of messaging for advertisers. For Episode III, the messaging packed a double punch -- not only would the final prequel showcase more Jedi action than its predecessors, but would also feature the return of cinema's most iconic villain, Darth Vader.

"He's the guy everyone loves to hate," says Lucasfilm Director of Marketing Tom Warner, "so we knew we wanted to play him up in a big way." The Darth Vader poster artwork, which spearheads the image campaign, was specially designed exclusively for outdoor promotional use.

Images culled from a Licensing shoot were initially used in the concept phase, but didn't seem to capture the essence of the Vader character that the team was after.

"We didn't have a look that felt like he was being as active and intimidating as Darth Vader should be," explains Warner, "so we did a photo shoot down in L.A. for a day with the idea of him reaching out and coming at you with that hand in a clutch that everyone knows."

As it happens, the Vader poster is also the only one of the six to feature a line of copy: "Rise Lord Vader". It's an undeniably, er, grabbing image, and turned out to be Warner's favorite. "I think it's a really cool impactful image, coupled with that line."

With the Vader artwork carrying the message of the Dark Lord's return, it was up to the remaining five to deliver another big Episode III plus: Jedi action.

"We really wanted the creatives to be very active and feel like you're in the midst of the Jedi action," explains Warner. "They really feel like they're popping off the page, like they're coming out and at you. They make you feel like you're part of the fight, like you're in it."

Yoda, Mace, Grievous, and a clone trooper all appear to engage the viewer, with locked sightlines and an implied sense of motion. Each features a color scheme weighted on one or two specific colors, lending greater impact when viewed from a distance.

The sixth and final image, the duel between Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar, was included to tease up a confrontation that fans have been waiting to see for over two decades.

"Anakin and Obi-Wan crossing lightsabers was very iconic of Star Wars and also to the core guys who've been talking about this duel for so long," says Warner. "We knew that to show an image of that would be very exciting." The explosive Mustafar background in this image was found to be so compelling that it was also inserted into the Darth Vader poster, combining the two stylistically.

Internationally, outdoor advertising is much more prevalent than in the U.S. One reason for this is that Star Wars fandom has remained very active in the U.S. over the years, so the need to re-familiarize the public to the extent that might be required in some international markets is not as profound. With almost 30 years of history, however, it would be a challenge to find any place on Earth that is wholly unfamiliar with the saga’s key players and events.

"What's great about Star Wars, and especially this film, is that people are already familiar with the characters," says Warner. Because of this familiarity, the Episode III outdoor campaign has been able to perform on a level that conveys both action and icon in a way that fans have found fresh and surprising.

According to Warner, the set of six images comprising the Episode III campaign gives the public more than a simple introduction to Revenge of the Sith. "What this did was show them in ways they weren't expecting it." EDITOR’S NOTE: WHATEVER ELSE YOU SAY ABOUT THESE FOLKS, THEY MAKE PRETTY PICTURES, AND THEY SURE DO KNOW THEIR MARKETING, EH?!

Fans everywhere can currently add these distinctive images to their computer desktop by visiting the "Downloads: Wallpaper" link on the front page of starwars.com. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND HERE'S SOME SELECT SAMPLES OF THE CAMPAIGN ----

MEXICO

LONDON

JAPAN

HELSINKI

GERMANY

CANNES

BUS SHELTER

PARIS BUS

ICONIC IMAGERY JOINED......OOLALA, INDEED

AND BACK TO OUR SHOPPING ------

Vader: The Definitive Guide

IDG Entertainment
Official Vader Guide
Price: $9.97
Feel the power of the dark side. The Official Vader Guide is available for preorder today!

Next month will see the release of a one-shot publication entitled Vader: The Definitive Guide from IDG Entertainment.

At first glance, it looked like it might just be a frivolous promotional piece with no new material worth shelling out ten bucks for, but look carefully around the blogs and message boards and you find out there might actually be something to this:

new art by Joe Corroney, articles by fan favorites Daniel Wallace and Abel Peña, and even a Vader short story by the queen of fan favorites, Karen Traviss, taking place shortly after RotS.

If this tickles your fancy, the only place to get it seems to be IDG's thoroughly underwhelming order http://gallery.bcentral.com/GID4810188P4209221-idge/Official-Vader-Guide.aspx EDITOR'S NOTE: I'VE GOT MINE ON ORDER! (THEY HAD ME AT 'VADER SHORT STORY').

AND LAST, BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, CHECK OUT THIS COOL STUFF!

Glass 3D-Reality at StarWarsShop.com
Remember being dazzled by those prismatic 3-D holograms of the late 1980s and 90s?

Well Stiefelmayer-Contento of Germany has one-upped the flat 3-D hologram with an amazing new series of laser-engraved Star Wars characters and vehicles rendered three-dimensionally inside a block of glass. EDITOR’S NOTE: CHECK THESE OUT…TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL!!!!

Produced as part of their Clarisso-vision 3D-Reality line, the Revenge of the Sith series imagery is formed by laser engraving thousands of microscopic dots within a block of hand-polished optical-quality glass, a process effectively showcased at the Stiefelmayer-Contento site here. http://www.contento.de/sw/

New software developed exclusively by Stiefelmayer has allowed for subtle effects such as light and shadow to be rendered into the 3-D image, an innovation not seen in Star Wars glass art before.

The end result of this process is a rendered dimensional character or vehicle that appears to "float" within the glass itself, appearing very much like a translucent hologram that can be enhanced by illuminating it from above or below.

Two sizes of these quality art glass objects are available, with some characters and vehicles available in only one size.

There is also a set of scaled-down key chains that illuminate the heroes in a blue or green light while the villains fittingly glow in red. EDITOR'S NOTE: THE KEY CHAINS ARE VERY AFFORDABLE.....(CALLING ME CALLING ME......)

Included in the Star Wars 3D-Reality series:
Yoda (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

Darth Vader (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

General Grievous (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

R2-D2 (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

C-3PO and R2-D2 (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

Clone Trooper (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

ARC-170 Starfighter (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm)

Jedi Starfighter (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Palpatine with Force Lighting (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Palpatine with Lightsaber (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Obi-Wan Kenobi (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Han Solo (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Chewbacca (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

AT-RT with Driver (5cm x 5cm x 8 cm and 13cm x 7.5cm x 9cm)

Illuminating key chains include:
Yoda

Palpatine

Darth Vader

General Grievous

R2-D2

C-3PO

Han Solo

Chewbacca

AT-RT with Driver

Star Wars Logo

To preview some of the amazing features of this exciting new series, for a full rotational viewing in Flash, visit the Stiefelmayer-Contento website.

StarWarsShop.com is the exclusive distributor of these amazing glass holograms in the U.S EDITOR’S NOTE: CHECKING OUT THE WEBSITE….IN GERMAN, BY THE BY…..IT SEEMS LIKE THE GLASS BLOCKS WILL RANGE IN PRICE FROM 50 T0 100 EUROS. (WHAT IS THAT IN AMERICAN MONEY?) AND THE KEY CHAINS ABOUT 15 EUROS. THE BIGGER ITEMS ARE SOLID BLOCKS, BY THE WAY. NOT NARROW, BUT FULLY SQUARE. (THEY HAVE A NEAT 360 VIEWER AT THE GERMAN WEBSITE).