Star Wars Is Everywhere - Graffiti

Some Star Wars fans choose to show their love for the saga in very unusual ways. That's the only explanation I can come up with for this 'Jedi' graffiti I spotted back in my first year of college.

Have you seen Star Wars in the most unlikely of places? If you have, be sure to share it with us via Facebook or Twitter, or by sending an email to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com.

Covering the Collection

As the end of summer approaches we reach that unfortunate time of year when the Relics of the Force collection goes into hibernation. Work and study commitments mean I spend about nine months of the year in a different city to my collection. While I'm away, the main displays are all covered in dropcloths in order to minimise dust and light damage.

Packing everything away for another year is always bittersweet, but it's a small price to pay to ensure the longevity of a number of items. Besides, hopefully it won't be too long until the collection and I are (permanently) back under the same roof!

Reframing Celebrity Autographs

Here's a challenge for the more observant readers of this blog: Can you notice any differences between the following two photos of the Relics of the Force autograph display?

The first photo was taken at the end of last year for the My Collection page. The second was taken just a few days ago - after the autographs had been removed and replaced with copies.

While all attempts are made to minimise sun damage to my collection, some items (especially photos) inevitably decay over time. Unfortunately, these autographs have all suffered from sunfade over the years. Fortunately, I happened to scan each of them at the time of purchase. The wonders of digital printing means that the copies are almost impossible to spot. They're also a lot more vibrant than the originals (showing the autographs as they were before any fading). The originals are now safely in storage.

Lego 9674 Naboo Starfighter & Naboo and 9676 TIE Interceptor & Death Star Mini Planet Sets

Over the last couple of days I've picked up two of the Lego Mini Planet sets - 9674 Naboo Starfighter & Naboo and 9676 TIE Interceptor & Death Star, both down from $19.99 to $16.99 at Farmers in Wellington.

I've always been a fan of the Lego Mini sets, so it was great to pick up a new addition to the line (the Naboo Starfighter) and a newer version of a ship that I missed when it was first released (the TIE Interceptor).

Overall these are two very nice Lego sets, especially for the price. Playability suffers somewhat (being as the three items in each set are completely different scales), but they make for very neat display pieces.

The Naboo Starfighter is a little blocky - but that's to be expected from Lego right? Especially when trying to reproduce an exceptionally curvaceous ship on such a small scale. The TIE Interceptor is brilliant though, and much better than it's first incarnation as 6965 Mini TIE Interceptor. The wing articulation is fantastic, and the printed cockpit bubble is a really nice addition. Lego should really sell these separately so previous mini TIEs can be retrofitted.

My only dilemma now is whether to pick up the final set in Wave 1 - 9675 Sebulba's Podracer & Tatooine. I already have a Lego mini version of Sebulba's podracer from 4485 Mini Sebulba's Podracer & Anakin's Podracer, but the sculpt on this one is far nicer. Another big selling point of this set is the very cool Sebulba minifigure.

The Hunt Is (Almost) On - 2012 The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" Figures

Over the past few weeks we've been seeing more details of what The Vintage Collection has to offer for 2012. I've now compiled a preliminary wantlist - though some of these figures won't be out for some months yet.

The figures I'll be hunting for are:

1. The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" VC91 Mon Calamari A-Wing Pilot
2. The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" VC92 Anakin Skywalker (The Clone Wars)
3. The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" VC96 Darth Malgus (The Old Republic)
4. The Vintage Collection  3 3/4" VC101 Shae Vizla (Old Republic Bounty Hunter)
5. The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" VC116 Republic Trooper (The Old Republic)

Movie Heroes 3 3/4" Sith Infiltrator

Today I managed to pick up a Movie Heroes Sith Infiltrator from my local Farmers store. They currently have 25% of all toys, making this particular vehicle a fairly reasonable $41.25.

Once again, this is an old sculpt that I haven't had the chance to pick up before. Unfortunately it doesn't appear on the second-hand market all that often.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3D (February 2012)

Today, thirteen years after its original release, I had the chance to see Episode I: The Phantom Menace on the big screen again. There was no release event in Wellington (as there was in Auckland), so the first available screening was at 11.30am.

Unfortuntely, it was a rather disappointing turnout: there were only six of us in the cinema. This may have been due to the fact that the screening was during both the workday and schoolday, but I really hope that numbers are far higher for other screenings. Lucasfilm has made it clear that they will only continue doing the 3D transfers if they are economically viable - and we've got two more films to get through before we get to the really good stuff.

Have you made it along to a 3D screening of The Phantom Menace? If so, what were your thoughts? Be sure to email them to relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

Knight Errant Paperback

Another one for the library - Knight Errant purchased from Mighty Ape for only $10.00.

The Birth of a Trooper

If all goes according to plan, 2012 will be the year that I realise an (almost) life-long dream - owning my own suit of Stormtrooper armour. My plan is to evenutally have the armour 501st approved and - of course - get up to some mischief like this guy.

Although hard to notice, there are minor variations between the Stormtrooper armour that appears in each of the original three Star Wars films. I've opted for a suit of armour from my favourite Star Wars films -  The Empire Strikes Back:

What the finished product will (hopefully) look like - though perhaps a little shorter.

It'll be a somewhat lengthy process getting all of the necessary elements together, but as I do I'll be sure to keep you posted!

Coruscant Nights I Paperback

Well as luck would have it, today I found Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight down from $27.99 to $14.00 at Whitcoulls. This completes the trilogy I started a few days ago.

The Hunt Is On - The Vintage Collection 3 3/4" Phantom Menace Figures Found

Success at last! The Warehouse in the Wellington CBD now has the Phantom Menace Vintage Collection wave in stock, and I managed to pick up all of the figures on my hunt list.