Star Wars Is Everywhere - Synergy Hair's Advertising

It looks like Wellington's Synergy Hair have a Star Wars fan (and talented artist) among their staff. Over the last few weeks, two very awesome chalk designs have appeared on their standee out front: one with Princess Leia, and the other featuring our favourite new astromech droid, BB-8.

Synergy Hair have been in touch with us via Facebook, and confirmed that the talented artist behind these designs is Sophia - one of the stylists from their Willis Street store.

Have you seen any Star Wars-inspired advertising around your town? If you have, be sure to share it with us via Twitter or Facebook, or by emailing relicsoftheforce@gmail.com!

Kinder Surprise Star Wars Character / Vehicle Toys

A few years ago, Kinder Surprise released a line of very cool (but utterly bizarre) Star Wars-themed toys. Now, they're doing it again with a new line of nine character / vehicle combinations including C-3PO with the Tantive IV; Chewbacca with a Wookiee Gunship; Darth Vader with a TIE Advanced; Han Solo with the Millennium Falcon; Luke Skywalker with an X-Wing Fighter; Princess Leia with the Tantive IV; R2-D2 with a Jedi Starfighter; a Stormtrooper with a Star Destroyer, and Yoda with a Republic Gunship.  I picked up a three-pack, and managed to score Chewbacca, Han, and Yoda.

These toys are very similar to the 'bobble-head' line of collectibles that McDonalds restaurants stocked for the release of the Clone Wars movie. There's no moving parts on these ones, but the looped cord on each (presumably for attaching them to phones or keys) will make them perfect as miniature Christmas tree decorations.

This line of Kinder Surprise toys is available at most supermarkets. Depending on where you visit, the single eggs sell for around $1.99-$2.49 each, with the specially-packaged three-packs priced at approximately $5.00.

Kellogg's Star Wars Cereal

Countdown and Woolworths supermarkets are currently stocking a line of "exclusive" Star Wars-themed Kellogg's cereal for $5.00 per box. There are three reversible packets to choose from: Darth Vader and C-3PO; Chewbacca and Yoda; and R2-D2 and a Stormtrooper. I opted for a the latter box - if only so I could grab the photo below.

Other than the packaging, there's not too much more that's "Star Wars" about this cereal. There's no pack-in, and the cereal itself is a generic star- and moon-shaped chocolate wheat variety.  But despite this, the box designs are enough to make these highly desirable for collectors.

The Force Awakens Official Movie Special Magazine

Countdown supermarkets are currently stocking a magazine dedicated to the latest installment in the Star Wars saga. Entitled The Force Awakens Official Movie Special, this issue sells for $6.70 and contains some great exclusive material.

The magazine includes timelines, character breakdowns, concept art, interviews with the cast and crew, and some stunning on-set images. Several of the pages also double as removable mini-posters. This is a great souvenir for any fan of the film, and fantastic value for the price!

[EDIT (18/02/2016): This magazine has now been spotted at a number of different magazine retailers - not just Countdown supermarkets.] 

Lego Star Wars "The Freemaker Adventures" TV Show Announced

It's been rumoured for a while now, but yesterday StarWars.com confirmed that a brand new Lego Star Wars series entitled "The Freemaker Adventures" will be debuting on Disney XD this summer.

Specific details are still thin on the ground, but the official site has posted the following synopsis for the show:

"The fun-filled adventure comedy series, set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, will introduce all-new heroes and villains in exciting adventures with many familiar Star Wars characters. 

Told in the whimsically-charged style that audiences have come to expect from LEGO Star Wars entertainment, the series stars the Freemakers, a family of scavengers who build and sell starships from the scoured debris of space battles strewn throughout the galaxy. When their youngest discovers a natural connection with the Force through an ancient artifact—the Kyber Saber—his world is turned upside down, and he and his family are thrown into an epic struggle against the Empire to restore peace and freedom to the galaxy. Throughout their adventures, the Freemakers explore new worlds, meet new and familiar characters, and learn the true value of what it means to be a family."

Previous Lego Star Wars projects have been a lot fun - playing out some great "what if?" scenarios   while bringing a unique sense of humour to that galaxy far, far away. Given this, there's little doubt that The Freemaker Adventures will be well worth a watch.

What are your thoughts on this new series? Will you be tuning in to watch? Let me know by emailing relicsoftheforce@gmail.com or sending a tweet to @Archon_Revuge!

The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections and Visual Dictionary

I received my very first Star Wars Incredible Cross-Sections and Visual Dictionary books from my grandma all the way back in 1999. They were for The Phantom Menace - and I remember spending hours poring over every detail contained within. At that point, I hadn't had a lot of exposure to the 'Expanded Universe', so those books were my first hint of the much larger universe that existed behind the films. Everything had a story, an explanation - a reason for being there. Fast-forward seventeen years, and I once again find myself savouring every piece of information in the new The Force Awakens editions of each of these books.

As with every other entry in these series, the detail is phenomenal. The beautifully hand-drawn cutaways in Incredible Cross-Sections reveal the painstakingly thought-out engineering behind every vehicle in the new film, as well as a few interesting plot points that add even more depth to the story. The Visual Dictionary builds on this - using Pablo Hidalgo's encyclopedic Star Wars knowledge to flesh-out countless weapons, devices, locations, and character (some of which only appear on-screen for the briefest of moments). There are a couple of characters that are notably omitted - but this is understandable, given the secrets that are being kept for Episodes VIII and IX.

Both volumes are currently available from Whitcoulls or MightyApe for $37.00 each.

Visiting the Matchbox Studios SCI-FI Exhibition (Wellington, New Zealand)

Recently, Matchbox Studios played host to SCI-FI - an exhibition featuring science-fiction and fantasy works from local Wellington artists. There was a heavy Star Wars-focus among the artworks, including some superb pieces with content from The Force Awakens.

My favourite display was definitely the collection of pilots from A New Hope (artfully arranged into the vague outline of an X-Wing). The exhibition finished on January 29th, but all of the artworks are available for purchase - so if you see something you like, be sure to get in touch with the folks at Matchbox!

Star Wars Back-to-School Gear

It's back to school season, and this year stores are packed with all kinds of Star Wars-themed supplies. Thanks to my amazing partner, I now have a few of these items to add to my collection - including three different stationary sets, a backpack, and a lunchbox.

The stationary sets focus on characters and vehicles from the first six films, while the backpack and lunchbox are exclusively themed to The Force Awakens. The latter both feature images of the new antagonist, Kylo Ren, and make a really great set together. There's also a nice amount of variety across the three stationary sets. The "3D Pencil Pack" comes with a Death Star pencil sharpener, a TIE Fighter eraser, and four Darth Vader pencils; while the "Pencil Pack" comes with a Darth Vader pencil sharpener, two 'grippers', and six pencils that bear the same character pattern seen on the ruler I received for Christmas. The third set is entirely different - containing six colouring pencils ingeniously designed to resemble double-ended lightsabers. These products are all available at a number of New Zealand retailers including Farmers, The Warehouse, Warehouse Stationary, Whitcoulls, and New World supermarkets.

Call it bad timing, but when I was in school Star Wars-themed products like this were few and far between. With these, however, I'll be able to make up for lost time!