KAY-SWAP!! - Collectors coming together.

Being a member of a collector's club is fun, and rewarding. If you are a collector, no matter what it is that you collect, it is always fun to get together with people in your area who share the same interests.

As a Star Wars collector, and enthusiast, I have the fortune of living in a state (Kentucky) where there is such a club, of which I am a member - KSWCC (Kentucky Star Wars Collectors Club).

Founded in 2003, KSWCC now has three main state regions; Louisville (where the club was launched), Lexington, and Ashland. These three regions have active club members who meet up each month to share collecting stories, talk shop, trade, and help other collectors find pieces that they may be missing from their collections. Through the club we share the joy of collecting, which includes finding collectibles that we love without having to go through other sources like Ebay, or other outlets that like to inflate prices for what they consider to be "rare," or "hard to find" - a practice known as "scalping" which KSWCC does not condone.

This past Saturday KSWCC hosted a swap meet. It was open to the public and the first of it's kind. The event took place at Church of The Ascension in Frankfort Kentucky, a beautiful old church that opened in 1852 with a rich history.

The swap went really well, and all in attendance had a good time. It is now being considered for an annual tradition! I hope this happens!

It was great to see many familiar faces! Some folks I see on a regular basis, but there are those from other regions that I only see from time to time, like our annual fall festival, which I will cover later in the year. It's always great to reconnect with my fellow collectors, and also get a chance to meet new collectors who attended the sawp and I hope will consider joining our club. If you live in Kentucky, and are on the fence about joining, please do not hesitate! I have been a member of the club since the beginning and have been enjoying myself ever since!

We had a special guest at this years swap meet, illustrator Justin Stewart! This was my first time meeting Mr. Stewart and I found him to be a very friendly, easy going guy. I paged through his portfolio and found his work to be fresh and interesting. He obliged me in my request for an R2-D2 sketch card, which he finished in full color for only five bucks!! What a deal!!

As an R2 focus collector I try to get sketch pieces from any artist at a show. It's great to see everyone's individual take on my favorite little droid.

If you're a fan/collector of Star Wars, or anything for that matter, I urge you to find a group in your area where you can connect with others on a personal level and share in the fun of whatever interests you!

If you would like to join KSWCC, or would like more information, check us out at http://www.kswcc.com/

To see more about illustrator Justin Stewart, check out his site at http://www.justinstewart.net/

For more on Church of The Ascension http://www.ascensionfrankfort.org/Home.aspx

Until next time, and as always,

Stay positive, stay safe, and have fun!!

D2 from a G9... and 10 years of Ben!

Ello, ello! It's been a while since I have made a post about cool toys, so here's a new one for April. A few posts back I was talking about how cool the all new sculpt of R2-D2 is from the new ROTJ wave from the Vintage Line of figures. I went on about how great a figure it is, it's accessories, and all. It IS a great figure! So, someone commented to me asking what I thought about the R2 from the Hasbro battle pack; "Resurgence of The Jedi (2009)." In two words I can say - "LOVE IT!" True, the new ROTJ vintage one has all of the bangs and whistles that you would need for R2 in any situation. The R2 from the "Resurgence" battle pack is a great standard R2 itself! He doesn't have any accessories, but if you want just a simple, fantastic, R2 - this one is a winner! This version of R2-D2 can ONLY be found in the "Resurgence" Battle Pack - a pack which was hard to find depending on where you lived. Some areas had this pack in large numbers, but in other areas it was scarce. What makes this version unique is the fact that he was made from the same mold as the original R4-G9 Astromech. This particular model is the one with a great retractable middle leg feature that moves up, or down, with a twist of the astromech's dome. When the leg is in the "up" position it disappears inside the droid, as it should, to be film accurate. This mold, known as "the R4-G9," is very popular with fans of astromech figures. Here are a couple of images of my "G9" R2-D2 in my Ben Kenobi Dwelling diorama that I made in 2001.... In 2001, I created this diorama of Ben Kenobi's Dwelling just prior to the birth of my first daughter. This was my most ambitious diorama ever attempted, and to date, remains so. In fact I haven't attempted any major dioramas since this one! As this year is the 10th anniversary of the creation of this piece I thought it would be fun to take a shot of it, and use it to talk about this "G9" R2 because this particular droid resides, year round, in this diorama! All of the figures in this diorama are from the "resurgence" battle pack except for Obi-Wan. This particular Obi-Wan was a figure available in the "Power of The Jedi" figure line from 2001. I love this figure as it seems to be made for this particular moment in the film. Even though it is a little older, it is still a very nice figure. Until next time - stay safe, stay positive.... and have fun!!