30 Years of ROTJ - Views From The Vault!

May 25th, 1983. It's a day that I will never forget. I was in Florence, Kentucky, close to Cincinnati Ohio, with my dad who was visiting a friend of his. The only thing on my mind that day was the fact that in the evening we would be going to see Return of The Jedi, the finally installment of The Star Wars Trilogy! I could not wait!! I never thought the day would come.

 After spending three years of lead up from The Empire Strikes Back, wondering what happens to Han, and especially wondering if Darth Vader is, in fact, Luke's father, it was finally going to be revealed!

  Like many that were my age, we started reading about ROTJ in November of 1982 with our subscriptions to Bantha Tracks, the official newsletter of The Star Wars Fan Club. This was pre-internet, of course, so we got our info any way we could!
  Here is a picture from my "Star Wars Vault" of the issues that we would cling to, and read over and over again, that informed us on the production of Jedi. These are the chronological issues of the newsletter/magazine from November 1892-November 1983. It gave us all of the information leading up to, and after, the release of the film.....

(Click on all pix to make them much bigger!)

 

I remember getting SO excited when I would get an issue of Bantha Tracks in the mail! It was like Christmas with every quaterly release!

 

  With the "membership kit" to the fan club we were always treated to some really cool swag, the likes of which would usually be a membership card, pencils with Star Wars movie logos, patches, posters, and cool exclusive photos of the cast in character, like these that I have managed to hold on to since 1983.....

 

 

 

So, the day finally came! The glorious day when I would finally get to see the final chapter of my beloved saga. It was both exciting, and bittersweet, at the same time. This was a new chapter, but also the final chapter, we thought, of Star Wars. Excitement with a hint sadness.

 

 That feeling disappeared as I walked into the lobby of the theater and saw this.....

 

 

The Collector's Edition program! I HAD TO have it!

I was able to talk my dad into plunking down the $3.00 to get this program, which honestly wasn't very hard. My dad knew my love of these movies, so he gave me the money with that child-like sparkle in his eye as well.

 

  I sat in the theater and did a quick flip through of the program because I didn't really want any of the story spoiled before I actually got to see it for myself, but I could tell that I was in for a treat!

 

 

 

  To this day I enjoy looking through this magazine! It's filled with interviews, production photos, behind the scenes photos, and production art from Ralph McQuarrie, Joe Johnston, Phil Tippet, and many of the people that I still follow today, as most are still working on movies...even new Star Wars movies!!

 

  The movie was great! It was a nice conclusion to the trilogy. I accepted all of it, and enjoyed all of it...yes, even The Ewoks.

  The Star Wars Trilogy had ended, but it lives on in our hearts. Many of us still carry the memories, and physical merchandise, of our youth in tribute to that wonderful time in our lives.....

 

   I began my journey with Star Wars when I was 8 years old in 1977, when the original Star Wars was released, and followed it until 1983. These were the greatest movies of my adolescent years, and they remain important to me. The saga put happiness into my life, and in a way Luke, Han , Leia, Chewie, R2, and 3PO were my friends. I would would visit them every three years, and look at their photos in the between years. Return of The Jedi closed an important chater of my life, but little did I know there would be many chapters to come, and although the new chapters will never live up to the excitement that I had in the years of "The Trilogy," I still enjoy all that has come, and will come.

  Until next time,
   "May The Force Be With You"

 

May The 4th Be With You!!

 

I had to make sure that I popped in here to wish everyone a happy May 4th....as in May The 4th Be With You!

  This whole idea started a few years back and has spread and sort of become "a real thing." Star Wars fans world wide have now, thanks to the help of social media and web sites, embraced May the 4th as a sort of Star Wars "holiday," or at the very least a celebration day of all things Star Wars, and it's all because May the 4th... sounds very similar to "May The Force be with you."

  I'm ok with the whole idea, and in fact, I kind of love the whole idea! Why NOT use this as the day to celebrate Star Wars!? First, it just sounds cool, and fun. Second, many of the Star Wars films traditionally have been released in the month of May.

 

  I say let's go for it! This is our day! A day for fans to "say it loud, and say it proud," as a semi-famous Star Wars podcaster regularly says. Let your 'Wars flag fly! Do something Star Wars today! Have fun! Never forget the wonderful universe created by George Lucas!

 

...and May The 4th Be With You!!!

R.I.P. Richard LeParmentier - Admiral Motti

 

It's always sad to see another Star Wars actor pass away, but as time passes that's what happens. However, this occassion came as a shock.

  Richard LeParmentier was still a regular on the convention circuit, meeting fans, and really embracing the world of fandom. He really seemed as though he enjoyed being around fans and talking Star Wars with them. His part in the movies was small, being only in the original Star Wars (1977), but his scene was a memorable one - the scene where he is Force-choked by Darth Vader in the conference room on The Death Star. He also had a quote in that scene that became popular with radio stations around the world - "...this station is now the ultimate power in the universe...I suggest we use it."

 

It is very sad that he has passed on, but at least he knew that he did have fans, and that those fans appreciated what he did. I believe that he even has his own following - The Cult of Motti! :)

  He was a memorable character in The Star Wars Universe, and his character will live on even though Richard has passed on.

  Richard LeParmentier was 67. The Force will be with him, always...even though he was a sort of  a bad guy in Star Wars , he was a wonderful guy in person.

 

R.I.P. 

Star Wars Original Trilogy Documentary

I find it pretty amazing that this whole documentary is available on youtube and hasn't been taken down.
 I love Star Wars documentaries, and have many from the years past. Empire of Dreams is an amazing piece, and certainly my favorite Star Wars documentary of all.

Empire of Dreams

  Enjoy!

Lexington Comic & Toy Con!

This weekend my family and I had a great time as we attended The Lexington Comic & Toy Con in Lexington, Kentucky.
  This was my first time attending this particular convention, but it surely will not be the last time!
  We met up with some friends of mine from KSWCC (Kentucky Star Wars Colector's Club) in Louisville and made a caravan-of-courage (see what I did there??) down to beautiful, horse-filled, Lexington where we ran into the throngs of people already waiting to get in, get tickets, and park themselves in the swirling queue of a line that was preparing to hit the convention floor at 10AM.

  Everyone attending seemed to be in a really good mood, and excited for the show! We, and everyone around us, were checking out all of the costumed folk...known to most as "cosplayers." Those in costume love this word for themselves, and it has become sort of a culture all it's own. We saw SO many great costumes, from Star Wars (501st Legion, Jedi, etc.), to Ghostbusters, to Power Rangers, the whole range from The DC and Marvel Universes, Doctor Who, Anime, and you name it. Much of pop-culture was well on display!
  If you wanted autographs there were some great Star Wars guests at the show - Billy Dee Williams (Lando), and Peter Mayhew (Chewie). Both seemed in great spirits and eager to meet their fans. Their lines were long throughout the show, which is great to see!
 Always great to see Star Wars actors at these conventions. It keeps the spirit of my childhood alive knowing they are still with us, especially now when the years of the original trilogy are getting behind us.

 The fact that everyone seemed to be in a really great mood for the whole show was a miracle considering that this place was JAMMED wall-to-wall with humanity! I'm not kidding it was PACKED!! I don't believe a fire marshall was in sight...I mean there's no way! I even witnessed a Stormtrooper from The 501st Legion pass out and hit the floor from heat due to all of the warm bodies swaying shoulder to shoulder as they went meandering about the exhibit floor.
  It was crazy, yet still very enjoyable...

(Click all images. Make 'em bigger!)

 What did this Star Wars enthusiast pick up while at the show? Well, let me tell you, there was lots of cool stuff for sale at the show ranging in price from acceptable to OH, HECK NO!!
  One of the things that I like to do is commission sketch cards from some of the exhibiting artists that I enjoy. If there is an artist that has a style that I like, I will ask them for their take on...who else? - R2-D2! I love to just give them the character and have them run with it.
  After waiting two to three hours while I scan what the con has to offer, I head back to their exhibit tables with great excitement to see the unveiling of their sketch piece. More often than not, I feel very satisfied with what the artist has produced, and produced in a very short time!
  This weekend I was able to commission R2 pieces from the artists Jamie Snell, and Tressina Bowling - both great artists with unique styles.

  My R2 from Jamie is a close up of our favorite droid. His approach was one of pretty fine detail, with attention placed on the weathering. The card is very nice, and has moved to the top of the list of my favorite sketch card pieces......

 

My R2 from Tressina comes, as does all of her art, a place of whimsy, and I love it!

I have wanted an R2 sketch piece from Tressina (Tressa) for quite a while, but by the time I was usually able to try to obtain the commission at past shows she was either booked up, or time had run out at whatever event that she and I were attending.
  I feel lucky to have received this piece today.....

 

 

As you can see, I have added Jamie and Tressa's busines cards with my photos. If you get a chance, check out their web sites, and blogs. Both of them are terrific and creative people!

 

My last piece of Star Wars-iness for the show was an AT-AT Commander action figure that was available around the second wave of Hasbro's "Vintage Collection," or (TVC). This particular wave hit stores and vanished pretty quickly. I don't know why, but for some reason I managed to miss this figure, and have been looking for him for quite a while!

 This figure is of particular importance for me in my modern (Hasbro) trilogy figure collection because AT-AT Commander was one of the figures that was released in the original Kenner line for The Empire Strikes Back, back in 1980. So, this figure represents the definitive modern equivalent/companion to the original "vintage" Kenner line.

 I snagged him for the decent price of $13, haggling the dealer down from his original $16. I offered $10 but we met in the middle. He said that the figure was kind of hard to come by, and I agreed, so we "came to an arrangement that was mutually beneficial.".....

 

 

Look for a review on this guy in a post very soon!

 

So, that was the con. Very fun, yet very exhausting! I don't think that I have been that close to so many people in a long time, and don't mind waiting another year to do it again. ;)

   I look forward to Lex-Con 2014!!

 

Until next time,

  CON ON!!

 

 

Collect what you love....

A few years ago I decided to scale down my collection. Why do this? Am I no longer a collector?
 On the contrary, I AM still a collector, though I like to think of myself as a "smarter" collector.

 There are collectors who like to collect-it-all and I enjoy seeing someone with the passion to do that. That's not to say that because I collect fewer items that I'm any less passionate than they about collecting - No-No! My passion for collecting remains. I just choose to do it in a smaller fashion - a "focus collector."

 Focus collectors choose one area, or character, of interest and zero in on that thing, or things. In my case it's the plural, "things."
  I'm not talking about collecting-it-all either....let me break it down.....

I have always focused on true vintage (1977-1985) Star Wars Kenner items because that's what I grew up with. I saw the original Star Wars in it's opening week in 1977 and began my journey with The Star Wars Early Bird Kit of four figures as soon as it was released. To this day I am still in ownership of those figures, as well as the full range of Kenner Star Wars figures that were ever released, and they are all in very good shape, with just about each having their original weapons.
  I'm very proud of these figures because they bring back so many great memories of my childhood.

I also have a focus related, as you might know, to the late great Ralph McQuarrie - the amazing conceptual artist, and matte painter, from the Star Wars Trilogy. Those items include action figures, books, trading cards, art prints, etc.
 Ralph's work inspires me each and every day!!

Lastly, I have a focus on R2-D2 items. R2 is my chosen "character focus." Why?
  Well, I consider R2 to be a great hero in Star Wars. He is also a character that immediately makes you think Star Wars when you see him. As a kid seeing Star Wars in the theater, I was drawn to R2! He made me smile. He is my mascot of  "the Wars!"
 Do I collect EVERY R2 item that I see? No, no, no.
  I like to collect R2 items that either make me think of special times from the past, or an R2 that is different / unique looking in some way, or that is an interesting piece from some special time/event in my life that I might find fun...or something like that. This is to say that I will make it a part of my collection -- IF I LOVE IT!!
  Completist? No way!
   Collector? You bet!!
Speaking of a cool new R2 item that interests me, that I find unique...There is a new item set to arrive from Funko later this year. There 2013 series of "POP" bobble-heads has been shown. In the series is a cool looking bobble of R2 that I am sure to be picking up!....

Until next time,

Collect what you love!

Michel Parbot Empire Strikes Back lost documentary excerpts...

This was just made available to the public in the past month.
 Any chance to see uncovered material from behind the scenes of the original Star Wars Trilogy is always a treat for me!
  One thing that's I would like to point out is that you can see Ralph McQuarrie in this video actually working on a matte painting for Cloud City, which is very nice!

  I thought that you might also like to see this documentary excerpt, my fine Star Wars fan!
 BIG thank you to starwarsarchives.com for sharing this piece!

 Enjoy!!