Star Wars

I’m a big proponent of making practical things interesting. Why have a regular Apple keyboard when you can have an Iron Man keyboard? Why drive a car without a Batman steering wheel cover? Why eat a sandwich without onions? Why keep your data stored on little grey sticks when your data can have a face?

Designers occasionally try to push through the homogenization of computer peripherals, fighting against a significant part of the working world that takes computers very seriously. A tall, black computer tower becomes the beginning and end of the conversation, and in some offices, this is an inevitability. If I ever end up in one of these places, please kill me quickly. Paperclip to the brain or something.

Mimobots actively fight against practicality being unaesthetic while they serve an impressive dual purpose. They fit excellently into the designer toy aesthetic and work as killer display items alongside your Dunnys and Peecols, but they also provide a whole lot of quick data storage, doubling as handy little flash drives which hold between 2GB and 16GB of data in various increments.

Over the past five years, Mimoco has explored a wide range of art on their flash drives, including licensed properties like Star Wars, HALO and Hello Kitty, and original art by notable creatives like Gary Baseman and tokidoki.

A personal favorite of mine is the Darth Vader Mimobot, which incorporates a removable cap that reveals Vader’s scarred face beneath. Mimoco even thought to utilize the notorious ‘variants’ which blind box designer toys employ by making one in every six Darth Vaders don the classic Return of the Jedi pale Anakin, instead of the fleshy prequel Vader face. Also excellently appropriate are the R2-D2 and C-3PO Mimobots. If they ever make an Admiral Ackbar, I’m sold. I have three external hard drives and a dozen various flash drives, but I’ve never been one to deny myself an Ackbar.

I was given the chance to play with a Mimobot in the form of a Blue Spartan from HALO – a video game property which has an incredible reach into pop culture. When your video game has comics, action figures, costume replicas and prints based on it, you’ve arrived. When your video game has a board game based on it, you’ve entered meta territory and there’s no turning back. There’s definitely a kind of loyalty which players dedicate to different hues of Spartan warriors, or else McFarlane’s line of action figures wouldn’t be able to crank out so many different variations of the same sculpt in different colors. The same is true for the Mimobots.

Even better is the fact that the XBox has recently added support for flash drives just like these, and the Playstation 3 has offered this compatibility for a while, so the uber-nerd in me is excited about the possibility of keeping various game data on video game themed drives.

They’re a lot of fun, and it’s worth a few extra bucks to have a genuinely fun USB drive to fulfill whatever USB needs you have. You can’t leave all of that porn on the family computer anyhow, and it’s silly to burn a CD of music for your friend when they’re just going to pop it right onto their MP3 player anyhow. This is the coolest possible way to handle these situations.

While most of us collect large quantities of smaller objects, collecting life-sized replicas requires more dedication than your average collecting hobbies. This week, as Sideshow Toys unveiled a large number of collectibles during their San Diego Comic Con 2010 celebration, the life-sized bust has received some special attention.

Life-sized replicas and busts are sometimes denoted as “1:1” scale, as opposed to a fractional percentage, and they rarely come cheap, whether they are replicas of movie weapons, props, or even characters.

If there is an inspiration for this post, it’s the full scale C-3PO bust which Sideshow has just announced, constructed from polystone and fiberglass, and completed with light-up eyes – for the fair price of $650. The amount of space it might take to store a human head and shoulders is more significant than you may think, unless you spend a lot of time trying to fit victims into freezers.

Sideshow has created an impressive array of life-sized collectible busts in this price range, recently adding Marvel Comics’ Thor, Boba Fett, a greyscale Creature from the Black Lagoon, and even an original zombie to their collection. If you can find the room to display these things, they’d make for an incredible setup. Many collectors will opt for at least one giant bust to serve as a centerpiece for a character or property-centric display. I’ll lust for the life-sized Darth Vader and his Humpty Dumpty head quietly.

Toynami, who is known for their anime and Futurama action figures, has also created a Terminator bust with light up and sound features. I can’t vouch for the awesomeness of Toynami as I can for Sideshow, but there’s nothing wrong with owning a giant robot head in any form.

Also hovering in this price range is Hollywood Collectibles’ Bruce Lee bust. It’s limited to 500 pieces and weighs in at 35 pounds, which might also be an accurate weight for Bruce Lee’s actual torso. Surprisingly, there are countless figures and replicas surrounding Bruce Lee, and most of them are shirtless and ready to strike – which is an anomaly in a collectible world which is dominated by characters is costume and monsters.

The limited number of life-sized busts out there has caused a number of collectors to sculpt and paint their own, often with incredible results. For now, I’m sticking with the 1:2 scale, or half-sized, busts for my own collecting needs – though the lure of the actual-sized is a powerful one. Often, the effect of being in front of a human-sized face is actually quite visceral, as any patron of a wax museum already knows, so a life-sized bust genuinely adds an amazing amount of punch and nerd-cred to a display.

There’s a lot to be said about the ways that Star Wars has influenced the whole of pop culture. Whether or not you’ve seen Star Wars, you know what a Darth Vader is, and you can talk like Yoda, and you might even equate cinnamon buns with Princess Leia. It’s when you start exploring how deeply Star Wars has infiltrated pop culture and the human psyche that it gets really interesting.

Jedi Junkies, a film by New York City resident Mark Edlitz explores the extreme end of this spectrum in his documentary Jedi Junkies, and there’s certainly a lot of extremity to explore, from those who spend their fortunes filling their homes with Star Wars action figures, to those who write songs about nothing but Star Wars, and plenty of people who have sacrificed what others would see as a ‘normal life’ for their love of Star Wars – and not all of them seem happy about it, either. There’s never been more visible proof of ‘too much of a good thing’.

Largely filmed around the New York area (and coincidentally, in areas I tend to frequent), Edlitz has respectfully assembled a collection of proud geeks for Jedi Junkies. Even if you’re not a fan of Star Wars, it’s a bit revelatory. There are a few universal truths about collecting thrown in for good measure as well. So, we talked with Mark Edlitz about what went into Jedi Junkies.

CQ : What inspired you to do a documentary on Star Wars fans? What did you set out do accomplish?

ME : I’ve been a big Star Wars fan since 1977 when I first saw the film. My Grandma Jean took me to see it (even though she had no interest in it.) I’ve seen the original trilogy too many times to count, and I have a collection of Star Wars action figures. I’ve also been going to conventions since High School. I went to NYU/Tisch Film School. Few years after that I and made a [narrative] feature film called The Eden Myth.

I wanted to make a second feature film and decided to make a documentary, and I wanted to make it about something which I had a real passion for. I asked myself what film would I want to see, and I came up with the concept for Jedi Junkies.

I thought it would be interesting to attempt to explore what made my fellow Jedi Junkies (or Star Wars fans) click. I wanted to try to figure out why they/me/we spend so much time talking and thinking about just a few films and spending gobs of money on the merchandise.

CQ : Are you personally a Star Wars collector or fan, or did the subculture seem interesting enough from the outside to document?

ME : I am a collector. Maybe it’s best to define myself as a “reformed collector”. When I was a kid, I only had Luke Skywalker in Bespin Gear and the Droid Factory. With the Droid Factory, you could make your own robots/droids. I made R2D2, but that was it. Then, in the Nineties, they started to make Star Wars figures again. That’s when I collected as many as I could.

CQ : Were there any revelatory experiences that you had during filming in terms of your own relationship with Star Wars?

ME : I had a couple of revelations – some about me and some about my fellow fans.

I just mentioned that I was a serious collector in the Nineties, which meant I wanted all the figures. Since then, I’ve had two kids, so I didn’t have space/energy/resources to go as hog-wild as a collector. I’ve cut back considerably. I let my kids play with my collection — most of it is not in a box. The kids play with the action figures, land speeder and lightsabers. So, I’ve been able to integrate my love of Star Wars into my family life.

My revelation about the fans is that so many of them take their love of Star Wars and based on their individual passions and interests, are able to create something new. So if you’re into filmmaking (and Star Wars), they make a Star Wars-inspired fan film. If you’re into music (and Star Wars), they make Star Wars-themed music. Same with costuming, collecting… even dance and martial arts, They take it, run with it and put their own spin on it.

The other thing is that fandom (in its own way) is much, much bigger than the films themselves. The films are obviously successful on many levels — including, most importantly, creatively. I think people go to conventions and form their own communities to express a little bit about themselves.

CQ : As I watched the documentary, I noticed that many of the subjects (the people being interviewed) were socially unconventional. Were there any awkward filming moments because of the quirky subjects?

ME : Towards the end of our credits we say: “No Star Wars fans were hurt in the making of this film.” And that’s basically the approach we used in with our interview subjects. When I saw we, I mean my editor Stephen Walker, executive producer Mark Grande, and my producer and best buddy Jerry Kolber.

As filmmakers, we didn’t want to comment on any extreme behavior. We wanted to show it, provide a context for it and then let it speak for itself.

CQ : Is there a favorite clip or event that you had to leave out of the final cut?

ME : We have a lot of outtakes. We’ll try to use at least some of them on the DVD. We have one long five-minute segment on customizing. One collector gives a demonstration on how he customized his Luke Skywalker action figure. He has this great giant box of limbs, legs, heads and body parts of action figures. I was a little sorry to see that segment go.

CQ : What sort of feedback have you been getting?

ME : Feedback so far has been really incredible. The people in the film think it’s a fair and respectful look at them, and Star Wars fans seem to dig it. Even non-hardcore Star Wars fans (yes, they do exist) are saying really positive things about the movie.

CQ : What do you want people to come away from this with?

ME : I’d like them to really enjoy the flick. I’d like them to think it’s funny. And entertaining. I hope Star Wars fans relate to it and that everyone else gets a look at an interesting subculture that they might not know that much about. But mostly, I hope they enjoy it and think it was fun.

CQ : Is this a celebration, a cautionary tale, or both?

ME : That’s a good question. That’s one question that we’d like viewers to answer themselves. We’d hope that they debate it on message boards and at conventions. We hope they visit our website JediJunkies.com and let us know what they think!

CQ : Where is this film available?

ME : I’m really happy to say that JEDI JUNKIES is now available on iTunes and Amazon. Only $2.99 to rent and $9.99 to buy. People can also get it through our website JediJunkies.com.

Over four years ago, DKE Toys came into possession of 100 slightly defective, life-sized Darth Vader helmets that Master Replicas couldn’t sell. The rest writes itself.

After assembling a list of artists to redecorate these iconic helmets into works of weird pop-cultural art, the helmets went on the road and traveled around the world to various conventions that focused on Star Wars or other general geekery. Next month, this tour comes to an end and the helmets disperse from Freeman’s Auctioneers in Philadelphia, ending up in the homes or Tatooine shacks of whomever can afford them.

The Vader Project is an example of how Star Wars has recently been remixed by countless people into multiple projects, from the serious to the ridiculous. The cultural and psychological impact that Star Wars possesses over us can’t really be disputed, and with this foothold in our consciousness, there’s a natural launching point for anything that derives from the decidedly deep world that George Lucas created.

The auction catalog that accompanies July’s sale at Freeman’s is an excellent reference to every helmet which was created, as well as a very inspiring look into how different artists have interpreted and re-imagined Darth Vader. Every page features 8 turnarounds of each helmet, with a facing page comprised of a more detailed view of the work – and some of the details are stunning. Quality ranges from helmets which look like they were cleanly manufactured to others which still bear pencil sketch marks from the artist, depending on the style of each maker, but every helmet presents a unique presence. Many of the artists are big names in the pop surrealist painting world, others are known for their work in collectible toys, and others are simply talented people.

It’s also a rare opportunity to see each and every helmet. Until now, all we’ve really had is what we could gather from quick videos and Flickr photosets, but the $40 auction catalog itself is a work of art, which also includes a brief bio of every artist. This catalog can be purchased here.

While the expected $5000 range of each helmet is out of my budget, I definitely have a few favorites, including the beautiful helmet by Mars-1, the strange insectoid Vader by Vanbeater, and the flocked Vader with the crocheted, exposed brains by Michelle Valigura.

Even if you haven’t been able to make it out to see any of the helmets, the auction catalog is very close to being there, and a pretty awesome part of Star Wars collectible history. And of course, if you can, make it out to Freeman’s on July 7th, 2010 to get one of your own.

I recently had the honor of being a participating artist in Topps’ 5th series of Star Wars Galaxy trading cards, a series that I’ve been watching since the very beginning. Instead of using still frames from the films which we’ve seen a hundred times already, the Galaxy line of trading cards invites artists from all genres to create their own visions of the Star Wars universe. Recently, Topps stretched their participating artist list to include those who are known (or even relatively unknown) within the designer toy & street art worlds, and that’s where I came in. As a result of this project, I was given a complimentary box of cards.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve gone through a whole box of something and tore into randomized packs of stuff, but it’s a good feeling. It was one of my favorite aspects of collecting Heroclix – the lottery of trying to score a rare or powerful piece for your collection. As far as boxes of Star Wars cards go, each box of 24 packs is guaranteed to have one original sketch card – which is what everyone buying these packs is after. In terms of buying this set for its secondary market value, none of the many varieties of chase cards are nearly as valuable as these original artworks that are slipped into the regular packs of cards, and they come in three varieties : sketch cards, manga sketch cards, and shaped sketch cards. Some of these are sold for around $300, with many hovering around $50, and the occasional card not selling at all.

The basic set contains 120 cards in a huge variety of styles, from comic book, to beautifully painted, to propaganda-poster styled works which would look even more amazing if they were done up in actual poster size. Of course, you look at these images much more closely after you tear through the packs searching for chase cards.

Nearly every pack that I opened contained a chase card of some kind. While most were foil cards, depicting a character on a shiny background, one was a much rarer ‘gold foil parallel’ card of Darth Maul, only 770 of which were made. This accompanies the regular and bronze versions of the same card, which have backgrounds in slightly different colors. There were also 4 etched foil cards, which use an aesthetic that was once very, very rare when searching through packs of Marvel trading cards in the 1990s. It’s almost strange to see these types of cards as commonplace, but I don’t object to the new variety of chase cards featuring original art at all.

Finally, as I was nearing the end of my box, I found my chase card – a picture of Greeata (one of Jabba’s dancers) done by a mysterious artist whose signature was a scribble. If there is an element of disappointment in this, it’s that certain artists approached their sketch cards by producing the same image many, many times, instead of using each card as a new canvas for a new character, a new visual problem to solve. I had seen this card before, as someone else on the Scoundrel Publishing boards (where Star Wars card collectors gather and trade) had pulled a nearly identical card. Regardless, it was still an original artwork, and the art is expertly done, so I’m pleased to have a little part of someone else who participated in this set.

A full box yielded enough cards to complete a base card set as well, and enough to stick in the spokes of your bicycle, or whatever one does with extra trading cards now. Cut them up into little Tie Fighter replicas?