Kanye Finally Lets Me Finish

A long time ago, on this very blog, I posted something nebulous about rapper Kanye West. Bear in mind that was prior to his notoriously career-killing racist rants and his "Imma Let You Finish" interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.

Some four years later, I can finally reveal what that was all about. Admittedly, this will be somewhat anti-climactic. Back in 2008, Kanye's stardom was something that the 501st Legion Star Wars costuming organization felt could be leveraged. Historically, any alignment with celebrities meant more publicity for the group, more legitimacy for the art of costuming and more interest in any charitable efforts. As such, when Kanye West's representatives approached the 501st with a request for a suit of Stormtrooper armor, we wanted to jump at the opportunity to associate our name with that of one of the best-selling and most-awarded musical artists of the time.

Once we had all of Kanye's measurements (5' 8" with size 12 shoes?!), Legion Commanding Officer Mark Fordham (SL-096) led the effort of acquiring all of the necessary components for a respectable Stormtooper suit, requesting donations of parts and funds from the volunteer membership on a very tight timeline. (Note: My personal contribution paid for the gloves.) Mark succeeded in delivering the armor on time and worked out an agreement by which the 501st would get the used armor back so that it could be auctioned on Ebay with proceeds going to a charity of Kanye's choice (the ill-fated and somewhat suspicious Kanye West Foundation). To recap: the 501st pays for and supplies the armor, Kanye wears said armor and autographs it and the 501st auctions it for charity. Aside from the fact that it was a complete Stormtrooper costume valued at around $1000 US, we figured it would fetch considerably more after it was worn by hip-hop superstar Kanye West, right? Fate, however, had a different plan.

Kanye toured and we did get the armor back with an autograph and some stickers indicating it was part of the production. Still, an auction like this would perform much better with some photographic evidence of Kanye in the suit. Despite numerous requests, no pictures were sent. Over time, our contacts with the West camp slowly dissolved until months of waiting turned into years of silence. Kanye's charitable foundation flopped with a bad rap (no pun intended). The man made a fool of himself in the media. The fans turned against him. At this point, we'd be lucky to give away the armor.

After letting the dust settle for a few years, the 501st decided there was no real reason to hold back the auction any further---the value of the armor had clearly already peaked and we needed to monetize it for charity as was the original intent and we chose our good friends at Make-A-Wish as the beneficiaries. Mark once again picked up the reins and posted the listing on Ebay in August of 2012, with hopes that Kanye would stay out of the public eye until the auction ended:

To promote the auction, we posted about it on Facebook. Public opinion was swift and to the point with comments like "Honestly I think him wearing it devalued the armor," "I have never wanted to destroy a piece of stormtrooper armor more than I do right now" and "Does it still smell of douchebag?" Fortunately, a single bid just prior to the auction's conclusion met the reserve of $1000 and this infamous piece of history went quietly into someone's personal collection, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.

Up until recently, we really had no idea just how the armor was used, except that he wore it on stage a few times while touring with N.E.R.D. back in 2008. However, an October 2012 tweet by Kim Kardashian led me to find that the armor was also (partially) used in the pilot episode of a failed "hip hop Muppet Show" titled Alligator Boots. Weird.

Hey, I bought those gloves for Kanye! Here's a link to the some behind-the-scenes video. Enjoy! Or not....

CowTrooper Victorious!

Amazing! Sensing the huge amount of support for the top two entries in the Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day contest, the food chain decided to award TWO grand prizes. Both the Jobe Family of Boone, NC, and Noel (TK-8541) Green will receive a year's worth of meals. Noel, of course, has pledged to donate his winnings to his local New Mexico food bank to assist those less fortunate. As an added bonus, Noel reports that his local Chick-fil-A restaurant will be hosting a special day where a percentage of their sales will go to the same food bank charity! Thank you to all of you who supported this fun and worthy cause---it's astounding that people can make a difference like this when they combine their efforts. Here's the winning announcement from Chick-fil-A's official facebook page: http://bit.ly/s9txN

Vote for TK-COW...and Do It Now!

The competition is pulling out all the stops in the Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day competition and the 501st Legion's very own Noel Green (TK-8541) needs your daily vote from now through Monday, August 31st! Although fans were able to push Noel into the No.1 spot late last week with a surge of votes, the outcome is now uncertain. The CowTrooper respectfully requests that you do your part for the Empire (and remember that Noel has pledged his grand prize of a year's worth of food to feed those in danger of starvation through his local food bank charity)! Click here then click 'vote' and 'highest rated.' This is our most desperate hour...vote daily and spread the word!

Kilometers 4 Katie

Just donated to a great (and fun) cause. On November 22nd, 501st member Joe Schonberger (TK-3699) will run the Philadelphia Marathon in Stormtrooper armor to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in memory of the late Katie Johnson (daughter of 501st Founder Albin Johnson). Yes, it's crazy. Yes, it's even crazier because he'll be wearing a kilt (Joe is also a member of the Kilted Trooper Brigade). And, yes, we think Katie would have loved the silliness of it all. Please visit km4kt.com for more details.

To Theaters, It Will Come

Card Number 5

I just received a great note from a fellow trooper...

I was going through some old boxes yesterday and I found my son's first wallet which he lost about a year or so ago. It's a vinyl Darth Vader wallet I got for him at CIV. Inside was a single dollar bill and a single 501st trading card with a trooper holding a paper ewok target. :wink:
Happy New Year
-Brack

The trading card referenced is my own 501st rookie card. My armor and blaster have changed and I'm not producing the Ewok shooting targets anymore, but I've still got plenty of cards available for free...there were 2,500 of them produced, so just e-mail me. Just don't put them on e-bay; they're meant to put smiles on faces, not profit in pockets.

Imperial Cadet Training Manual

In 2005, with Star Wars Celebration 3 quickly approaching, I saw the need for something to hand out to young fans at troopin' events. During this time, the 501st typically had stickers, temporary tattoos, buttons and such, but those were consumables and supplies often ran low, or the event organizer simply didn't have enough lead time to have them produced. Inspired by an early Legion coloring book produced by Dallas "Dustin Crops Boy" Poague (an ex-501st member who now runs Monkey In A Dryer screen-printing business in Minnesota), I decided that a black and white printable pdf file filled with Imperial-style games, puzzles and activities would be an economical turnkey solution for 501st events around the world...well, at least the English-speaking world! Presented as a 12-page "Top Secret" Imperial Cadet Training Manual, the activity book proved to be quite popular over the years, making itself useful as a giveaway at events both large and small. In September 2008, however, I was thrilled to hear that my design was selected to be used by 78 Pottery Barn Kids stores as part of their classic Star Wars decor product launch in North America. (On a side note, PBK donated $15,600 US to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital on behalf of our participation.) In the photo below, you can see some of the activity books in the hands of an employee as BH-3384 takes a break at a Florida event.

I recently added a few pages to the book and, after finding out it was being sold by scalpers on ebay, made it a free download via 501st.com. I have to also give thanks to TK-742 of the German Garrison for a lot of the initial artwork used in the book.

TRIVIA: The back page of the Imperial Cadet Training Manual is a mostly-blank page labeled "Imperial Endorsements" which is used for fans to collect autographs from their favorite characters. While proving quite popular at the Pottery Barn Kids events, this page was really just filler when I originally ran out of ideas for additional content!

TK-899 Fan Art

TK-899 celebrated 37 revolutions around the sun today. A somewhat mild day for a Stormtrooper, playing with the little clones on the farm and doing some financial planning. However, I did receive a very cool piece of fan mail from a listener of the 501stCast who illustrated me as seen on my Florida Garrison rookie card from 2005. Thanks, John!

Kanye Glows in the Dark

The reason for this seemingly random post will be revealed at a later time.

Fast Facts Display

I've been creating 501st PR material for some time now, on both the local and Legion level. I really enjoy creating flyers, advertisements, banners, posters, trading cards, the Legion PR kit, kid's activity book, the first official Legion typeface and more. I heard that the 501st booth at Dragon*Con was in need of some things, so I put together a 3-sided "Fast Facts" display using the trivia list I've compiled over the years for use on 501st.com's page headers. The 3-sided design is based upon a 7-inch-tall acrylic display that looks like sample A in this image. Each side features a different photo of a Legion member in costume with 4 factoids. I think something like this would work well in larger sizes as a series of ceiling-danglers (we've got plenty of facts to choose from). If this is a hit at D*C, I'll propose the idea on the Legion level.

Clone Wars Press Screening

The 501st Carolina Garrison was asked by Warner Brothers to supply some characters for a Charlotte, NC, press screening of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Monday, August 11th, at Regal Phillips Place Stadium 10. Ironically, I didn't see anyone who really looked like press, but, as an extreme anti-bootlegging measure, WB supplied three very intimidating bodyguard types who wanded everyone entering theater number 8.



The small crowd seemed to enjoy the Clone Wars-era characters as they mingled with guests, but R2-KT was the real star of the evening as she gleefully accepted hugs from kids of all ages.


Now the meat of this post...my review of The Clone Wars.

(SPOILER ALERT!)

Likes: Nicely colored and textured marionette-like "Thunderbirds" style animation, some new Clone types, reasonable derivative design elements (as opposed to all new droids, ships or objects that don't look "Star Wars"), vintage newsreel-style introduction vs. the "opening crawl" that we're used to seeing, realistic ambient lighting from lightsabers (jeesh, did we have to wait until an animated film to get it right?), parts of the musical score, R2-KT guest appearance in the film

Dislikes: Battle Droid antics, Rotta the Huttlet (really?), Ziro the Hutt (seriously?) , no mention of the 501st Legion by name (although mentioned in the Karen Traviss novelization and on related toy packaging)

I can't really tag this blog entry as a "tour of duty" but it was a fun evening hanging out with the Carolina troops in and out of costume, and I got to operate R2-KT once again. I was talked into helping load her back into her chauffeur's vehicle after the screening, and that pink astromech really needs to lose some weight! Thanks to Cockroach for the photos.

Cheesegraters and Jawbones: The Hearing

I came across the full hearing document from propmaker Andrew Ainsworth's recent court loss to Lucasfilm regarding claims of intellectual property rights over various Star Wars helmets and armor including those of the classic Stormtrooper, Imperial Gunner, TIE Pilot, and others. Hardcore costuming enthusiasts may find a few gems within the lengthy court document. Although not directly mentioned by name, I was excited to see the 501st Legion get a tip of the hat in this passage:

85. In 2004 Mr Ainsworth set up a website (www.sdsprops.com) and started to sell products in a concerted manner. There is a significant market for such products amongst aficionados of the Star War (sic) films all over the world, some of whom organise themselves into "Garrisons".

Yeah, we crazy fans will actually pay money for this stuff. And on a related note, it seems that Ainsworth's invoice for Stormtrooper helmets in 1976 was about the same as one can expect to pay now for a Master Replicas Collectors Edition bucket ($98 US):

39. Mr Pemberton told Mr Ainsworth that he wanted 50 helmets and Mr Ainsworth quoted £20 per helmet. Mr Pemberton said he would have to get back to his customer about that and a couple of days later the price was approved.

And, believe it or not, the armor itself was also priced very similar to what a fan-made kit would go for today on ebay (~$755 US):

43. Mr Ainsworth agreed to attempt to produce armour. Over the following weeks he did so, both for the initial filming and for subsequent studio production. He also modified the armour in order to make it more wearable, based on the experience of actors on the Tunisia shoot, and produced modified tools to produce it. The armour that one sees in the 1977 film was all made by him. He made 50 sets. In relation to the armour, Mr Ainsworth contracted directly with Lucas. His invoices were drawn on the instructions of Mr Mollo. He did not have an order number before the Tunisia shoot, but he obtained one afterwards. His first invoice was for 50 sets of armour at £385 per set, and his invoice for new tools, including some for additions, apparently, was for 12 sets of tools at £200 per unit.

Now Anyone Can Join the 501st!

If you buy the new Clone Wars 501st Legion Clone Trooper action figure you will get an instant membership in the famed 501st Legion costuming group! Well...not really. This is another case of the fictional 501st Legion being potentially confused with the real-life costuming organization which was honored by Lucasfilm's inclusion of their name into Star Wars canon back in 2004. The confusion is understandable. After all, the Wal-Mart-exclusive figure does come packaged with a "Republic Army Identification Card" that clearly implies 501st membership. In fact, the card back reads "With your very own Republic Army Identification Card, you can become a member of the most elite fighting force in the galaxy," and is emblazoned with the 501st name (several times). Not wanting to disappoint fans with misleading membership requirements, the Legion contacted toy manufacturer Hasbro (with whom we have a great relationship) and they kindly agreed to post a disclaimer on their website.

I was thinking of ways to turn lemons into lemonade and we may work out a special giveaway or contest for kids and fans who show up at 501st events with their Hasbro 501st ID card. Hasbro sells toys. The 501st gets booth traffic. Kids get prizes. That's a win-win-win situation in my book.

Trivia: Wal-Mart just recently updated their logo, but it looks like they were just a bit too late to include it on this new figure.

On Collecting

I stopped collecting Star Wars toys twice. Once around 1985 when I thought I was getting "too old" to play with toys, and then again around 2002 after a 7-year resurgence of collecting. The toys from my childhood are pretty much all gone, but I still have a ridiculous amount of items from the second coming of my Star Wars fandom. Being an adult collector meant that I had disposable income and the power to spend it frivolously. I won't lie, they were good times. Dropping by Target, Wal-Mart and Toys R Us on a daily basis and scanning collecting news sites like Yakface's Realm and Sir Steve's Guide religiously. I always told myself that selective toy purchases would be a great investment, but the thrill of the hunt was addictive and I have duplicates of common peghangers to prove it!



However, it was through my early-Internet toy-bartering site called "The Tusken Trader" that I met another fan named Tom Fisk who happened to have a full-size TIE Fighter pilot costume among his collectibles. I asked where he got it, he gave me some contact information, and that's how I began my tenure with the Fighting 501st Legion. I put a stop to collecting the toys and pooled my finite resources toward costuming. Sure, costumes are individually more expensive, but they take up less storage space, help you develop skills like vacuforming, sewing, mold-making, and painting, and---most importantly---they are not static items like an action figure or statuette. Costumes encourage you to put them on and go out into the world and interact with others to celebrate your fandom, to promote the art of costumes and props, and to contribute to your community through charity and volunteerism. Now that's a good investment.

P.S. I still have a ton of Star Wars collectibles from around 1995-2002, so drop me an e-mail if you're looking for something from that era. It's all for sale!

A World Record of Sorts

This is actually some older news, but I wanted to document it on tk899.com for posterity. The 2008 Guinness Book of World Records has declared the 501st Legion the world's "Largest Star Wars Costume Group." Page 174 of the annual guide features a write-up and photos of the Stormtroopers from the 2007 Rose Parade. Technically I'm not pictured (I think I'm just out of frame), but I'm still quite flattered by association. It lends an odd sense of credibility to the hobby when I can tell neighbors that dressing up in plastic en masse is now considered a world record category, and it was fun to do so at a recent party where I pointed to a copy of the book on their coffee table and said, "Hey, I'm in that!"
I haven't personally read the Guinness Book in quite some time, but it's apparently still popular with kids and it was, in fact, the Legion Founder's daughter, Allie, who first made the discovery that the 501st was included in the 2008 edition. Funny thing is that we have already gained more than 700 members since the publication date. I'd bet we also hold the world record for "Fastest Growing Star Wars Costuming Group."

Deal or No Deal

Tonight, 26 members of the Fighting 501st Legion will appear on NBC television's popular game show "Deal or No Deal" as custodians of the iconic mystery suitcases. The members involved with the production of this Star Wars-themed special episode have not been able to talk much due to confidentiality agreements, but we should get the behind-the-scenes scoop after today's air date. It's moments like these that make me think back to when it was a big deal to get the 501st name in Star Wars Insider magazine, let alone an hour on national television. Obviously, an appearance like this must be facilitated and approved by Lucasfilm, and I can't stress enough the importance of keeping up good relations with the hand that feeds you (or your fandom). I've said it before and I'll say it again: It is within the realm of possibility that you may see the members of the 501st in the upcoming Star Wars live-action TV series. Then all of us geeks can die in peace.

AA versus GL

It's all over the news lately, and inevitably friends and co-workers will ask us Star Wars fans if we have been following the story. British propmaker Andrew Ainsworth, the man who produced the original Stormtrooper armor (as well as some other costume parts) for Lucasfilm back in the mid-1970s is being sued in British High Court for making and selling replica Star Wars helmets and armor through his site Shepperton Design Studios. This is the second case LFL has brought against AA---the first was a 2006 case resulting in a California court awarding Lucasfilm $20 million in damages. Ainsworth claims that he is producing props "from the original moulds" (British spelling) but this is a hot topic amongst serious replica prop fans like those on the RPF, who argue that AA is speaking in half-truths, and that many parts of the armor have been reconstructed to fill in for broken or missing components (some mention of this on the SDS site). Furthermore, Ainsworth claims to be the original sculptor of some pieces, and therefore the artist who holds the rights to further produce the props. This point is now in debate as some photos of prototype clay sculpts are supposedly being brought as evidence against SDS. My personal take is that anyone who has the potential for financial gain based upon the popularity of Star Wars should have stepped up a long time ago (like 30 years ago) to ensure they maintained their intellectual property rights. I also think that Ainsworth, like other propmakers, could have continued his operation if he kept it on the down-low without placing advertisements and opening a full-blown website complete with pricing. Why put Lucasfilm in a position where they are forced to take action against you? I'm no law student, but I'd love to be a fly on the wall of these courtroom proceedings if just to see the surreal sight of a line-up of original Stormtrooper, TIE Pilot, Navy Trooper, Death Star Gunner, Rebel Fleet Trooper and Tusken Raider masks in front of judge and jury (see if you can pick them out of the court artist rendering above). You can also click here for miscellaneous media coverage. An odd side effect is the media's lack of relevant Stormtrooper imagery which has resulted in a lot of 501st members getting pictured in the news lately.

The Fanboys Controversy

Why is it that the media doesn't fact-check anymore? I'm not even going to go into the details about the current controversy surrounding the re-editing of the yet-to-be-released film Fanboys, but you can easily Google the story to play catch up. I'm just venting a little here as I feel that a few inconsiderate Star Wars fans (who claim to be 501st members), chose their words poorly and have now dragged the 501st Legion into this debacle. Blogs and/or entertainment "news" sites are running amok, exploiting the current events with a "geeks gone wild" theme, and naming the 501st as the group "spearheading" the grassroots anti-Weinstein campaign. Would it really kill them to just e-mail the 501st and ask if we, as an organization, are really behind this? Due to the overwhelming number of reports now slandering the Legion's name (and a phone call from NPR), we were forced to post an official statement which can be seen on 501st.com among other places:

The 501st Legion is not involved as an organization in any protests, boycotts, or movements related to the film Fanboys, nor do we have an opinion or position on the film (which has not yet been released). A few of our more than 4,000 members in 47 countries participated in the project, and accordingly may have their personal opinions about the current issues surrounding the project. But their participation in this film was not coordinated through or sanctioned by the Legion. Our organization is an all-volunteer costuming club that focuses on official Star Wars promotions and charity work. Mounting protests is counter to the Legion's mission and would detract from the time and energy that we currently devote to more meaningful causes. If you would like to learn more about the 501st and what we do, please feel free to contact us.

It's worth mentioning that the "masterminds" behind the Weinstein protests have not revealed themselves at this time, nor proven that they are truly members of the 501st. As for me, I'm anxious to see the film in any form. It's been years since we first heard news that some of our Legion members got a chance to participate in the film. For old time's sake, here's the movie trailer from 2006:

Taking a Break from Legion Duties...Or am I?

Each year, the 501st Legion elects its Legion Commanding Officer (LCO)---the equivalent of a President and CEO for this fine volunteer costuming organization. The LCO then appoints his or her second-in-command, the Legion Executive Officer (LXO), as well as a staff of administrative officers which include my previous title of Legion Webmaster (LWM). Sometimes there is carryover from the previous administration, but it is not required by our Legion Charter. This year, 2008, will be a busy one for me personally with the construction of a new farmhouse in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, new job responsibilities, several out-of-state family vacations (including Star Wars Weekends and Dragon*Con), assisting an ailing father-in-law, and more. While I thoroughly enjoy helping fellow costumers with questions and problems they encounter on various 501st websites, the role is a huge time-sucker and requires daily attention to matters both public and private. Really, it has been less like a hobby and more like a job---except there is no pay other than the pure satisfaction of helping others. So, with a reliable replacement identified, I can now feel free to focus on family, job, and personal projects including several more half-completed costumes (AT-ST Driver, Tusken Raider, and my wife's Padme Naboo Pilot), some 501st merchandise projects, and the 501stCast. Hardly sounds like time away from the Legion at all...

LASIK: The Ultimate Mod

Any respectable Stormtrooper is always tinkering with their costume, whether it's adding new parts or improving old ones. The colloquial term for a modification is "mod". I have a whole section of the old site dedicated to trooper mods that make things easier, better, or more fun. Well, in late 2006 I made the decision to make what I would call "the ultimate mod," laser eye surgery. While some troopers deal with wearing eyeglasses while trooping, they are not comfortable given the confines of a Stormtrooper helmet, and they can fog up easily. For five years, I endured the increasingly aggravating use of rigid gas-permeable contact lenses beneath my helmet to deal with my nearsightedness. I was always concerned with how long I would be in costume since I knew the lenses became more irritating with time, and the sweat that inevitably ran down into my eyes didn't help the situation. I inquired amongst some other trooper friends and coworkers and decided LASIK (or more specifically, IntraLASIK) would be right for me. Fortunately, my eye doctor concurred (note that not everyone is a good candidate depending on the shape and condition of your eyes). This was the first pre-meditated elective surgery I've ever had, but I don't consider it cosmetic as much as functional (pity my insurance company doesn't see it the same way). The outpatient surgery was much simpler than I thought it would be and after 20 minutes of slicing and burning my eyes (yes, there is an odor of burning eye tissue), my vision was corrected to 20/15. Surprisingly, the procedure was fairly painless and the painkillers took the edge off. However, I must admit that the first 12 hours after the surgery are not fun. Think sand in your eyes. Light...any light...is blindingly painful and you need to force your eyelids open to administer prescription eyedrops. You may also experience some blurriness, starbursts, and halos around bright lights which can last several months. Even today, my eyes are dryer than they ever have been. While many would consider the procedure itself a bit unsettling, the end result was still the best $3000 I ever spent and just in time for my participation in the 2007 Rose Parade. Remember that LASIK is not for everyone so please consult one or more vision specialists before making the decision to have your eyes operated on!