Zero-G Troopers (Part 2)

I made a post a while back about the elusive "holy grail" of Stormtrooper costumes, the Zero-G or Space Trooper as seen outside the Death Star docking bay in 1977's A New Hope. Hasbro's presentation at San Diego Comic-Con 2008 revealed that they will be releasing a 3 3/4"-scale figure of this very character which they are calling a "Space Trooper." Not a lot of detail on this image, but I have to say it does look like Joe Johnston!

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!

Marching on the Mouse

Star Wars Weekends is upon us again and this year DZ-4009 and myself loaded up the family and made a trip to that wretched hive of sun and humidity known as Florida. This would be the third Star Wars Weekends troop for me as well as my first troop of the year (current home construction is occupying most of our time). The Florida Garrison did an excellent job of tightening things up this year and we had such a huge number of participants this year that Disney actually put a cap on our numbers! We only marched on Friday, June 6th, but watched the parade as spectators on Saturday, June 7th and supported the troops with a home-made banner. While keeping in character during the march, we got a few nods from our members as well as hoots and hollers from the three 501st Honorary Member celebrities in the motorcade (Jeremy Bulloch, Warwick Davis, and Daniel Logan). This was also the first official troop for my AT-ST Driver costume. Watch for me with the Imperial Gunners and DZ-4009 as Friday's only female Tusken in the videos below:

Zero-G Troopers

One of the most obscure and overlooked Stormtrooper variants from the original trilogy is the trooper type seen outside the Death Star docking bay as the Millennium Falcon is being pulled in via tractor beam (pictured above). Although some fans refer to this trooper as the "Spacetrooper", the official Star Wars databank already has that particular name reserved for another Expanded Universe character. As such, I'm calling this a Zero-G trooper to avoid confusion and to emphasize the spacewalking nature of these troops.

There are only a few photos known to exist that document this rare piece of trooper equipment, and none show a great degree of detail. We know that the basis of this costume is the Stormtrooper armor with some additions (much like the Sandtrooper is really a Stormtrooper variant). This trooper wears some kind of oxygen-supplying backpack with a hose leading to the front of the helmet, and also wears his gloves untucked and pulled up over the forearm armor (giving the appearance of really long wrists!)

An interesting thread on the RPF (which has been going since 2005) revealed an unproduced Marmit 1/6 scale Zero-G trooper:


Marmit is known for their attention to detail and realism, but what is interesting is that the backpack tanks on the figure appear to be based upon the tanker truck model parts that were kit-bashed as part of the Death Star trench seen here:

This was speculated by RPF members even before the awareness of the Marmit prototype and you can see the same tanks in this screen capture:

TK-8456 of the UK Garrison has made a fantastic effort in reproducing the space pack with little reference to rely upon. A groundbreaking first try:

Meanwhile, the hunt continues as, even 30 years later, new images continue to pop up from the Lucasfilm archives.

TRIVIA: The two Spacetroopers from Episode IV are believed to be Star Wars alumnus Joe Johnston filmed twice and superimposed. However, this production photo seems to suggest otherwise:

Special thanks to everyone on the RPF for helping to source this information.

Joined the Chicken Walker Club

Since my retirement as 501st Legion Webmaster earlier this year, one of my goals was to get back to finishing up some other Star Wars costumes that I've had in various stages of completion. One of them, started in 2004, is the AT-ST Driver from Return of the Jedi. Finally finished this one up this weekend after sourcing a decent jumpsuit with the proper stitching and color (I'm no seamstress!). The helmet comlink (which is composed of the carburator on a classic V8 engine model kit) was another "holy grail" for this particular costume...and now it's becoming more readily available from a number of sources. If you want to know more about this costume, visit the 501st Armored Cavalry Detachment (ACD) message boards by clicking here. I'll add more posts about this particular costume using the "AT-ST Driver" tag so you can view all of the posts at once. Can you believe this is only the second complete costume I own?!

MRCE+TK=$90 US!

I just found out that the Master Replicas Collectors Edition (CE) Stormtrooper helmet that I mentioned in a previous post is now available in the U.S. from a shop in California, and at 54% off retail (just $90 US!) it's quite a steal. If I wasn't already in possession of two TE2 buckets, an RT, and an FX, I'd be quick to jump on this one. If you are in search of a more accurate helmet for your FX armor, click here for this great price from Redford Films. (EDIT 1/29/09: Price has gone up to $110 with free shipping) You will also want to make some modifications to fine-tine this helmet. On a related note, they also have MR Clone Trooper helmets (not the Limited Editions) for just $199 US (but they were out of stock at the time of this blog). It may be worth watching this seller to see what other deals pop up in the future. Thanks to TK-5766 for the tip.

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.