Creating a perfect storm of classic nerd fan-worship, Lego now offers a chess set which employs Star Wars characters as its pieces. Kings Luke Skywalker and Emperor Palpatine oversee their armies, which include queens Leia Organa and Darth Vader (did Anakin get a promotion that I'm not aware of?).
If the idea of a checkmate being determined by lightsaber battle doesn't do it for you, other options are available: a medieval set which pits the good guys against an undead army, a Robin Hood set, and cowboys and Indians (which struggles to remain morally ambiguous). But if it's an epic war between good and evil that you're looking to re-enact, then the choice is clear. Maybe this time around Vader will actually have his day...
Ever wonder whatLuke, Chewie, Han and the rest of the gangwould look like re-imagined as steampunk characters? These custom designed Star Wars steampunk action figures open up a whole new world of possibilities for the franchise. If only Lucas would allow other filmmakers to play in his universe. Terry Gilliam could probably pull off an amazing steampunk take on Luke, Vader, et al. Or how about a dystopian vision of Wars directed by Ridley Scott? (Interestingly enough, artist Ralph McQuarrie's original designs for Star Wars featured a much stronger steampunk flavor, as evidenced by the custom figures seen here.)
If you were anything like me as a kid, then your toy battles knew no bounds. Transformers fought alongside G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K. vehicles drove over your sister's helpless My Little Ponies. Anyone who relishes whenever fictional worlds collide will get a kick out of the nutty toy-inspired artwork on display this month at LA's Gallery 1988.
A few of the pieces are so wrong, yet so right: Gumby fighting giant robots; the Star Wars gang given the Playskool treatment; He-Man as a lumpy, balding middle-aged man; beloved Nintendo characters sitting down to a Last Supper presided over by Donkey Kong. (I always suspected Mario was a Judas.) Others, such as a portrait of He-Man's wise confidante, the Sorceress, are downright beautiful. And, of course, many of the pieces will have you going, "I used to have that!" (For instance, the painting featuring the blissfully simplistic Battle Beasts. "Wood! Fire! Fire burn wood!" Truer words were never spoken.)
It's been a busy week for Star Wars-inspired items around the web...
• Steampunk fans will want to hurry over to eBay where they can bid on this Steampunk
Darth Vader Mask.This homemade
beauty began life as a regular Darth Vader mask purchased as a gift at Disney World.After fourteen years of sitting on a shelf
collecting nerd-dust, it was finally put to good use.Only to have the guy sell it off. There's gratitude for you.
•
The crafty Star Wars fan will want to
look into this collection of knitted
Amigurumi Star Wars dolls.I suspect these are about twice as creepy as
they look in picture. Seriously,
only the art of knitting can ruin the childhood image of perfection that is
Princess Leia in a metal bikini.What's
next?A macramé Wilma Deering?A crocheted Batgirl?
Not everyone can be a rich science fiction fan (I'm looking
at you, Paul Allen) so I have to wonder what Sideshow Collectibles and Monster
Galaxy are thinking when they decided to sell life-size Star Wars and Aliens
figures that sell for between $5,000 and $6,000.
Don't get me wrong, if I had a spare $16,000 to spend, I'd buy
these in less than a parsec.(I know
that's the improper usage of the word parsec.If George Lucas can do it, I can too.)Convincing the wife might be another issue... I suppose I could try to display it at the
office since it is, after all, "perfect for your home, office, or theater
room."But I'm thinking that's a
large chunk of change to spend just so my coworkers
can make fun of me -- something they willingly do today for free.
Although I must admit that the fan inside of me wouldn't mind having some of
these.The trick in justifying such a
purchase is to find a way to make the object serve some useful function and not
be just a worthless trophy...
I think every kid has the idea at one point or another to start dabbling in model kits. I know I certainly did. I'm not sure why, but at around the age of 12, the idea of using rubber cement to assemble approximately 400 miniscule parts to assemble a perfect scale model of a Porsche held a certain strange appeal.
I quickly gave up the notion: Although the glue fumes were certainly a plus, I had managed to slice off the tips of each of my fingers with an Exacto knife by the end of my brief stab at model building, and I have never much fancied hobbies where a pre-requisite is a refrigerator full of Type A positive.
Back in the early 20th Century, there were entire constabularies of sword swallowers roaming the countryside. With wide esophaguses and long torsos, these circus performers would delight their crowds by swallowing glow-in-the-dark sabers... sometimes coated with everyone's favorite fluorescent material, liquid radium, so onlookers got an X-Ray view as it darkly slid its way down their throats.
Meet BigDog, a headless quadruped straight out of Star Wars that can scramble up snowy slopes and keep its balance on slippery sheets of ice. Whether the video footage of this new "creature" from Boston Robotics fills you with delight or makes you want to run for the hills, you have to admit that this is a profound breakthrough. A robot that can navigate harsh terrain as easily as an animal -- as demonstrated when BigDog stumbles and then rights itself after being kicked over by a pesky human -- would be very useful, freaky-looking though it may be.
While it lacks recognizable human or animal features beyond its spindly legs, BigDog seems to trigger a visceral reaction in humans; maybe it's the chainsaw-like noise, or maybe it's the sight of it pogo-ing through an obstacle course in the BR lab. Either way, it's surely only a matter of time before those things are running errands and replacing wheelchairs -- or hunting us in the woods for sport.
I have always felt that the nature of my adult dating life necessitated a 70s wooden-paneled van. The side would give me a large canvas to woo the sci-fi-obsessed geek girl with a large, air-painted mural of Star Wars as I cruised around the neighborhood. Inside would be a collection of figurines for her to play with, lightsaber replicas and perhaps, under the front seat, a device to slow the passage of time. Plus some bitchin' hydraulics, natch.
So I'm very tempted to make a bid on this wonderful eBay auction for a 1970s Star Wars disco van...
One of the skills I have learned as an adult is wise pecuniary investment. It wasn't always like this -- in my youth, I frivolously blew my spending money on multiple-editions of comic book premiere issues, as well as a hermetically-sealed vault and a surplus of mylar vacuum. Needless to say, my 43 copies of Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 have not appreciated noticeably in value, and while this will keep me in toilet paper for some time to come, I have not returned on the investment.
But this seven-foot tall-Cylon sculpture? Now that's an investment I can trust.
I think every kid has the idea at one point or another to start dabbling in model kits. I know I certainly did. I'm not sure why, but at around the age of 12, the idea of using rubber cement to assemble approximately 400 miniscule parts to assemble a perfect scale model of a Porsche held a certain strange appeal. 
Meet BigDog, a headless quadruped straight out of Star Wars that can scramble up snowy slopes and keep its balance on slippery sheets of ice. 
One of the skills I have learned as an adult is wise pecuniary investment. It wasn't always like this -- in my youth, I frivolously blew my spending money on multiple-editions of comic book premiere issues, as well as a hermetically-sealed vault and a surplus of mylar vacuum. Needless to say, my 43 copies of Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man #1 have not appreciated noticeably in value, and while this will keep me in toilet paper for some time to come, I have not returned on the investment.
