R2D2 Goes Steampunk

Shown above is a wonderful Steampunk version of R2D2 named R2S2 (R2 Steam Too) which was designed by Crabfu SteamWorks. You’ll have to visit their page to see every loving bit of detail that was put into this droid — but to give you just a small sample here’s a close up from the back side of this mechanical marvel:

…and here is R2S2 in action:

Star Wars as Renaissance Art

There’s a great Photoshop contest at worth1000 on the theme of Star Wars Renaissance Art (quite a bit of this is in fact Victorian romantic artwork but you get the idea). Shown above is Godward Padme by Frogman12834, and below is Yoda Borguereau by Mandrak:

Found via Gawker.

Choose the Droid or Dark Side USB Hub?

The never ending fight between good and evil computer connectivity methods continues! Shown above is the R2-D2 and Darth Vader USB hubs — the cute droid makes little beeping noises while Lord Vader will amuse your fellow Jedi by lighting up his eyes for you. Both Star Wars USB hubs are available from National Console Support for pre-orders.

PhoneSaber on iPhone!

The dumbest things make me so happy! Well it’s a bit past 3am here and I’ve just wasted a wee bit of time installing the 2.0 software on my iPhone. Of course the first application that I had to run was PhoneSaber:

“Ever wished you could swing your iPhone around like a lightsaber? Well now you can, with PhoneSaber. As you swing your phone, a range of lightsaber sound effects will be emitted from your phone’s speaker (or connected audio output). Not only that, but you can also withdraw and put away your saber. Last but not least, you can also change the colour of your lightsaber for maximum effect. PhoneSaber will be available on the App Store (at launch) for free!”

Trailer for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Shown above is the latest trailer for Star Wars:The Force Unleashed which should be released on September 16th, 2008. You can pre-order it here:

Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

R2-D2 Goes Green!

As a Star Wars fanboy I got quite a kick out of this Scrap Metal t-shirt design by illustrator Glenn Jones.

A Gallery of Kenner Star Wars Action Figures

Looking through Jason’s Flickr account I came across an amazing set of Kenner Star Wars Action Figures from the early 80s — what’s amazing is that they’re all in their original boxes. I think my favorite is the IG-88 assassin droid at the very end:

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Oh No: It’s the Star Wars Dance Off!

OMFG! How can Lucas let this happen to his prized characters? This footage was shot by ParkSleuth and the dance competition is part of a Star Wars Weekend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Found via Kara Swisher whose name rhymes with Carrie Fisher!

Happiness is a Warm Wookie

My best guess is that this photo is either from 1980 or 1983 when either The Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi came out. Although if you forced me to place a bet I’d say that with her hairstyle and the t-shirts with the iron on lettering the photo is from 1980.

Photo found via digital archivist superbomba!

Lightsaber Construction Set

Pouring a lightsaber out of a can just isn’t any fun! After all why go with a ready made lightsaber when you can do it yourself? Well industrious Star Wars fanboys can rejoice with this new lightsaber set allows you to create your own personalized Jedi experience:

Star Wars Force FX Lightsaber Construction Set

“To be a Jedi, you must construct your own lightsaber. Finding the right crystals and metal pieces to forge your own weapon can be difficult, but the Star Wars Force FX Lightsaber Construction Set makes it easy for you. In just seconds, you can assemble 5 pieces, a blade, and some batteries to forge one of over 700 possible configurations of lightsaber! Use a variety of pommel, handle, and detail parts to create a personalized weapon that looks just like the ones that belong to Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker, or Obi-Wan Kenobi… or something totally new that’s uniquely you!”

Here is a video demo:

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Star Wars Adventures In ABC

Star Wars Adventures In ABC was published in 1984 by Buena Vista Records and included a audio tape with a 4 page read along book. Another book and cassette tape set in this same series was Star Wars: Adventures in Colors and Shapes which featured C-3PO and R2-D2 try to help Han Solo and Chewbacca repair the Millennium Falcon. The ABC book featured a different item from the Star Wars universe to illustrate each letter of the alphabet — starting with “A is for AT-AT”:

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Run R2 Run!

I got a kick out of the above t-shirt design from Split Reason which features R2-D2 running away from an AT-AT.

R2-D2 Soap Dispenser

A long time ago, in a bathroom far far away! This R2-D2 Soap Dispenser will help you avoid the dark side of the Force and bacteria too…

Star Wars Han Solo Animated Maquette

The Star Wars Han Solo Animated Maquette will set you back $80 — and that doesn’t even include a cute Chewie sidekick! What’s up with that?

Noriyoshi Ohrai: Stellar Star Wars Illustrations

Noriyoshi Ohra is an amazing illustrator from Japan who does quite a bit of work related to the movies dating back the the 70s and covering every film from King Kong (the Jessica Lang remake) to Mad Max. However one of of his more interesting ongoing subjects is Star Wars, and there have been a number of amazing special edition books featuring his work aimed at Japanese fanboys (and fangurls too). What makes his work great is that it has a very strong painterly quality to it, you can see the brushstrokes at work throughout the canvas. His sense of color, lighting and sheer scale is also magical too. If you want to see more of his work check out this amazing article at starwars.com.

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New York Comic Con 2008: Gentle Giant

The first thing that hit my eye at the Gentle Giant Ltd. booth was this life sized statue of Princess Leia. I begged them to tell me if it was part of an upcoming goodie, but all they could to was to grin at me. They did however have a nice line called Star Wars Kustomz which caught my eye — shown here is Jawa in Sandcrawler Kustomz:

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Star Wars Japanese Tea Towels

I just like the look of the above tea towels, unlike most fan merchandise they show some good taste at work:

Japanese Star Wars Tea Towels

“Japan’s Heart Art Collection, Ltd., who recently graced the world with the irresistible R2-D2 and R4-P17 trash cans, now unveils a set of eight stellar tea towels which may just transcend their modest utilitarian function to qualify as, dare we say, art?

The eight towels, which measure approximately 15″x35″, include some wonderful Japanese-inspired Star Wars imagery, such as R2-D2 jettisoning over a traditional Mount Fuji with ocean waves woodcut, a clone trooper helmet doubling as a Japanese shrine bell, Artoo and Threepio under a cherry blossom tree, Vader and Yoda amid intricate scrollwork patterns, and more.”

Life Sized Star Wars Droids

Why should Jawas have all the fun? Now you can own your own life sized droids! Shown above is the R2-D2 ($5,450) life sized figure from Sideshow Collectibles. Another $5,950 will get you C-3PO.

As for me I’m waiting for the life sized Millenium Falcon…

Luke: Avoid the Sand Trap

Not to get snarky about it but I feel like Star Wars has been sort of run into the ground by Lucas, so it’s somewhat fitting that this latest bit of official merchandise deals with balls hitting the dirt:

Tee Off With Star Wars Golf Gear from Japan

“Sculpted art or sporting good? We’ll let you decide which best describes Bridgestone Sports’ new pair of Star Wars golf bags, each highly stylized in the guise of Darth Vader or a stormtrooper. These amazing golf bags from Japan will soon be available for a suggested retail price of 50,000 JPY, or about $500. Also down range are three golf club covers sporting Vader, stormtrooper, and TIE fighter designs, as well as Star Wars-themed ball markers.”

…for that amount of money the least they could have done would be to include golf balls decorated to look like the Death Star.

Clone Wars Coming to Theaters in August

Some more details on the upcoming The Clone Wars film and TV series for Star Wars fanboys:

Star Wars: The Clone Wars In Theaters and on Television in 2008

“A new era of Star Wars entertainment begins in 2008 when Star Wars: The Clone Wars, from creator George Lucas, premieres as an all-new feature film in August, followed by the television series debut in the fall, in a partnership announced today between Lucasfilm Ltd., Warner Bros. Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System Inc.

Produced by Lucasfilm Animation, Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters Friday, August 15. International release dates will be announced soon.”

Lightsaber Desk Lamps

It’s the perfect lighting fixture for any Star Wars fanboy! Shown above is a Japanese Star Wars Lightsaber Desk Lamp from ThinkGeek. You can either pick the red Darth Vader lightsaber or the blue Luke Skywalker one…

Church of the Jedi

In Yoda we trust! Here’s a fun article about some fanboys getting in touch with their inner Jedi:

May the Force be with pew: Brothers open Jedi ‘church’ in Wales

“A Jedi “church” has been born in a galaxy far far away – North Wales. The Holyhead chapter of the self-styled Jedi Church, which claims up to 400,000 members worldwide, has sprung up thanks to brothers Barney and Daniel Jones, both Star Wars obsessives.

The “church” is only one of a handful around the planet, said hairdresser Barney, 26, the Anglesey Order Minister, also known as Master Jonba Hehol. “Some people think it will be quite interesting but lots of people will ridicule us because it seems quite nerdy but we’ve had a good reaction so far,” he said.”

Behind the Scenes: The Force Unleashed

This is a nice behind the scenes look at the making of the upcoming video game The Force Unleashed by LucasArts, which will be released in the Summer. What I love about LucasArts is amount of detail that they put into everything that they work on, check out this preproduction artwork for the game:

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Steampunk Star Wars LEGO Contest

The concept is simple: Recreate a vehicle from Star Wars in steampunk style using LEGO! The Bricks to Bothans Forum (dedicated to LEGO Star Wars) is holding a Steam-Wars Contest, where fans get to submit their LEGO creations of Star Wars vehicle done in steampunk style. Shown above is a steampunk X-Wing fighter by Brickshelf user Jerrec. For info on the contest go here:

Don and dW’s Steam-Wars Contest!

Found via the always entertaining Neatorama.com.