Retro Halloween

I just had a major flashback when I found this on the official Star Wars site. It has pictures of the original Star Wars Halloween costumers from the 1970s and 1980s. I remember having the Darth Vader and Threepio ones as a kid.

Revelations of a Child

In the Star Wars community, much has been said about how different generations perceive the franchise. For those of us like me, who grew up when the original trilogy was playing in theaters, the biggest revelation was that Darth Vader was Luke's dad.

Recently I caught my young son talking to his cousin, who is only a little older than him, about Star Wars. He was telling him that Anakin Skywalker turns into Darth Vader. It's funny that he really doesn't identify with Luke, Han, or Leia. It took many viewings of Return of the Jedi before I even remembered Darth Vader's former name.

But he has his own Star Wars - made up of Anakin, Darth Vader, Captain Rex, and Asoka Tano. The good thing is that we can still both share in the fun of being fans of the galaxy far, far away.

Big Millennium Falcon Toy Review

My son (well actually my son and I to be truthful) received the Big Millennium Falcon (BMF) for Christmas. Here is my review as a dad with a three going on four year old:

What I personally like best about the BMF is how it gives me a fresh perspective on this iconic vehcle. The toy is at a huge scale of almost three feet long. It is so big that Hasbro had to create a special one person vehicle that docks inside the Falcon (recognizing kids couldn't heft the full vehicle around the backyard for dogfights!). So this toy is really more of a playset than a toy vehicle.

This makes sense when you think of how many important scenes of ANH occur within the Falcon: Obi-Wan trains Luke to use the Force, R2 beats Chewie at dejarik (space chess), the heroes hide in smuggling compartments, etc. Then add in the scenes for ESB: the hyperdrive is broken/fixed, Han and Leia have their first kiss, the ship is attacked by mynocks, etc.

The assembly is pretty simple. The saucer and cockpit are already attached so the biggest step is to attach the front two mandibles. The top and bottom gun placements and the communication dish fit into place firmly as well.

The landing gear, however, is a completely different story. There are no less than seven separate landing gear pieces that fit into the bottom of the craft. However these pieces do not fit firmly into place. Sliding the Falcon on the carpet even just slightly is enough to dislodge at least a couple of them. I recommend leaving the landing gear and lower gun placement off the ship. You lose the ability to easily use the ramp but it makes for a more stable playset for the little one.

As a side note, in the most recent issue of Star Wars Insider, the model designer explained that he used the Empire Strikes Back version of the landing gear which includes an additional pair. Why is that you ask? Well for the ESB film, Lucas wanted a full model of the Falcon constructed. However the set designers discovered that the two-in-back one-in-front design was inadequate to support the weight. It is apropos that the BMF has the same additional support!