Star Wars Weekends

The first and only peak at merchandise so far has come from the snippet that was put up a short while ago from Attractions Magazine.  While informative some of the pictures are rough ideas (see the hat) and I’d like to see a final product soon.  Still overall what I’ve seen it looks as though we have some decent choices this year.

First the logo.  Again the Clone Wars theme reigns supreme this year and that isn’t a bad thing in my opinion.  This Logo goes back to the more simplified style this year and Jedi Mickey is presented in the Animated Clone Wars look.  While I will always be a movies first person but do accept that Star Wars continues to move forward.  This logo is a perfect way to use the Clone Wars platform because it doesn’t throw too much at you at one time.  Mickey does appear to have a very determined look about him which I think fits well.  Yoda is represented again in what seems to be a good pairing and overall this logo looks to be a good transition to the future.  It will be very interesting in a few years to see what they do with this as they get into the live action television series.

Beyond the logo the full poster with Anakin, Obi wan, the Clone Trooper added also looks great.  Again, it isn’t too much for traditional Star Wars Fans who are not into the cartoon series to really have an issue with.  It gives it a good clean look.  The white poster background will make this an excellent item for Autographs.  I could see picking one of these up and having it signed by all of the celebrities.  With this background it should all stand out very nicely!  As I look each year for an idea on how I want to handle autographs, this year I like this idea best.  It is always fun to have a cool smaller item printed up (as I’ve mentioned I used the Darth Maul airport advertisement one year for Ray Park- who liked that a lot), but this seems like a real easy way to handle things.  The poster has it’s own container for protection, doesn’t weigh a lot and will look great on display.  If you intend on going to one weekend you may still want to pick something smaller, but this could still work nicely as there are four autographs you can get each weekend between celebrities and hosts.

My favorites of the merchandise shown (in no particular order) are the movie poster puzzles, which I would like to see in poster form.  They look great and the family is going to enjoy putting them together.  The coins look pretty cool for this year, but for some reason I seem to like these every year,   They are a simple collectable that is well packaged and in limited edition.  This year I like the figures in the collector packs that are sold at the Star Traders, even though they are not exclusive to weekends.  The sets span the entire theme from the movies to the show, to the park.  The Potato Head figures being added this year look very good and are worth checking out.  And as I mentioned in an earlier blog, I do like the Jedi Training Academy Figures.  These should be a must for anyone traveling to Star Wars Weekends with children.  I really think these are a great idea and will have the children playing the resort rooms long after the day is done.

Over the years I’ve become more of a pin person than I realized, but what I’ve found is that I need to see the pins in person.  The pictures rarely do them justice, so I’m reserving judgment on these other than to say that the large Grievous pin looks a little overwhelming.  But then once I see it who knows?  The other pins are both clone wars and movie themed.  The spinner pins look interesting so I’ve got them on my things to check out list.  The T’shirts look pretty good, but again the pictures are hard to tell and it may be another case of seeing in person.  Still the style is new and they look fresh. 

 With this information we lack specifics on the Limited Edition merchandise.  That could be put out there any day now, but beyond the Big Figs (I must have Donald and Mickey!) we have no official word to work with.  It seems like a decent offering this year.  The hat might be very cool, but without any actual representation here it will have to be something we see in person.  I wonder if they will be doing the limited edition crystal of the logo like they have in past years or if they will offer a watch?  Still a lot of questions and while there has been nothing put up on the official sites, at least we have this to wet the appetite.  Without knowing the limited edition items, it looks on the surface as though things should be easier to come by this year.  Even as I threaten to cut back this year, I find already that there are things that I intend to bring home.