applying the methods of progressive historic reenacting to the Galaxy Far, Far Away
This is another feature that will be rolling out this year, which I’ve termed ‘debriefs’. These will be ‘after-action reports’ in which I break down public events I’ve attended in the name of ‘GFFA reenacting’. The first several will require a bit of backtracking, but we’ll get caught up quickly.
Venue: MCPL:
Continue reading “Event debrief: 19 July 2016”
This is another one of those on-screen artifacts I had a really easy time identifying, because I grew up seeing identical cups in my mom’s kitchen drawer of plastic cups and bowls—except hers were a sort of seafoam-ish green:
The cup that Luke drinks from is an actual vintage Tupperware cup, known as a “Sweet Saver” (product #640-8) meant for storing and pouring liquids like maple syrup or salad dressing.
These are often available and relatively inexpensive on eBay, or you may get lucky by combing your local thrift shop for vintage Tupperware.
Continue reading “Artifact ID: blue milk cups”
One feature I’ve been wanting to implement here is a series in which I take a close look at individual images, something along the lines of Townsend’s Sifting the Past blog. And here, I think, is the perfect example to start with!
This picture comes from Wizards of the Coast’s Galactic Campaign Guide (2003), p. 113. The book is a great source for our purposes, as it includes (among many other juicy details) an excellent section on species-specific naming conventions, and many similar world-building vignette scenes.
Looking at this image with an anthropologist’s discerning eye, several details leap out at me.
Continue reading “Image Analysis: Clone Wars Playtime”
After acquiring a Swedish winter cap for $10, I had originally planned to do just a few simple modifications—removing the superfluous rear buckle, replacing the fake fur of the flaps with wool, and then giving it a dunk in some brown RIT dye.
However, the more I looked at the Pfilbee Jhorn pictures, the more I felt that simply relying on the similar shapes of his hat and the Swedish one wouldn’t be enough to make this an authentic piece.
Continue reading “Crafting the Coldweather Hat”
Hats of any type are comparatively rare in most Star Wars sources (especially when it comes to main characters), and hats for cold-weather scenarios are doubly rare. Since the main films only depict one cold-weather setting (Hoth in Episode V), we have an extremely limited pool from which to draw inspiration for cold-weather gear. As a result, most depictions tend to use variations on the Episode V ensembles, such as an obscure ‘cold weather gear’ Obi-Wan action figure based on Han Solo’s parka, or the Jedi Academy PC game, which outfits Jaden Korr for his mission to Hoth in the uniform of an Echo Base technician.
However, having proper GFFA cold-weather items is necessary if, like me, you don’t want to be limited to three-season excursions.
Continue reading “Searching for winter headwear in the Galaxy”
After finishing construction of my Rebel ‘swoop’ helmet last July, I started to feel that it might not be the best fit for a Rebel militiaman on Sulon, or more specifically, that it wasn’t the most practical choice.
Although there are a few other designs from EU sources, the Rebels’ only other proper helmet we know from the films is that worn by the Rebel strike team as seen in Episode VI, so by September I had begun weighing the pros and cons.
Continue reading “Building the Rebel persona: 5.1a – ‘Endor Donut’ Helmet”
Appearing (as far as I know) only in the Episode II Visual Dictionary (p. 43) (and of course, subsequent frequent reprints by DK), Boba Fett’s airspeeder model is one of those items where one just has to scratch their head and wonder. Continue reading “Artifact ID: Boba Fett’s toy airspeeder”
The ‘Donovian Rainmen’ are a pretty deep cut, never appearing (as far as I know) on-screen in their film, but only in a DK reference book, a behind-the-scenes documentary (“A Twinkle Beyond Pluto”) on the Episode II DVD, and one frame of Dark Horse’s Republic #80.
However, they have always intrigued me, given their specific ‘occupational’ identity. Continue reading “Artifact ID: Donovian Rainmen”
As this post goes live on January 1st (by Gregorian Reckoning), I thought it would be nice to have something that would tie in with celebratory toast-making and libations.
This was a pretty simple artifact to identify, and like the refugee water bottle from a few weeks ago, the actual items are fairly plentiful, easy to find, useful, and SHINY.
The scene: Year 3 after the Great ReSynchronization (32 BBY), aboard the Trade Federation battleship Saak’ak (Profiteer). The Neimoidians, stalling for time before they deal with the Chancellor’s negotiators, send a protocol droid into the conference room. The droid enters bearing a tray of refreshments; our Jedi heroes accept the cups and sip politely…until the Neimoidians pump toxic gas into the room and everything goes to hell.
Continue reading “Artifact ID: Neimoidian Silver Cups”
In the spirit of Christmas and the Nativity (even though Jesus of Nazareth was most definitely Not born at midwinter), I wanted to publish something with a Mary and Joseph, poor-folk-on-the-road theme.
On a recent rewatch of Episode II (focusing on scenes with background commoners), I noticed something in the scene on the refugee transport. I’m surprised I never noticed it before, considering it’s so shiny and eye-catching…
Yes, as Obi-Wan says, “Your eyes can deceive you” and that we shouldn’t trust them. However, in this case, seeing is believing, because that is quite clearly an unmodified, off-the-shelf, stainless steel water bottle sitting on the table between Padme and Anakin.
At first, a small part of me wondered if it was even meant to be there. Continue reading “Artifact ID: Refugee’s water bottle”
Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy 