When we last saw our intrepid travelers, they were for all intents and purposes lost in the Fan’s Strike Back exhibit in New York City. Though not lost in a physical sense. Somewhere in between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back they ran into a character out of time and place. Unsure why this rift occurred, they continued on deeper into the saga. And things were starting to get cold.
The Fans Strike Back
Episode’s IV, V, VI (continued)
[Note: Landscape images are cropped by the gallery view. All images are clickable and will open in a new tab, to better appreciate the details. Enjoy]
Okay, it wasn’t really getting colder in the exhibit. But it would have been neat had it, for effect considering the theme. Next up in our journey was Episode V. And that meant a trip to the frozen rebel base and wastelands of Hoth. This area was complete with snow drifts and ice.
Moving on, we found ourselves in a frozen cave of a hallway with ice hanging down above us. At the end of the hallway a giant probe droid.
The following area wraps up the original trilogy with Return of the Jedi. The Speeder display was neat. It had sizes of the same model stepped down from life sized all the way to the size of a Micro Machines Speeder. I tried to photograph the smallest one, but the lighting was too dark for a good picture.
There was a pretty large area devoted to things pertaining to Jaba’s court. Including a life-sized scene where you can pose like Leia in front of Jaba. Though I thought Jaba seemed a little on the small side.
The next section presents a mixture of the new trilogy(ep’s VII, VIII, and IX) and various other Star Wars properties, such as Rogue One. There was not much in their collection for the newer stuff. At least compared to the other sections. But I suspected that this was all a product of time. The first 6 movies have anywhere from 45 to 25 year histories.
Notably missing from the entire exhibit is anything related to The Mandalorian and Boba Fett series’. But again, that franchise is relatively new. So I get it. But looking towards the future, I would like to see more from the new series and the Disney + series’. Many new and interesting characters were introduced.
Also in this section are some pretty impressive displays that showcase the weapons of Star Wars. From light sabers to blasters. The former also have crystals placed next to the corresponding light saber. I thought that was a nice touch.
To round out this section, and the exhibit, are various trooper helmets, and a suit of Samurai Trooper cosplay armor. Which was very cool. The organizers placed the samurai themed armor as an homage to the great influence that Japanese culture has on the Star Wars universe.
The Fans Strike Back
Conclusion
At the end of the exhibit, as is usually the case with events such as these, there was the gift shop. As well as the touristy green-screen photo-op. You were provided with toy light sabers that allowed you to chose your favorite color, and could pose as you saw fit. My wife and I chose a pose where I was striking with an overhead swing, as she was blocking over her head. Once the picture is ready, you chose your backdrop. There were four to chose from. A star field, the cockpit of a starship(presumably the Millennium Falcon, a volcanic backdrop(similar to Mustafar), and I forget the 4th one. We chose the Mustafar scene.
The shop had a fair selection of Star Wars books. Like actual, official stuff with the Star Wars logo plastered on them. There was also a small selection of action figures. Literally only two. And the two available were kind of funny. Lando Calrissian and JarJar Binks. That’s it. I had a laugh. I bought a Star Wars character encyclopedia. Because I like to read up on characters. I have a couple encyclopedia’s from various other universes. Like Marvel.
Overall, we had a good time looking at all of the pieces in this collection. My wife does not know much about Star Wars, so I had a good time showing her some of my favorite things and answering her questions. I particularly enjoyed most of the larger scale single statues. They all had incredible detail. Some of my favorites were: the various Darth Maul’s from the beginning, the Darth Vader Legend model(holding helmet on Mustafar) from the Hoth room, and the light saber collections with their corresponding crystals.
The atmosphere inside the exhibit was dark and it all had a feel of Star Wars. The lighting on the exhibit pieces was just enough to bring their character out. Some of the taller pieces in the glass cases had uneven lighting. Usually towards the top of the model there was a darkness. This was because of the lighting source being at the bottom of the display cases. But this didn’t detract from the experience. And I think that you can tell, I was able to get some pretty good photographs with this lighting.
We spent about an hour and a half inside the exhibit. And that was more than enough time for us. We saw everything in the exhibit except for the 3D experience corner. Which was located just before the gift shop. I have difficulty with 3D simulation type stuff. Hurts my eyes and occasionally gives me a headache. So we decided to skip this one. Though I am a little curious as to what it was all about.
If you find yourself in or around the New York Metro area, and if this is your type of thing. Head down and check it out. The venue is easily accessible by subway. Particularly from the Penn Station or Herald Square areas. As of the time of writing this(early/mid May) it was still open. As they have not posted a closing date, I am assuming it will be around for a while.
Thanks for viewing!
[This post was originally published at Otherverse Games & Hobbies]
Robert
All of the following are true, except for one:
Robert is: a Hobbyist with too many hobbies to list, a Music Lover, an RPG/JRPG Gamer, a Mustard Lover, Chaotic Neutral, a Japanese Speaker, a Veteran, an Otaku, an Aviation Professional, a New York Rangers Fan, a Chaos Lover With Loyalist Tendencies, in a toxic relationship with spicy foods..
