February 25, 2004 Toy Fair 2004: Featured Star Wars Item
Look Out, Fonzie: Collectible FX Jackets Are on the Way
Well, our re-launch was stymied there for a bit by the fact that we were hotlinked into oblivion once the hi-res photos in our coverage of the new Harry Potter LEGOŽ from the upcoming Prisoner of Azkaban movie hit the web. But now we can get back to showcasing some of the most awesome new stuff we found at the show during this month's Toy Fair here in New York City. Master Replicas has been making some really luxurious prop replica items since 2001, and their array of licenses has continued to expand. And while early on, they made their mark creating the most magnificent replicas of specific lightsaber handles from the Star Wars movies, one of the most nifty items at all of Toy Fair this year was their upcoming Star Wars baseball jacket. Yep, you heard me. Baseball jacket.
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At first glance, it just looked like a kinda dorky baseball jacket with a Star Warsy scene embroidered on the back. It seemed like the kind of thing you'd see on the geekiest of geeks at a miserable sci-fi or collectibles convention somewhere. But then you do a double-take when you realize that it's lit up and it's animated. And it's done so well and so uniquely, that any jaded grinchiness you've built up in your lifetime is easily melted away, and all you want to do is put it on and run around the house in circles.
The jacket itself is all black, with leather sleeves and a wool body. The breast features an embroidered logo, but the back is where the action is. This A New Hope themed jacket features a battle of Yavin scene of Vader's TIE fighter pursuing an X-Wing on a star field in view of the Death Star, all under a Star Wars logo, all of which are finely embroidered and well rendered. But the entire image is also laced with hundreds of points of fiberoptic light that are built into the jacket and powered by a simple nine-volt battery hidden in the garment. The colored lights flash and pulse in a 30 second sequence that animates the action, with Vader's TIE firing at the X-Wing and stars twinkling and motion lines racing by. The chase ends in an explosion and a flourish as the X-Wing blasts into hyperspace. See our exclusive video of the entire sequence for yourself.
Due out this summer, it's somewhat pricey at $349.00, but I have a feeling that it'll do just fine. There will be numerous fans wearing these on opening day of a certain movie in 2005 in locations all around the world. And needless to say, there very well could be Empire and Jedi themed jackets in the offing, if not Prequel trilogy themed ones as well. |
