As seen at STAR WARS CELEBRATION V • ECHO BASE DIORAMA BUILDERS
Orlando, FL, USA from August 12 to 15 2010
pre production Celebration V WEDNESDAY FINAL SET UP
Welcome to the OFFICIAL Star Wars Celebration V Hoth Echo Base Diorama Builders workshop site featuring my EXCLUSIVE CREW COVERAGE not seen anywhere else on the web.
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Wednesday, August 11 2010
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The day before the main event, the most stressfull yet FUN day of every convention 🙂 I get to see my Diorama family, hang out at the convention center before the public arrives, get to see everything get set up, it’s really cool, but I have to make sure that our booth gets ready as well, I can’t just get all geeky and run around too much 🙂
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- If you ever wondered what it be like to be on our crew helping out - or to actually be inside the convention center before the public is allowed to come, then you should enjoy this set of photos.
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- Joining me for the first time at a Star Wars convention and Celebration Diorama Workshop, 2 local friends from Montreal are ahead of me eager to get to the Convention Center 🙂 Fred on the left actually worked at Legends Action Figures here in Montreal. Sadly they closed in 2014, the only TRUE toy store to get your star wars figures and more. I didn't visit as often as when I was at my peak collecting craze 1999-2009, but I do miss it. To the right Simon, was a loya customer that I had never met, but heard Fred was coming so he wanted to join in. Simon is a teacher and has been a huge help in future conventions,splitting prototype construction tasks that are crucial for planning these workshop booth.
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- Next in the front left, Mark has been helping me since Celebration IV, the Ewok Landscaping. Duke behind him as well as Danielle behind his left head 🙂 were also introduced to me at Celebration IV in LA. The Ewok Landscaping theme was awesome hit and SO MUCH FUN to build. To the right of Duke's head, Patricia, is another Local from Montreal who was married to one of the partners of Legends action Figures, and who had come for the first time with me at Celebration III - Indianapolis - Death Star was our theme. She skipped 4 in LA, but was able to return for Celebration V. Needless to say, after spending so many hours together - and sharing in the craziness that is behind the scenes of operating smoothly (as possible LOL) a Convention booth the size of the Diorama Workshops have become, these guys have become great friends, and like summer camp, it's always exciting to get back together and catch up every 2-3 years. Who knows? Maybe you will become a future crew member after hanging out every day with us at the show, that's how these guys came about and Alissa (who we met here at CV - who has since returned a full time crew at Celebration VI and VII)
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- The first thing we notice when we enter the convention center - is a eerie silence 🙂 It's actually fun to walk around huge empty halls before the chaos of 55,000 fans. It's even more fun, to walk around and NOT get KICKED OUT 🙂
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- Arriving at our booth space, a whopping 60 feet x 60 feet. our BIGGEST yet at the time. The first order is to start opening the delivered pallets and sort out the building supplies.
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- Spreading out the styrofoam sheets that Philip went to buy for us at Home Depot saved us a lot on shipping that's for sure.
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- I mean, look at all that LOL. You sure would not fit that in your home diorama 🙂 To think that all these FLAT sheets will become HOTH with the artistic skills of hundreds of Star Wars fans in the next 4 days is AWESOME.
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- Returning back to the workshop after picking up my box of giveaway and Crew T-Shirts from the printers. I also go to ride around in a cool buggy cart, that thing goes FAST !!! Looking at this 5 years later - it's as if I was Singing a song or something LOL.
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- Showing the BLUE FRONT to the crew. Diorama Workshop Logo Empire Strikes Back style. These T-Shirts came out really sweet. And were printed by the SAME guys who did the Celebration Lucasfilm Store shirts. Now if we can only get our T's into the gift shop 😛
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- The back of the shirt was an illustration I did after the suggestion of Steve Sansweet from Rancho Obi-Wan that we needed a cool BACK print, not just the front. Hmmm, thanks for giving me EXTRA WORK to do Steve 😛 Glad he did suggest it though, cause it turned out great, and the T does look better 2 sides. I will place the actual images onsite for you to be able to go to your local T-Shirt store and print these out for yourselves if you wish.
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- The Black version of the T - hey everyone needs a BLACK T-Shirt right ? How else can fat people like myself look a little thinner 🙂
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- A close up of the REAR illustration of the Probot holding a bunch of Art Supplies, just ready to start building at the workshop.
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- Back to work y'all 🙂 Simon sorts out our Postcard giveaways. TWO for each day, Did you collect all TEN ?
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- Frank, how many did you say I have to stack of these cards ? LOL
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- A close up of one of the cards, I always LOVED whow my Bacta Tank design turned out. You can build this at home, all instructions, decals, etc are on the site, Head over to the WORKSHOP top menu bar - Empire Strikes Back. You can better see each card we gave away under the Production - Fan Giveaway link.
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- Some of the Printed Decals fans will be using to build the Bacta Chamber and Hoth War Room, Hallway doors etc... Who doesn't love playing with STICKERS 🙂
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- Here's what one of the Rebel Base Console Decals look like. Obviously, you can now PRINT these at home under the Decals Menu in their appropriate Workshop section. As are ALL of the decals I have made over the past 15+ years.
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- This was maybe the part that was our BIGGEST WASTE of TIME. Simon wanted to KILL me LOL. In the end everyone ended up helping just to sort this out. The printer mixed all the 1000's sheets all together instead of printing ALL of the Sheet 1 - Sheet 2 - sheet 3, so we had to go through EVERY page and sort the piles ourselves. NEVER again will we print at UPS store.
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- Some of the instructions sheets created for the show. If you want to reprint them for nostalgia or to help you with your home construction, help yourself, They are available in the PRODUCTION - INSTRUCTION SHEETS menu.
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- To save some budget money, I printed all the instruction sheets in Black and White, I will share these on the site for you to see the actual instructions used, but I will offer color versions for home printing.
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- More decals being sorted out. You can probably recognise the Bacta Tank Medical Center walls, one of the most fun Decals I created in Photoshop.
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- Pizza break time !!! Starting to get hungry by 3 pm, someone went to pick this up - In Montreal, we don't have HUGE Pizza's like this, I had never seen such a thing LOL. I thought I had to share this moment with you 🙂
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- Hey !!!! Save me a piece will ya ? 🙂 I mean, have you ever seen such a HUGE Pizza ?
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- Got some wood 2x4's so we can strap them to the table sides...
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- ... and make a blue sky background for the AT-At battle. I know it's not perfect, but better than seeing people building on the other side 🙂
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- Fred waiting for Jamie to return from Hasbro with their donations for the kids and to help populate the Hoth Diorama.
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- One of the things I am most jealous of, is the OPENING of the Hasbro Toy Donations, and Fan donation boxes. Since I have to run around and help everyone at different tables, run to the Lucas Offices to get our Badges etc... Jamie and Fred get all the fun here 🙂 This year for Celebration V - We were Lucky the timing of the relase of Habro's BMF AT-AT's had just come off the production line, and they were able to give us 6 of them to display and later on the sunday - GIVE to some LUCKY KIDS during the take down.
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- Mark, Fred, Danielle and Duke, sorting out the giveaways YOU - the Star Wars FANS have sent to us. Each convention your generosity BLOWS ME AWAY!!! The kids LOVE IT !!!
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- Wow Hasbro hasa outdoine themselves this year. If there are hundreds of Tripod Cannons, then there must be...
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- HUNDREDS of REBEL SOLDIERS !!! Straight from the China warehouse, not even on cards, Thank you SO much Derryl DePriest. you are the champion !
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- Just some of the toys you guys sent us for this year's Fan Donations.... X-wings, AT-AT's, Tauntauns...
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- What the hell is this ??? Someone sent us a VINTAGE TROOP CARRIER !!!! WOW, The entire crew stopped and DROOLED over the table for at least 10 minutes 🙂 This was the coolest thing ever - and SO RARE !!!! Just AMAZING !!!!
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- Bunch of loose figures. Sorry the quality of the pic sucks, it's actually a video grab and this is the best frame I could find 🙁 But look at the QUANTITY of TOYS !!! THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!!
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- Last but not least, another shot of some of the loose figures. Look at all those Snow troopers and Han Solos, C-3PO's Imperial dudes. We LOVE our HASBRO TOYS 🙂 Couldn't make a diorama without them !!!
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- Were about done by now, time soon to head to hotel for dinner - it's like 10 pm. But first need to brief the team.
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- Explaining how the construction process is layed out in the builders zone
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- All the Trenches will be placed here and we will figure out tomorrow how much distance we must seperate the tables in order to give the illusion they are dug deep like the movie.
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- Next to the At-At battle and trenches will be the interior of the Echo Base Hangar.
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- This is where all the hallway designs I created the last couple of months will be placed side by side to create huge maze of corridors just like the movie.
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- Fans will stack even more hallways behind the main hangar walls so that we can allow even more fans to build a piece of the 40 foot Diorama.
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- And this is where the BMF Falcon will be set up. Right in the middle of the interior base. It's gonna be AMAZING. OK, Now LET'S GO EAT !!!!
