It's just been announced that Star Wars prequel producer Rick McCallum will be attending this forthcoming weekends Kapow! convention down in London.

From May 19th and 20th you can see Rick and the voice of Darth Maul himself, Peter Serafinowicz, as well as a glut of comic book artists and writers, stars of the sci-fi genre and much, much more.

For more information click here and if you visit the show, be sure to let us know what cool treats you saw!

Artist Spencer Brinkerhoff III's artwork for the Droid Hunt at Celebration VI has just been revealed, with Salacious B Crumb trying to pluck out See Threepio's photoreceptor.

Click here to view the image on Flickr and start hunting!

The spies over at Sandtroopers.com have been working overtime to bring us not one, but two news images of exclusives coming later this year...

First up is the AT-ST from Return of the Jedi. It would appear that the Walmart exclusive AT-ST is making a return to Kmart as part of the The Vintage Collection.  Take the link here for loose pictures.

Secondly we have images of a new exclusive tin set of Fighter Pods which features Darth Maul on the front and will be available at Target stores. Take the link here for more images.  As a huge Fighter Pods fan, it's intersting to note that this image shows Ziro the Hutt which was not listed as a series two figure last month which may suggest that this is a series three set due at the end of the year - time will tell!

It's unknown at present if either of these will be available in the UK.

Here's a couple of bits of news from Sideshow Collectibles...

Sideshow got a chance to interview Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs on the collaboration behind the scenes of the Figrin D’an Life-Size Bust. Take the link here for the full interview entitled Rubber Monsters and the Making of the Figrin D’an Life-Size Bust.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough in the most recent Ask Sideshow, the following question was asked…

What are the chances of the next four life size busts being Shaak-Ti, Battle Droid, Tusken Raider and Chewbacca? Could you also tell us when we might see a Production Peek or the next pre order?

This was their exciting response…

Damn, those are some good picks. The next you’ll see from Star Wars in the way of Life-Size Busts will be Jango Fett. Look out for him closer to San Diego Comic-Con!

In just it's 23rd day of worldwide release Marvel's Avengers Assemble has passed The Phantom Menace to become the 10th biggest release in movie history. Packed with stunning ILM effects and Mace Windu himself Samuel L Jackson, this absolute juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down and by the end of it's fourth weekend next Monday will have comfortably passed Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on $1,043,871,802, Toy Story 3 on $1,063,171,911, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on $1,066,179,725, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King on $1,119,929,521 and almost certainly Transformers: Dark of the Moon on $1,123,746,996 on the all-time list.

That will slot the film in the all-time 4th position and leave only Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on $1,328,111,219 (a title it could also easily pass this weekend), the recently re-released in 3D Titanic on $2,183,441,085 and the current worldwide number one Avatar on $2,782,275,172. With a Japanese release pending in July, will Hulk smash the box office and topple Avatar as the all-time number one?

Here's the latest update featuring new in-stock items and pre-orders from our friends at Toy Palace in Germany...

• Hasbro The Clone Wars Figure Asst. Wave 2-2012 (12 pcs) - JUST 1 LEFT
• Hasbro The Legacy Collection Battle Pack: Battle for Endor - JUST 1 LEFT
• Hasbro The Clone Wars - Anakin Ultimate FX Lightsaber 86cm
• Hasbro Luke Skywalker Ultimate FX Lightsaber 86cm
• Hasbro The Vintage Collection Figure Asst. 2012 Wave 2.2 (12 pcs)
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Silicon Tray - Darth Vader Helmet
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Silicon Tray - Stormtrooper Helmet
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Chopsticks Count Dooku's Lightsaber
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Chopsticks Yoda's Lightsaber
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Silicon Tray - Millennium Falcon
• Kotobukiya Art FX+ Darth Maul 18cm
• Kotobukiya Star Wars Silicon Tray - X-Wing Fighter
• LEGO Star Wars Torch Keyring - Darth Vader
• LEGO Star Wars Torch Keyring - Stormtrooper

The image of the Official Celebration VI T-shirt has been revealed today!

The details on the shirt (priced at $30 each) are as follows:

• Max order is 5 per person.
• T-Shirts ordered by Spring 2012 will begin mailing mid-Summer 2012. You will NOT receive your T-Shirt immediately upon ordering.
• International orders will NOT be mailed and must be picked up onsite.
• Shipping fee of $4.99 will automatically be applied to US orders.

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and to celebrate I was invited on to BBC Radio Oxford with show host Malcolm Boyden.

I was surprised when Malcolm said that he'd NEVER sat through a whole Star Wars film and I soon came up with a plan to sort that out and to raise money for charity too, listen in from around the 37th minute at the link below...

The schedule for the opening weekend of Star Wars Weekends has been released.

Events planned to kick off the fun & excitement include The Jedi Training Academy, Stars of the Saga, Visit to the Maul, and many others.

Click HERE for the full list of events/activities and their associated times.

Report by Steve Allsopp

On May 7th 2012, The Star Wars Fan Fun Day celebrated its fifth anniversary at Burnley Football Club, in Burnley, England. The night before the event, a charity dinner, aptly named Dinner with the Stars was held, in order to raise funds for the East Lancashire Hospice. As we entered the dining room, we were greeted by costumed characters such as Darth Vader, Darth Revan & Boba Fett. It’s a good thing they did not stick around for the meal, that’s for sure!

Coming in August is the new Star Wars miniature game in association with Esdevium Games called the Star Wars: X-Wing Miniature Game (click on the above images for a closer look).

Control the most advanced starfighters and outstanding pilots in the galaxy! In the X-Wing Miniatures Game, you take the role of squad leader and command a group of merciless Imperial or daring Rebel pilots in furious ship-to-ship space combat. Featuring stunningly detailed miniatures, X-Wing recreates exciting Star Wars space battles from small engagements of only a couple of crafts, to large conflicts where multiple squadrons clash. The game contains three detailed, painted miniatures: one X-wing and two TIE fighters.

Build your squadron selecting from thirteen Ship cards and five Upgrade cards. Straightforward quick-play rules will have you battling in mere minutes.

Add to your collection of starfighters with the powerful Expansion Packs. Each pack features one pre-painted miniature and includes ship cards which allow players to choose the best pilot for the mission and five upgrade cards to further customize your fighter.

Coming in August the Game will retail for £29.99, the Expansions for £11.99 and the Dice for £6.99.

Artist Jamie Snell's artwork for the Droid Hunt at Celebration VI has just been revealed, with his excellency the great Jabba the Hutt taking centre stage.

Click here to view the image on Flickr and start hunting!

Here's a fantastic image of our pal Victoria Scruffy Rebel Schmidt from a forthcoming photo set.

Awesome photo, we'll be sure to post the rest when they hit and here's what Victoria had to say about the image.

Here's a preview pic from my shoot yesterday with Britt.

And if anyone is wondering, I'm not wearing the collar/chain because it was creating weird shadows around my body and face.

Vibro Ax on loan from Eliot, Bikini by Mike of Dragonfyre Designs.

Cris Macht is launching a Kickstarter project to help fund and raisde awareness of his latest project, The Force Within Us II.

Read below for a detailed breakdown of what's involved in the project, and to see how well they are doing.

The Force Among Us II is not a "fan film" - It is a highly produced film with a budget of over $20,000.00 made by very passionate star wars fans - it is the sequel to the highly praised The Force Among Us. It will be release this year.

The Force Within Us, the sequel to the highly acclaimed and sold out documentary “The Force Among Us”, takes us deeper into the Star Wars experience than just the obsession of collectibles and costuming. Exploring how and why this epic saga has the ability to possess and alter lives, “The Force Within Us” centers on Star Wars as a catalyst for spiritual rebirth… finding personal meaning in life… and inspiring positive change.

Filmmaker Cris Macht takes you on a journey revealing that Star Wars is more than just another sci-fi film to watch or convention to attend. It exposes personal connections that are developed through the sagas good versus evil storyline, and the hope that good ultimately triumphs in our world as well as in a galaxy far, far away. Also featured are thought provoking stories from Star Wars celebrities and how being a part of the phenomenon has changed their lives. Familiar Star Wars locations, like the Death Valley (Tatooine) and the Redwood Forest (Endor), add to the deep, emotional journey that is “The Force Within Us.”

The DVD will be Region 0, meaning it will be playable on any DVD player or computer in any country.

Sad times, the final entry to the much-loved Star Wars blogs was entered today, before the system was switched off.

A staple of the pre and post Revenge of the Sith era, numerous names and faces posted there in a time before the explosion of Facebook and Twitter, and it was all thanks to the marvelous Bonnie Burton, who posted this earlier today:

Since my Lucasfilm email no longer works, I can't write a final StarWars.com Blog. Sad. #StarWars blogs.starwars.com/bonniegrrl

— Bonnie Burton (@bonniegrrl) May 16, 2012

Incidentally, the image and the reminder of this event came from our great pal Neil Baker, who also posted these wise words.

Said goodbye to the blog today :( While I was copying and pasting my favorite posts to share with my grandchildren some day, it suddenly occurred to me that there were pearls of wisdom from a great many folks over the past 6 or 7 years that would be lost like tears in the rain... on Kamino.

Her Universe have issued this press release listing their upcoming catalogue of items hitting Star Wars Weekends and their online shop.

We Love Fine strike again, bringing a clutch of cool Star Wars t-shirts to geeks around the world.

For a closer look click here and check out the goodies on offer.

Here's another new release from the team over at Dark Horse.

For millennia, the Je’daii Masters have protected the planet Tython and maintained a balance within the Force. But now a stranger from another world has come, destroying the balance and engulfing the world in a Force storm that threatens every inhabitant!

The ancient Je’daii Order stands on the brink of a powerful discovery. But will this knowledge bring wisdom . . . or peril? Three young Je’daii students may hold the fate of the world in their hands!

CREATORS

Writer: John Ostrander

Penciller: Jan Duursema

Inker: Dan Parsons

Colorist: Wes Dzioba

Cover Artist: Jan Duursema

Genre: Star Wars

Publication Date: May 16, 2012

Format: FC, 32 pages

Price: $3.50

UPC: 7 61568 20342 4 00411

Ask yourself: can one truly have too many Star Wars t-shirts in their wardrobe? My guess is you'd answer that question with a resounding "Nooooo!", so take a gander at this new t-shirt available at Entertainment Earth entitled "War Of Wars".

It gives off a retro, vintage, and nostalgic vibe all wrapped into one cool design, and it can be yours for $21.99 ($23.99 for XX-Large).

If you're a Star Wars fan and you're looking for an iconic shirt you can stop your search now with the Star Wars War of Wars All Over Print Blue T-Shirt! Featuring Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, R2-D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Grand Moff Tarkin in a cool looking design that spans the majority of the blue t-shirt, both front and back, this item makes a great gift for any fan of the epic franchise Star Wars. The Star Wars War of Wars All Over Print Blue T-Shirt even features the Star Wars logo below the classic quote, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away!"

The official site provides us with the following update today pertaining to Star Wars Weekends 2012:

As has become tradition to build-up excitement for Star Wars Weekends, Disney has gone all out on a great series of delightful print ads showing various Star Wars characters throughout the park. Disney's Yellow Shoes Creative Group, in partnership with Lucasfilm, has devised these fun imaginary moments to capture the magic and excitement of this year's Star Wars Weekends event. Starting this Friday (May 18), Star Wars Weekends will occur every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through June 10!

Click HERE for the full article and to view the four specially-designed print ads and three video shorts!

As posted on EndorExpress.net:

Imagine a place where every bit of Star Wars memorabilia can be found.  Now imagine going there.  What would you seek out?  What would interest you the most?  Well, fortuntately such a place does exist.  It’s called Rancho Obi-Wan and it houses the world’s largest collection of Star Wars toys, props, models, costumes, and more.  EndorExpress took a special trip to Steve Sansweet’s haven of Star Wars collectibles and sought out what we could find that was Star Tours related, and even offered something that Steve himself didn’t have.

Read on as we share with you many of the rare treats and treasures of the Disney Theme Parks.

Point your browser HERE for the rest of the article and for pics from Rancho Obi-Wan.

We here at Jedi News just wanted to pass along this quick little reminder today to all our readers...

T-minus 100 days till Celebration VI is upon us!!

Hope to see you all in O-Lando!

The Star Wars Books Facebook page has updated with this very cool timelapse video featuring images from the just released Essential Guide to Warfare, for which Jason Fry has just launched the sixth session of endnotes.

Click here to check it out.

Frank mentioned this video in a post on Friday but since it's from one of my babies (EG to Warfare) I had to give it some more love and post the actual video itself. Artist Chris Scalf put a lot of work into painting this iconic Han & Chewie scene and I love watching the painting come to life via time lapse. (ES)

UPDATE: Jason Fry yesterday added the seventh set of endnotes for the Essential Guide to Warfare, which you can check out here.

Need a little pick-me-up this Monday? How about a sneak peek of a new Clone from the upcoming The Clone Wars Season 5?

Take a look at Clone Commander Thorn, brought to us by Dave Filoni on his Facebook page!

On behalf of the Clone Wars crew, we would like to congratulate Marvel Studios and Joss Whedon on the incredible release of The Avengers. We’re also very proud of the team at ILM who made the effects and action scenes beyond spectacular. There are many fans of Marvel comics on the Clone Wars crew, and the biggest fan of all has to be episodic director Steward Lee. Knowing what a fan he is, I sketched up a special Clone Commander for an upcoming episode of Season 5. Clone Commander Thorn is obviously our homage to “Thor, the god of thunder.” Commander Thorn even carries a Z-6 blaster canon named “the Hammer.” Enjoy this sneak peak at a new clone from Season 5.

As of this morning, I'm half way through the first draft for Making of ROTJ. Haven't heard back from George yet...

— J. W. Rinzler (@jwrinzler) May 11, 2012

The book is scheduled to be released in the Fall of 2013.

This is what we call a twofer, a win/win, a double whammy. The geek magnificence of io9 and the queen of geek herself Bonnie Burton, all in one cool show. Enjoy!

There's a new Facebook page in town and you are strongly encouraged to 'like' it. The CurtoBurns page has launched and, in case you hadn't already figured it out, it's there to bring you the latest news from the men who once brought you the late, lamented Forcecast Collectors Edition and the April 1st edition of Star Wars Action News.

Click 'like' to follow Dan and James as they bring you the very latest in Star Wars collectibles and much, much more...

More event news from the team over at Celebration VI regarding the event of the summer in O'Lando.

We were warned that "this place can be a little rough," but Star Wars fans can't help going back to the Mos Eisley Cantina over and over again. Celebration VI offers an in-depth exploration on the infamous watering hole from the original Star Wars, which includes some never before seen behind-the-scenes photos and artifacts from the creature-filled bar.

Professional sculptor and effects artist Tom Spina, who was inspired by the astounding creatures in the film, has made it his mission to uncover and chronicle the history of this beloved scene, its characters and the artists responsible for its creation. Spina has tracked the whereabouts of original cantina props and masks, rare photos, and even notes and illustrations from the production. As a young artist, Spina learned to sculpt by re-creating the Star Wars aliens that inspired him. This year, he and his talented crew at Tom Spina Designs helped recreate the cantina for its memorable appearance in Volkswagen's 2012 Super Bowl Commercial.

Spina will join Star Wars expert Pablo Hidalgo on the Behind-the-Scenes stage to discuss his research, show his creations, and reveal new secrets about the cantina. This panel is a must-see for fans of the original movie, creature effects enthusiasts, as well as those always seeking to learn something new about Star Wars.

Look for more great programming updates for the Celebration VI Behind-the-Scenes Stage, as well as the many other exciting and entertaining stages, on StarWars.com and www.starwarscelebration.com, coming soon!

We are all well aware that Star Wars rocks and over the years there have been plenty of cool representations of our galactic heroes as rock stars.

As good as those images are there can't be many as cool as this foursome of awesomeness, with Threepio, Chewie, Yoda and Luke in the iconic facepaint of KISS.

Even Wookiees celebrate Mothers Day. Yep, you heard, it's not all about Life Day, Mothers Day is a big deal on the Wookiee calendar and courtesy of Jimmy Kimmel we can now see just what Chewie thinks of that special day.

How do you follow up the biggest movie of all time (a question we're sure will soon be on the lips of Joss Whedon)? Back in 1979 George Lucas and the crew of The Empire Strikes Back had the same problem, and The Daily Mail have unearthed this treasure trove of images that highlight the fun and frivolity that was had backstage. Sure, it was hard work, but as these images show it doesn't have to be all sturm and drang.

The cast and crew of The Empire Strikes Back faced a daunting task - how to follow Star Wars, the blockbuster which had reinvented science fiction on the silver screen overnight and instantly become the favourite film of millions of cinemagoers.

By the time it opened in 1980, the pressure was really on director George Lucas and his team of actors to deliver, but as these fantastic pictures illustrate they all found time to enjoy themselves in the process.

Ahead of an upcoming convention in Florida in August, which is expected to attract up to 30,000 buffs, here is a chance to see behind the scenes during the making of the second film.

All the stars, Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher can be seen laughing and joking in and around the many sets and with a lot of the characters in costume.

Just to clarify it's their headline, not ours. On the day of his birthday it's very cool to report that Star Wars supremo George Lucas has absolutely knocked it out of the park with this awesome story. Read on, raise a glass to the great man and smile, smile, smile

So what is George Lucas going to do with his property now that he's tired of his rich neighbors putting up a not-in-my-backyard stink? He wants to transform the property into low-income housing, naturally, ending their official statement with this zinger, "If everyone feels that housing is less impactful on the land, then we are hoping that people who need it the most will benefit."

He's working with the Marin Community Foundation to instead construct affordable housing for either low-income families or seniors living on small, fixed incomes. In order to smooth along the development, he's already given them all of the pricey technical studies and land surveys Lucasfilm spent years conducting. And we think that's just great. Because if there's one thing rich people will hate more than having movie magic made in their backyard, it's poor people moving in.

Mr. Lucas, we may hate you for turning your back on the original trilogy, but our hat is off to you on this one. Well played.

The Star Wars caravan rolls into the aptly named Empire Hall in Southampton on Saturday 6th October. But it's not coming alone. Pam Rose, Alan Flyng, Femi Taylor, Toby Philpott and Femi Taylor will also be there.

Check out their Facebook page for more information on the event and the other cool geek-related guests and highlights on the day.

Today we celebrate the birthday of "The Maker" himself, Mr. George Lucas. And what better way to do so than with an iconic diorama from the great Stephen Hayford.

From everyone here at Jedi News and across the galaxy, Happy Birthday George!

Read on for the latest product updates from Site Sponsor Big Bad Toy Store that features a batch of new arrivals and many more new 'cool' preorders...

In case you hadn't heard, Star Wars Weekends is arriving at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Stay tuned to Jedi News for all the cool news.

Not that we ever doubted it but the Star Wars Trivia World Championship, hosted and overseen by artist Kevin Liell, returns at Celebration VI.

So if you know your bantha's from your Hoojibs, your hydrospanners from your forcepikes and your blue milk from your blue snaggletooth, get on over to their Facebook page and check out the latest news.

Join Jason and Jimmy Mac for the Weekly ForceCast...

Documentarian Cris Macht joins us to talk about production of the follow-up to his acclaimed film The Force Among Us. Plus, the latest Celebration VI news, Jimmy Mac's review of Ian McDiarmid's performance in Timon of Athens, Billy Dee, vintage Star Wars memories and much more.

Attention ForceCast App Users:

Touch EXTRAS on this episode to hear the latest edition of Bedtime Stories with Moral Eval

Show Notes: You can see more information about this episode on its wiki page. We invite you to expand and improve the wiki with your own contributions.

ForceCast Podcast Mobile Apps: Have the entire ForceCast archives at your fingertips, plus bonus shows and exclusive content!

• Download for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad
• Download for Android OS Devices (running 2.1 or higher)

ForceCast T-shirts: Order yours today!

Jedi News is working with Star Wars Actors Appearances to bring you the very latest in Star Wars actors convention appearances. Here's this weeks updates:

DICKEY BEER

Barada / Boba Fett / Stormtrooper / Biker Scout - ROTJ

Star Wars Celebration VI

Aug. 23-26, 2012

Orange County Convention Center

Orlando, Florida, USA

Star Wars Celebration VI

PAUL BLAKE

Greedo – ANH

MegaCon

Mar. 15-17, 2013

Orange County Convention Center

Orlando, Florida, USA

MegaCon

Our NEW official hashtag is #StarWarsCVI. Share, trend (ESPECIALLY during @StarWars Celebration VI time), use it frequently! :)

— StarWarsCelebration (@SW_Celebration) May 11, 2012

Heads-up Twitter users - the official Celebration VI hashtag has just been changed to #StarWarsCVI.

Be sure to include this new #StarWarsCVI tag in all your CVI-related tweets!

Another guest has just been announced for Celebration VI over on the main site - Visual Effects Supervisor Bill George, who will be making his first appearance at a Celebration.

Visual Effects Supervisor Bill George has a rich history in the Star Wars galaxy, and will be appearing at a Celebration for the first time this coming August in Orlando.

Starting in Star Wars designing spacecraft for Return of the Jedi, George was Production Art Director for the Ewok television movies, and a matte painter for Episode I The Phantom Menace. Most recently he journeyed in the galaxy far, far away as the Visual Effects Supervisor for Star Tours: The Adventures Continue.

Since joining Industrial Light & Magic in 1981, George has worked as model shop supervisor, art director, matte painter, commercial director, and visual effects supervisor. Other highlights of his career include miniature construction and design on Blade Runner, art direction and design for five of the Star Trek films, and overseeing model construction on Ghostbusters 2 and Alive.

Dave over at All The Cool Stuff has dropped us their latest Star Wars sales list, so have a browse and get ordering!

It's been a busy few weeks with so many new figures from The Vintage Collection arriving.  For those that have still yet secure some of these great new figures, there are some still available including the new Darth Vader, Nom Anor, The Clone Wars Anakin Skywalker, Aayla Secura and Luke Skywalker in Hoth Gear - check them out here.

Don't forget there are a few new figures from The Clone Wars still in stock too, including Republic Commando Boss, Rex in his Version 2 Clone Armour and Ahsoka in Scuba Gear - get them here.

New Pre-orders are also live too for The Vintage Collection Tarkin, Oddball, Nikto, Shae Vizla and Galen Merek. The uber popular Darth Malgus will also be back in stock, so get your orders in now.

We will also start work soon listing our vintage toy inventory (1977-1985).  This is going to be an ongoing project as we list all Palitoy and Kenner lines, so if there is anything you are looking for, please don't hesitate to drop me a line and we will do our best to help.

All the best, Dave - All The Cool Stuff - 01425 650696.

Another name has been added to the growing Guest list at Celebration VI - Sculptor & Effects Artist Tom Spina!

Professional sculptor and effects artist Tom Spina, who was inspired by the astounding creatures in the film, has made it his mission to uncover and chronicle the history of this beloved scene, its characters and the artists responsible for its creation. Spina has tracked the whereabouts of original cantina props and masks, rare photos, and even notes and illustrations from the production. As a young artist, Spina learned to sculpt by re-creating the Star Wars aliens that inspired him. This year, he and his talented crew at Tom Spina Designs helped recreate the cantina for its memorable appearance in Volkswagen's 2012 Super Bowl Commercial.

Star Wars Weekends kick off next Friday and it's set to be yet another amazing marriage of Disney and Star wars. Here we see Disneys Event Co-Ordinator Paul Stewart getting the band back together as he calls Yoda, Chewie and Darth Vader about the event.

This just in from my old Lightsabre.co.uk cohort Louis Turfrey regarding his new venture, Computers and Comics.

ComShop – Computers and Comics opens its doors to the public officially on Saturday 12th May, but we are already having customers knocking at the door to buy and place orders.

New in is a range of collectible mugs featuring a mixed batch of Marvel, DC and other comics characters. Look out for the Thundercats one, as it changes depending upon the temperature.

Also Computers and Comics now has a Facebook page and friends of the site get 10p an issue off comics and a 10% reduction on labour rates for computer repairs.

Don’t forget the opening party, from 8pm on Saturday 12th.

If you're in or near Lichfield tomorrow night, get on over there, check out the shop and place your orders!

Ashley Eckstein is a busy lady, not only is she releasing some top-notch merchandise in time for the convention season, she's flirting with Wookiees at Star Wars Weekends. Whatever would her husband say...

Jedi News reader Marron Price sent us a link to this rather awesome example of Jedi vs Sith, with a somewhat unique ending. Check it out.

What self-respecting space princess could possibly resist these fantastic t-shirts via our pals over at Her Universe. Just announced on their Facebook page, these will be rolling out at Disney World during Star Wars Weekends and I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of these little treasures during Celebration VI.

It's going to be tough not thinking of this image every time we see George and his little green friend in the same place. In fact, I suggest that one of the major licencees should look at this as a Celebration VI exclusive. Imagine this as a bobble head? That would be fabuloso.

This from WeLoveFine.com...

LIZ LEE AND DANIEL LOGAN TO GUEST JUDGE STAR WARS T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST - WeLoveFine.com Welcomes 'My Life As Liz' Star and 'Attack of the Clones' Young Boba Fett!

Los Angeles, CA, 05/11/12 - WeLoveFine.com has brought two Force-es to be reckoned with in on the fun of the Star Wars™ T-Shirt Design Contest, in the form of guest judges Liz Lee and Daniel Logan! Liz and Daniel will select their personal favorite designs from among the entries currently being submitted through May 25th; each Judges' prize winner will receive $400 cash and have their design made into an officially licensed Star Wars shirt! Users must register at WeLoveFine.com to submit artwork; the submissions can be entered here.

Liz Lee is the star of My Life As Liz, MTV's mockumentary style series that centers on the life of a "self-proclaimed individualist and geek" high-school senior living in small town Texas. Liz is now elbowing her way through her first year of college at the Pratt Institute, an art school in New York. When she's not taking the wrong subway or dodging renegade cabs, she can be found stressing out about her next art history exam -- or procrastinating it by reading the latest Star Wars Legacy comic book. You can follow Liz on Twitter at @MyLifeAsLiz_Liz.
 
Daniel Logan is best known for his role as the young Boba Fett in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and multiple episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars. New Zealand-born Daniel broke into acting when his amateur rugby union team was scouted for a TV commercial; picked up by a casting agent, he began to do more commercials and TV appearances, including a recurring role in episodes of the New Zealand-based medical series Shortland Street and a guest appearance in the international series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. He currently lives in Los Angeles; you can follow him on Twitter at @daniel_logan.

Read on for more...

 Here's the Gentle Giant solicitations for May 2012 that includes four new Star Wars products and two Marvel Mini Busts all of which will be available in Q4 2012.

The three new Star Wars products are Yoda with Orange Snake Kenner Jumbo Figure, Yoda with Brown Snake Premier Guild Exclusive Kenner Jumbo Figure (you need to be logged into your PGM account first!), Ree Yees Deluxe Mini Bust and White Clone Trooper Deluxe Statue; click on the solicitation sheets below for more info on each item.

Read on for more information on all the new products...

More guests have been announced for Celebration VI with the latest headliner being Peter Mayhew!

Also announced today:

• Tim Rose
• Trevor Butterfield
• Nick Maley
• Paul Springer

Head on over to StarWars.com for the full announcement!

Growing up, I was a huge fan of the Garbage Pail Kids series of trading cards/stickers. I cannot begin to imagine how much of my allowance was spent at my local cards & gift store in an attempt to collect 'em all as each new series was released. And the trades that took place on the schoolyard playground each day during recess...well those are just too numerous to even begin to quantify.

So when I received an email from Jedi News reader Nathan S. earlier today containing a pic of this "LOOGIE LEIA" sketch, I just had to share it with you. This whimsical depiction of a Star Wars themed Garbage Pail Kid was created by artist Luis Diaz and is sure to bring back a rush of fond memories to those fans who are old enough to remember the GPK trading cards series.

In addition to "LOOGIE LEIA", Luis also sketched an Indiana Jones themed GPK entitled "INDIANA STONED".

Big thanks to Nathan for the heads up!

Remember this Bat Vader pic we posted last month? Pretty cool huh?

Well how about taking this mash-up design to the next level in say...oh I don't know, action figure form?

The extremely talented customizers at Mint Condition Customs have done just that.

Darth Knight has been created using the body from a Dark Knight Movie Masters Batman figure, and the head, lightsaber, chest plate, and other pieces from a Star Wars Transformers Darth Vader action figure.

I transplanted the ears from the Batman head onto the Darth Vader head, and sculpted over them to blend them in with the sculpt of Vader’s helmet. He features a paint job that really helps him stand out as his own concept, with silver accents, and other various parts painted in flat and gloss black.

He has extra Darth Vader pieces attached to his belt, his chest plate has been implanted into Batman’s torso (and he still retains full ab crunch movement!), and his legs have been sculpted over with rectangular plates. He also features the classic Darth Vader waist cloak made from a sheet of vinyl. He comes with his lightsaber as well (or light baton if you wish for him to be as non-lethal as the real caped crusader). He’s based on the costume design by Malmey Studios, but with my own unique flairs thrown in.

One word: AWESOME