EndorExpress

Special effects artist and Star Wars diorama guru Frank D’iorio aka Niubniub headed this exciting and popular project at C4: the Ewok Landscaping event.

So, first of all, are we the only ones that think it’s really cool that a guy who loves dioramas has a last name that starts with the letters D-I-O-R?  Anyway, here’s a pic of Frank D’iorio in his Industrial Light and Magic crew member t-shirt, posing with some sample trees. Could anyone expect what these handful of miniature redwoods would grow to become in just a few days’ time? The tree-making seemed to be very popular with the entire family. It was common to see Mom and Dad putting together steps while the kids painted next to them. Frank provided these fantastic printed versions of his website’s visual guides. (Check out http://www.niubniubsuniverse.com/ for the full contents.)

But what’s an Endor diorama without speeder bikes zipping between the trees? Frank had that all figured out, too. A model train was converted to provide the needed elements of speed and movement. Another fun touch was provided by playing Endor sound effects and ambient noises continually in the Ewok landscaping area… not unlike the music and sounds heard in the Ewok Village queue elements at Florida’s Star Tours.

As the days progressed, the diorama grew massive. They realized they were going to need even more landscaping micro bark, and Mark Patton made a supply run to pick up twenty more bags, to expand the environment to incredible proportions.

– A Team Article: Alex, Paul, Brian

If you wandered by Mark’s fantastic Star Tours diorama at C4, you might have noticed one day that his custom Starspeeder 3000 had gone missing, and was replaced by a note that said “Gone to Endor!”

Diorama builders Mark Patton and Frank D’iorio (aka Niubniub) had this special treat in store for convention attendees at Celebration IV … they briefly combined elements from their Star Tours and Endor dioramas to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Star Tours with something that many of us thought would simply never happen!

And sure enough, after a mere twenty years of wrong turns, the StarSpeeder piloted by Captain REX had FINALLY made it to the Forest Moon of Endor!

I can just hear that See-Threepio action figure asking, “Artoo-Detoo, where are you?” Amazingly enough, for those of us who know Rex, he seems to have made a very soft landing. I’d have expected the ship’s nose to be buried in the dirt, or at least a few Endorian redwood trees to have had their bark scraped off as he descended.

I can just imagine those 40 tiny passengers, all the size of action figures, staring out the front viewport as their speeder was surrounded by curious Ewoks. Doubtless, some of them were thinking, “Well, this was rather sedate. I wish we’d booked that flight through the combat zone instead.”

All joking aside, we here at swstartours.net want to say a big thank-you to Mark and Frank for this perfect moment of wish-fulfillment. Apparently Rex finally got “used to his programming”– if only for this one day.

And if you haven’t seen Mark Patton’s Star Tours diorama in all its glory yet, read on through our original report.

Thanks to Josh Eash for additional photo.

This is the Ultimate Group Project. We’ve pulled together a set of twenty of the most talented star wars customizers in the galaxy to bring you life on Judde Lulos (The Empire’s Jewel).

“In the years after the Clone Wars, the Empire spread its reach across the galaxy, overtaking countless star systems. While chasing a Separatist shuttle, Darth Vader stumbled across the untapped resource of Judde Lulos. After reporting this rich unexploited world to his master, Darth Sidious (aka Emperor Palpatine), a spaceport and Imperial Command outpost were quickly developed.

Mostly mountainous terrain encompassed the planet. But one area was ripe for spice mining. The native inhabitants of this world– those who refused to succumb to the Empire’s rule– were driven into the treacherous jungle areas of this world or forced to work the mines. The credits earned from the spice this planet provided, was used to pad the account of the Empire’s Elite. Vader was entrusted to make sure this “jewel” never fell into the hands of the many ruthless organizations that fought for their piece of the Spice Market.

Smaller settlements formed and some attempts to overthrow the Imperial hold on this once-peaceful place were made. When Separatists got word of the existence of this world, they secretly provided the native Rebels with weapons and training to hopefully overthrow the Imperial command center. Doing so would provide a great resource of credits for the growing Rebellion against the Empire….”

The city was the combined efforts of the Jedi Defender and Yak Face customizing forums. We’ve spent almost an entire year creating preproduction sketches, figures, ships, buildings and landscape. The entire diorama is over ten feet long and seven feet across. There are approximately three hundred custom figures in the city with scenes that include a shuttle landing and a sneak attack by the rebel alliance. There are even guest cameos such as Anthony Daniels, George Lucas, a Cylon from the original Battlestar Galactica series and Twiki from the Buck Rogers TV show.”

A very talented bunch of R2 Builders have thier own room to show off in at C4. Be sure to have your photo taken in the Blockade Runner Hallway with a couple of our favorite droids.

Not only is this show a hit at Disneyland. The kids were running to take part at Celebration 4.

No corners were cut on this show at Celebration. This is the exact show that performs daily at Disneyland on the Tomorrowland Terrace Stage.

On the thirtieth anniversary of Star Wars, May 25th 2007, Disney Merchandising’s Brad Schoeneberg and Cody Reynolds hosted a panel on the history and future of Disney/Star Wars products at Celebration IV in Los Angeles.

Slides were shown of several past offerings, including the Hasbro line of theme park exclusive Star Tours figures, the Mickey/Yoda two-pack, the Disney Star Wars Racers toy cars, the Star Tours Collector Packs, and the latex Yoda doll.

But the real items of interest were the slides of toys soon to be released!

For the preschool set, there will be several new additions to the Star Wars/Mr. Potato Head line, including Spuda Fett, Yam Solo, Luke Frywalker, Darth Mash, and Princess Tater. This slide got a VERY positive response from those attending.

Disney theme parks have had a very successful partnership with Hasbro and the Build Your Own Potato Head shops. Hasbro’s crossover with the Star Wars brand– namely Darth Tater, Spudtrooper, and Artoo Potatoo– has been popular with all age groups. So these next five characters will doubtless become hot sellers. (Hot + potato, get it?)

For girls, there will be a new line of dress-up dolls for Princess Leia and Queen Amidala.

(We’re not sure where that cloak at lower left for Leia is supposed to be from. Perhaps a hand-me-down from her mother’s travel cloak, seen at upper right of the pic for Amidala?)

Note that Leia will come with a Wicket W. Warrick companion, and Amidala will come with an Artoo-Detoo. I also like the little framed sweetheart photo accessories of Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker.

For toddlers, there will be this squeeze set of iconic masked characters from the Star Wars Saga.

But perhaps the most exciting news are the Disney Characters AS Star Wars Characters action figures! We got a glimpse of this in the Jedi Mickey two-pack with Yoda, but now they’re taking it to a whole new level with individually carded crossover figures. Series 1 will consist of Stitch as the Emperor, Goofy as Darth Vader (looking very similar to a custom made by our own Alex Newborn), Minnie Mouse as Leia, Mickey as Luke Skywalker, and the irrepressible Donald Duck as Han Solo. The figures were shown as packaged prototypes.

Some of the figures were also shown loose.

In Series 2, the Disney characters will pull double duty as other Star Wars personalities, often switching sides from heroes to villains, or vice versa. The ever-versatile Mickey Mouse will portray his own father when he becomes action figures of both Luke AND Anakin Skywalker. (But then, if he can costar in a movie with himself as the Prince AND the Pauper, he can do anything.)

[We're not sure how Mickey-as-Anakin turns to the Dark Side and becomes Goofy-as-Darth-Vader, but why drive yourself crazy with logic?]

Speaking of Goofy, the audience in attendance went nuts at the perfect casting of Goofy as… who else? Jar Jar Binks!

And Stitch will become Yoda in addition to the Emperor. Is it the ears, do you think?

But why stop at Disney characters? How about some MUPPET crossover figures? This next sketch has our entire staff drooling.

From left to right, that’s Beaker as See-Threepio, Fozzie Bear as Chewbacca (Chew-wokka?), Miss Piggy as Princess Leia (Princess Loina?), Kermit the Frog as Luke Skywalker (Skyhopper?), Gonzo the Great as evil fiend Dearth Nadir– from the Mark Hamill episode of the Muppet Show– and Rizzo the Rat as Yoda.

You’ve got to love the Spaceballs-esque touch of Princess Piggy having a hair dryer for a raygun.

(Our staff contributor Alex Newborn had this to say about the Dearth Nadir figure: “A couple of years back, I exchanged emails with the president of Palisades Toys, the company producing a line of wonderful Muppet Show action figures at the time. I specifically asked if we’d ever see a Dearth Nadir or Piggy-as-Leia action figure, and he said they had pursued it, but there were too many licenseholders involved for them to cut a deal. He recommended that if I really wanted a Dearth Nadir figure, I should customize one for myself. Which I did.” So perhaps it is not surprising that it took the Disney corporation to get everyone in agreement to produce a toy of this character.)

Following the slide presentation, there was a Q&A session. I asked if they will do more Star Tours figures, and they replied, “We have not ruled that out.”

Someone else asked if Star Wars Weekends would ever come to Anaheim. “It’s being worked on,” they said, and the California audience broke into thunderous applause.

They also said that the upcoming Cantina Band Figures are exclusive to Star Wars Weekends at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida. They will not be sold at Disneyland in Anaheim CA.

Other upcoming items include a Mickey lightsaber toy, complete with a Hidden Mickey activation stud as well as Disney/Star Wars-themed “Dueling” Decks of playing cards.

Other than new products, they said we’ll also be seeing some older items reintroduced in new packaging. In particular, they said the Starspeeder 3000 toy would be changing box designs “soon”, but in fact I had already seen both versions on the shelves at Star Trader at Disneyland and The World of Disney Store in Downtown Disney!

Don’t always believe what you read on the IMDB. I showed Peter Mayhew this photo and asked if he was in the Chewie costume for the Star Tours safety video and he told me “No”. So there you have it. Straight from the Wookiee himself.

Written by Brian Curran and Alex Newborn

Sunday, 27 May 2007

Here’s Mark Patton posing beside his diorama masterpiece, a miniature recreation of the Anaheim Starport scaled to Hasbro action figures.

Some of you may have met Mark while he was helping out Frank D’iorio (aka Niubniub) over at the Ewok Landscaping area.

For endorexpress.net’s coverage of the Ewok Landscaping diorama, click here

Mark told our own staff reporters/photographers Brian Curran & Paul Hruby that he finished this diorama Wednesday night… only a few hours before bringing it to CIV!

The dio recreates the famous Star Tours queue area, complete with a custom Starspeeder 3000 and four custom PeopleMover trams.

The number 30 on the Peoplemover Car is a tribute to Star Wars’ 30th Birthday.

Note how all the figures in the People Movers are characters from 1977′s A New Hope?

In the first tram car are cantina aliens Myo, Dannik Jerriko, Snaggletooth, and Kabe.

Next are Rebellion heroes Luke, Han, and Chewie– dig the vacationing pose of Chewie achieved by use of the Dejarik Champion Chewbacca figure.

In the third car are some Jawas and a Gonk droid; and representing the Imperial forces in the final car are a TIE Pilot, Sandtrooper, and Stormtrooper. The use of figures specific to A New Hope is a nice attention to detail, as a tribute for the film that started it all.

The Ewok Deity C-3PO action figure is a perfect choice alongside these theme park excusive action figures.

A goose-droid from Sector 2 has ‘migrated’ into the main hangar bay to assist Threepio and Artoo with repairs on this StarSpeeder.

WEG-1618 has apparently borrowed Chewbacca’s welding tools and moved into the main hangar to check the thrusters on the SS3K. Note that Mr. Patton has even perfectly recreated the hinged roofs of the People Mover trams. Stay tuned for more info!

Thanks to Alex Newborn for help with this article. Additional photos by David Yeh.

See also: “FINALLY! Touchdown on Endor!”

I don’t know if you’re familiar with the movie… Star Wars?

–Dan Aykroyd as Irwin Mainway in 1977 SNL skit

Today is May 25th, 2007… and that means it’s exactly thirty years to the day since a little movie called Star Wars exploded into the national consciousness.

George Lucas was still working on foreign language dubs of the film for international release when he ventured out for dinner, only to see lines forming around the block. He was surprised to learn those folks were queueing up to see *his* movie!

All of us here at SWST wish George and Star Wars a happy anniversary! Here’s to 30 more!

Of course, Star Tours celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year… so how are fans commemorating that milestone as well? One fan named Mark Patton is paying tribute to the thrill ride at the party for the film that inspired it!

Some of our staff is currently working Celebration IV in Los Angeles, joining with millions of other Star Wars fans from around the world to mark the three-decade milestone of George Lucas’ little ‘space opera’.

Our own Paul Hruby reports in from the diorama room at C4, where his Ultimate Group Project display is getting lots of attention. Near the UGP is a sight that Star Tours fans, especially those from California, should easily recognize.

It’s a miniature Star Tours diorama, complete with Threepio’s control platform, a custom-built Star Speeder 3000, and even a group of People Mover trams (instantly identifying this as the Anaheim starport of the past).

According to a conversation I had last month with diorama-maker extraordinaire Frank D’iorio (aka Niubniub), the Star Tours diorama is the masterpiece of his friend Mark Patton.

For more pics of this fantastic miniature re-creation, check out our cIV coverage in the Special Feature Archive!

Miceage.com’s Kevin Yee wrote a interesting article proposing Disney Parks do more with the Star Wars Franchise.

http://www.miceage.com/kevinyee/ky051707a.htm