Homemade Full-size 'Chicken Walker' (AT-ST) Replica

Do you think your backyard tree house or fort is impressive? Then check this out!

Built in his backyard, this AT-ST is constructed of wood, plastic, and sheet metal. On the inside it is decked out with joysticks, display panels, and other knobs and buttons for your imagination to go wild with. It even features solar panels on the roof to power two ventilation fans to keep you cool while daydreaming of blowing up Rebel scum on Hoth.

Check out the videos below:

Full story from Hackaday.

Sound off on our Forcestrong Facebook Group (Over 30,000 Members)

Anyone Watch SNL Last Night? TFA Audition Skit Was Hilarious!

Bobby Moynihan was dead-on with his Lucas impression!

Actually watched a little of SNL last night, and I'm glad I did.

In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' impending release date, director JJ Abrams stopped by SNL Saturday night to share some "never-before-seen screen tests" of famous celebrities reading for various roles.

Actual cast members Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were there to provide support to the SNL cast's best celebrity impressions, with a few surprise appearances mixed in.

And the result was one of SNL's strongest sketches all season:

Emperor Palpatine Initiates His Plan To Incorporate Earth Into The Galactic Empire

Looks like Earth is next on the Galactic Empire's check list!

It appears that while we are not as technologically advanced as those from a galaxy far, far away, we pose enough of a threat to avoid direct military action. The Emperor has opted to take a more passive approach, much like he did with the Galactic Senate. A very passive approach.

It was recently announced that Sheev Palpatine has just been elected to the Odessa City Council in Ukraine. His run for city mayor is expected to follow during the next mayoral elections. While speaking to one of his aids, we were told his campaign slogan was "The city today. Tomorrow, the world!"....and then we were told to move along.

The Emperor Celebrating his City Council victory!

Ok, ok, all kidding aside, this Palpatine is actually Aleksandr Borovik. He's a candidate who ran under the guise of the emperor along with the others running as Darth Vader and Chewbacca as a joke. However, being that Mr. Borovik was actually a registered member of the Darth Vader Block Party, an organization qualified to run for city elections, he won. Not only that, but he got over 54% of the votes!

While Mr. Borovik respects the voters choice, he was quoted as saying "This is beyond my understanding. People, what's wrong with you?"

I'll tell you what's wrong Alex. People all over the world are getting really tired of their politician's sh-- uh, I mean crap...and they'd rather vote for ANYONE instead of another career politician!


Source: Daily Mail

Chewie Screams, Revan Trolls, And Christmas Bells Ring... 'BEST OF Forcestrong'

Like our page -- Join our group

Most of you know we have a large Facebook page, www.facebook.com/forcestrong, and a VERY active FB group, www.facebook.com/groups/tfiswtg. Please stop by and like the page and join the group.

Click pic to pre-order

Don't miss a minute of the Forcestrong goodness! We do a weekly wrap up every Wednesday that will give you all the new articles in one email.  Sign up >> here <<

Here's a few things that have popped over the past few days from both the page and group:

That awkward moment with Chewbacca #forcestrong The Force Is Strong With This Page The Force Is Strong With This Group
Posted by The Force Is Strong With This Page on Monday, September 28, 2015

Search your feelings, you know this too be true!--A Join our group >> www.facebook.com/groups/tfiswtg (nearly 26.000 members) and visit our blog www.forcestrongnetwork.com.
Posted by The Force Is Strong With This Page on Saturday, September 26, 2015

I CAN'T wait for Revan in Ep. VII!!! #Forcestrong Trolling on #RandomGeekPageFrom our group www.facebook.com/groups/tfiswtg
Posted by Random Geek Page on Sunday, September 27, 2015

Darth Vader PS4 Pre-Order With 2 Bundle Options!

Last month, the Darth Vader PS4 was announced. On Friday September 11th, pre-orders opened up at Amazon, Gamestop, Best Buy, Target & Wal-Mart.

There are 2 bundles available, both selling for $449.99.

BUNDLE 1: Limited Edition Playstation 4 Star Wars Battlefront Bundle

*This bundle is available for pre-order at all 5 retailers*

500GB Darth Vader PS4 with custom controller

Star Wars Battlefront Deluxe Edition

Digital voucher to download 4 classic SW games playable on PS4 for the first time ever!

The classic games are:
The Super Nintendo title - Super Star Wars
Star Wars: Racer Revenge

Star Wars: Starfighter

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

NOTE: There is also STANDARD PS4 Battlefront Bundle for $399.99 listed on Amazon, Best Buy & Target. THIS IS NOT the limited edition bundle, and it will not have the Darth Vader skin, controller, or digital game download voucher.

BUNDLE 2: WAL-MART EXCLUSIVE Playstation 4 Disney 3.0 Star Wars Bundle

* This bundle is ONLY available at Wal-Mart*

500GB Darth Vader PS4 with custom controller

Disney Infnity 3.0 Exclusive Star Wars Bundle Kit

Digital voucher to download 4 classic SW games playable on PS4 for the first time ever!

The classic games are:
The Super Nintendo title - Super Star Wars
Star Wars: Racer Revenge

Star Wars: Starfighter

Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

You can pre-order from Amazon HERE, and check the official source HERE by clicking the retailer of your choice! Best Buy & Target offer pre-orders from their own respective websites.

Don't forget to stop by and check out our Facebook page. You can also join our Facebook group and be a part of one of the largest Star Wars communities on Facebook.

Source: Playstation.com

Galaxy Wars: An Art Show Tribute To Star Wars & Star Trek

The Place: Pasadena, CA. It was Saturday September 5th. #ForceFriday had come and gone, but there was another celebration that was about to begin. One that would bridge two galaxies that are usually at odds with each other...

Galaxy Wars! Original artwork, T-shirts, hand crafted jewelry, accessories, souvenirs and trinkets, coupled with shaved ice from RAPsados, beer and live music. That was the atmosphere at the Old Towne Pub that night. The art show was presented by Le Beauty Exorcist and Dr.Graves Productions. The event was sponsored by a handful of companies including the local Guitar Center, which raffled off a guitar, and HorrorCon.

Inside the venue, bands were playing non-stop. You could hear the music out in the courtyard throughout the night. Power metal as the background to a Sci-Fi art show! It was a perfect fit. The night capped off with the arrival of the evening's headliners, Du Hast - A Rammstein Tribute band.

The courtyard was dotted with vendor tables displaying their wares. Everything from pop culture to sci-fi and then some. However it was quite obvious that the atmosphere was dominated by Star Wars and Star Trek on this night.....and it was evident that Star Wars had a superior influence. That didn't stop fans of both franchises from getting along though. 

There was also Der Wolfskopf. A beer garden that had some amazing brews & an assortment of German food that was also located in the courtyard. My personal favorite brew was the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Radler. It had a good citrus flavor without all the bitterness that usually comes with grapefruit, making for one very refreshing drink.   

As I mentioned before, Star Wars was clearly the winner here. Star Trek was only visible at a couple of vendor tables. There were a couple of Spock stencil paintings among a sea of Rebel & Imperial characters. (See below) and the other was by way of some T-shirts that combined the 2 galaxies. 

The Sithfits table, with plenty of T-Shirts to go around

There were some incredibly detailed works of art up for grabs as well. Some were intricate wood burned images, while others utilized watercolors, paints, color pencils, you name it!

Look at the workmanship on Fett, Maul, Trooper & of course, Han & Chewie

Various media art by Eliassar Gonzalez. Some were on Canvas (not shown)

I purchased this 11 x 14 print for my personal collection:
Trooper, Mando & Imp. Guard done in watercolor

There were also plenty of hand crafted items like key chains and magnets. 

There were even a couple of people in cosplay, along with myself. I found myself face to face with a Mandalorian out for a bounty......but we came to a mutual agreement. His armor was made of Sintra, with a modified Rubie's Boba Fett helmet. It was very well done!

Kiefer Jenkins in his Mandalorian armor

I also ran into Kylo, who was apparently getting ready to head inside to checkout the bands. I tried to get some information out of him about the knights of Ren, but he was too strong for mind tricks.

All-in-all it was a fun experience that was more like an awesome fan gathering than an art show. Vendors, attendees, and band members all hanging out eating, drinking, and talking Star Wars & a little bit of Star Trek.

Make sure you like our page and join our FB group!  Sound off in comments, if you have any questions.  Thanks for reading!

ForceFriday is Here! Some Pics From Our Forcestrong Group Members.

One lucky member even won this giant Chewie from his local Target!

THE BIG DAY IS HERE!! FORCEFRIDAY!!

Kylo Ren, Rey, Finn, BB-8, LEGOs, Funko, and much much more -- What did you get?  Post it in comments or on our FB group with the rest of the 25,000+ members.

One member even made the news:

Below are some of the choice picks that have come in so far.  If you see your picture, feel free to comment.

Yes, we have a few Star Wars addicts within our community ;)  Make sure you share your haul with us all.  Post in comments or in our FB group.  Thanks for being a part of the #Forcestrong Network!

Star Wars Merchandise Harkens Back To The Ads Of The 80's & 90's

As the Great and Wise Yogurt once told Lone Starr......"MERCHANDISING!" Then he opened up the kiosk and started running through all the merchandise. Okay so that was from Spaceballs and not Star Wars, and yes a lot of the merchandise he talked about was campy, but that was the point! Epic Hollywood success stories are always followed by a ton of merchandising!

Every company out there is trying to cash in on the popularity of Star Wars. Apparel, cereal, lunchboxes, you name it! While today we have a wide variety of pretty awesome merchandise, we also have the more campy and kitschy variety as well.

Campbell's is the latest company to jump on the Star Wars branded merchandise bandwagon with their Star Wars themed soups. Their chicken soup and Spaghetti-O's to be exact...complete with character shaped pasta.

While the product itself is a cheesy attempt at sales, I can't help but smile and will most likely shell out a few bucks to buy these for my kids. Why would I do this? 

Simple:

A: My kids love Star Wars.

B: It brings back memories of when I was a kid. 

Growing up, I was a part of the generation that was introduced to Nintendo, Batman, Ghostbusters, Ninja Turtles & C3P0 themed cereals as well as other food & drinks themed after what was popular at the time.

"The odds of you never having tried this cereal as a kid are 3,720 to 1!"

As kids, we didn't care that Ninja Turtles cereal with marshmallows tasted exactly like Lucky Charms, or that Batman cereal was basically a Cap'n Crunch knock-off with bat shaped cereal that would cut up the roof of your mouth instead of the crunch balls that did the exact same thing. We just felt pretty damn awesome because......well, JUST BECAUSE!

This is what Campbell's is banking on. They know the new generation will feel the way we did as kids, and they also know the power of nostalgia. They know damn well that most of us will buy the products whether we have kids or not, just because we love Star Wars.

Just for old time's sake, here are some of my favorite themed cereals as a kid. Unless you were born in the mid to late 90's, I bet you've at least tried one of them.

What was your favorite Star Wars themed merchandise when you were a kid? Head over to our FB group and let us know! While you're at it, check out our FB page as well!

Sources: Delish.com and my childhood memories!

What's Better Than Star Wars & Babies?... Uh, Nothing!

JKAGear.com just put out a fantastic article yesterday with baby pics that have a Star Wars theme.  I wanted to share it with the #Forcestrong Network and give you all a warm and fuzzy ;)

They’re innocence and charm is beyond what words can possibly describe. You’d think there would be no better way to capture the purity of a child. That is until Echo Photography and like-minded individuals got the idea to knit Star Wars baby clothing and putting it to work in their photo shoots. These children not only will brighten up your day, but will send joy throughout the galaxy far, far away. These images capture more than just the innocence of sleeping babies, but will also captivate any viewer with their Star Wars theme. Nerd parents everywhere can rejoice, and take note that these are all completely handmade pieces that they can do at home.

Should you want to take on the venture of making these tiny outfits there are how to videos online, and even some YouTube tutorials on how to knit these wonderful pieces of art. The baby photography has captured the internet by storm, and will steal your heart and bring it to a place where Wookiees roam and Jedi rebel against the Evil Empire. I for one will have to enlist some help in making mine for my young padawan and possibly get some professional pictures of my very own.

Source:  See full article >> JKAGear.com

Add Your Memories To Star Wars Now!

How would you like to be immortalized as part of the Star Wars galaxy? LucasFilm has partnered up with Target to do just that! Together they have created ShareTheForce.

ShareTheForce is an ever expanding database full of Star Wars fan memories that are uploaded by individuals. They can be a combination of images, phrases, or both. You can use one of the provided templates for text, or delete it and put your own message. Character space is limited so keep your message short or a part of it will get cut off.

Depending on what key words you use, the site will place you in a specific star system within the galaxy. For example, if you use phrases like "Darth" or variations of "Imperial" or "Empire", you might get placed in the Galactic Empire or Darth Vader systems. Using phrases like "Jedi" or "Force" might get you into the Yoda system, and so on.

The systems include Yoda, C3P0, R2D2, Jabba, Dueling Sabers, X-Wings/TIE Fighters, Darth Vader, Stormtoopers, Boba Fett & more!

Although your memory may be placed in one system, you are free to roam other systems and view other people's memories across the galaxy.

Each memory gets it's own specific set of coordinates that you can enter to revisit any time. Once you upload a memory, you will have the option to download a coordinates certificate. The coordinates make it easier to revisit your memories, otherwise you'll have to hunt them down, which is not that bad as you'll get to see others along the way.You can also share those coordinates with friends all over social media!

I've already placed some of my memories to share with you. Most of mine ended up in the Galactic Empire system, while a couple of them made it into the main Star Wars System.

Click HERE to go to the galaxy hub and then enter either of the following coordinates to see my memories. While there, you can click on other memories that are located nearby.

Coordinates:
X:218 Y:840 Z:786

X:661 Y:108 Z:793

X:661 Y: 81  Z:797

From the same galaxy hub, you can click the "+" button to add your own memories! There is no limit as to how many uploads you can have!


ONCE ALL ENTRIES ARE SUBMITTED, LUCASFILM WILL ARCHIVE THEM ALL AND MAKE THEM ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE! 

THERE IS NO DEADLINE CURRENTLY SET, BUT I'M SURE THAT WILL CHANGE. SO IF I WERE YOU I WOULDN'T WAIT!

Check out the video & pictures below:

The main Galaxy hub with coordinate input field & new memory button.

Just outside the Imperial system. Other systems can be seen in the distance.

My memory, along with other fan memories nearby. You can visit them
by clicking the white way point on each memory.

My memory. When you zoom in, it will show whatever I have
written as well as the coordinates and a share button.

For more awesome Star Wars fun, news and entertainment, be sure to visit our FB page and join our FB group!

Source:Adage

Disney To Unwrap 15 Star Wars Toys Ahead of Force Friday

It's a well known fact by now that at the stroke of midnight signifying the end of September 3rd and the beginning of September 4th, toy retailers are going to swing their doors open for countless consumers who would have been waiting all night to get their hands on all the new Star Wars toys from various manufacturers.

What wasn't known until just recently, is that Disney plans to have a GLOBAL UNBOXING EVENT ahead of Force Friday.

This event will take place on September 3rd and be telecast across the world!

UPDATE: Thanks to additional information on StarWars.com, we now know that this will be an 18 hour event. The live stream will be broadcast on the official Star Wars YouTube channel. A YouTube personality will unbox one toy per location.

Schedule posted below:

As you can see above, the first item will be unwrapped in Sydney, Australia, and from there it's a globe-trotting adventure across 13 additional locations including before finaly coming to an end at location 15: LucasFilm Studios in San Francisco, CA.

Funko Toys coming out Sept. 4th!  Forcestrong Original Meme.

The end of the event will signal the beginning of Force Friday when all the toy stores open up their doors to the waiting masses!

Fans are being encouraged to document their experiences and post them online with the hashtag #ForceFriday.

We also encourage you all to post your experiences to our Facebook Page & Facebook Group where we plan on featuring them in a future article! You can use the hashtag #Forcestrong or #ForceFriday. Thanks and share with your friends!



Source: Engadget
Updates: StarWars.com

The Force Is Strong With Thomson Holidays Online Live Chat

In light of the recent data security breach experienced by British travel service Thomson Holiday in which 500 customers had their travel information accidentally revealed, it's nice to hear of a positive experience by one customer on a different matter.

Millie Barton was scheduled to fly out to Greece on vacation and was wondering if her Star Wars suitcase was qualified as a carry-on. She reached out to a customer service rep using the live chat option, where she was greeted by "AJ". What was to be a regular conversation turned into witty banter full of Star Wars references that was shared on Facebook over 3,100 times!

You can see Millie's conversation below:

We hope Millie had a wonderful time in Greece!

Do you have a personal Star Wars experience you'd like to share? Head over to our FB page and FB group for plenty of Star Wars action!

Source: Mirror.co.uk

Forcestrong Fan Cast Benicio Del Toro For Ep. VIII Villain

No rest for the wicked ;) We are getting Episode VIII, yes 8, information through the pipes...  I was just discussing this with fans of the Forcestrong group today.  Some people think the constant beat of info to be overwhelming.

Reports are coming in that Benicio Del Toro is in talks to be a villain in Ep. VIII.  I put together this little meme for your amusement and contemplation.

Here's a few sources for you:  Variety and IGN.

Sound off on our group with your opinion.  You can also comment below!

Japanese Kickstarter Attempting To Bring Star Wars Full Circle

It's pretty well known in the Forcestrong Network that Star Wars creator George Lucas was greatly influenced by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, with Kurosawa's 1958 period adventure The Hidden Fortress often cited as a direct inspiration for Lucas' first space epic. With this in mind, it's nice to see Star Wars returned to its roots with this Japanese crowdfunding project for traditional woodblock prints of Lucas' characters.

The technique being used is known as ukiyo-e, a style of printing that was popular through the 17th to 19th centuries in Japan, with famous examples including Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Ukiyo-e prints typically begin life as paintings which are then carved into blocks of wood. Ink is applied to the surface of the woodblock and paper is pressed against the ink, with a different block of wood used to build up each layer of color and create the final image.

So far, the Star Wars ukiyo-e project on Japanese Kickstarter Makuake has raised nearly 12 million yen ($96,000) — just under 800 percent of its original goal. You can choose from three officially licensed prints depicting Darth Vader, the Battle of Hoth, and Queen Amidala (with R2-D2 and an adult Anakin Skywalker also in the frame). These handmade techniques of ukiyo-e don't come cheap though: a single print costs 54,000 yen ($434), with a set of three going for 162,000 yen ($1,303).

See the entire story and a creation video here.  Share with your friends and discuss on our FB group.

Source:  The Verge

Disney Wants No Part Of Schumer's "Raunchy" GQ Photo Shoot

I've let this bubble up for a few days.  Now it's time to take it before the Forcestrong Community!

There was a little too much force inside Amy Schumer's August issue of GQ -- that's what Disney/LucasFilm thinks, at least.  They let it be known yesterday that they did not approve of Schumer's racy Star Wars-themed photoshoot in GQ's special comedy issue.

Check out this Twitter thread when a fan asked @StarWars directly. 

Here's a few more for your consideration...

This is the cover of the August GQ

And some inappropriate lightsaber play...

Sound off on our Forcestrong group with your thoughts or comment on the article.