I took my sons to Star Wars Celebration VI this past weekend, here are some of the highs and lows..used our experiences from Celebration V for comparison.
Disappointingly Hasbro took the cheap way out this time. No Exclusives or Normal Release items for sale. Last show their freebees were Galactic Heroes and Vintage Card backs all day long - all 4 days, this year it was Fighter Pods at scheduled times / twice daily. And hey Hasbro, next time hire people to work your booth that want to be there, not a bunch of grumpy 20/30 year old with attitudes.
As far as Lego goes, Celebration V had some great exclusives (ESB Cubedudes) and giveaways (Concept Fett Minifigure). In preparation for this show, I searched the net for months trying to find out what their exclusives were going to be, but had no luck until I walked into the show. It was a Mini Slave 1 with Boba Fett in a Tin Can just like the Maul Exclusive from SDCC. Very cool set, a little pricey at $40, but a must have for my boys and I. Lego also had a Lego Building Event but no giveaway this time, but you got a free Legoland Tickets for each $75 you spent in the store.
Sideshow had the Vintage Style Fett for Celebration V, this time...Smiling Lando Vintage and another Clone Trooper 12...boring. Pass and pass.
Hallmark, which had poorly handled their exclusive ornaments at Celebration V, had their act together this time. Not to mention the Obi-Wan vs. Ponda Boba Ornament is very cool.
The Artist Alley was pretty cool but a little expensive, except for Katie Cook who just knows how to do things right. While her art is more kid friendly, it is also affordable with custom sketches for only $5.
The hit of the show for my 10 year son and I was the Return to Tatooine Diorama Building Event. We build a custom Tatooine Style home out of cardboard, covered it in plaster and sponge painted it as best we could. We had a ball and it was totally free.
We also attended the Family Only Event in the Digital Theater which was no one knew what it was about. Well it turned out to be a HD Screening of Young Jedi, a Clone Wars World Mini-Movie, centering around young jedi kids becoming Jedi and battling the bad guys. While I have had problems following Clone Wars because of its slow pace, my sons and I really enjoyed this Clone Wars One Shot Movie. While it will never be the Tartikovsky's (sp) Clone Wars, this special was a nice surprise.
All in all, we have a lot of fun taking pictures and walking through the show, and we look forward to the next show...if it's in Orlando.
