OSWCC.com

This is the eighth in a series featuring our members

Name: Joe Ilagan
Region: South Region (Outlander, Indianapolis)

* Age: 29
* Hometown: Indianapolis, IN (Formerly Lebanon, OH)
* Occupation: Graduate Student
* Time in OSWCC: Since C3, 2005.
* Family: my wife Kim and daughter Anastasia
* Favorite Movie: Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith
* Collecting Focus: Gentle Giant Animated Maquettes, Clone Wars Animated Figs, and all things Green Lantern (hehe)
* Star Wars fan since: I went to see Jedi in ‘83 with my Dad and older brother, I don’t really remember seeing it, but I do remember playing with all the toys growing up and loving every minute of it, watched the VHS tapes etc. But found my own love for SW when the Special Editions came out in 1997.
* Favorite character: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
* Favorite item in your collection: My TK Armor, with my C3 Vader a close second, I stood in line for hours and enjoyed talking to all the other fans in line and being at C3.
* Originals or Prequels: Neither really, my favorite era lies in the time between the OT and Prequels. I love the clone wars series and I am a big EU fan.
* Favorite quote from the movies: “All who gain power, are afraid to lose it…”
* Loose or Mint on Cards: Loose baby, gotta let ‘em breathe!
* Vintage or Modern: Modern
* Collection location: In my den/office, in Ikea Detolf cases.
* Novels or comics: Comics/Trade Paperbacks
* Dark Side or Light Side: Dark Side
* Star Wars dream job: Being an animator or working with video games for LucasArts. Also, I would love to do PR with LucasFilm, I would wake up everyday excited to go to work for any of those jobs!

This is the sixth in a series spotlighting our members.

Mark LeMieux is our second VIP member being featured. He has worked on several different toy lines, including Star Wars.  Check out his work at www.platypusproductions.net

Name: Mark LeMieux

Age: 31
Hometown: Paulding (If there’s a bright center to the universe, you’re on the planet that it’s farthest from.)
Occupation: Artist & Sculptor / Actor / Special Effects Artist & Movie Maker
Time in OSWCC: Since ‘09
Family: Married with 3 kids (and one on the way)
Favorite Movie: The Empire Strikes Back
Collecting Focus: Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo & Chewbacca
Star Wars fan since: 1983 when I saw Return of the Jedi in the theater and ate every box of C-3PO’s cereal available…

Favorite character: Yoda, Obi-Wan, Han
Favorite item in your collection:

Kenner 12” Raiders of the Lost Ark Indiana Jones (best Father’s Day gift, ever!)

1980 3 ¾” Yoda (with snake)

Life size Yoda puppet that I made in college
Originals or Prequels: Originals + Episode 1
Favorite quote from the movies: Too many to decide from… here are a few:

- “Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”

- “Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.”  “Who’s scruffy-looking?”

- “Why do I get the feeling that we’ve picked up another pathetic life form?”

- “You were right about one thing, master. The negotiations were short.”
Loose or Mint on Cards: Loose, so you can play with them and admire the sculptures.
Vintage or Modern: Both, but I like the vintage better because they have no action features. I hate action features and built in sounds. Action feature and built in sound effects destroy the play-ability and limit the imagination.
Collection location: Office
Novels or comics: Both, but I prefer novels. Most of the Dark Horse comics have awesome cover art, but the art work inside is less appealing.
Dark Side or Light Side: Light Side (”Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” )
Star Wars dream job: Yoda puppeteer, acting in a movie as Obi-Wan Kenobi or Han Solo.

Me in my Obi-Wan costume after I won 1st prize at a Star Wars costume contest (with the Episode 3 video game that I won)

My Yoda / Obi-Wan shrine

Some of my Indiana Jones collection

My life size yoda puppet I made in college (one of my final projects):

This is the fifth in a series spotlighting our members.

Scott D.M. Simmons is our first VIP member being featured. His artwork is currently featured on the 2009 Summer Social Badges as well as oswcc.com. He has worked for Hasbro in the past, and is now working on several independent comic books. Check out his work at scottdmsimmons.com.

Name: Scott D.M. Simmons

Region: South

Age: 39

Hometown: Amelia, Ohio

Occupation: Comic Artist & Graphic Designer, former photographer at Hasbro Toys

Time in OSWCC: Since the Summer Social in 2007

Family: Married

Favorite Movie: Empire Strikes Back

Collecting Focus: R2-D2, Padme

Star Wars fan since: I was seven and saw the first movie on the big screen. My mom got me the first four figures for my birthday I believe the next year when they came out, and man, I just really loved zooming the Landspeeder around. Later on, my dad got a job photographing the Kenner Star Wars toys. Years later, I worked with him, and upon graduation from college, I worked at Hasbro as a photographer for eight years from 1996 to 2004.

Favorite character: R2-D2

Favorite item in your collection: That varies… maybe the landspeeder, the CAP-2 (my thumb is on the package), remote control Biker Scout, Epic Force Slave Leia, or the 12-inch Queen Amidala. My R2-D2 phone was really cool, but my mistake was in actually using it. I also love my Star Wars Stratego game. And I own an awesome original art drawing of a samurai-like Darth Vader by Joe Madureira. Too many cool things to pick from.

Originals or Prequels: Originals, although I really enjoy The Phantom Menace too.

Favorite Quote from the Movies: “Watch your mouth, kid, or you’re gonna find yourself floating home!”

Loose or Mint on Card: If my dad or I photographed some neat stuff on the card or box, I like it unopened; otherwise, open it up or get a second one!

Vintage or Modern: They each have their merits. The vintage stuff has a certain innocence and charm (and certainly childhood memories), whereas the newer stuff has insane detailing, nice articulation, and sometimes great electronic features.

Collection location: Our house has a very large walk-in closet upstairs that runs along the whole width of the house. So my toy collection, art stuff, and comics are all in there. It was one of the several unique features that totally sold us on the house.

Novels or Comics: Comics, especially Splinter of the Mind’s Eye (adaptation of the novel I loved as a kid), Dark Empire, and the Star Wars manga.

Dark Side or Light Side: Light.

Star Wars Dream Job: (One was fulfilled when I worked for my dad’s studio and then at Hasbro itself). Now, my dream job would be doing artwork officially for Lucasfilm or for companies with licenses to produce Star Wars artwork. I would love to do official sketch cards and SW comic books.

Here are some photos of Scott’s collection, with commentary from him:

“Of course, it’s not my whole collection covered here. I have some vintage stuff too, but not on the walls. And there are various other toys and comics scattered throughout. I wish I had my SWEp1 Manga poster and Joe Mad Vader pencils up on the wall, but there isn’t room for them (yet). You can see Star Wars stamps and manga books here, and fave toys in a breadbox display. And a Star Wars sign from a Toy Fair show.”

“There is me (an action figure of me created with Hasbro’s image capture and R&D tools) surrounded by Gatchaman and my favorite actress Kate Winslet, Hasbro name plates, a remote control speeder bike, National Amusements cups, and a nice Star Wars stein, among other items.”

“The best shot I could do to show both connected closet spaces. R2-D2, Padme, the CAP-2, Slave Leia, Ackbar… protected from Transformers like BlackArachnia by Krypto I guess. I have a GIJoe figure signed by Hasbro’s Don Fardie, because the character was modeled after his likeness.”

“The Hoth Deluxe figures were the very first packages with images shot by me as a solo photographer so they are pretty special to me. The speeder bike images were great fun to build dioramas for, much like the Ewok village and Hoth battle scenes were as well. The Tatooine sand… not so much, because I would always accidentally breathe that in.”

“On the right is an assortment of packages my dad shot images for (with the exception of the cantina diorama which I believe I bought at the Hasbro employee store). I recall helping out with some of these images. There are more toys in my collection that don’t pertain to Star Wars and are not shown here, but it will always be a favorite collectible theme of mine.”

OSWCC is heading to Columbus, Ohio as an exhibitor at Mid-Ohio-Con on October 4th & 5th. Come and join us for a weekend of fun!

Now in its 28th consecutive year, Mid-Ohio-Con is one of America’s longest-running and most successful comic book and pop-culture conventions, carrying on a fun and family-oriented tradition of bringing fans of all ages together with leading comic book writers and artists, film and television stars and creators, and publishers and retailers from across the nation.

For 2008 there are some exciting new features and developments as they continue to grow the MOC experience.

New dates. They’ve moved from the traditional Thanksgiving-weekend time slot to the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, October 4–5, 2008. As hoped, the date change has received a terrific response from fans and professionals alike, as the new dates no longer conflict with so many attendees’ holiday travel and family plans. We’re looking forward to seeing lots of new faces alongside returning MOC veterans this year!

More space. For 2008 they’ll once again be hosting MOC in the Greater Columbus Convention Center, located in the heart of Columbus’s vibrant downtown area. This year they’ve moved out of Battelle Hall and into Exhibit Hall E and several adjoining panel rooms, offering a greatly expanded show floor for the creative guests, exhibitors, and artist alley, as well as dedicated space for panel programming and other special activities. The Exhibit Hall is just down High Street from the Hyatt Regency hotel and only a short distance from all the dining, shopping, and entertainment available in downtown Columbus’s Arena District.

Expanded guest list. The roster of special guests is growing daily, and they’re pleased to welcome back a host of familiar faces, as well as many new ones, from the worlds of comic books, film and television, sf/fantasy, gaming, and pop culture. Keep your eye out in the near future for further additions to the list, as well as forthcoming announcements such as our 2008 Mid-Ohio-Con Guests of Honor.

Special features. In addition to the lively show floor and panel programming track, this year’s MOC will feature a charity auction of items including original artwork by comic book legend John Byrne; a fan film festival sponsored by Packrat Comics; the first annual costume contest; a variety of all-new MOC exclusives and merchandise; and more. Stay tuned for future developments.

As you’ve noticed if you’ve tried clicking around, their new website—like this year’s Mid-Ohio-Con!—is still a work in progress. So add them to your bookmarks and check back in the weeks to come for news and updates, including information about purchasing tickets; volunteering at MOC; the programming schedule; travel and hotels in Columbus; and much more.

Whether you’re a longtime MOC participant or first-timer this year, we’re looking forward to seeing you in October. It’s going to be a great con! Check out all the details at midohiocon.com.

We’ve gotten several galleries from members already uploaded to our Flickr account. Click here to check out galleries from Matt Erickson, Dave Snedigar and Dale Meyers!

Mid Ohio Con takes place over Thanksgiving weekend each year in Columbus. Check the pics from this years event right here!

COSI was asked by the Columbus Metropolitan Library if they would be interested in doing a display in cases at the main library branch in conjunction with the running of the Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit. COSI cannot lend out any of the original props or costume items from the exhibit, but asked OSWCC and the library if we would be interested in working together to put together a SW themed display which would promote both the club and the exhibit. Below is a photo gallery of what Eric Shepard, Central OSWCC Regional Director and his fellow OSWCCers were able to do with the space provided.

I was able to attend the midnight grand opening of Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination last Friday night at COSI in Columbus Ohio. The staff and volunteers truly went above and beyond to create what I feel is the best interactive kids of all ages exhibit to date! The night began with 100 VIP contest winners being allowed early access to mingle and rub elbows with celebrity guest Jeremy Bulloch who as always is a pure delight. After a drink and some hor’s doeuvres, the festivities began with a few words from the designer of the exhibit Ed Rodley, and Jeremy Bulloch. Soon after the cake was cut and we were soon allowed access to the exhibit.

There was no mad dash or long lines, the ticket system they’ve incorporated into the exhibit allows staggered access to attendees so it doesn’t get too crowded. Once inside it is quite the sensory over load. There seems to be so much going on and so much to see and do that you just don’t know where to start! I suppose the best way would be to purchase the audio tour PDA so you can follow the pre designed exhibit path. But I didn’t have time for that! I wanted to see Luke’s land speeder, and medical droid FX-7! Oh What about the Wookiees!? Then there’s Darth Vader too! I guess I’m going to have to go back and do the audio tour another time! Which is fine because the exhibit runs June 3rd - September 4, 2006.

There is more to the exhibit than just Star Wars. For kids in particular this is a great way for them to become interactive and get involved in learning about how things work. What better way to capture their imagination than through the wonderful world of Star Wars?! The exhibit twists and turns, has many interactive areas mixed in amoung the Star Wars displays, and manages to create a well balanced dose of science and Star Wars for kids of all ages!

There are two multimedia presentations within the exhibit itself. One presentation is disquised as a Jawa Sandcrawler! Once inside you’re entertained by C-3PO and robotics engineer Cynthia Breazeal debating the merits of R2-D2 and how researchers try to duplicate traits such as mobility, perception, and cognition.

The other multimedia presentation involves the Millennium Falcon! As you enter, a walkway designed to give the look and feel of the interior of the Millennium Falcon guides you to the cockpit where you and three other participants get to take in a presentation that explores what we know about our own galaxy in a breathtaking journey to the edge of the Universe.

Now of course most of you are probably asking, “Are there any exclusives?!” No thank god, but there is plenty of event branded merchandise that it’s hard not to take home a few trinkets to remember the experience. I grabbed a pin myself, how about you?

The bottom line is if you live anywhere near Columbus, Ohio You’ve got to stop by and check this out! No scratch that, if you live anywhere near Ohio, this is something you have to see for yourself! You can find out more about the exhibit by visiting the COSI website right here.

You also might want to check out the exhibit schedule below to see if there is a stop closer to your own home on the tour that might better accommodate! Remember the exhibit is at COSI in Columbus, Ohio until September 4th 2006. Then it continues at the next facility in line below, and so on, and so on.

To everyone involved from COSI, thank you for bringing Star Wars to mid Ohio! Hopefully this will lead to other great events in the future. Also thank god for the 501st, and Rebel Legion! Without the fans themselves volunteering to partake in the event by adding that little extra dash of Star Wars enthusiasm it just wouldn’t be the same great exhibit! Thanks guys and gals, I had a blast! I hope to see you all again real soon! Also don’t forget to read Sean Baker’s review of the exhibit while it was at the Boston Museum Of Science that was recently posted at Rebelscum. Here are some other photo galleries available for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

The first ever soon to be annual OSWCC auction was recently held in Cincinnati, Ohio at Dustin Roberts house in Western Hills. The idea came from KSWCC, who uses the platform to raise funds for their club. At this event alone we raised $1,654.00 for the OSWCC bank! This money will be used to help promote the club, maintain the convention booth and signage, and who knows what else!

Special thanks to anyone and everyone who donated items for the auction itself, without you we would have no event. Next up I’d like to thank all of the fine folks who ventured from as far as 4+ hours away just to attend this event! Finally I want to thank everyone who put their money where their mouth was and helped make this event the huge success that it was! Thank you!

Pics are right here!

This past St. Patty’s day two OSWCC members took it upon themselves to spread the joy of Star Wars.Josh Vardous and Troy Lindsay are also members of the 501st Imperial Legion of Stormtroopers, also known as Vader’s Fist.

It was a last minute decision to suit up in their armor to crash the parade route but little did they know how big of a reception they would soon receive from the entire crowd. A few quick armor adjustments to fit in with the event, toss in freezing temps and a few loving freinds to escort and document the trip (OSWCC members Angela and Trent Lindsay, and Lisa Pavlina…thanks guys!), and Cleveland was in for a huge suprise. Children of all ages, parents, grand-parents, policemen, firemen, parade marshals…EVERYONE wanted to pose for pictures with the Stormtroopers!…er I mean ‘robots’, ‘Buzz Lightyear’, or ‘Darth Vader’…depending on who you asked

The following are a few snapshots to share in their excitement.