A long time ago, in a small town far, far away…
Thanks to my elder brother, I was one of the first lucky ones in the world getting to watch Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope for the very first time in the cinema when I was just seven years old back in 1977, the same year the movie was first released. It has become part of my life since then, as it has for many across the planet, almost like a religion many could relate.
When I was a kid, I remember drawing those starships in battle. My friends and I got so excited talking about it at school, gesturing with our hands about how the ships fought in action while making laser and explosion sound effects with our mouths. 😄
The movie also inspired me in wanting to become a Star Wars filmmaker myself when I grew up. But alas, I didn’t make it that far and had to settle for making Star Wars photos and videos with cosplayers and action figures. Haha!
BLAST FROM THE PAST!
Republic Commando
Through one of the first cosplay events I attended back in 2012, I created the Republic Commando posing with his DC-17m blaster rifle with the animated firepower demo, which you see in this post’s featured photo. I had to shoot the Star Wars cosplayer in action at the Malaysian Games and Comics Convention (MGCCon) at the KDU University College in Petaling Jaya.
The Republic Commando is a character from the Star Wars: Republic Commando tactical first-person shooter video game. This cosplayer made a cool replica out of it. I just had to take the shots and make a video.
Darth Nihilus
Another cosplayer was posing as a character known as Darth Nihilus from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Universe. Darth Nihilus reigned as a Dark Lord in the role-playing video game. I wish they made movies about these guys, too, as plenty of great prequel stories were yet to be told through the film before Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace came about.
Visas Marr, a female character who was a former Sith Apprentice to Darth Nihilus, once said:
“He (Darth Nihilus) is a wound in the Force, more presence than flesh, and in his wake, life dies… sacrificing itself to his hunger.” — Star Wars: The Old Republic Wiki
And so I did my best to bring out that dark expression of the Dark Lord through this photoshoot.
You can also watch them all in action in this video:
501st Legion
From this event, I learned about the 501st Legion, an international fan-based organization dedicated to constructing and wearing screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor along with Sith Lords, Clone Troopers, Bounty Hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe. The 501st Legion, called by its nickname Vader’s Fist, is comprised entirely of volunteers.
Meeting some of these film characters during the ‘War Against Hunger’ charity drive event back in 2012 was super exciting. I also got to hold and play with a Stormtrooper E-11 laser blaster! 🤩 Pew! Pew! Pew!
Malaysia Garrison
The Malaysia Garrison has 31 active members within this legion; some were present at this event, as you can see in the photos and video I shared earlier. While checking out other Garrisons in the world, I found this Femtrooper (Female Stormtrooper), Jaquie Supa Fem Graham, by accident on Facebook. I offered to help beautify one of her photos as well…
Speeder Bike Scout Trooper
Besides attending cosplay events to get such fun photoshoots, I also enjoy making my action figure collections come to life. Here’s one Star Wars Speeder Bike Scout Trooper by Star Wars—The Black Series 6″ going back to base, where I shot it with an Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO macro lens with the Panasonic GH4 4K camera in my DIY mini green screen studio at home.
Well, there you have it! My very own Star Wars story… haha! What’s your Star Wars story? Share it with me if you have one. Would love to have a look!
Will do more of this when I have the time… meanwhile, if you enjoy looking at Action Figures photos in action, you might also enjoy my next post of the shots I did for another of my favorite films, Alien vs. Predator!
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