VICE asked me to write about my love and righteousness with Star Wars, and I was really worried about this topic for a while, and I didn't know where to start, because I was a Fan Boy at best, and I felt that my experience did not have much to write about.
But after thinking about it, I hope that I can also make other friends who like "Star Wars" and want to know about "501 Legion" a reference. Now that I've decided to write it, let's start with how I became a Star Wars fan.
<h3>* * *</h3>
#1. Since childhood, he has been a "Star Wars fan":
As a mid-'80s kid, I'd say I've been a Star Wars fan since I was a kid. Some people may say: then you are bragging B! "Star Wars" was not released on a large scale in China at that time! It's true that I'm not an ABC who grew up abroad, and I haven't seen Star Wars since I was a kid, but my feelings about the Force have indeed been cultivated since childhood, so I'll just say a few works:
At the end of the 1980s, "Dinosaur Express" was screened on major local stations, and this film was full of Star Wars flavors. "Dinosaur Express" was originally one of the "Ryotani Dinosaur Trilogy", the first two of which were animation + live-action, and in the end, we saw that this was a full-life special drama. Time travel, transformed warriors, aliens and various dinosaur dinosaurs ... All of them became the topic of conversation among children at that time, and almost everyone in kindergarten had a hat (helmet).
Dinosaur Express.
What does this Japanese close-up have to do with Star Wars? Princess Artasia and the intelligent robot Kiy are obviously borrowed from Princess Leia and R2D2 in Star Wars; while the two villains of Director Zaki and Emperor Guedmis are like Darth Vader and the Emperor of the Empire (this should not be a reference, because "Dinosaur Express" was broadcast in Japan in 1978, two years before the Emperor appeared in Star Wars). The Cretaceous played by the company with some rough small models and holster monsters has become the coolest image in my eyes, which also laid the groundwork for my future entry into the world of Star Wars.
The master servant in Dinosaur Express.
Emperor Gedmis and Director Zaki in Dinosaur Express.
Let's talk about another work: Star Fleet. Compared to Dinosaur Express, this work may not be remembered by many people, and I can't remember exactly what year it was broadcast on any local TV station, but Starfleet has indeed become the most powerful puppet film in my memory.
Star Fleet.
At that time, I had not seen "Thunderbird Rescue Team" and "American Team", and this film also deeply understood the essence of Star Wars (it was later learned that it was a script written by Nagai Hiroshi), and the entire film was shot using models and puppets: secret bases, cosmic air battles, evil empires, villain aliens, princess heroines who escaped with secrets, pilot male protagonists, and ball robots and long-haired monsters as companions... Sounds like Star Wars? But it's just a puppet movie that's very much like Star Wars.
And the heroine is so beautiful. Twenty years later, I still remember her face vividly; thankfully, I didn't become a DD slave.
Group portrait of Starfleet.
However, the above two films are just likes, not yet obsessed. Before becoming a Star Wars fan, I was most obsessed with "Transformers" - believe it or not, "Transformers" also has a variety of "Star Wars terriers": just say 1986's "Transformers: The Big Movie", the deal between Tinkerers and Junk Starmen is exactly the "Endor Battle" and "Ewok Alliance" in "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi", not to mention Arcy's bun head and the "Transformers" version of the Death Star Universe Emperor - in fact, even the poster composition elements are the same.
Comparison of the two posters.
All of this said above is just a pre-Star Wars culture paving, and I really watched "Star Wars" and went to my uncle's house during the winter vacation of my fourth grade of elementary school. Although my uncle was a idle loser, there was always something new around my uncle: the first time I played the game console, it was my uncle's Atari 2600; and the first time I watched Star Wars, I also watched the videotape of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back at my uncle's house.
Videotape of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
The tall "mechanical monster" AT-AT walks in the snow and ice with heavy steps, Luke and Darth Vader in the lightsaber duel in Cloud City, Boba Fett takes away han solo that has been turned into a carbon condensed version... Maybe it was the foreshadowing of other previous works, maybe it was the curiosity of this Lo-Fi sense of technology, and I was immediately fascinated by this movie.
Because he couldn't buy the Star Wars peripherals at that time, he could only make his first AT-AT with foam bricks and cardboard, put it in the snow, and direct his own Star Wars.
AT-AT approaching iron hooves.
Science fiction father-son relationship.
Boba Fett 与 Han Solo。
<h4>* * *</h4>
<h4> </h4>
#2. "Toy Fans" = "Star Wars Fans":
I remember that my first Star Wars 3.75-inch villain was a clone soldier, which was already in the early 2000s, and some peripherals could be bought through various channels in China. From 1999 to 2005, the three prequel movies of "Star Wars" finally landed in domestic theaters, and I took Hasbro's toy lightsaber to the Beijing Shuang'an Cinema to queue up for the premiere, and I was so excited that Anakin finally saw the birth of the black warrior Darth Vader in the theater, and finally connected with the memory of ten years ago.
My mood at that time was the same as the protagonist in the fan film "Star Wars Fans" made by Star Wars fans, and even felt that my Force seemed to have begun to awaken.
3.75 inch clone soldier.
Just as Chinese children like Sun Wukong's golden hoop stick, foreign children love lightsabers.
After the release of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, I began my own path of peripheral collection. The earliest collection range, mainly Hasbro's 3.75-inch characters and related vehicles; later landed on some domestic forums, but also slowly learned about some other toy origins. But the bitterness is a student party, and it does not dare to dabble in it. The taste of placing 3.75-inch villains in a puppy-sized AT-AT is already satisfying to me.
At that time, collecting toys was not to show their unique taste, nor to collect rare treasures, nor to compare (and there were very few people around me who liked Star Wars at that time, who I compared with); in the end, it was just an instinct, a pure love for toys. I also loved Hasbro's earlier star wars version of Transformers because it combined two of my favorite genres — I bought an X-Wing that could turn into a Luke and Darth Vader that could turn into a Tie fighter, both ornamental and playful!
Having a vehicle makes the gameplay even more fun.
A dream combination of Star Wars X Transformers.
After I started working in 2008, I finally had some loose pieces of silver in my pocket, so I began to collect 12 inches and other peripherals. The 12 inches at this time is no longer like the rough and strangely proportioned 12 inch dolls produced by Kenner and Hasbro in the early days. The 12-inch dolls produced by Side Show and Medicom are almost small-scale wax figures: close to the real clothing armor material, realistic human head carvings, and a wealth of accessories and movability (please don't compare it to HT now, it was seven or eight years ago) is simply addictive. Some people compare the 12-inch soldier to an adult male Barbie doll, which is really not exaggerated! But if you ask me which is my favorite 12 inches, it's really hard to answer.
Bandai's "PM12 alloy" C3PO launched in 2012 is a special treasure, all metal materials, and has considerable movability, heavy in the hand like an Oscar gold man, the packaging design and materials are also very exquisite. Unfortunately, due to the high price and the dismal sales, this series has also become a masterpiece, and the R2D2 in the previous trailer is stillborn.
Take a generous amount in your hand.
Another group to recommend is Luke & Han's "Hero Stormtroper Double Set" launched by Side Show in the early years. Although it is a work from the early years, the appearance of the characters is extremely vivid and realistic, and the Stormtrooper helmet also has a helmet structure, which is very rare (to put it bluntly: the 12-inch puppet making brand HT, which has grown in the quality of the head carving, has not been able to make a Harrison Ford with charm).
Facial expressions are really lifelike.
In addition to the 12 inches, I also have a few scattered collections of statues, a dozen sets of LEGO and other peripherals. Friends who play with toys know that the reason why they dare not play too impatiently is not only because of the problem of the wallet, but also because of the space for the toy.
So I also started collecting some small objects. "Kubrick" from Medicom is one of my favorite series. The shape of the building block man is very interesting to portray squarely, collecting a set of box egg sets and piecing together a hidden character/vehicle.
The Star Wars family of "Kubrick".
"Kubrick" corresponds to a Star Wars-themed advertising poster.
In the summer of 2010, I changed jobs in Xiamen, where my boss was an old BBC – and coincidentally, he was also a Star Wars fan.
He has a lot of great collections, such as Star Wars games for all console platforms. While Star Wars console games aren't much fun, several of them, such as those on the SFC/SNES platform, are already ridiculously expensive. Through him, I also met for the first time the Code3 brand, which makes vehicle models, and Master Replica, which makes models such as 1:1 lightsabers and helmets.
Fortunately, we can revisit those 16-Bit Star Wars games on PSN again.
Fire the first shot of the country against the Emperor!
In addition to the toy surrounding, I also have a lot of Star Wars books. Most of them are purchased on Amazon, and some are on business trips or ask friends to bring them back from abroad. There's a set of settings, reference books, and a dossier and blueprint for filmmaking... All of this can help me learn more about the front and back of Star Wars. And one of the favorites is the "Star Wars Audiobook" - all the bridges in the movie are programmed and encoded, and you can find the most classic lines and sound effects in Star Wars by entering the code, which is convenient and interesting.
Sound Book can learn more about Star Wars.
With the advent of the "Star Wars Year", more and more manufacturers have begun to get involved in the surrounding areas of Star Wars. But to be honest, the surrounding collection of Star Wars is a bottomless pit, and the limited strength can really only be tasted and stopped - the road of the Force still needs to be cautiously moved forward, so as not to fall into the dark side.
＃3. Join the "501st Legion":
For professional reasons, I often subscribe to some trend magazines, among which "Milk" always publishes some model play related content. In 2010, adidas began working with Star Wars and launching crossover products, and in the first issue of Milk magazine in 2010, there were several pages about several Star Wars fans under the banner of "501 Legion": in addition to their numerous toy collections, they also had their own 1:1 Stormtrooper armor and items.
1:1, that's the ultimate collecting dream of all people who play with toys.
That issue of "milk", which I often watched.
Only then did I understand that this regiment was "imported" from the United States. The 501st Vader's Fist Legion, founded in 1997 by American Albin Johnson, is a dress-up organization based on the star Wars villain (the main imperial force), and members who apply to join are subject to rigorous vetting (based on props in the movie).
At that time, there were only 3 Members of China. This was the first time I knew of the existence of the "501Styrth Corps", but due to the lack of contact information and access, I did not join.
Big parade!
Albin Johnson。
Later, with the help of the Internet, I found that the "501St Regiment" had a forum on the Internet called "501 Corps Chinese Garrison". This time you can find an organization! The first thing to do after registration, of course, is to consult how to buy armor. When I learned that each set of armor ranged from four or five thousand to tens of thousands of yuan, I had a little hesitation in my heart.
In July 2011, I went to the ChinaJoy exhibition with my friends from the Machine Core Network, and the "501 Legion" also went to participate, which was my first face-to-face encounter with this group of mysterious armored warriors. It's like the characters in the movie coming out and standing next to me, it feels like a very interesting thing. After I expressed to everyone that I also wanted to join, they welcomed me and very warmly gave me a "501 Army" Chinese garrison armband.
At this time, I felt the call of the Force again.
Logo of the "501st Legion".
I was determined to buy a set of armor and join the "501St Legion". Through the understanding of the predecessors of the legion, it was not possible to spend money to buy it, but it needed to be processed and transformed according to the components bought. I'm not afraid of this, the real conundrum for me is that there are so many Star Wars villains, which class/character armor to choose.
After much hesitation, I chose the Storm Soldier's armor. Although the Stormtroopers are cannon fodder in the movie, they are indeed one of the most representative elements of the Empire. In the whole movie, I think the most beautiful design is the shape of the Stormtrooper. Friends who have shopped online overseas know that the payment system of PayPal is different from Alipay, and the security guarantee is very problematic, and it has indeed happened that the shipment after the purchase of armor has been lost and the other party has been lost. Therefore, the thousands of yuan that buy armor are all based on faith in the Force.
After months of waiting, the armor component finally arrived safely. The next step is production. The armor components are made of ABS (a plastic material with both strength and toughness, as are the original props in the film), so they can be cut and polished. So my temporary home in Xiamen was full of tin scissors, hot melt guns, sandpaper and other tools, and my home was also filled with all kinds of plastic debris and dust.
After 20 days, with the help of TT, the Hong Kong "501 Team Member" in Xiamen, my armor was finally completed!
The armor is finally finished!
After the armor was completed, I immediately took a picture and sent it to the auditor of the "501st Army", and after the auditor's suggestion, I made several small changes repeatedly, and finally the domestic auditor sent my information to the American base camp. Finally, on November 4, 2011, I passed the U.S. Base Camp audit and became a member of the official "501St Regiment" under the military number: TK-9523!
My military number.
Since you have joined the Legion, you must participate in the Activities of the Legion. As a Star Wars fan, the first task is to promote the culture of Star Wars.
In the United States, "Star Wars" is an absolute national film, and it has an extraordinary influence, almost everyone knows it, and countless people are fanatical about it. But in China, it is much more niche, and we have encountered countless embarrassing scenes of being called "Ultraman", "Iron Man", and "Transformers" in group activities.
It is very helpless to be mistaken, but we can only explain to everyone through the activity, telling everyone that we are Stormtroopers, Black Knights, bounty hunters from Star Wars... Therefore, the "501 Legion" has definitely made a very big contribution to the promotion of Star Wars culture in China.
Visit the Great Wall.
After joining the Legion, I learned that as a Club of Star Wars fans, in addition to the regular gatherings of members to promote The Star Wars culture, the Legion is also a caring organization: members will participate in some public welfare activities in the image of the movie to help charitable organizations raise funds; in addition, the proceeds of some non-public welfare business activities will be donated in whole or in part to public welfare organizations.
I and the members of the Legion participated in several "Compassion Collience" and "House of Hope" activities to help out-of-school children in the mountains and accompany terminally ill patients, all of which felt very meaningful! Although we are the villains in the movie, this kind of "playing the villain and doing good deeds" behavior is very enjoyable. As a member of the "501st Army", I feel very proud.
"501 Corps" participated in the "Love Common Line" public welfare activities.
* * *
<h4>#4. Here comes the new Star Wars movie:</h4>
Last year was the third year since Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and the new Star Wars movie was also rebooted. After ten years, the seventh part has finally arrived!
Disney hyped up in China, the elements of Star Wars can be found in major cities in China, the Force is about to reawaken on this Chinese continent, the situation that was previously regarded as "Ultraman" will never be there again, more and more people are beginning to be interested in "Star Wars", and more people are curious about how to join the "501 Legion" - as of last year, the "501 Army" has more than 8,000 members in the world, and the Chinese Legion has also ushered in the 50th member.
Global "501Sty" distribution map.
On December 28 last year, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" held its premiere in Shanghai, and Boss Mi (Disney's Mickey Mouse is always nicknamed Boss Mi) also called us "501 Legion", and we also felt a fan queue like in the United States: everyone was dressed up in various characters, and the queue in the winter became fun.
We met the creators and the cute bb8, and also enjoyed the movie for the first time in China. During the movie, everyone applauded dozens of degrees, and in some scenes that paid tribute to the classic bridge section, I was even more excited to tears several times... Star Wars 7 didn't disappoint fans!
At bus stations and subway lines, you may have already seen relevant posters.
On January 9, the seventh part of "Star Wars" will soon be released in major theaters in China, hoping that through this film, more people can like Star Wars, and more people can join the ranks of Star Wars fans and the "501 Legion", play the bad guys with us, and do good things.
It's fair to say that Star Wars is in my blood — I'm not saying this metaphorically, it's because I actually tattooed them on my arm. I want them to be with me every day, always reminding me to be a proud Star Wars fan. May the force be with you！
Star Wars really fits into my blood, and the Force is with me all the time.