MANDOVERSE DROID PERFORMER COMING TO MOTOR CITY COMIC CON

Fans of the Disney+ Star Wars: The Mandalorian and its spinoff shows on the streaming service will be GEEKED to know that Chris Bartlett who is known for portraying droids within the "Mandoverse" will be a guest at the Spring edition of the Motor City Comic Con taking place May 16-18, 2025 at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. He's known for playing the acting role of robotic characters known as droids and actually builds the costumes himself he wears for the productions. Anybody who is into cosplay has to love this guy!

Chris Bartlett has taken on the role of a number of different droids in a variety of The Mandalorian episodes as well as made appearances in Ahsoka and The Book of Boba Fett. One of the most popular Star Wars appearances by Bartlett has been as Q9-0 a protocol droid turned mercenary in the first season of The Mandalorian. He also has taken on one of the most iconic roles within the Star Wars galaxy as C-3P0 in Disney+ Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Chris Bartlett will be appearing all three days of Motor City Comic Con (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Hear his stories from behind the scenes of these Star Wars shows during a panel discussion at the Con where he will share insights and inspiration with fans. Which Star Wars droid do you think is his favorite? Ask him at Motor City Comic Con! He will also be providing autographs for $40 and photo ops for $50 during the event.

Tickets for admission to Motor City Comic Con are available online at MotorCityComicCon.com:

Adult admission tickets (ages 13 and up) 

Friday Pass $35* online purchase / $40 at the door 

 Saturday Pass $45* online purchase / $50 at the door 

 Sunday Pass $40* online purchase / $45 at the door 

 Adult Weekend Pass $100* online purchase / $110 at the door  

Children admission tickets (ages 6-12) Kids 5 and under are FREE all weekend with a paid adult.

Friday Child Pass (ages 6-12) $5* online purchase / $10 at the door 

Saturday Child Pass (ages 6-12) $10* online purchase / $20 at the door 

Sunday is Kid’s Day All children under 12 are FREE with a paid adult 

Child Weekend Pass (ages 6-12) $15* online purchase / $25 at the door

*Additional processing fees will apply with online ticket purchases. Online sales will end at 8:00am each day, May 16-18. After 8:00am tickets will need to be purchased at the box office.

THESE ARE THE STAMPS YOU ARE LOOKING FOR

These are the stamps you are looking for! The United States Postal Service is releasing on May the Fourth Star Wars themed Forever Stamps featuring droids from a galaxy far far away. Designed by Greg Breeding with William Gicker serving as art director, the collection will be available on a pane of 20 stamps and feature droids from both film and animation, including IG-11, R2-D2, K-2SO, D-O, L3-37, BB-8, C-3PO, a Gonk droid, 2-1B surgical droid, and Chopper. You can wait until May 4, 2021 to purchase these fantastic stamps from your local post office or pre-order them now online by clicking here.

Each 55¢ stamp has a Forever classification meaning as postage prices go up the value will always be that of a regular first-class 1-ounce mailing. The stamps are being sold though in a bundle of 20 stamps rather than individually costing $11 plus shipping and handling if you purchase them online. Situated in a pane with four rows of five, the stamps vary in height based upon the proportions of the various droids shapes.

Because these are the price of regular stamps you won't feel guilty actually using them. I'm going to get some to add some Star Wars flair to some of my personal correspondence as well as a panel for a collectible keepsake. I'm absolutely in when it comes to buying some of these Star Wars droid stamps.

With the post office involved in political and financial turmoil purchasing these stamps is a nice way to show support for the postal service while enjoying being a Star Wars fan. Did you know that while the U.S. Postal Service is considered a government entity it receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. If you value having the post office as a part of our society show your support with a Star Wars stamp. I'll step off my soap box now.

In addition to releasing these stamps on May the Fourth as a way to make the day special, these Star Wars stamps celebrate Lucasfilm's 50th anniversary and are part of a campaign to promote tech as cool with kids by Disney to hype STEM education and careers being attractive to today's youth. 

I'm geeked about these stamps! Another fun way to make May the Fourth stand out as Star Wars Day. What do you think of them?  

The Force Trainer II: Hologram Experience

** A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review **

My kids explored what it is like to be a Jedi on May the Fourth as we had some Star Wars Day fun with Uncle Milton's THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience. Who hasn't watched a Star Wars movie and dreamed of being able to move physical objects through the power of concentration? Utilizing a tablet, special Bluetooth headset, and a holographic display, The Force Trainer from Uncle Milton provides users the feeling of using the Force by allowing you to move holograms with the power of your mind. The Force Trainer II creates holographic images that are impressive to observe then enhances the fun to another level of awesomeness by allowing these holograms to be controlled through the power of your mind mimicking a Jedi's use of the force. This really is impressive, most impressive!

These holograms are created by downloading a free app that works with most current iPads (iPad 2 and newer)and Android tablets (Samsung Tablet 10.1 recommended)onto a device which is placed on top of an included theatrical display and projects images upon special panels to create a three dimensional illusion. My kids were really delighted by these holograms with my daughter yelling out in excitement when she saw her first image "it looks just like the pictures R2-D2 shows in Star Wars!"

While simply viewing these holograms is thrilling in itself, amazingly The Force Trainer also allows you to move them with your mind. Instructions from Master Yoda will guide you through a variety of Jedi Challenges ranging from constructing a light saber to knocking down battle droids. Both my son and daughter agreed that their favorite challenge was recreating the scene from Empire Strikes Back where you raise an X-wing space ship out of a Dagobah swamp.

The Force Trainer harnesses the power of your mind through the included headset which uses advanced dry neural sensor technology that monitors your brainwaves. As people concentrate they generate Beta brainwaves. The headset can detect these Beta brainwaves and send a measurement of their intensity via Bluetooth to the tablet which controls the holograms movement based upon your level of concentration. The higher the level of concentration the quicker you will complete a challenge. There are 10 levels to conquer to move up the Jedi ranks from Padawan to Master. Each level requires an escalating intensity of Beta brainwaves to complete challenges and continue moving on. Can you demonstrate to Yoda the concentration needed to obtain the rank of Jedi Master? Do or do not. There is no try!

The entertainment value of the Jedi Challenges combined with the educational insights that can be gained from its scientific elements earns THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience a nod of approval from A Geek Daddy.  Incorporating music and sound effects from the Star Wars movies with real life holograms that look like they jumped right out of a sci-fi film is a great way to combine learning with having fun.  Parents can jump right in and compete with their children to see who can earn the rank of Jedi Master first making this a great experience for the whole family to enjoy together.  It also comes with a science learning poster to reinforce the educational aspects of this game. This really is worth checking out!



THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience is recommend for ages 8+.  It does require a compatible iPad or Android tablet (not included), Internet access to download an app (though not needed to operate the app), and 1 AAA battery to power the neural sensor technology.  It is important to achieve a good fit with the adjustable headset because if the sensors don't maintain a good connection the game will be interrupted and paused because the game needs to be detecting Beta brainwaves for the challenge modes to function. The sensors must be flush against a person's skin on his or her forehead and behind each ear. Be aware it may take some adjustments and trial and error before a good connection is established but once you get it working the headset works very well when it comes to interacting with the holograms.  The Force was awakened in our house with this great product from Uncle Milton as my children really had a blast pretending to be Jedi and interacting with the Star Wars holograms.

CLICK HERE for more information about THE FORCE TRAINER II: Hologram Experience from Uncle Milton.

Earn a medal from Toys R Us by participating in Star Wars EPIC BATTLES Challenge

We stopped by our local Toys R Us store this weekend so my kids could be awarded their medals for completing the online Star Wars EPIC BATTLES Challenge.  Go to the STAR WARS: EPIC BATTLES website and you'll find four picture puzzles featuring key locations from the original movie trilogy to complete.  Each location, Hoth, Yavin, Endor, or Tatooine has its own "Where's Waldo" style picture puzzle filled with popular Star Wars characters and vehicles plus some humorous illustrations thrown in to make the game extra fun.  Your mission is to find 5 hidden pictures in each EPIC BATTLE depiction. 

You can zoom in and out plus scroll up, down and side to side to assist you in accomplishing your mission.  Where is that Furbacca?!  Wow is that Indiana Jones swinging through the forests of Endor?!

Once you've found all five of your targets, the website will generate a Certificate of Accomplishment to print out.  You could frame it to display or you could take your certificate to Toys R Us to redeem for an exclusive Star Wars EPIC BATTLES medal.  Players can earn a unique medal for each of the four picture puzzles.  Between now and January 30, 2016 while supplies last you can swing by a Toy R Us retail location and redeem your online certificate for an absolutely FREE Star Wars medal.  Chewbacca may not have received a medal for the Battle of Yavin but my son sure did!

There is no age limit for participating but medals are limited to one per certificate per person per visit.  My son and daughter completed all four puzzles online so they picked the three medals they liked best and I turned in their third certificate for them.  We brought home Darth Vader (Yavin), Ewok (Endor) and (C3PO / R2D2).  The medals are made out of quality materials and have pin fasteners so kids can attach them to clothing, backpacks, or other things that may suite their fancy.  My 7 year old twins had a lot of fun completing the online picture puzzles and were really excited to get some cool Star Wars swag. HINT: We've gone to Toys R Us promos before, especially LEGO ones, where they've run out of giveaway items and my kids have left disappointed so you may want to call your local store before going to pickup medals to make sure they haven't run out of their allocation.  They still had a lot of medals available at the Toys R Us we visited but I'm sure that will vary from store to store.

Whether you are interested in the medals or not, if you are a Star Wars fan make sure to check out these picture puzzle maps while they are online because they are as Darth Vader would say "impressive, most impressive."  Playing the Star Wars EPIC BATTLES Challenge though is a nice way to spend some time having fun with your children doing something they may find a bit adventurous on a Winter day.  For those of you taking on this challenge, good luck and may the Force be with you!

New Star Wars Video Game Pinball Tables Launched in Time for May the Fourth

Zen Studios has launched four new Star Wars video game pinball tables just in time for Star Wars Day (May the Fourth).  The four new tables themes are Han Solo, Episode IV - A New Hope, Star Wars Pinball: Droids, and Masters of the Force.  The tables can be purchased individually or combined as a pack called "Heroes Within" that provides all 4 games bundled together for the price of 3.  Star Wars Pinball can be played on Play Station 4, Play Station 3 and PS Vita, Xbox 360, Steam, IOS, Google Play, Kindle tablets and Fire TV, and the Mac App Store.

The new HAN SOLO table looks to be my favorite of the new pinball tables.  The Star Wars' Cantina  Band sets the stage for this game providing the theme music for what looks to be a fun game with highlights that include a wookiee rage multi-ball sequence and shooting down tie-fighter pinballs.  Zen Studios has done a nice job of incorporating 3D visual effects and video game style action while maintaining a traditional pinball theme to their Star Wars tables.

The Episode IV: A New Hope table does a nice job of bringing the feel of the real life Star Wars pinball table to a video game.  It expands on the original pinball machine with 3D images that provide mini skits of scenes from the movie.  The game also features a fun bonus sequence games where your pinball is trapped in the Death Star garbage disposal and you need to hunt down the monster that lurks within or make the Death Star trench run in an X-wing fighter.  Special effects that include the Death Star laser shooting at you and Ben Kenobi swiping at pinballs with his lightsaber make this game superb!

If you are a fan of R2D2 & C3PO you'll enjoy the new DROIDS table which also has an interesting jawa theme going on:

The final game has more of a Clone Wars/Prequel Movie vibe to it compared to original Star Wars movie feel of the three others, but if you are into those aspects of the franchise and like Yoda & Darth Vader check out MASTERS OF THE FORCE:

I've downloaded Zen Studios Star Wars pinball games to my iPad & iPhone and find them "impressive, most impressive"  (to quote Darth Vader).  The one gripe I have about Zen Studios and their pinball games, ,and you should be aware of it if you juggle apps between an iPad & iPhone like I do, is that the tables aren't compatible between the two apps.  So if you have an iPad you can't use the pinball tables you buy on it for your iPhone, similarly if you download a table onto your iPhone you can't use it on your iPad.  So if you want all your tables playable on both your iPad and iPhone you need to buy them separately for each device.  That is really annoying and I find Zen Studios is being just a little greedy dipping into consumers pockets with that move.

For more information visit:  starwarspinball.com

New STAR WARS Pinball Tables coming from Zen Studios

I've appreciated playing a good game of pinball on a "real machine" since my college days where I diverted a lot of quarters from my laundry money to the Star Wars pinball machine in my college dorm's student lounge.  Unfortunately, it can be cost or space prohibitive to own one in your own home, and you don't see pin ball machines featured at restaurants, movie theaters and other public establishments to play when you are out and about as much as you used to.  In fact there are only 2 manufacturers left of traditional pinball machines, long time manufacturer STERN (whose current table models include Avengers, Star Trek, Transformers, and the Ford Mustang themes) and a new start up company called Jersey Jack Pinball that has the licenses to create Wizard of OZ and Hobbit branded ones.  If you can't play the real thing you may want to check out the video game versions.

One of the leaders in producing digital pinball games is ZEN STUDIOS.  Zen Studios has the license for Marvel Comics and has made some great themed boards for Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, Spiderman & Wolverine).  They also have the license for STAR WARS which I wrote about in an earlier post.  I've downloaded their Star Wars pinball tables on my iPhone and iPad (one complaint is that you can't download compatible tables for each ios format and have to buy the same table twice if you want to be able to play it on both devices) and have found them a fun way to pass some time.  They've had two releases of games so far with each generation of the game being enhanced with new features to make it more fun to play than the previous ones.  The first round of games featured one of my favorite Star Wars characters (Boba Fett),  my least favorite part of Star Wars (The Clones Wars) and the best Star Wars movie (Empire Strikes Back) themed pinball boards.  The second round featured some really impressive boards that included Darth Vader, Xwings versus Tie Fighters, and Return of the Jedi.  Now a third and final round of games is scheduled to come out for Spring 2014 that look to be the most impressive yet.

The new round of pin ball tables by Zen Studios will be titled "STAR WARS PINBALL: HEROES WITHIN" will feature FOUR brand new games with Han Solo, Droids: The Adventures of R2D2 & C3PO, Masters of the Force and Episode IV: A New Hope themes.  From the teasers I've seen they are going to feature more 3D character interactions than past games and a new in-table mini game feature that look really impressive.  The STAR WARS PINBALL: HEROES WITHIN games will be available for Playstation 4, Playstation 3, PS Vita, Xbox 360, Steam, IOS, Google Play, Amazon, and the Mac App Store.  The actual release date and information on some of the pinball tables has yet to be announced yet so keep an eye out for game teasers and the date when they will go on sale.

Some images and video of the HAN SOLO game have been made public and it looks to be a blast to play. The game leads off with the famous movie line by the character, "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side", so you know you're in for some classic Star Wars fun.  Include the games theme music as the Cantina Band from the original Star Wars movie and scenes of Chewbacca jumping across the table interacting with your game and this pinball action looks to be a wild ride!

The Episode IV game looks to be geared towards die-hard Star Wars fans too with lots of 3D elements taken from the movie and a great mini-game featuring the trash compactor scene from the Death Star. Check out these screen captures:

This screen capture from Droids also has a classic Star Wars vibe to it:

* Screen captures courtesy of Zen Studios and LucasArts for game promotional purposes.

If you enjoy pinball and appreciate the classic Star Wars movies and characters you'll absolutely want to check out these new Zen Studios games coming out soon. Check out this video trailer from AOL for the new Episode IV: A New Hope pinball game and for more information, visit:  www.starwarspinball.com