So here’s the breakdown — I live in “Hotlanta” now, but I was born and braised in Florida. My partner and I lived in Orlando (tip — don’t call it “O-Town”) and I’m going to cut through all of the shiny, sunny public relations spiel to give you advice that you’ll need to survive and enjoy Star Wars Celebration V.

Having been to events at the Convention Center, it is problematic (at best) to keep the venue cooled at the peak of summer heat. Being anywhere in Florida, in August, it’s swelteringly hot. It is really up to you to stay cool. If someone doesn’t gauge the HVAC to combat the blistering heat outside, then add in a throng of "unconventional conventionists" (to borrow a phrase) and things can become rather uncomfortable.

#1. Hydration — You know all those studies that have said that caffeinated drinks lead to dehydration? They were paid for by companies that want to sell you bottled water. Even a caffeinated drink can give your body vital fluids. That Coke Zero Cherry (my choice) will give you ample hydration, but, as with every other drink, you'll need to keep a constant supply flowing through your body. A soda loaded with HFCS, though, will put a strain on your body as it processes that mess, and it's not going to do you much good at all.

Top picks to keep your body happily hydrated include Power Ade Zero — avoid the red and blue ones — which has no calories and all the basics that one looks for in a "sports drink", Vitamin Water Zero (which has kept me out of the hospital at least once) and, naturally, WATER. (Gatorade, which was invented at the University of Florida, and its "lower calorie" G2 varieties are are still sweetened with sugar and HFCS. Read your labels!)

I assume that we're all adults here, and if you indulge too much, drink TWICE the "hydrating beverage" and keep it flowing. In the summer heat, a hangover can lead to the hospital very quickly. I'm never one to turn down a cocktail, but my "after-party" is always followed by a heavy flush of liquids that aren't going to make my innards turn against me.

#2. Fans — Those little battery-powered fans (even old-fashioned hand-fans) are great, but they aren't air-conditioners. Some even have little "water misting" devices for that extra bit of cool – and it keeps your "face" on if you're wearing make-up. I still recommend grabbing one (and they're available most anywhere) just for that little waft of breeze that offers that little extra bit of comfort. I don't care if I look like an old church lady, I bust out the little fan, and if I could, I'd have a Jawa with a giant palm-frond fanning me, Jabba The Hutt-style. (Well, not a Jawa, but Jake Gyllenhaal won't even wave his restraining order at me.)

#3. Hygiene — Use a deodorant with antiperspirant. We all want to smell clean and fresh, but a river of sweat is your body forcing water out to cool you down, depriving your inner organs. (See #1.) Unless your dermatologist has diagnosed you with hyper-hydrosis, profuse sweating is a sign that you need to slow your pace and gulp down about two pints of water STAT.

I also recommend Comme des Garçons Incense Avignon Series 3 and No. 88 by Czech and Speake, but I'm a scent snob. (Guys! Ditch that Axe stuff. It's made for teenage boys, not grown men.)

Bonus Tip! Dusting your pits and parts (that sweat) with Gold Bond or even regular baby powder can reduce profuse sweating (and stains). Just be careful not to get white streaks all over your clothes.

#4. Relax — It is practically impossible to see and do everything you want to do at a Star Wars Celebration. When you find that little extra bit of free time, take a break! Sit, hydrate, fan, chill, etc. Your body is a machine, and if you don't pace yourself you'll be in for a world of hurt when you go back to your hotel. Unless you regularly run marathons, you may be able to rush around and do a lot, but you'll suffer the consequences sooner or later.

#5. Health — In any massive hive of scum and villainy, the chance that you'll catch some random bug increases substantially. Take your vitamins. A chewable multi-vitamin will be absorbed by your body better than a lumpy pill that your digestive system won't completely process. Two childrens chewable vitamins will actually give you more vitamins than an adult a-to-zinc pill. (For my fellow vegetarians and vegans, sorry, but the chewables on regular store shelves are likely to have gelatin, so check your veg-friendly or health food store for options.)

If you think you're falling ill… I'm sure you'll know what to do. (That is where my advice ends, and your need to see a doctor begins.)

Please print this friendly bit of opinionated advice out, and when you see your friendly Galactic Blogger nursing a hangover, you can use the print out to fan me whilst calling me a hypocrite. (I did say I used to live in Orlando, but I'm not telling you where the party's at.)*

*I am as pure as driven sludge, but I can promise you that I won't stink. I'll also be doing everything I can to stay cool. (No-hipster.)

First off, this should have been posted on SATURDAY (because of the rich heritage of cool Star Wars action figure and toy commercials) but AT&T decided to have a day of digital schizophrenia (i.e. home connection went up and down and all-around).

After writing a brief and not-too-kind rundown of toys from The Clone Wars action figure line, by Hasbro, I read and re-read the piece. It felt like a summary dismissal. So I busted out every ‘toon toy that I could find, and I had a blast with them. Since my motto is, "DisPLAY with your toys!" I started setting up a cool display for them, and — as we slide into American International Toy Fair 2010 — I’m going to feature the fun that I found just by taking the time to have some fun with a pretty incredible (and vast — it’s Clones-A-Go-Go around here) toy line. Just ignore any obvious hot glue, please.

So… to kick things off, here’s the official Turbo Tank commercial from the coolness-makers at Hasbro. [Please note that this commercial was produced by Hasbro, and is presented here by GalacticHunter in HD resolution for your viewing pleasure.]

Here’s a short link to share this with your friends: http://bit.ly/9oMBkF (kids get your parents’ permission, etc. etc.) and have fun! Why the heck didn’t I find an HD version of this on YouTube???

Tying up some of 2009′s loose ends, I think we’ve seen the last of Q&A until Toy Fair 2010. (Save the date — all the sites — will be working hard for you on/around/through St. Valentine’s Day.) I bit my tongue holding back (and hoping) that Imperial Scanning Crewman #2 would miraculously appear, but eventually Hasbro relayed the bad news. Sometimes in passing one of those non-Q&A questions will be answered.

So there you have it. If you’ve wondered… go forth and be creative. Feel free to send in photos (adam@galacticblogger.com) to show your support for the BEST pack-in we’ve had in the entire run of Star Wars toys. [By sending in photography, you permit GalacticBlogger.com to use photographs in the capacity of this Internet blog/column. You retain your ownership and copyright.] Extremely creative Astro-modders may be picked for nifty prize-like things that are cluttering up the GalacticBlogger.com toybox/home-office. [Kids get your parents' permission before doing ANYTHING.]

The new Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker figure is now showing up in stores along with the rest of the Empire Strikes Back wave.  I’ve wanted this particular version for years, but until now Hasbro has always come short of offering an accurate quality version of this figure.

The original POTF2-era “X-Wing Luke Skywalker” released in 1995 was actually his Empire Strikes Back Snowspeeder outfit with the cold-weather jacket with puffy collar sculpted onto the upper body, but it had a terrible POTF2-era buffed-up body sculpt and limited articulation compared to the current Hasbro aesthetic.

The next incarnation of Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker was in 2004 as part of the Collectible Cup with Figure releases, but this version was just a repaint of the POTF2-era “X-Wing Luke Skywalker” with a new puffy jacket collar piece added to his upper torso.  Still not 100% accurate, and it definitely did not live up to 2004 standards.

In 2006, Hasbro produced a new improved Snowspeeder Pilot when they gave us the Target-exclusive Snowspeeder with Zev Senesca figure.  Zev Senesca had an accurate cold-weather pilot’s jacket which looked much better than the POTF2 version, but he still had limited articulation and an inaccurate style of boots, so his body wasn’t quite perfect when Hasbro re-purposed it for a new Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker kit-bash in the 2007 Target exclusive Battle of Hoth Ultimate Battle Pack.  The shade of orange on the legs didn’t match the upper body, and the boots were not the Hoth style, making this a lackluster upgrade.  They also used the Vintage Original Trilogy Collection Luke Skywalker headsculpt, which doesn’t fit the look of the post-Wampa attacked, scarred likeness.

Following that in 2008 we finally got a 100% accurate Snowspeeder Pilot sculpt for Wes Janson and Kesin Ommis in the Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker sets.  Upon seeing those, it was only a matter of time for Hasbro to re-use the new body sculpt and give us a real Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker.

Surprisingly, they chose to sculpt a brand new body from the ground-up rather than re-use the already flawless Evolutions Asst. body.  So now after more than 14 years Hasbro has finally given us the perfect Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker. Or have they??

The new figure has an accurately sculpted Snowspeeder Pilot’s outfit with plenty of articulation, and it works well enough for Skywalker when he’s on Hoth taking on AT-AT Walkers both in and out of his Snowspeeder. However, they overlooked one important detail – a peg hole for his saber hilt. Why include a lightsaber hilt with a peg on it when you can’t attach it to his belt (as seen in the film)? Since this Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker figure is a new sculpt, it’s disappointing that he’s missing this one small detail which would have perfected the figure.

Now moving beyond the idea of a perfect Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker, let’s consider the possibility of Hasbro re-releasing him in the future as the version we see crash-landing on Dagobah in his X-Wing Fighter.  What’s the difference?  Well he’s in the same Snowspeeder outfit, but now he’s added his brown utility belt with blaster holster strapped to his leg (the same belt/holster we see on his Bespin outfit later in the film). A Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker sporting his gun holster with a lightsaber clipped to his belt would be a nice upgrade from what’s already a great looking figure.  In fact, I was so eager to have this version that I spent an hour customizing my own soon after picking up the new Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker at Walmart this week.Here’s a few pictures to give an idea of how Hasbro could turn a great figure into something even better:

Putting it together was not as simple as it looks.  The easiest part was putting the 2007 Vintage 30^th Anniversary Collection Bespin Luke Skywalker head on the body and repainting the neck to match his face’s skin tone.  Next I drilled a hole in his belt just above where the saber clip should have been so that the lightsaber hilt could easily plug into it (as seen both on Hoth and Dagobah). 

After that, I cut the Vintage 30th Anniversary Collection Bespin Luke Skywalker gun holster and leg strap away from the rest of his belt so that I could glue it onto the current Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker belt just behind his right-sided belt pouch.  Before gluing, however, I repainted the belt and holster a matching shade of brown to resemble the belt he wore on Dagobah.

The final step of this custom project was to swap the Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker gloved hands with those from an extra Evolutions Wes Janson figure because for some reason the current Hoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker hands are sculpted at a downward angle that makes holding a blaster gun look awkward.  I assume Hasbro sculpted his hands more for holding the grappling hook/harpoon gun than actually wielding a blaster. The Wes JansonHoth Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker gloved hands are more suited to hold a blaster and are easy to swap onto the arms with a quick boil-and-pop.

So with that, we have a nearly perfect “Dagobah Crash Luke Skywalker”.  The only thing that would make it 100% perfect is glove-less arms since we see Luke removing his gloves almost immediately after crashing on Dagobah in the film just before he climbs out of his X-Wing.  I didn’t want to attempt this type of custom, but the solution would be to repaint the 30^th Anniversary Collection Celebration Luke Skywalker yellow jacket arms and put them on the Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker body.  The ribbed design on the yellow jacket sleeves are identical to the orange sleeves on the Snowspeeder Pilot cold-weather jackets, and therefore requires no new sculpting.

Anyway, enjoy this friendly customizing tip and hopefully Hasbro will take notice and consider it for a future upgrade to their wonderful Snowspeeder Luke Skywalker! [Kids get your parents' permission!]

So when Walmart #3709 starts slashing (prices?) get the hell out of the way! I have watched this Padmé Evolutions set with its splash of blood (and, YES, it is REAL blood) waft around the store since its debut. It has been outside to soak up the warmth of the Garden Department, and it has made the trip from Toys to Clearance (without ever being marked down) repeatedly. Back and forth it swanned about, too good for a mark-down.

So when I saw a clearance sticker on it today, I knew the time was right for us to be together. (Jokes about Queens should be saved for my FaceBook, kthxbai.) I was so entranced by the beauty and gore that I forgot to scan the damned thing. I get to the register, and it buzzes up at FULL PRICE. I actually had to haggle the price down, and to top it all off (and seal the deal) I had to exclaim, "And there’s BLOOD SPLASHED ON IT!" I got the hook-up.

I’m cheap, but I’m not about to soil Padmé Evolutions‘ reputation by telling you how cheap she was. How much or how little would you pay for a toy with blood splatter on it?

Walmart #3709 — for bloody, messy shame! Retail FAIL!

1. Cut the heat and grab a sheet (or a blanket)! I admit to being a little coldblooded, but as the temperature outside falls, I open the windows. It’s a standing rule in my house — there’s no such thing as a throw blanket. So if you’re cold and can’t figure out what to do, nature will sort it out for you (i.e. Darwin Award). (At least in my house you can hide inside one of the Clone Command Bunkers.)

P.P.S. Some cool online stores, such as EntertainmentEarth.com and Hasbro’s own HasbroToyShop.com, will get figures before the big box stores, so, as my Mama told me, you better shop around (rest her soul).

In honor of Her Truly Royal Majesty…

Thanks to one of my home crowd heroes here in Atlanta on the ASWCC (Atlanta Star Wars Collectors Club), there’s a deal to be had. How good is this deal? Try a Turbo Tank for pennies less than $65 shipped!

Note: This is NOT a paid or sponsored post.