Celebration Japan Fan and Collectors' Stage
The Celebration Japan Fan and Collectors' Stage brings the very best of fan-inspired programs to the show. Hear fans talking about their Star Wars passion, and learn how to make some of those things you've always wanted to make yourself.
The Collectors' Panels offer great information on collecting Japanese Star Wars treasures, as well as collectibles from around the world. In addition to the useful and entertaining information, collectors will be thrilled with the rare, exclusive Celebration Japan commemorative medallions that will be given away at random times during the collecting panels. Collect all 12 medallions that celebrate classic Star Wars toys created in Japan.
Saturday, July 19
11:00am - 11:30am: Meet the 501st Legion. Meet members of the worldwide and world-renown Star Wars costuming Club. 501st founder Albin Johnson will be there as well.
11:30am - 11:50am: 501st Legion Honorary Member Presentation. Star Wars artist Tsuyoshi Nagano.
12:00 noon - 12:50pm: 501st Legion Stormtrooper Costume Panel with Shuji Hayashi, John Williams, Shuji Hayashi, and Kat Adena, including question & answer session.
1:00pm - 1:50pm: 501st Sith Lord and Bounty Hunter Costume Panel with Takefumi Tenshima, Nathan Bantz, Keisuke Kobayashi, Tim Lucas, and Naoto Suzuki, including question and answer session.
2:00pm - 3:00pm: Star Wars Collecting: Bootleg Star Wars
With Shuichi Kimura and John Hallam: Can a copy ever be as good as or better than the original? Come and listen to two collectors from Osaka who say that they can! In the last five years, the bizarre and nonsensical world of unlicensed knock-off Star Wars toys, or bootlegs, has gone from a collecting niche to a prominent area of interest. Japan has until now been an untapped resource of amazing vintage, unlicensed collectibles. From playing cards to carded figures, model kits, and miscellanea, be sure to find out why cheap imitations are never cheap!
3:00pm - 4:00pm: Star Wars Collecting: Japanese Star Wars Posters
With Hideyuki Takizawa: Some of the representative Japanese posters have been introduced in The Star Wars Poster Book and The Star Wars Vault by Steve Sansweet and Pete Vilmur. But there are even rarer, more unusual posters from Japan that people do not know. This talk will showcase those rare, unusual, and never before seen posters.
4:00pm - 5:00pm: Star Wars Collecting: Star Wars Collectibles Road Show
With Eimei Takeda, Yu Katagiri, Luis Galvez, Chris Georgoulias, and Cathy Kendrick: Have an item you can't identify, or the value of which you can't find in a price guide? Bring it to the Celebration Japan Collectibles Road Show and have the item appraised by our panel of experts. Learn about the item's history, collector demand, scarcity, and value. Collectors participating in the Road Show will get more information about their items, and also have the opportunity to share their treasures with fellow collectors.
What to bring? Any item you think is extraordinary and about which you can't find good information from other sources. If it's unlisted in price guides, or the guides provide little information or no pictures, our panelists can likely help you find out what you need to know. Try to stump the experts if you think you can!
What not to bring? If your item shows up in an online auction search on any given day, you can probably get the information you need online. A note on packaging errors: while items in the wrong package or with other minor errors are of interest to some collectors, generally these items garner a minor premium at best and are often worth less. For modern (post-1990) items, the few exceptions that have additional value are well-documented in price guides.
5:00pm - 6:00pm: Star Wars Collecting: Rare & Unusual Japanese Star Wars Collectibles
With Yu Katagiri: This talk is about the varieties of Japanese Star Wars collectibles where little is known about their background and scarcity, such as 1978 Morinaga premiums, Meiji premium stickers (all 30 kinds) and polyester mini figures (all 10 kinds, plus a mysterious 11th), and capsule vending machine merchandising.
