Rosemont, IL
March 11, 2006
Story and Photos by Chris Spice (Darth Spice)

Please note that some of the photos in this report are
quite graphic, so please view them at your own risk.

HALLOWEEN IN MARCH
With just a slight glimpse of spring in the air, I set out for Transworld’s 22nd Annual Halloween and Costume Party show located at the Donald J. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. Last year I was able to attend this show to cover the Midwest Garrison as Rubies Costumes promoted a whole lot of new Star Wars Sith! While there was not as much Star Wars on display, they did give collectors quite a few things to look forward to this Halloween. While the major focus this year was Superman, I couldn’t help to see what was new on the Star Wars front. I asked the salesman if they had anything else in store for the upcoming year for Star Wars, he gave me a catalogue that does show quite a few that were not there such as Kit Fisto and Saesee Tiin. The product does get better as the years go on but I really think they have a long way to go before they can put something like their vinyl masks next to a fan made TK helmet. However you can get into these costumes for a lot less money. For instance the deluxe Palpatine sells for around $125 and there is a Princess Leia that is very affordable at around thirty dollars.

I did like the Plo Koon and Emperor Palpatine deluxe versions but other than those there really wasn’t too much new. The deluxe injection molded full overhead masks available this year are: Clone Trooper, Darth Vader, Jango Fett, Darth Maul, Boss Nass, Admiral Ackbar, Greedo, Sebulba, Jar Jar, Watto and Nute Gunray. There are six deluxe latex masks and three have hands including: Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, Plo Koon, Yoda, Chewbacca and Emperor Palpatine. The last three all have the options to purchase additional hands. There really wasn’t enough Star Wars on display after going through the catalogue and seeing all of the other adult and child costumes, accessories. They did have the Darth Vader Supreme Edition on display again and I did try to take photos to get a little more of the detail on this suit. My advice would be if you were looking at wearing it for one or two nights, however if you were looking to get into costuming you should consult your local branch of the 501st because this suit as I’m told is not up to the requirement it takes to be a member.

There were also a lot of other amazing things to look at. I spent the afternoon walking around and snapping photos of a lot of other Halloween costumes as well as some of the most state of the art haunted house props. Let me tell you the way they looked wasn’t the only thing scary, the prices on some of these things made me wonder how a haunted house can even make money at five bucks a person! I also got a few pointers on latex and silicone masks and paints. For those interested in doing Darth Maul or a burnt from the neck up Anakin to Vader, you would need to spend a minimum of two hours just to get ready from the neck up! The job I seen that they did on a few people who were kind enough to donate the time necessary to get that scary was simply incredible. It was quite a sight seeing as this is the largest Halloween show in the nation and it’s only available for the industry to attend, it is not for the general public. It is one of those shows that even though winter is just about done, somehow you just can’t wait for the season of Ghosts, Goblins and Stormtroopers to come back around again!

PHOTO GALLERY
To see the photo gallery containing 102 photos click here.