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WEEKEND UPDATE: SANDBLAST GROUND ASSAULT
 The
ground assault would be explosive Saturday at Wizard World Chicago.
New recruits and many seasoned vets were enlisted in our largest
giveaway in our seven-year history. Due to an unfortunate shipping
delay our bunker was less than operational on Friday. With a slight
detour on the way to the event I managed to pick up our precious
cargo as I reached the convention center just after it opened. The
ground assault dropped prizes nearly every hour on the hour.
 Some of the goods to hit the ground and wind up
in the hands of new recruits were a 12-inch Leia Boushh from our friends at
Sideshow Collectibles, a Celebration Europe print from our pal Dave Dorman and a
C-3P0 animated maquette from our neighbor White Wizard Toys. Several other
prizes were dispersed, we’re not talking your average peg warmer here either.
R2-KT, 501st SDCC Exclusive Stormtroopers and our good friend Doug Wangler made
sure to autograph every winner of our multiple Quinlan Vos & Vilmarh Grahrk
2-packs. The unity was in full circle as the forces of Sandtroopers.com took
over this event!
 Even our old friend and former owner Emperor
Crypt was kind enough to stop by the bunker and pose for a shot with his former
pupil! The day was highlighted by the induction of Star Wars artist Cynthia Cummens into the 501st Legion as an honorary member. You could see she was
simply delighted when Midwest Garrison Commanding Officer Kathy Van Bueningen
presented her with the plaque that would make her a “made woman”! Vader’s Fist
was well represented as a squad of the elite of the elite made the ceremony
quite the photo op.
The night concluded with a dinner with our other
neighborly neighbor Federation Toys. Mary Oyaya, Dean Mitchell, accompanied team
Fed. Our special guest, my wife rounded up our party of nine. Afterwards, I did
something I have never done since the inception of the Dewback Patrol. I sat on
a hot report to go out and enjoy a great night at the Cantina. The weeks leading
up to Wizard World were grueling and I felt it was time to blow off some steam.
 While the last day of any show is usually slow,
the bunker was fully operational and ready for our first giveaway at 10 a.m. as
we selected our first winner. I walked around the convention center and snapped
several photos of the Mattel exhibit. I guess if Hasbro is too poor or lazy to
show up, their competition will be sure to take advantage of the situation. They
had a fantastic display with every old-school He-Man figure and some really
great looking Justice League releases. I also stopped by the Darkhorse Comics
booth to catch John Jackson Miller signing autographs.
 At least there is one Star Wars entity that isn’t
bailing on the Windy City. I think it’s a flat out shame the major manufactures
couldn’t make it out. Attendance wise I’d wager it busier than the past previous
three or four years. It was pretty interesting to see the many other non-Star
Wars costumes that were all over the convention floor. The likes of Batman,
Halo, and several other superheroes were flat out impressive and at times
comical! To sit back under the cover of our fortress, it was quite a bit to take
in.
 The afternoon concluded with a nice group shot
with the Midwest Garrison, and a tour of artist alley where I bumped into Star
Wars artist Tom Hodges. I also stopped by the Hot Inks.com booth to once again
visit our founding father and show him I “ain’t too good”! Pat Carlucci is a
brilliant artist and there is no doubt the man has some incredible talent.
However I’d always argue his greatest work of art was Sandtroopers.com! The
bunker was also paid a visit by Jimmy Mac from the Force.net’s Forcecast. Our
special guest will have an interview live early this week and we hope you all
can tune in and have a listen to that. After the interview concluded I took off
for the panel from our friends at A Force Among Us. It was great to sit in on
the discussion panel and see an extended trailer I missed because I left
Celebration IV a day early. I can’t wait until the film hits this Wednesday as
Cris informed me the final product is spectacular and not just because we’re in
it!
 Overall it was mission accomplished. The bunker,
ground assault was a complete success. We also managed to raise over one hundred
dollars for the Sturge-Weber Foundation. That’s pretty ironic that even our
giveaways manage to give back! Our grand prize was a Kotobukiya Red Shock
Trooper from our sponsor Red-5-Collectibles. The winner was quite ecstatic and
it was pretty fun to watch all the looks on the faces of our many winners. I had
a great time this weekend and there hasn’t been a bigger show for us as a unit
yet. We look forward to the future of our operations. Thanks again to every
volunteer and new recruit who helped out or stopped by this weekend. We are the
revolution, welcome home to Sandtroopers.com. United We Find.
PHOTO GALLERY
To see the different
photo galleries click on the links below.
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