Giveaway: Rogue One Jyn Erso Black Series Figure

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will be in theaters on December 16, which isn't so far away. And also: it's nearly the holidays for goodness' sake. So! How about a giveaway for a Sergeant Jyn Erso Black Series figure? I'm running a sweepstakes for this cool figure over at Twitter and all the details on how to enter are below!

How to Enter:
To enter the giveaway, all you need to do is to retweet this tweet.

Details:
No purchase necessary.
Open to United States residents only.
Giveaway runs from 3:00pm PT November 29, 2016 to 11:59pm PT on December 4, 2016.
Winner will receive one (1) Hasbro Sergeant Jyn Erso (Jedha) Black Series figure, retail value $19.99.
Winner be selected at random from entries.
Winner will be notified via Twitter DM on December 5, 2016.
Winner must provide an address in the United States for shipping by 11:59pm PT on December 7, 2016. Prize will be shipped via USPS by December 9, 2016.

Good luck!

Salt Lake Comic Con Schedule!

Who will be at Salt Lake Comic Con next weekend? You can't see it, but I'm raising my hand. I'll be a guest at the convention appearing on some panels about Star Wars and Supernatural, moderating a couple panels, and doing a Full of Sith live show. Yay!

My schedule:

Thursday, September 1:
4:00pm - 250A - Voices of Star Wars Animation
I'm moderating this panel with Steve Blum, Phil Lamar, James Arnold Taylor, and Fred Tatisciore -- the voices of several characters in Star Wars animated series.

6:00pm - 151G - Star Wars Trailer Park
Over the years there have been dozens of trailers for Star Wars movies, some better than others. Our panel of experts will offer a chronological view of Star Wars trailers from 1976 to present and offer expert commentary and context.

8:00pm - 151G - The Life and Times of Ahsoka Tano
One of the most popular characters in the Star Wars universe has been with us for only 8 years and we've seen a stunning sweep of her life. Our expert panel talks about the life and times of Anakin Skywalker's padawan turned Force wielding Fulcrum and her impact on a galaxy far, far away.

Friday, September 2:
12:00pm - 251A - Osric Chau
I'm interviewing Osric Chau (Supernatural), yay!

Saturday, September 3:
10:00am - 250A - Disney Parks: The Intellectual Property Awakens
While Disney theme parks have always included attractions based on Disney films, recent years have seen a surge of new projects which left aside some of the original ideas of the first 50 years--from The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean to Space Mountain and Soarin'--and focused entirely on getting the most out of popular properties like CARS, TOY STORY, STAR WARS, AVATAR and Marvel Comics. What are the pros and cons of such an approach? Are the parks giving the people what they want, or giving the people what Disney knows it can sell?

3:00pm - 251A - How The Clone Wars Changed Star Wars
The Clone Wars ran from 2008-2015 and, with more than 100 episodes and a movie, it changed the way we look at the mythology of Star Wars forever. Our panel goes over the biggest things it changed and why it's as important to the mythology as the movies themselves.

7:00pm - 250A - Full of Sith
For the first time ever in Salt Lake City, the Full of Sith podcast brings the full line up of hosts to you to talk about the latest in Star Wars. And be on the lookout for special guests in addition to Amy Ratcliffe, Mike Pilot, and Bryan Young.

8:00pm - 151G - Oh My Chuck! The Expanding Mythology of Supernatural
The mythology of Supernatural is ever expanding, and season eleven is no exception. Join us for an in depth discussion about the angels, demons, monsters, hunters, witches, gods, and of course, the Winchester Brothers, who inhabit this unique television universe that has been going strong for eleven years. This will be a great discussion for writers and content creators who want to delve into the topics of world building and character development, as well as for fans of this favorite show.

Please come say hi!

Disney Infinity Figure Display

When you collect toys, or anything really, there comes a day of reckoning when you look at your sprawling collection of plushes, Funko POPs, Hot Toys statues, or whatever and realize you have space problems and/or that the awesomeness of your collection isn't being displayed as it deserves to be. I'm not a person comfortable with items sitting in storage (though I do have toys in storage right now) hidden from daylight and view. If I've gone to the trouble of finding and purchasing a bunch of Tsum Tsum toys, for example, I want to see them and show them off (which I recently did when I found the perfect shelf for my Tsum Tsum stash).

So, given all that, I'm trying to work on display solutions in my tiny apartment. My Disney Infinity figures were at the top of the "I need to do something better with these" list. I had them all on shelves on my TV stand. It was fine, but I couldn't see all the figures and they are rather cool sculpts -- I would have purchased them even if I didn't play the game. Aww. Let's pour one out for the canceled game.

Online research showed me many Disney Infinity figure collectors used picture ledge shelves from IKEA or baseball bat display cases from Michael's. I considered both options; the appeal of not dusting my figures won out so I went with the display cases. The cases fit anywhere from 14-16 figures. With about 100 Disney Infinity characters, that meant six or so cases, which I decided was too many. Instead of lining up all those display cases, I used the space between them. I still have to dust, but at least I only have to clean half the collection?

I think I made a good call:

The basics: I cleaned each figure with a damp paper towel (and sometimes a Q-Tip) and sorted them by franchise and film, I had someone else hang the shelves because it's not something I have patience for, and then carefully placed each figure. I put big ones like Hulk and Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor inside the cases. I was happy to see I still have room for the Finding Nemo and Alice in Wonderland figures, too. I'm going to add LED strips eventually, but for now, I'm pleased.

The baseball bat display cases fit 3 3/4" action figures and Funko POPs, and since they're made for heavy bats, I don't think filling them is an issue as long as the cases are properly mounted. Again, you can get them from Michael's. They're $59.99, but they go on sale regularly -- I got mine for $29.99 each.

How do you display your Infinity figures? Send me pics!

The Perfect Disney Tsum Tsum Display Shelf

I'm a fan of all things related to Disney Tsum Tsum. The mobile game, the accessories, and the plush toys -- especially the plush toys. I've been purchasing the small stackable toys here and there when they catch my eye, and more and more of them have caught my eye in the past six months. I had Tsum Tsum piles around my apartment, but I wanted them to be more organized. When I saw my friend Travis the Grimm found the perfect shelf at Target I made a note and acquired one. It's like this shelf was made to display Tsum Tsum toys! Look:

This photo was from 10 weeks ago, and I will not show you how much more full the shelf is now. I have a problem, okay? Okay.

So, in case you also need to organize your Tsum Tsum collection, you can nab the Pillowfort Circle Shelf from Target for $29.99. Feel free to share pics of your Tsum Tsum display with me on Twitter; I would love to see how you show off your collection!

Where to Find Me at Star Wars Celebration Europe!

News flash: Celebration Europe is almost here. The convention focusing on all things Star Wars is taking place from July 15-July 17 in London, and I'll be there. In fact, I'll be attending in a different capacity than normal because...

I'm hosting the Behind-the-Scenes Stage!! What is life even.

What does that mean? I'll be hosting/moderating darn near every panel happening at the Behind-the-Scenes Stage all weekend. Here's the schedule for my stage. I'm ridiculously excited about it. DK Books will be showing off awesome stuff, Doug Chiang is giving a presentation, the tattoo competition is happening on my stage -- basically, it's the place to be.

And on FRIDAY, I'll be doing a live Full of Sith/Lattes with Leia podcast with Bryan Young at the One Force Stage from 10:30am-11:30am. I'm also going to attempt to make the Ahsoka Lives Day photo at 12:30pm.

During my breaks, I'll be taking in as much of the exhibit hall as I can. I definitely need to visit the Rogue One Costumes and Props exhibit and check out the Art Show. If you see me and want to say hi, please do so!

Are you attending Celebration? Come to my stage! I hope we get to say hello! If you can't make it, I'll be posting as much as I can from the event on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (I'm amy_geek on Snapchat).

Still in Celebration Europe prep mode? I wrote about eight ways to prepare for Celebration Europe for StarWars.com.