By David Ponce

Bitchin’ motor runnin’, head out on the intergalactic highway…

Oh, sorry, didn’t see you there while humming my cleverly modified Steppenwolf song that I’m awkwardly using to segue into a description of this motorcycle suit that’s shaped like a Stormtrooper outfit. It’s made from grade-A cowhide and has the following features:

- Incredible attention to detail, featuring form molded details like never before.
- Raised rib detailing on the sleeves, shoulders, legs, torso and midsection perfectly replicating the look of rigid armor.
- Adjustable forearms, biceps, thighs and shin leather armor allow for a personalized ‘custom’ body fit.
- Waist belt is part of the jacket and not removable. Cleverly hidden is the main front zipper which has 3 main access points providing function, while allowing the main torso armor to be uncompromised and true to what was seen on screen.
- Snap buttons on the cuffs and wrist zippers.
- Jacket and Pants zip together at the waist essentially converting this to a one-piece body suit.
- Removable quilted cotton lining.
- CE-approved body armor in the shoulders, forearms/elbow, back spine protector, thighs and knee/shin armor is standard for riders but is easily removed for day-to-day wear.

Sounds like some serious suit right there, and there’s a serious price to match: $1,165 CDN for the whole set, although you can buy it in separate parts. Like, the books cost $150. But let’s face it, you’d look pretty stupid wearing only part of a Stormtrooper biking suit. You’ll still look weird wearing the whole thing, but no one gives a damn because, well, Star Wars is what.

Sales close January 31st, 2012 with delivery in Q2 of that year. The essential helmets, however… don’t appear to be sold with this.

[ Product Page ]

By David Ponce

This is a T-Shirt with a Death Star on it. We talk about it because we’re geeks and are bound to talk about Star Wars stuff. This particular T-Shirt is also special because it can light up on command and make it look like the Death Star is firing. And it’s got little sound effects too.

You’re gonna be the life of the party with this!

It’s not available just yet, but the ThinkGeek people are working on getting this in stock by December. Best part is it’s only $30 which is decent for a T-Shirt, let alone one that lights up and makes little sounds.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ UberGizmo ]

By David Ponce

This won’t be the first time we’ve brought you a cool crocheted creation. Only this time, it’s the Death Star. You guys know you’re gonna miss a few meetings at the Stitch and Bitch club to get this done, right?

Best part, the pattern is free to download.

(Disclaimer: no one at OhGizmo! has ever been near a needle. For reals. At least, not a crochet needle. Heck, we don’t even know the difference between crochet and knitting… Alls we know is tis’ a Death Star)

[ Death Star Pattern ] VIA [ Nerd Approved ]

By David Ponce

Looking a little Victorian in its execution, this great Imperial Forces wallpaper is sure to make any Star Wars fan seriously consider its purchase. Covered in repeating patterns of “Darth Vader, Boba Fett, and members of the Empire, this hand-screened, flocked, designer wallpaper is an artistic way to decorate your office, collectibles room, or space station.” Legitimately licensed from Lucasfilm, the wallpaper has the price to match its authenticity: starting at $75 for a 27″ x 90″ that is able to cover 17 sq ft, up to $350 for 27″ x 540″ able to cover 101 sq ft.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Technabob ]

I acknowledge that this video of a couple of old 3.5-inch floppy disk drives playing the Imperial March theme from Star Wars could be completely fake. But there’s enough evidence—like how the read/write lights on each drive seem to match the notes being played—to make me optimistic that it’s authentic. If it’s not, it’s not like having to sit through John Williams’ awesome Imperial March is a bad thing.

[ YouTube - Floppy music DUO - Imperial march ]

It’s hard to imagine that the changes Lucas keeps making to the Star Wars saga will be looked back on with fondness in the future. Even Spielberg regrets the changes he made to E.T. when it was released on DVD. But I can’t argue that Lucasarts is doing a bang up job when it comes to promoting and advertising the films being released on Blu-ray. First they turned the BT Tower in London into the world’s largest lightsaber, and now they’ve given the same treatment to the hand rails in Tokyo commuter trains. Obviously on a much smaller scale. The conversion was done with simple wraparound decals, but the effect is very convincing. And I’d love if they ran the same promotion here, so for at least a little while I wouldn’t be so disgusted with the thought of holding onto anything while riding the subway.

[ Japan Trends - Train Ad Campaign Turns Railings into Star Wars Lightsabers ] VIA [ Newlaunches ]

Last night the good people of London, England were privy to one of the coolest marketing stunts I’ve seen in a while. Worried that there still might be in excess of 10 people on this planet who weren’t already aware that Star Wars was being released on Blu-ray, Lucasfilm turned the 581 ft tall BT Tower into what is probably the largest lightsaber in our galaxy. The folks over at Pocket-lint managed to snap a few decent photos of it lit up, and I particularly like that someone dressed as Darth Vader probably had to spend the entire night posing for awkward forced perspective shots. (He’s still called Darth Vader in the latest version of these films right?)

[ Pocket-lint - BT Tower becomes Star Wars lightsaber ]

There are plenty of incomprehensible languages in the Star Wars universe, and right up there with Huttese and the random bleeps and bloops that astromech droids use to communicate, there’s Wookiee. Spoken by the residents of Kashyyyk, including Chewbacca, it’s probably one of the most impersonated (usually very, very terribly) dialects from the Star Wars films. But until now, impersonation has been the only way to learn and speak their language.

Beating Rosetta Stone to the punch, Chronicle Books has created a handy guide to learning Wookiee that could help avoid having your arms ripped off at the sockets. While it’s far from in-depth, an included sound module, recorded by none other than Chewbacca himself, provides the correct pronunciation of ten key phrases that are sure to help ease intergalactic diplomatic relations.

It’s available directly from Chronicle Books for $16.95, or, you could just find a cupboard door that you can use as a translator like this guy did:

[ How To Speak Wookie ]

A quick Google image search will return in the neighborhood of about a trillion Star Wars images you can use as desktop wallpaper for your PC. But wallpaper for your actual walls? I’m afraid the options are considerably more limited there. That’s why this Imperial Forces wallpaper, now available from Super7, is so unique. From what I can tell this is the first edition in a collection of different Star Wars themed wall coverings, and features various members of the imperial forces, hand screened and flocked. That’s right, I said flocked.

A half-roll, which is able to cover about 17 square feet, or an area 27-inches by 90-inches in size (translation: very small) is $75. While a roll large enough to properly decorate a room (101 square feet) is $350.

[ Imperial Forces Wallpaper ] VIA [ Coudal Partners ]

I’m sure there’s some kind of fiscal deterrent to creating an officially licensed Star Wars product (Lucasfilm probably gets a cut) but thankfully the films are so iconic you can tip toe around a license if you’re careful. Like what ClamCase has done with their limited edition THE TROOPER case which happens to be the first design in their INSPIRED SERIES.

If you’re unfamiliar with the product, the ClamCase is an over-the-top iPad case that basically turns your tablet into a makeshift laptop. Your iPad 2 sits in the top half of the case serving as the display, while the bottom half features a full QWERTY keyboard (with 14 extra function keys) connected via Bluetooth. This particular version also has “…a black hinge, keyboard, base and ergonomic rubber feet, providing an intergalactic contrast with the imperial white protective case.” It certainly helps make the iPad more useful for productivity than just media consumption, but for $149 you’re probably better off just getting a compact laptop.

[ ClamCase THE TROOPER ] VIA [ PadGadget ]