Today, I am bringing you an overview of the LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary event that took place in LEGO Stores across the U.S. on October 10, 2009 at 2-4 PM. These pictures are of the LEGO Store in the Valley Fair Shopping Center, which is in Santa Clara, California. You have voted for this to be the next review for me to do in the chrome black Darth Vader review, and here it is!

The Event

I had arrived at the store at 2:05 PM. Luckily, nothing had started yet and I made it just in time. I had brought my book to the store, along with my dad's camera.

There was a line on the left of the back of the store where you could take pictures of the 501st members that were there, and get your book signed.

Here's the first sighting of the members. Also notice the nice LEGO Star Wars stormtrooper T-shirt on the bottom part of the picture. That was not being given out in a raffle or anything, unfortunately.

While waiting in line, someone in front of me asked a worker for a poster. The worker gave one to the person. I then asked if I could get one. She looked at my book (which was covered in a red book cover), and asked, "Did you bring one from home?"

I said yes, and she secretly gave me a poster, and said, "You didn't get it from me."

The first sighting of the other members of the 501st!

The stormtroopers!

It was at this point that I got my book signed and took a picture with one of the stormtroopers. Sorry guys, I have decided not to upload the picture, even if just only for my best friends (when it comes to "best friends" on the Internet, that is) to view. My identity will remain hidden in the shadows forever (or for at least five more years)!

Over here you can see a very cool-looking green and silver clone trooper. Can anyone please point me out to a Wookieepedia entry of this clone?

EDIT: Natman and 501st Commando have confirmed that he is Commander Gree, CC-1004 (which is who EB member JCC1004 is named after). Thanks guys!

You can see here that the store has many enthusiastic children inside. Either that or their parents dragged them here.

Also notice the hand at the bottom. That was my mom telling me to get in the back-right corner of the store to wait for the employees to ask questions to the kids.

Over here you can see the children that were waiting to answer questions.

It looks like the stormtroopers are heading out for a break! Let's follow them...

They're starting to come out of the store...

Over here you can see the piece of paper that was on the store's front wall telling people that an event is taking place (it's next the the stormtrooper on the right).

The right of the store (ignore the reflection of the "Journeys" shoe store's sign )...

...and the left. Notice the three modular sets on display.

A picture of the female rebel pilot. If I was older, I would use the "wub" emote.

It was at this point that I spotted the Christmas themed sets. I only took pictures of the $5 ones, which you can see here.

What's this? Chrome gold minifig keychains?

It looks like LEGO has decided to sell them normally after all!

Also notice the multiple Santa Claus KimT clone keychains on the right.

After taking this picture, I went to look at some other stuff for a while. When I returned, over 15 of the gold keychains (there were about 20 total on the rack) were gone.

I then went to look at the PAB wall's selection. There were 8 x 16 dark bley tiles and other things like trans-light blue 1 x 1 round plates (my favorite color of 1 x 1 round plates!), flower bases, and flowers on sprues, all of which I would have gotten if they were there when I filled my first PAB cup!

At about this point, I won a chrome Vader by answering a question!

You can read the review here.

Also we get a first glimpse of November's Monthly Mini Model Build model, which is a nice brick-built turkey. I won't be going to get it, as I do not want to wait in line for two hours just to get a few bricks.

My first look at the Tantive IV in real life!

It's very huge. Pictures don't do it justice!

Home

And now, the event is over.

There isn't much left to this overview, except for the freebies and purchased things, which you'll see next.

Freebies

The chrome Vader is just worth going to the event, and all of the other things are a nice bonus!

A closer view of the poster that I was secretly given.

The idea of putting the books in a way that they look like lightsaber is very clever.

Two LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary activity kits. Unfortunately, these were made for kids, and everything in it is too easy (also the whole thing is black and white).

I have taken pictures of the other pages, which you can see when the folder goes public.

The third to last page and the last page is pretty interesting, though:

An interview with the 501st...

...and a small article about the book.

Next up is this card which I just found on a table, lonely and abandoned.

And the back. I have blocked out his e-mail address because he probably doesn't want to be bombarded with many spammy e-mails.

There is this card advertising the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Republic Heroes game, which came out four days before the event.

And the back, which shows a black and white Obi-Wan Oky Wan.

EDIT: If you go to watchtheclonewars.com and have a webcam, you can hold the Oky Wan picture up to it and get a transmission from him.

You can also view a Yoda, Anakin, and Captain Rex transmission that do not require cards (The Oky Wan one doesn't either by the way).

A Star Wars: The Clone Wars small booklet with four tear-out cards.

The inside

Back of Ahsoka Tano's card

Back of Embo's card

Back of Cad Bane's card

Back of Sugi's card

And last but not least (this is actually the second best freebie, other than the chrome Vader), two stickers and a signature from TK3390, the stormtrooper I took a picture with. You can find his profile here.

There were about five Visual Dictionary stickers, but I could only get two by asking one employee and the manager.

Jango Fett sticker

Celebration Luke sticker - It's odd how a very old X-wing set was used instead of the 2006 version.

And finally, for the "freebies" section, a summary of what I got:

• Star Wars "book lightsaber" poster
  
• chrome black Darth Vader
  
• two activity books
  
• Republic Heroes advertisement card and Oky Wan "access picture"
  
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars TV series collectible cards
  
• "business card" of one of the 501st members
  
• two Visual Dictionary sticker
  
• signature from a stormtrooper named TK3390
  

Purchases

Now for the purchased goods!

Yeah, all of the sets are already opened.

Over here, the Separatist Shuttle minifigs are wondering why their pictures are on a box.

The dog is going over 50 miles per hour, so the police officer is pulling him over.

And over here, the firefighter is attempting to chop up the flame with two hatchets (yeah, I've been reading Gary Paulsen's "Brian" series lately ).

A list of everything I bought:

• Separatist Shuttle ($30 USD)
  
• chrome silver stormtrooper magnet ($10 USD)
  
• chrome gold minifigure keychain ($5 USD)
  
• Firefighter ($3.50 USD)
  
• Police Officer ($3.50 USD)
  

Conclusion

Overall, it was a very enjoyable experience, and I would love to go to larger events in the future (like BrickCon and BrickWorld).

I hope you enjoyed reading this! I finished this two days earlier than I planned (it took 1½ hours to make).

Be sure to cast your vote on what you want to see next! Like last time, I will count the votes tomorrow at 5 PM Pacific Standard Time, which is approximately 23 hours from the posting of this overview.

Only 30 or so pictures were used in this overview, and over 100 can be found in my Brickshelf folder when public.

Also, feel free to point out any typos, mess-ups, or grammatical mistakes.

Thanks!

Edited December 16, 200915 yr by KimT

Thanks for this very detailed and exciting overview of a fabulous looking event!

In Sydney, the only Star Wars Lego-ey in-store goodness we get is the occasional Darth Maul bust display , so it's great to see so many people out and about and all dressed up!

That sounds like a sight to behold. I know what I will join when I'm 18 Great job Pi!

Nice event reveiw. That clone with the green visor is commander gree.

I think that guy is commander Gree. What a fun thing to go to, looks like there was much pandemonium with all those people in there.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/CC-1004 "gree"

EDIT: Natman and 501st Commando have confirmed that he is Commander Gree, CC-1004 (which is who EB member JCC1004 is named after). Thanks guys!

You just love me don't you? I hope there wasn't a Gree planned to be at my event. Your's was alot more crowed then mine. It was still difficult to get around but possible. You also had way more giveaways then I did. I only had the cards and poster. It was dissapointing that is was paper stuff. It's like the lame Cracker Jacks prizes. I hope you had a good time at your's. That employee was serious about that poster. "You didn't get this from me." Good overview or what ever you call it.

Edited October 15, 200915 yr by JCC1004

Wow, Pi, are you trying to make me regret not going? Wonderful coverage of that oh-so-familiar shop. Sounds like it was a blast!

Great Review and Very Detailed!

Looks like you had a wonderful time there im envious, as NZ doesn't have any official LEGO stores

Great Freebies aswell

Well done!

CommanderFox

Great Review and Very Detailed!

Looks like you had a wonderful time there im envious, as NZ doesn't have any official LEGO stores

Great Freebies aswell

Well done!

CommanderFox

Im with you there CommanderFox . I really liked your photos of it and Im surprised that you could actually take photos inside. I really like the PAB close ups and the close ups of the key chains.

Thanks for this very detailed and exciting overview of a fabulous looking event!

In Sydney, the only Star Wars Lego-ey in-store goodness we get is the occasional Darth Maul bust display , so it's great to see so many people out and about and all dressed up!

You're welcome! It means a lot to me for you to comment on my stuff.

That sounds like a sight to behold. I know what I will join when I'm 18 Great job Pi!

Thanks! I'm not sure if I want to join the legion when I'm older. I really like the idea of dressing up as a stormtrooper, though.

Nice event reveiw. That clone with the green visor is commander gree.

I think that guy is commander Gree. What a fun thing to go to, looks like there was much pandemonium with all those people in there.

Thanks guys! I never knew that this was Gree's phase two armor! His Clone Wars armor looks so plain when compared to this one.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/CC-1004 "gree"

You didn't need to link to that, since I had already added it to my first post before you made a post.

You just love me don't you? I hope there wasn't a Gree planned to be at my event. Your's was alot more crowed then mine. It was still difficult to get around but possible. You also had way more giveaways then I did. I only had the cards and poster. It was dissapointing that is was paper stuff. It's like the lame Cracker Jacks prizes. I hope you had a good time at your's. That employee was serious about that poster. "You didn't get this from me." Good overview or what ever you call it.

Well, I wrote that because I was thinking about how much you helped me to get a chrome Vader. Also, Gree's unit name was almost exactly what your name is, except that yours is missing the dash and has a "J" at the beginning.

The employee wasn't really "serious," she was grinning when she said it.

And thanks!

Wow, Pi, are you trying to make me regret not going? Wonderful coverage of that oh-so-familiar shop. Sounds like it was a blast!

Well, don't blame me! It's the voters' faults.

Thanks for the comment, too!

Great Review and Very Detailed!

Looks like you had a wonderful time there im envious, as NZ doesn't have any official LEGO stores

Great Freebies aswell

Well done!

CommanderFox

Thanks!

I did have a great time. I would have liked to stay for much longer (I left at around 3:30 PM), but my mom said that it was getting late, since we had to go to a Chinese supermarket to get a 50 pound bag of rice and to Safeway, to get two gallons of milk. Also, I went to Black Angus at around 5 PM on the same day.

I know, it's unfair how the US gets almost everything.

Edited October 15, 200915 yr by ILikePi

Im with you there CommanderFox . I really liked your photos of it and Im surprised that you could actually take photos inside. I really like the PAB close ups and the close ups of the key chains.

Yes it is so SAD!

The PAB wall is amazing! It's stupid how we have to pay megabucks to get afew pieces from the Lego site

Anyways im starting to rant

Thanks!

I did have a great time. I would have liked to stay for much longer (I left at around 3:30 PM), but my mom said that it was getting late, since we had to go to a Chinese supermarket to get a 50 pound bag of rice and to Safeway, to get two gallons of milk. Also, I went to Black Angus at around 5 PM on the same day.

I know, it's unfair how the US gets almost everything.

Your Welcome!

Umm okay i don't know any of those shops as im not an american

Yes it is totally Unfair!

Anyways again Great Review!

Btw the pic of the Tantive IV makes it look SO amazing...and Big

wish I could get it..

CommanderFox

Edited October 15, 200915 yr by CommanderFox

And over here, the firefighter is attempting to chop up the flame with two hatchets (yeah, I've been reading Gary Paulsen's "Brian" series lately ).

Lol, I've read those books too.

On Topic: Sounds like it was loads of fun, if only they would open up some LEGO stores in Australia.

Thanks for the coverage ILikePi, your photos are really good. It looked like a grand day out!

I love seeing groups of Stormtroopers and other cosplayers attending events like this, it adds to the excitement - the lad in the 5th photo looks totally in awe getting to hold the female Jedi's lighsaber!

I often attend Memerobilia at Birmingham's NEC and there's always squads of Stromtroopers there happy to get involved with the attendees (see my profile pic ). I've never seen someone dressed as Commander Gree though - his costume is totally awesome! I've never seen those dark bley tiles in PaB when I've been at stores either, I would've so filed a cup with them.

And to top it all off you got some cool booty too - nice one!

Most impressive review, I wish I had a LEGO stoere closer than 4 hours away.

I just spent 20 minutes reading through your review, and I'm at work. hahs

Well, I wrote that because I was thinking about how much you helped me to get a chrome Vader. Also, Gree's unit name was almost exactly what your name is, except that yours is missing the dash and has a "J" at the beginning.

The employee wasn't really "serious," she was grinning when she said it.

And thanks!

Dashes are so overrated! I just don't like them in usernames. I know I was the cause of this, but you can stop thanking me. About the employee, I quess Lego would fire her for giving you a poster.

CC1004 meaning Commander Gree's (from Star Wars) clone trooper number. My favorite clone. I added J suggesting Jedi Clone Commander making him force sensitive. By jedi I meant lightsader wielding clone. I just needed a litte uniqueness for my screen name.

Quote from "Explain your screen name"thread.

...I quess Lego would fire her for giving you a poster.

Aye, fire her out of a cannon into space!

Just occured to me ILikePi... with all these polls of what we'd like you to do next... it's like we're controlling your destiny!

Umm okay i don't know any of those shops as im not an american

Safeway is a large, well-known grocery supermarket chain in the US, and Black Angus is a steak restaurant.

Thanks for the coverage ILikePi, your photos are really good. It looked like a grand day out!

I love seeing groups of Stormtroopers and other cosplayers attending events like this, it adds to the excitement - the lad in the 5th photo looks totally in awe getting to hold the female Jedi's lighsaber!

I often attend Memerobilia at Birmingham's NEC and there's always squads of Stromtroopers there happy to get involved with the attendees (see my profile pic ). I've never seen someone dressed as Commander Gree though - his costume is totally awesome! I've never seen those dark bley tiles in PaB when I've been at stores either, I would've so filed a cup with them.

And to top it all off you got some cool booty too - nice one!

No problem!

Yeah, the boy in that pic was very excited when I was at the event. He also got a picture, too!

Your profile pic is hilarious! You must be one of the main leaders of the Rebel Alliance that weren't mentioned in any Star Wars movies or shows.

Most impressive review, I wish I had a LEGO stoere closer than 4 hours away.

I just spent 20 minutes reading through your review, and I'm at work. hahs

Thanks!

How dare you slack off and look at LEGO-related things at work!

Dashes are so overrated! I just don't like them in usernames. I know I was the cause of this, but you can stop thanking me. About the employee, I quess Lego would fire her for giving you a poster.

Quote from "Explain your screen name"thread.

You said nice review, so of course I had to say thanks.

It seemed like the Dark Side was with that employee!

Aye, fire her out of a cannon into space!

Just occured to me ILikePi... with all these polls of what we'd like you to do next... it's like we're controlling your destiny!

Acutally, I just use those polls to motivate me to do a certain review. I won't be doing what everyone wants the most all of the time.

I'm also not going to include it in my later reviews of larger sets. The polls are just for smaller sets (less than $10 USD).

Thanks for the comments guys, and thanks for voting for me to finish my 2007 battle packs dual review! It has been in the Reviewer's Academy for over four months, so this is a great motivation for me to finally finish it (and get my precious bronze tag)!

Edited October 16, 200915 yr by ILikePi

Safeway is a large, well-known grocery supermarket chain in the US, and Black Angus is a steak restaurant.

Oh okay thanks

sorry if this is off-topic.

CommanderFox

You said nice review, so of course I had to say thanks.

It seemed like the Dark Side was with that employee!

You're thanking me for getting you a Vader, going to this event, and saying nice overview. Enough! Last thing i need is employees with the dark side. Did your store have a SW geek asking all of the questions? My manager was a huge SW fan. He didn't even have a answer sheet. Some of his questions were wrong. The one I got my Vader on was " Who brought Leia to Naboo ?" I some how made sence of that.

Wow! I could never have imagined LEGO Store Events as awesome as this!

I really wish there was a LEGO store in Australia. With that I mean an official LEGO store, like this one you went to, Pi.

Congratulations to the Chrome Vader, I have read your review, and the minifig seems great!

Now, let's hope TLG will focus a little on the rest of the world too in terms of opening official LEGO Stores...

Among the UCS, the 10134 is absent. It isn't even included in another section.