“If you book them, they will come”
So said Wayne Campbell (played by Mike Myers) in Wayne’s World 2, and possibly with that in mind Star Wars collecting’s very own Wayne, Wayne Totty – along with Adam Pemberton and the rest of the crew – set out to put on the much-delayed 9th running of their Echo Base Live event on Saturday 7th August 2021.
Usually held twice a year in April and October, the show takes place near Birmingham at the Kingfisher Shopping Centre in Redditch, and following the COVID pandemic it was set to be one of the first shows of its kind after restrictions were lifted. Would this have an impact on the show attendance, and the money it raised for charity?
Having secured ‘Early Bird’ passes, which grant the holder admission an hour before the show opens to the general public, Mark Newbold and I joined the rather large queue of eager Star Wars collectors which was snaking around the shopping centre and made our way into the event.
The venue this time around was a vacant shop unit which formerly housed clothing store Next, so this was probably the largest setting the show has had to date, and was justified given the size of the attendance.
Once inside there were several ‘isles of wonder’ with traders of all things Star Wars, from vintage to modern, new to pre-loved, and another isle that was host to the shows special guests Julian Glover, Michael Pennington, Robert Watts, Chris Bunn, Peter Ross, Sean Crawford and Andrew Lawden, who spent the day signing and chatting with fans. Andrew also hosted several ‘Jedi Fight Academy’ sessions for padawans of all ages to pick up tips from the man who doubled for Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace.
There were also several artists displaying their work, including a number of regular contributors to the Echo Base calendar and Xmas cards, as well as our good friend and official Topps trading card artists Marsha Parkins.
If photo opportunities are what you’re looking for there were plenty to be had, with a group of Ewoks flanking a throne fit for a protocol droid, and a landspeeder complete with Tatooine doorways, C-3PO, R2-D2 and everyone’s favourite Gonk droid! There were also some excellent cosplay on show with members of the Essex Cosplayers group giving fans the chance to grab pictures with a Snowtrooper, AT-AT pilot, Stormtroopers, TIE Pilot, Greedo, Sabine and a particularly impressive Din Djarin aka The Mandalorian.
Also on display was Echo admin Adam Pemberton’s lockdown project – a life-size IG-11, complete with Grogu. As an IG fan, Adam 3D printed the whole thing and painted it up, and as you can see it looks stunning.
Aside from the opportunity to spend some of that hard-earned cash completing their collections, this event gives people the opportunity to meet up with fellow fans, and many of the traders also produce exclusive ‘swag’ for the event, from stickers and patches to exclusive artwork and keyrings – one particularly impressive piece was from Andy Van Dyke who had his 1977 early bird set digitally photographed and reproduced so you could have your very own set, complete with stickers for each of the figures.
As the day passed we hit what some people regard as the pinnacle of the day, the charity raffle. Over the years Echo have raised thousands of pounds for charities such as BEAT and Little People, and this year’s charity SURF (Spinal Unit Recreation Fund) is the latest to benefit from the big hearts and deep pockets of Echo attendees. With hundreds of prizes donated there were lots of happy winners, and the charity fund will have received a sizeable boost – keep an eye on Fantha Tracks for more news on the final total raised.
All in all a great day, being able to catch up with friends in person instead of via Zoom and Skype calls, pick up a few bargains and celebrate our love of all things Star Wars.