The Saga Museum Blog!

NEW Page-Spread Samples

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:44:21 GMT

Here are some brand new page-samples for your viewing pleasure. The bulk of the remaining work is with re-writes and editing of the 1100 pages along with some minor photography placements and a few re-designs.

VOLUME ONE:

Chapter 01 – About the Book/Author

Chapter 02 – Action Figures

Chapter 03 – Multi-Packs

Chapter 04 – Baggie Action Figures

Chapter 05 – Department Store Multi-Packs

Chapter 06 – Value Packs

Chapter 07 – Playsets

Chapter 08 – Vehicles

VOLUME TWO:

Chapter 09 – Creature Sets

Chapter 10 – Collectors Coins (new chapter)

Chapter 11 – Accessories

Chapter 12 – Large Action Figures

Chapter 13 – Scaled Miniatures

Chapter 14 – Figures (new chapter)

Chapter 15 – Pre-School Toys

Chapter 16 – Role-Play

Chapter 17 – Games, Radios and Remotes

Chapter 18 – Plush

Chapter 19 – Miscellaneous

Chapter 20 – Promotional

Thanks again and please do not hesitate to email me at info@thesagamuseum.com with any questions, comments or suggestions!

- Todd A. DeMartino

An Update and a NEW Refund Policy

Your DisplayName here! — Thu, 05 May 2011 02:55:58 GMT

Thank you for your continued interest and support for “Star Wars - The Saga Museum” project. We sincerely apologize for the delay.

We’re working tirelessly to put together the most comprehensive, highest quality Star Wars book ever published and it has amazingly exceeded our original scope.

We are currently in the mind-splitting editing and re-writing stage of the final 1100 pages. Barring any unforeseen problems, this very long and tedious process should take us up to the completion of the book.

We will email new information as it becomes available, and will notify all subscribers to our newsletter when this wonderful book has been submitted for final proofing.

In the meantime, please make sure you have submitted your email in the "MAILING LIST" tab on the website so you can be alerted to any future updates.

If you are one of the lucky few who placed a Pre-Order, please remember that your orders are our number one priority and will be filled first as soon as the book is available for shipping. If you would like to cancel your pre-order at any time, please contact me for a full refund and it will be issued within 48 hours of your request. If you choose the refund option and you would like the book once it is has been completed, I will offer you the book at the same exact low pre-order price plus actual shipping cost at the time it ships. This offer will be good within 60 days of the official release date of the book. Additionally, if you are one of the four or five customers that requested a refund in the past, I am happy to extend this new refund policy to you as well.

Thanks again and please do not hesitate to email me at info@thesagamuseum.com with any questions!

- Todd A. DeMartino

The Star Wars Collectibles Author Panel

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 00:24:03 GMT

I had the distinct pleasure of being in the company of the very best authors of Star Wars collectible books on one stage at the Celebration 5 collector panels. It was exciting for a self-published author like myself to rub elbows with Lucasfilm sanctioned scribes like Pete Vilmur, Anne Neumann and Steve Sansweet .

L-R: Gus Lopez, Pete Vilmur, Todd DeMartino, Duncan Jenkins, Shane Turgeon and Steve Sansweet

It goes without saying that it was a real honor to be included on a panel with Steve Sansweet, the granddaddy of Star Wars collectibles books. He has authored 14 Star Wars books to date and has single-handedly guided countless collectors, myself included, into the hobby through his awesome works. It was the highlight of my CV experience.

- Todd DeMartino

Celebration V coverage

Your DisplayName here! — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:13:30 GMT

I would like to thank everyone for such a positive reception at Star Wars Celebration V. It was an honor to speak with representatives from Lucas Film, Hasbro and the countless fans and supporters of The Saga Museum book project.

It was our pleasure to have a couple of our favorite Star Wars sites stop by the booth and cover The Saga Museum promotion. SirStevesGuide.com and YakFace.com were generous with their valuable time and shot some great pictures and featuring them on their websites.

> http://photos.sirstevesguide.com/g6122-the-saga-museum.html/>

http://www.yakface.com/?file=features/CV/sagamuseum/saga1.htm >

> I would like to personally thank Steve and Jason for stopping by our booth and taking time out of their busy day.

- Todd DeMartino

Impressive... Most Impressive Star Wars Costumes!

Your DisplayName here! — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:00:19 GMT

It was very memorable having many of the incredible costumers stop by the booth for a picture. There were so many great ones to choose from... here is my favorite.

Wampa Girl:

- Todd DeMartino

New Book Design

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:10:51 GMT

Here are the final cover designs for the slipcase, volume one and volume two. Notice the new The Saga Museum logo as well as the final picture choices for the band that wraps around all three.

Slipcase: Volume One: Volume Two: Complete Set:

- Todd DeMartino

Star Wars Celebration V

Your DisplayName here! — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:53:14 GMT

We have been working hard with the completion of 19 out of 20 chapters and we are putting the final touches on Chapter 1 - About the Book/About the Author. The lengthy editing and re-writing stage is in full swing while the final page count came in at 1100 pages instead of the original 600-700 page estimate. We have enhanced the look of the two book covers with slipcase along with improving on The Saga Museum logo.

We are pleased to announce that we will have a booth display at Celebration 5 to showcase the size and quality of the project. On hand will be a book mock-up and a 37" monitor projecting a 500 page slide show. We are looking forward to meeting with all of the fans and supporters.

I, with Steve Bruno the photographer, Jeff Correll the designer and Bill Wills the editor will all be on hand to meet with everyone to answer questions about the development of this 15 pound comprehensive photographic guide. Please make sure you stop by the booth and pick up a high quality 8-page brochure while supplies last.

Additionally, I am honored to join Steve Sansweet, Gus Lopez, Duncan Jenkins, Shane Turgeon, Anne Neumann and Pete Vilmur for the Star Wars Collectors Author Panel. Mark it on your survival guide schedules so you can acquire a free box of "Greedos" with a certain little book shown on the back. Also, the 16 different collectors panels are not to be missed so attend them all!

We look forward to seeing everyone at C5 in a few weeks so please make sure you stop by booth #107 and say hi.

- Todd DeMartino

Another Chapter Added to the Mix!

Your DisplayName here! — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:59:38 GMT

We have added our 20^th chapter with the separation of the Kenner/Hasbro coins from the action figures chapter. The action figures section was just too massive with almost 500 pages to do these little coins justice so I gave them a well deserved chapter of their very own.

“Chapter 10 - Collector Coins” will have everything Kenner with the original vintage 1984 - 1985 silver Power of the Force, bronze Ewoks and gold Droids coins and even the modern 1997 silver Power of the Force 2 millennium minted coins.

Hasbro will contribute with their throwback to the originals showcasing the 30^th Anniversary silver, gold and black coins.

You will also see the Vintage individual mailer envelopes, 62 coins set mailer and executive 124 double framed set as well as the Modern coin album, Toy Fair promotion, mail away promotion and convention exclusives.

This chapter has a lot to offer with almost 200 coins shown just a bit under their original 1:1 size. Sorry prototype collectors, no UDE coins.

- Todd DeMartino

Printing Proof

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:42:27 GMT

We ordered a Page Proof from our printer, Palace Press International http://palacepress.com/. This is very exciting because it means we're getting close… well, closer! The proof is comprised of four of our most challenging 9 ½” X 12” pages to print for this project. The goal is to make sure the photographer and designer have everything just right, so we chose pages showing Baggie Figures (transparent), Plush (fur - die Ewoks, die!), Action Figures (details through plastic bubbles) and introductory text over pastel colors.

This proof will be 27” X 40” and will contain all four page samples. This will take about a month to get back from Hong Kong and will be the exact same size as a modern Movie Theater One-Sheet Poster. I will be sure to post a picture in this blog once we receive it from the printers.

Palace Press is no stranger to high quality Star Wars books, including the following two fantastic Self-Published books:

John Kellerman’s Star Wars Vintage Action Figures (now a collector’s item of its own) http://www.frontbackbooks.com/

Shane Turgeon’s The Force in the Flesh - (the one and only Star Wars tatoo book) http://www.theforceintheflesh.com/index.php >

Additionally, Palace Press has done many licensed Star Wars Lucas Film books including:

Dressing the Galaxy http://insighteditions.com/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=96

Sculpting the Galaxy - (my favorite $400 book) http://insighteditions.com/popup_image.php?pID=97&image=0

The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Force Unleashed http://insighteditions.com/product_info.php?cPath=18&products_id=72>

Since I am self-publishing this book with DeMartino Publishing, LLC (I know, how original), I spent many years researching and interviewing printing companies and found that Palace Press produced the extremely high level of standards this “discerning” publisher was looking for.

- Todd DeMartino>>

Variations, variations and more variations!

Your DisplayName here! — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 23:41:12 GMT

We all know that the Kenner and Hasbro Star Wars line generated plenty of packaging variations to keep OCD “completist” collectors like myself extremely busy over the years. From major and minor variations to unproduced packaging variations... it is all here!

Some variations were very exciting to uncover, especially those that had never been documented. Others took some major perseverance to track down, while others would wreak havoc on my bank account once I was lucky enough to find one for my collection.

Here is a sample page spread from Chapter 7 - Vehicles. This 2-page sample (out of 11) documents all known variations of Star Wars Kenner Mini-Rigs. 3-backs, 5-backs, Special Offers and Rebates: it covers every release from The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Power of the Force.

In The Saga Museum book, there are a total of 38 production mini-rigs with 14 unproduced (Revenge of the Jedi & alternate artwork) Mini-Rigs, for a total of 52 in the Vintage Star Wars line alone. Some of these variations are quite rare with only a handful (3-5) currently known to exist.

Adding variations to my collection always gave me a sense of accomplishment...well, not always. Sometimes I did it to add to the hobby and document an unknown item, while other times I did it out of pure and utter boredom.

Whatever the reason, at the end of the day, it was all about the thrill of the hunt.

- Todd DeMartino

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