The Ultimate Star Wars Gift Guide for Father's Day

Mark Lee Rollins for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online

Okay we are going to pull out all the stops here, and not list 10, nor 15; we are listing 20 great gifts for the Star Wars fan in your life. We’re going to avoid the more salacious gifts, such as Star Wars-themed adult items (that we strongly doubt were licensed by Lucasfilms) such as lingerie or “other items.”

We are also not listing those things that are more of a collectible nature, one might find on eBay a few times a year, that cost hundreds of dollars; such as a Wookie jacket, nor will we list a full size, steel reinforced Lego X-wing fighter for $600,000 USD.

But we will list these:

Who Doesn’t Enjoy a Good Carbonite Freeze?

The classic scene from The Empire Strikes Back is repeated here, in miniature, for you to cast your own molten dihydrogen oxide in the mold ($8).

Sadly, ice is translucent, as opposed to Carbonite, so the effect is diminished a bit. If your freezer goes to -40 C (which ironically is -40 F) you can freeze Jägermeister, and enjoy a real mini black Carbonite Hans!

Also available is a Death Star ($9) mold, the Millennium Falcon ($10), an X-Wing fighter ($14), good old R2-D2, ($10, sadly no C3-PO), Storm Trooper ($8), and of course Darth Vader ($10).

The Complete Saga

A good no-brainer gift is the full set of all 6 episodes on Blu-Ray ($75).

Sadly, for those purists among us (who did see the original Star Wars on “day 1,” as I did) there is only the updated versions of the earliest movies, with more whiz-bang effects, that don’t really add to the plot.

Put the “chew” in “Chewbacca” (or not)

You may not realize that the Star Wars saga has generated as much revenue as the films themselves – if not more – from merchandising.  A Star Wars cookbook ($25), makes a gastronomic gift, so one can make taste treats like “Wookiee Cookies.”

Cookin’ With R2-D2

Not necessarily the easiest to clean afterwards, but if you are cooking a Star Wars recipe, you really want a measuring cups set that looks like R2-D2 ($33).

You can also get R2-D2 salt and pepper shakers ($35), and lightsaber BBQ tongs with sounds for the complete effect.

Support the Troops

Well, not actually OUR troops, this vinyl sticker for your car windows has an image of a Stormtrooper ($5).

Trust Your Thumb, Luke

Thumb wrestling is far more fun for a true ‘Wars fan, if you get them a lightsaber thumb-wrestling ring ($18). Note the miniature lightsabers are, sadly, not real, and will not cauterize an opponent’s thumb.

Star Wars & Beer

We can’t have a buying guide without at least one beer reference. Fortunately, for the Star Wars fan who is also a beer aficionado, you can get bottle openers patterned after Darth Vader ($18), R2-D2 ($18), and Han in Carbonite ($18).

Books are Still Relevant

If you want to know how some of the ships in Star Wars work, you need a technical manual. There are manuals for the Death Star, aka the “Imperial DS-1 Orbital Battle Station” ($23), as well as the Millennium Falcon ($24).

Note that the official technical manual does show the hidden smuggling spaces that were in Han’s modified YT-1300 Correllian freighter. There’s also the “Complete Vehicles” book ($30), which gives a good sampling of all vehicles across the series.

You can also help tinkerer Chris Lee build a full-scale replica of the Millennium Falcon with a t-shirt from the project’s site. So far, he’s had the ship approved by the Mythbusters and one of the actors from the upcoming Episode VII (who apparently “flies” the Falcon for much of the film.

What is Old is New

As many Star Wars fans were not around when the first movie (Episode IV) was released, they missed a classic movie poster ($25). Very simple design, had the tag line “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away” and the early Star Wars logo on the bottom right. I still have mine.

Probably Missed the Comics, too

Many did not know this, but at the time of the original Star Wars release, Marvel Comics did a six-issue adaptation. It was based on the script and production stills so it differs a bit from the movie. For example, the scene in the Cantina is notably bereft of weird-looking aliens. This collection ($95) actually includes issues 1 – 26 (if you also buy the second omnibus), but you can pretty much ignore anything from 7 onward as far as canon goes.

Control Your Own Galactic Empire

You can also show those whippersnappers what it was like in the ’70s with no video games and about 4 TV channels. Sometimes you’d actually play board games. And talk. Try the Star Wars Saga Edition of Monopoly ($147).

Best Scraper Ever?

For those in the Southern climes who have not experienced it, in New England and other northern parts of the U.S., there’s often frost on your car windows in the winter. What better ice scraper than a severed Wampa arm? Although a bit pricey ($50), this is guaranteed to get you attention. Hopefully not from another Wampa.

Leggo my Lego

In what some believe was a bid to control the known world, George Lucas teamed up early with Lego, to offer cubist creations inspired by the Star Wars universe. These run the gamut of price and skill level, from the enormous Super Star Destroyer ($800).

To the cutaway view of the Death Star ($400). To the Millennium Falcon Collector’s Edition ($4,849).

To some lowly Mircofighters ($36).

K-9

We love our pets, and nothing says “I love my dog and I’m a crazy Star Wars Fan” better than dressing them up like one of the characters. Princess Leia ($12), Darth Vader (or “Bark” Vader)($15), or even an AT-AT ($13).

An Ancient Art

No, not Jedi lightsaber duels, this ancient art is Origami, known also as “Japanese paper folding.” The book “Star Wars Origami” ($10) has 36 constructs you can make from sheets of stiffened cellulose.

An Ancient Enemy

Many do not know this, and it may surprise you that the most ancient enemy of the Jedi is not the Dark Side, but tooth decay. If you realize the original plot of Return of the Jedi was that Darth Vader was in a bad mood because of an infected bicuspid, you will understand how generally ‘grievous’ this is. (See what I did there?) Fortunately there’s lightsaber toothbrushes, for about $10.

The Truth is out There

For the Star Wars fan who thinks that they have everything, here are some books from the artist whose works inspired Star Wars. Whaaaaat?! You may not know “Jean-Claude Mézières,” but among his many creations were the visuals for the film “The Fifth Element,” and several graphic novels. His most famous creation is Valérian and Laureline which began in 1967 and ended in 2010.

Valérian was a time-traveling “spatio-temporal” agent and a medieval peasant companion (Laureline), in the 28th Century. Where did you think that “Carbonite freeze” idea came from?

Doug Chiang, design director on The Phantom Menace, kept a set of Valérian books in his library; you can too. Starting with The City of Shifting Waters: Valerian Vol. 1 (all are about $10 each).

Not For Kids

No, no; this isn’t more lingerie. These are models with which you can build some Star Wars ships–but they’re actually made of thin metal sheets that are laser cut and then folded. So it’s definitely not something for little Timmy to do without mom, dad or uncle Buck to help. You can make a Star Destroyer ($12), an X-Wing ($14), the Millennium Falcon ($11), a Tie Fighter ($12), R2-D2 ($12), but still no C-3PO.

Ah, there’s C-3PO

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