Since Facebook and Twitter are not liking our metadata today, please see the link below!
https://youtu.be/tdM-kWL0YKg
Stan Solo Interview by Mark Telfer
CHRIS SMITH: My first memory is watching Star Wars when I was around 5-6 year old. My main memory of the film was strangely just Stormtroopers lol.
MT: What’s your favourite Star Wars film?
CS: The Empire Strikes Back, I love the variety of scenes from start to finish.
MT: Favourite character?
CS: Darth Vader hands down! When he comes on screen, like when he walks into Echo Base on Hoth or his Bespin scenes with Han Solo. He has an aura about him, for me, the most iconic character in film history.
RetroBlasting Announcement - We have a Patreon page!
RetroBlasting Patreon <<<Link
After several years of debate and consideration, we finally gave in and set up a Patreon account. This decision didn't come lightly, as we were reluctant to ask for money from all you guys. And we'd like to make it clear: we will still be providing our regular video content to everyone for free, as usual. We understand that you guys have lots of things you need to spend your money on.
But some of you have asked about contributing, to help out with expenses we incur such as new equipment (cameras, microphones, lights) and vintage toy purchases (we still have a few big-ticket items we're trying to obtain!). Please know that all money we receive as part of your donation, should you make one, will go directly into RetroBlasting, not our personal accounts.
As of this week, we've been at this for 6 years on YouTube. We're excited to continue to grow our channel and community, and we're thrilled to have you with us. So stay tuned, and if you're interested in contributing, please click the link at the top of this post to find out more, including what cool extras we're offering to our patrons. Thanks!!! - Michael and Melinda
RetroBlasting Has New Tees and Merchandise!
Hey! We have a new merchandise store - click here: RedBubble
Our newest art design by artist Jorge Baeza (artist for Topps Trading Cards and the Plastic Galaxy documentary) is a must-have for RetroBlasting fans and anyone who loves 80s toys! Wear it proudly to work, to dinner with your family, and to every convention you attend to spread the word and meet cool people. You’ll look great, and you’ll be supporting our efforts to buy more toys and make new content! It’s a win-win.
Check out more of Jorge’s amazing art at jbaeza.com!
There’s Too Many of Them: The B-Wing Story
I recently tried an exercise over at the IGrewUpStarWars Facebook page; can you remember when and where you acquired your various Star Wars toys as a kid? I had put together my own list of memories as part of asking the question, and I did pretty well with a few blanks here and there I’ll never fully recall. Many people who responded had one or two recollections but most people admitted they could no longer remember.
Every toy carries a personal story, and 99% of those stories are lost to time and fading memory. But sometimes a toy that otherwise wasn’t your favorite is bonded to your memory more than the others because it was in the right place at the right time.
So, to begin this story, it’s only fitting that we have to travel back to 1985...
“Switch Over. Let’s Hope We Don’t Have a Burn Out…” – RetroBlasting Looks Back at 2015
The Persistence of Memory: A Reflection on The Force Awakens
Even though Michael knew the Millennium Falcon would appear in TFA, he sobbed uncontrollably when it happened, and was startled at the intensity of his emotional response. Even now he does not understand why it affected him so. This is the power of Star Wars for him, and the power of emotional memory.
Remembering Our Veterans
I will never know what it is to be a soldier. It's that simple. Anyone who claims they can estimate what it might be like who has never served is a fool and deserves a swift punch in the face. I have immense respect for those that have served in the armed forces of any nation. Growing up, it was well-known amongst my family and friends that I was fixated on World War II, but this was largely misunderstood.
The Memphis Belle and her crew
They wondered often why I had no interest in the military. It was similar to why they couldn't figure out my lack of interest in actual space travel and astronomy when I loved Star Wars so much. In the case of the latter, it's because I wasn't interested in lunar landers. I was interested in star fighters. When it comes to the former, I really just have a seething hatred for Nazis and a great love of propeller-driven aircraft.
Col. Robert Morgan
I don't think I'd go back and change my decision. I've had the privilege of meeting and sometimes even interviewing men and women who's service goes all the way back to the Spanish Civil War and as recent as the War in Iraq. I've heard firsthand accounts of being a prisoner in Stalag Luft III, going down in a B-17 over northern France, leaping out of a landing craft into a wall of German bullets on Omaha Beach and yes, even being a Hitler youth conscripted into the Wermacht at the desperate end of the war and wanting nothing more than to surrender to Americans or the British before being killed or worse, caught by the Russians.
My Eagle Scout medal was pinned on my chest by Col. Robert Morgan, the pilot of the Memphis Belle, on May 17th, 1993, the 50th anniversary to the day of the Belle's completion of its 25 missions over Nazi-held Europe, as I had restored the radio room at RAF Bassingbourne's original air tower where the Belle operated during the war.
I spent many hours at the home of George Freson, a C-47 cargo pilot in Burma who dodged Japanese snipers, and Harold Hart, a Navy man in the Pacific Theatre. I knew Otto Meikus, a crew chief who repaired Flying Fortresses in England during the way, and I interviewed Hal Weekly, a B-17 pilot who narrowly escaped capture after being shot down.
American volunteers in the Battle of Britain
For every one of the men and women I've had the privilege of meeting, I've read about at least 50 others. There were the Americans who volunteered with the Royal Air Force almost two years before Pearl Harbor and fought in the Battle of Britain. Eugene Tobin, Andy Mamedoff, Vernon Keough and Art Donahue. None of them would survive the war. Three would be dead before Pearl Harbor occurred.
Charles Upham
It isn't just Americans who exhibited extreme bravery in World War II. For every Audie Murphy or Tuskegee Airman in the U.S. Armed Forces, there were just as many in the British ranks. Guys like “Mad Jack” Churchill, who carried a sword into combat; Douglas Bader, a Spitfire pilot with two artificial legs; Major Robert Cain V.C., who disabled Tiger Tanks at Arnhem while firing a mortar from his hip; and New Zealander Charles Upham who won the coveted Victoria Cross twice and when caught in barbed wire with a German pistol to his head while trying to escape a prison camp, Upham's only response was to ignore the guard and light up a cigarette.
Growing up with films like The Great Escape, The Longest Day and television shows like Combat and Rat Patrol laid the foundation of my interest and respect in what these people risked and died for from 1939-1945. They also helped ensure that while I was not destined to serve, I would spend my time serving those who did wear the uniform. Heck, if I wasn't doing RetroBlasting, I'd probably be hosting a history channel on YouTube about World War II.
Thank your local veterans every November 11, because too many will never hear that thanks, buried in far-off lands never to come home.
Bourne Again: How One Trilogy Redefined Another
So Dark We Can't See: The Need for Story After the Septic Trank
RetroBlasting Theme Song Lyrics: What the heck are they?!
Lots of people have asked about our theme song, and in particular wondered what the lyrics are. Our good friend, Dolph Amick is a musician, puppeteer, actor, and all-around awesome guy who has a great sensibility for retro/pop stylings. So we were thrilled when he said he’d help us out by writing a fun song for the beginning of our feature videos.
