The Fans Strike Back: A recap of Atlanta’s Ultimate “Star Wars” Experience

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The Fans Strike Back: A recap of Atlanta’s Ultimate “Star Wars” Experience by Darren Okafor

On February 5, the Exhibition Hub Art Center in Doraville wrapped up their latest exhibition, The Fans Strike Back. For those unaware, The Fans Strike Back is a touring exhibition of exclusive figurines and fan-made statues of iconic characters from the “Star Wars” movies. While the exhibit is still fairly new, they’ve already traveled the globe to big cities like Berlin and New York.

At the Doraville exhibition, I was welcomed at the front entrance by executive producer John Zaller, who not only oversees this exhibit but many others like it — such as the Claude Monet Immersive Experience that was hosted at the same venue last fall. 

As soon as you step foot into the exhibit, two of the most familiar and friendly faces in the Star Wars universe will greet you. Of course, I’m talking about R2-D2 and C-3PO, standing side by side in their life-sized glory. I was amazed by the detail of the figures, from the scratches in R2’s paint to the mix of silver and gold in 3PO’s coating. But I was even more amazed when Zaller told me that both statues were completely handmade by one man, Daniel Prada, the owner of the collection, who built them in his youth. Zaller bent down and patted R2-D2’s chassis, informing me that under all the intricate paintwork and detailing was the drum from a recycled washing machine. 

This was a reoccurring theme throughout the exhibit. An almost seven-foot-tall figurine of Chewbacca had an old bag remade into a bandolier, and a row of stormtroopers with old boots were painted white to fit within the uniform. While these details might seem simple on their own, it’s when they are put together to make these costumes and statues that they become something more. Not to mention the amazing attention to detail that went into making them accurate to the films. There were often times where I couldn’t tell whether a costume was fan-made or taken straight off of a “Star Wars” set.

However, it’s not just the amazing figurines and statues that draw you in. The team behind The Fans Strike Back exhibit have truly gone above and beyond to provide guests with a full “Star Wars” immersive experience. 

The entire exhibit was organized in chronological order of the events in the movies. In the beginning, fans could see items from the prequel era movies such as a Tusken Raider, Jawas and a large replica of Anakin’s pod racer from The Phantom Menace. In the middle, there were famous locations from the original trilogy, such as an icy hallway on Hoth, Emperor Palpatine’s throne room and Jabba’s palace (with a carbonite-frozen Han Solo included). 

By the end of the exhibit, fans could visit newer characters and figures from the sequel era of the movies, such as Kylo Ren and his death troopers. Throughout these sections were bits and pieces of information from every movie, including fun trivia that would interest even the most knowledgeable “Star Wars” fan. 

There was also an extra segment at The Fans Strike Back that covered non-canon characters and characters from properties outside of the movies, such as “Star Wars” animated TV show, “The Clone Wars.” This section was just as good as the rest — it included a samurai-inspired stormtrooper set of armor that had to be one of the coolest and most original pieces of cosplay that I’ve ever seen. I obviously wasn’t the only one who thought this, as the armor won Best Cosplay at a cosplay competition in Japan in 2016. I even saw an exclusive figure of Ralph McQuarrie’s original Boba Fett design that I really, REALLY want now. 

The final section of the tour included a VR experience, and the crew was kind enough to set up a headset and chair just for me. As I sat down and placed the headset on, I was taken on a journey through the galaxy. I zoomed past asteroids and traveled through hyperspace, all while my chair matched the action happening on screen. 

Once the VR experience was over, Zaller showed me a painting, commissioned by Daniel Prada, that represented him as a child in the “Star Wars” universe. Daniel had been building this collection since the age of ten years old, and with every new statue he created, he brought the “Star Wars” story to life. I think that’s what really made this exhibit special. 

As I went through the tour and saw the ingenuity necessary to make these statues, I also saw the childlike imagination and passion that went into them. As a kid and a fan, your dream is to be in the “Star Wars” universe, and you’d do anything to feel remotely close to it. For me, that took the form of buying toy lightsabers and practicing the now-useless skill of twirling them behind my back as Anakin does in Episode 3. For Prada and the members of The Fans Strike Back team, that dream created this amazing immersive experience. 

If you have a chance to check out this exhibit during it’s next stop, it’s a great place for those with an interest in cosplay. The craftsmanship put into the costumes and statues is sure to spark the inspiration for your next great creation, and it’s a great place to dress up in cosplay and take pictures. I’ve heard that Jabba’s palace has seen many slave Leia cosplays in its day. 

The Fans Strike Back was a fun and family-friendly experience that I think anyone could enjoy. While I am a diehard “Star Wars” fan, I think this exhibit could also be engaging and worthwhile for casual fans or just those with a mild interest in “Star Wars” and the sci-fi genre. 

Although this exhibition has closed in Atlanta, The Fans Strike Back will be traveling to multiple other cities across the United States within the next year. If you’re interested in attending, be sure to find a city near you on their website. For more information about upcoming immersive experiences at the Exhibition Hub Art Center in Doraville, click here to see their agenda.