Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Smithsonian Obtains a Star Wars X-Wing Fighter

Star Wars Logo


Picture courtesy of Global Panorama's Flickr Page - Star Wars Logo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121483302@N02/14137284401

There is a theme park in Florida where you can go on some life-sized Star Wars vehicles, most famously a full-sized model of the Millennium Falcon. It is at what is called Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, located in            

As basically a lifelong Star Wars fan, it would be intriguing to see. But I heard that tickets for entry into the park are prohibitively expensive. So for me, living in New Jersey, the prospect of getting airline tickets to Florida, get a hotel room for some time, rent a car (which seems like it would be a necessity in Florida), buy food, and then go to the park, pay those exorbitant prices, all for maybe a twenty minute visit to the Millennium Falcon, and maybe some other locales that are meant to have a Star Wars feel.              

So, I have passed on this, at least to this point. My son and I have bonded over some things, and that includes Star Wars, so a possible visit to the park sometime in the future might be a possibility. But right now, with those kinds of prices, it just kinds of feels a bit too steep. I have never been to Florida, and someday, I hope to indeed take a trip down there. But it would most likely not just be centered around a visit to that particular park. Again, while I consider myself a fan of Star Wars, there are limits. Admittedly, I have never been to a Comic Con, which is another thing that some more devout fans have done and even, in some cases, recommended for me to do, but which I have yet to actually have done.              

In any case, there is a bit of news that I ran into this week: the Smithsonian has apparently obtained a full-sized X-Wing fighter. Now, this is something that I would indeed be interested in, if it does indeed go on view, as expected, in 2022. First of all, Washington is a great city, and has a lot of points of interest that go beyond just one life-sized Star Wars model. Also, my guess is that the price will not be prohibitive. In fact, the museums in Washington are generally free, which is my kind of price. Plus, I have been to Washington numerous times, and plans for other visits are never very far off. It is about a four hour drive from where I live, and so while it is not a trip that I would necessarily make numerous times during a year, it is a trip that I do usually at least once every few years. In fact, another trip to the capital has been on my mind as of late, and may hopefully happen this summer.              

So I will keep my eye on this, and maybe even try and get my son and I to see it while they are apparently working on it. And it seemed like something worth sharing here, just in case there are other Star Wars fans out there, who do not necessarily feel like going all the way down to Florida just to visit the Star Wars theme park there.              

Below is the link to the article which I ran into this, and which, again, it feels like it would be of interest to other fans of that galaxy far, far away….and not the miniature and highly overpriced galaxy theme park in a state that, for most of us, is also too far away, and a bit too inconvenient and pricey.


STAR WARS X-WING AT THE SMITHSONIAN BY DAVID KINDY, MAY 10, 2021:  

Udvar-Hazy visitors can watch conservators give the film prop a careful exam before it goes on view in 2022  

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/star-wars-x-wing-starfighter-lands-national-air-and-space-museum-180977696/?no-cache%2F%3Futm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=socialmedia&fbclid=IwAR3ijWIbdFNx6t-U-8T2RSOOCMZhYfeGzXWWQyfIgEZ7BxDwmbNbrJLX6A4

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