When we announced our search for Crave's top "Star Wars" fan, Brian Rowland of Atlanta immediately contacted us to tell us he's the "most dedicated 'Star Wars' fan that you will ever come across."
It's hard to argue. Rowland's entire body--arms, legs, back--is tattooed with "Star Wars" images, from Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia, Greedo, and R2-D2 to the Rebel Alliance symbol and George Lucas himself. All that inking has taken more than 600 hours of work.
For his unflagging faith to all things Force, we hereby name Rowland Crave's most dedicated "Star Wars" fan and will send him a signed copy of Bonnie Burton's "The Star Wars Craft Book" as a prize.
Click through the gallery to see some of our other favorite expressions of readers' "Star Wars" devotion. And thanks to all who wrote in!
Together with his dad, Victor Ferreira of Sao Paulo, Brazil, spent approximately six months constructing a gigantic General Grievous to wear to a local "Star Wars" event. The costume, made from PVC pipe, foam, and wood, stands more than 8 feet tall and weighs 40-plus pounds.
A head made from a clay mold cast in plaster and sealed in fiberglass tops the getup and can even move sideways and up and down, thanks to an internal mechanism fashioned from the gears of an old bicycle.
Wearing the gargantuan costume wasn't exactly comfy, Ferreira admits, "but with the help of other fans, I beat the sweat and exhaustion."
That's Melissa Fach's home office in Sarasota, Fla. You might not be surprised to hear she has an extensive collection of "Star Wars" T-shirts and hoodies; has read more than 140 "Star Wars" books; attends "Star Wars" weekends at Disney Hollywood Studios; and has her own "Star Wars" Pinterest board.
And she's making sure to pass her passion on to the next generation. "My children have also been raised to love 'Star Wars,'" she says, "and they do."
Like our winner, James Rose went the tattoo route, with ink on the backs of his legs showing a TIE Fighter and X-wing imagery. "This took 4 sessions and a total of 11 hours of pain and a lot of money!! But I think the results are worth it," the London resident tells us. We agree.
Jason Hardin, who lives outside Houston, grew up with "Star Wars."
"My earliest memory is sitting in the theater, watching EP4 ["Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope"] with my dad, and my love for the movies only grew after that," he says.
Hardin has been collecting memorabilia since childhood and now has an entire room filled with gear from another galaxy, including life-size autographed Darth Maul and Yoda statues.
Danny Bamberg of Lake Villa, Ill., has been collecting "Star Wars" stuff since age 3, and now, at 14, boasts an impressive stash. It includes a Darth Maul mask signed by actor Ray Park; two autographs from actor Daniel Logan; and a first edition of "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" signed by Dave Prowse, who often pens his autographs "David Prowse IS Darth Vader."
At age 11, Bamberg took second place in a "Star Wars" trivia contest at Comic-Con in Chicago, and "as soon as I am old enough, I am going to join the 501st Legion," he says.
Robert Resha of Naples, Fla., also dreams of joining the 501st Legion.
Since he first become enthralled with "Star Wars" in 2004, has amassed at least eight lightsabers, plus countless "Star Wars"-related books, video games, and action figures. He has some 20 articles of "Star Wars" clothing from which to choose, including a Boba Fett hoodie. As you can see from the photo, he also owns a replica of the E-11 blaster used by Stormtroopers.
Pam Ronnei of Milwaukee, Wis., painted this "Star Wars" mural in her bedroom. Improvising from several grid-and-pictorial maps found online and in the front covers of "Star Wars" paperbacks, she and friend Rita Skamser-O'Neil painted the wall blue-black, and then added a white galaxy and charted out more than 100 "Star Wars" planets.
Pam and Rita labeled each planet and painted over it with glow-in-the-dark paint. They then flecked the wall with star-spots, went to sleep, and woke up to survey their project, which took took about 15 hours (not including planning).
Recently, the "Star Wars" crafters also painted an oil landscape of Bespin's Cloud City for a friend's wedding present.
That's "Star Wars" superfan Daniela K. of Washington, D.C., dressed as a Jawa for Halloween. Standing with her is her boyfriend, whom she convinced (through a Jedi mind trick, of course) to dress up as a Tusken Raider.
"Star Wars has literally changed my life," she says. "I've lost hours of sleep (and 'sick time') waiting in line at the theater." She's even written songs about her love for the franchise.
"Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D" wasn't playing in Tallinn, Estonia, where Rasmus Tali lives, so he found a place where it was showing: aboard a Baltic Princess cruise ship.
"For that money, I could have seen 3D movies x10, but after experiencing Episode I on the big screen, I have no regrets," he says.
Eric Quakenbush of Honolulu has been collecting "Star Wars" paraphernalia since the '70s. That's his plush Bantha, which he made while following instructions on Bonnie Burton's "Star Wars" crafts blog. Awww...
