Events: Meet "Zen" The 3-Year Old Show-stopping Stormtrooper

Day 1 of conventions are usually low key since the crowd pours in on the second day; but as Paul and I were going around the convention floor we zeroed in on a cute, little Stormtrooper.

He had just come across the Philippine Garrison and it was just adorable to see him look up to Stormtroopers who were twice his size. As if things  couldn't get even much more adorable, the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison invited him to join them!

The little boy needed some coaching from his dad, let's say a guy dressed in all black with a red lightsaber scarred him a bit. (Yeah. I'm talking about you Kylo Ren!)   

The little kid left a big impression on us, so after the hustle and bustle of AsiaPOP Comicon we got in touch with his parents and sent some questions to find about the little show-stopping Stormtrooper - who goes by "Zen" by the way.

How old is Zen? 

Zen is three years old. (Cue in the awwwwwwwwws). 

 Was this his ever cosplay? Was APCC his first convention? 

Officially, yes. He did a wear a panda (costume) a year ago (More awwws) but only in school. 

Did he decide to go as a Stormtrooper on his own? 

Yes. When his Uncle asked what costume did he want. He said he wanted to dress up as a Stormtrooper, since he was two years old. We ordered it from ebay. 

Did he enjoy his cosplay for Day 1 of APCC? 

It was very memorable for him, since seeing his toys come alive was nothing he could have imagined at his young age. Boba Fett was his favorite. 

What was it like for Zen to meet the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison? Do you think that he'll be an honorary member some day? 

The Philippine Garrison was very nice and considerate to kids. They allowed him to interact with them and join them. (As to whether he will be a member in the future) I'm not so sure yet, since kids change as they grow up but we'll see.

One of the boys. Zen hangs out with the "good guys" of the Philippine Garrison during Day 1 of APCC.

Any future 'Cosplans' (Cosplay Plans) for Zen? 

We don't really participate in Cosplays, but if Zen wants to dress up as another character then perhaps next year.. 

Is he looking forward to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story this December ? 

 Very much, even if he doesn't understand any of it. (He's only three after all). He saw "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" and "A New Hope" a few times already. Can't make him sit down more than 20 minutes for the other Star Wars movie. Hopefully he will watch Rogue One. 

Thank you to Zen's cool folks for taking the time to answer our questions and we hope to run into you in a convention in the future! Keep it up little Stormtrooper!

Mad for Mad House

During the recently concluded Geekgikan we were doubly excited to find some geek stalls at Cubao Expo and one of these was MadHouse Avenue clothing. 

There's nothing like proclaiming your geek love with the shirts that you wear, which is something that we always do. 

Check out MadHouse Avenue on Facebook and on Instagram as @madhouseave ^_^  They have awesome designs you might want to make your own! 

The Force is Strong in This One. 

This was shot in our bedroom, using a Nikon SB600, as an off-camera light source.  We only used a white cloth as the background for the series of images, we still went for the dark and edgy look during post processing phase.

Stormtrooper Shirts from 1 Seventeen Degrees

Sometimes when you want something done - you just got to do it yourself. 

I've wanted a Stormtrooper shirt for sometime now but haven't really been able to come across any, probably because we're not really mall people and shopping really isn't an activity when we're at Toycon, since there's too many people to compete with. 

So I went on to Google and found a Trooper art I liked and had it printed on a shirt! 

Credits to the owner of course :) 

Paul liked it so he had one made for himself too! 

I love the print - it's really nice and thick :) 

Thanks 1 Seventeen Degrees! 

They're on Facebook and Instagram! 

@1seventeedegrees