Monday, November 12, 2007

Return of the Jedi - Shield Generator Bunker

Lorne Peterson called the Shield Generator Bunker model as ' Seat-of-your-pants model making at it's finest' in his book Sculpting a Galaxy. But it's hard to show just how cheap these models were until you see photo's of the actual props. Made from drinking cups stacked together, some Airfix 1/144 Apollo Saturn V parts and topped with some stacked medicine cups.

The Airfix 1/144 Apollo Saturn V was one of the most used kits for parts in the original Star Wars trilogy and was also used on Battlestar Galactica widely. On TV shows and films like Space 1999, Blake's 7, Space Academy, Jason of Star Command, Battle Beyond the Stars, Starcrash the kit was used on various miniatures.

The way the background seems to recede of into the distance but with a curve always made me think that this whole thing went full circle like a huge magnetic coil or something, something powerful enough to create a shield around the Death Star being constructed in orbit above the planet Endor.
They must be very eco friendly though the Empire because up above they haven't disturbed the forest to build this huge generator, or where they've build the landing pad or the actual radar transmitter, you'd think the Empire would just level the place but they've left all the trees and shrubs where they were, unless they had a team of Stormtroopers go back in with Charlie Dimmock and re-plant them all.

2 comments:

Moonwatcher said...

So that's why the workers could never find any cups at the water machine at ILM. :)

Fraser Lovatt said...

Great post! You've changed the way I'll view that scene forever. Plus like the idea of the Empire cleaning up the mess. Perhaps it was the only way they could get planning permission?

I guess there will always be recycling in special effects - even now with David Fincher re-using Leonardo Decaprio's digital breath in Fight Club.

F