Dynamic Subspace

Tag: Star Wars

  • Rogue One Is The Most Real Star Wars Film

    While Rogue One (2016) comes in second to my love of The Empire Strikes Back (1980), the former film is more real in terms of foregrounding real people who want to fight back against the oppression of the Empire at all costs. The characters realize the stakes are high, but they fight on anyways. There is minimal space wizardry and instead people working together to support each other in the face of overwhelming odds.

    Rogue One also signaled an inclusive-focused shift in Star Wars storytelling–a long needed correction to the franchise. Hopefully this trend will continue both in front of and behind the camera. And, with the new Andor (2022-) series, this corner of the Star Wars universe has new stories unfolding.

    While Rogue One is far from perfect, it does a lot of things perfectly. One aspect of its perfection that’s important to me are its merchandising with LEGO. It had a large number of sets, which LEGO mercilessly divided main character minifigures between (as it did for The Hobbit, too). Nevertheless, the overall design of the U-Wing Fighter, Krennic’s Imperial Shuttle, Battle on Scarif (above), and AT-ST (which I currently have on my desk). These sets tied into the imaginative world of the film quite well and I certainly enjoyed building them.

  • Master Replica’s Anakin Skywalker Lightsaber

    Years ago, I picked up a custom Graflex 3-cell Luke Skywalker/Anakin Skywalker lightsaber similar to this one from Galactic Quest Comics in Lawrenceville, Georgia. I was very proud of it and I wore it on my belt far more often than an adult should be allowed to.

    Then, in 2006, my folks gave me the Master Replicas (MR) Anakin Skywalker lightsaber shown above as my Georgia Tech graduation present. It feels like a solid piece of steel or an alloy–heavier than aluminum. It is certainly heavier than the mostly hollow Graflex flash handle (sans batteries). Also, it doesn’t have a belt clip, but given its weight, it would not be practical to have this dangerously heavy lightsaber reproduction hang for your belt during anything more than standing still.

    The MR lightsaber is designed for display, and it performs well in that function. The mirrored base illuminates the lightsaber with reflected ambient light. The plastic cover keeps out the dust. The shiny surface of the MR lightsaber attracts grease, fingerprints, and dust, so it’s best to keep a lint-free cloth or gloves nearby for picking it up.

    Even sitting there on the shelf, the MR lightsaber inspires imaginative adventures as a Jedi defending the Republic, righting wrongs, and fighting for justice.

  • LEGO Death Star 10188 Is a Storytelling Nexus Spanning A New Hope and Return of the Jedi

    I originally built the LEGO Death Star set over some days after moving back to Atlanta for the Brittain Fellowship at Georgia Tech. Of all the LEGO sets that I’ve assembled over the years, I think this one brought me the most joy. It encapsulates major scenes from both Star Wars (1977) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and it does so in a compact, three-dimensional narrative form of haptic play. The Death Star playset permits playful time travel as minifigures are moved from space to space, interrupting the narrative in unexpected and interesting ways. It invites remixing and transformation in its solidly constructed spherical platform. The set juxtaposes before and later

    After moving to Brooklyn two years later to begin my job at City Tech, I brought it to my office (very carefully in a large carry bag), but it didn’t seem as interesting or inviting to students who dropped by during my office hours so I brought it back home at the end of the semester. I eventually sold it on Craigslist to free up space for other projects, because unfortunately, it did take up a lot of room!

    Below are wide shots of the Death Star.

    Below are close-up shots of the individual scenes.

  • LEGO 75212 Kessel Run Millennium Falcon on Custom Display Stand

    LEGO Kessel Run Millennium Falcon on display stand.

    This is a lightweight custom display stand for a stock LEGO 75212 Kessel Run Millennium Falcon from the underrated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Like the stand that I built for my heavier modified Falcon discussed here, it provides an angle upward and a swoop to the left. The landing gear lock into place on the stand and are held in place by gravity.

    I hope there will be more Han Solo and Lando Calrissian adventures with Alden Ehrenreich and Donald Glover. I don’t think he and the rest of the cast of Solo got a fair shake due to the behind-the-scenes production turmoil. Let’s keep the dream alive!

  • LEGO MOC Return of the Jedi Scene of the Desert Skiff (9496) at the Sarlacc Pit

    Desert Skiff rescue scene from Return of the Jedi created with LEGO.

    Following some of my recent LEGO MOC and MOD posts here, here, and here, this LEGO scene of the Desert Skiff rescue above the Sarlacc Pit from Return of the Jedi (1983) is another pre-pandemic build of mine. The desert skiff is an unmodified 9496 set from LEGO. However, I added more minifigures (Han and Chewbacca), and I recreated the scene as it roughly appears in the film when Lando Calrissian falls overboard with one of Jabba’s henchmen who is devoured by the Sarlacc. The base of the build is the high walls of sand surrounding the Sarlacc’s maw with a toothed opening and digestive tract beneath the sand full of bones and skulls of its past meals.

    Two wooden shelves of LEGO sets from LOTR, Avengers, and Star Wars.

    Before building this version of the scene, I had constructed a wider base and used the Sarlacc Pit monster build that came with 9496 as shown on the top shelf in the photo above. Also, Lando was holding onto the Desert Skiff by a whip instead of a chain, which I used on the newer diorama shown in more detail below. Pity the poor bastards who get slowly digested over a thousand years–that is, until Boba Fett took care of the buried beast!

    I’ll note that when I was a kid, the Power of the Force Tatooine Skiff by Kenner was one of my favorite vehicles next to the Millennium Falcon, not only because it had a lot of playability and features packed into but also because I recognized the engineering and craftsmanship that went into its design, including retractable skids, extending/dropping plank, and a sideboard action figure launcher.