Hi all! In my introduction I mentioned a YouTube of a Star Wars fan film that I animated on Super-8 film when I was in middle school. There has since been a couple of requests for a link to that YouTube so I thought I would start a new thread here where I would include the link and talk about some of the cardboard model and set builds that I did for the short film.
The story takes place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. I started filming it in Grade 9 and would work on it over the next 3 years (between school homework and the job I had at the time) taking time to build the necessary ships and sets.
In the film you will see, amongst my sizeable action figure and toy collection, a few cardboard builds.
The Millennium Falcon: This was built based on the popular Kenner toy with a thin wood base for structure. Like the toy, it had removable panels to allow play inside the ship. The main hold had seating for action figures by a space-chess board and a laser turret. Entry into the hold was from the external boarding ramp. The cockpit canopy was also removable to allow Han Solo and Chewbacca to sit at the control panel. There was a motor inside that turned the radar dish and retracted a cable to load cargo aboard. The landing gear were removable with the single forward gear being velcro‘d in so it could double as a handle for when the ship needed to be flown throughout our house.
The X-Wing: Much like the Kenner toy, this ship fit an action figure in the cockpit. The wings also opened and closed but instead of pushing on R2’s head, there was a dial on the top that would be turned to allow the wings to be gradually opened to facilitate animation easier. The forward landing gear could be pulled down and locked into place.
The Death Star Playset: This playset was based on the Palitoy playset and was largely wood based for better stability. This version of the playset had an elevator at the core that led to a walkway that looked over the hangar bay and in turn would lead to the control room on the right or to a door on the left where a bridge could be extended over a chasm. There was also a jail cell, a trash compactor and a laser turret at the top. This playset served as the Imperial Base on Quarryn, the rebel ”cave” base and as internal areas of The Executor where the mysterious jedi Vankin would battle Darth Vader.
The “Plus Sized” Rebel Blockade Runner: This build resembled the Tantive IV but featured a set of battery lit hangar bays where the cockpit would be on a normal sized Runner and a bridge on top of the ship where the laser turret would normally be. I built a set for the bridge that seated ‘Commander Wooof” in a captain’s chair and a couple of subordinates to man the forward control stations. There was also an elevator where the Jedi Dan Kabryll would make an appearance as well as several coloured display screens.
The Imperial Shuttle: I built only the cockpit portion for the purpose of the film which had a ramp to simulate entry into the vehicle. The cockpit was also built to seat two pilots. The rear portion of the vehicle was represented with just a facade.
The Executor Hangar: There were two builds for this. The first was rather rudimentary but the second was a little more elaborate and built so that it could sit on a chair that was slid towards the camera with the Imperial Shuttle model hanging over it.
The Executor: This was an art project that I received marks for. It was built up with cardboard for the hull and styrofoam for the top structure. An unexpected effect was achieved when the model was spray painted as I didn’t realize styrofoam would essentially dissolve when spray painted. The side structure was made up with many, many toothpicks.
The Tie Fighter: This was a rudimentary build where a plastic ball made in my industrial arts class was used as the cockpit and the wing supports were merely toilet paper rolls.
The AT-ST: Another rudimentary build since it was to be in an explosion scene. The neck was glued together with a firecracker and the head was filled with flour to make a big mess when the firecracker was lit.
There were a few other minor builds for the film as well as some backdrops. The whole project provided for some fun for myself and a few friends in our youth.
The story takes place between the events of The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi. I started filming it in Grade 9 and would work on it over the next 3 years (between school homework and the job I had at the time) taking time to build the necessary ships and sets.
In the film you will see, amongst my sizeable action figure and toy collection, a few cardboard builds.
The Millennium Falcon: This was built based on the popular Kenner toy with a thin wood base for structure. Like the toy, it had removable panels to allow play inside the ship. The main hold had seating for action figures by a space-chess board and a laser turret. Entry into the hold was from the external boarding ramp. The cockpit canopy was also removable to allow Han Solo and Chewbacca to sit at the control panel. There was a motor inside that turned the radar dish and retracted a cable to load cargo aboard. The landing gear were removable with the single forward gear being velcro‘d in so it could double as a handle for when the ship needed to be flown throughout our house.
The X-Wing: Much like the Kenner toy, this ship fit an action figure in the cockpit. The wings also opened and closed but instead of pushing on R2’s head, there was a dial on the top that would be turned to allow the wings to be gradually opened to facilitate animation easier. The forward landing gear could be pulled down and locked into place.
The Death Star Playset: This playset was based on the Palitoy playset and was largely wood based for better stability. This version of the playset had an elevator at the core that led to a walkway that looked over the hangar bay and in turn would lead to the control room on the right or to a door on the left where a bridge could be extended over a chasm. There was also a jail cell, a trash compactor and a laser turret at the top. This playset served as the Imperial Base on Quarryn, the rebel ”cave” base and as internal areas of The Executor where the mysterious jedi Vankin would battle Darth Vader.
The “Plus Sized” Rebel Blockade Runner: This build resembled the Tantive IV but featured a set of battery lit hangar bays where the cockpit would be on a normal sized Runner and a bridge on top of the ship where the laser turret would normally be. I built a set for the bridge that seated ‘Commander Wooof” in a captain’s chair and a couple of subordinates to man the forward control stations. There was also an elevator where the Jedi Dan Kabryll would make an appearance as well as several coloured display screens.
The Imperial Shuttle: I built only the cockpit portion for the purpose of the film which had a ramp to simulate entry into the vehicle. The cockpit was also built to seat two pilots. The rear portion of the vehicle was represented with just a facade.
The Executor Hangar: There were two builds for this. The first was rather rudimentary but the second was a little more elaborate and built so that it could sit on a chair that was slid towards the camera with the Imperial Shuttle model hanging over it.
The Executor: This was an art project that I received marks for. It was built up with cardboard for the hull and styrofoam for the top structure. An unexpected effect was achieved when the model was spray painted as I didn’t realize styrofoam would essentially dissolve when spray painted. The side structure was made up with many, many toothpicks.
The Tie Fighter: This was a rudimentary build where a plastic ball made in my industrial arts class was used as the cockpit and the wing supports were merely toilet paper rolls.
The AT-ST: Another rudimentary build since it was to be in an explosion scene. The neck was glued together with a firecracker and the head was filled with flour to make a big mess when the firecracker was lit.
There were a few other minor builds for the film as well as some backdrops. The whole project provided for some fun for myself and a few friends in our youth.
