Let me begin by saying that I am really excited about today’s post. For the letter “E” in my LEGO-fied A-to-Z challenge, I have chosen to do Episode I: The Phantom Menace from Star Wars. Of all of the LEGO-fied posters I will be sharing with you this month, today’s was one of the hardest to make. It actually took me days of work with all the photo shoots and editing involved. I also had to buy a set to get some of the Minifigures (Battle on Naboo, click here to read the review), and I had to special order Queen Amidala since she only ever came in one set that has been long since retired. But, the end product is something that I am quite proud of, and I can’t wait to share it with you all.
So, why did I go through all of this trouble to make an Episode I poster? Well, for starters, I really like Star Wars. I know a lot of people hate on the prequel trilogy, but I enjoyed it. Episode I also holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. First off, it debuted the character of Darth Maul, who happens to be my all time favorite Star Wars character. But, I have fond memories of seeing this movie when it hit theatres back in ’99 as well. It was nearing the end of my senior year in high school. I had recently gotten my driver’s license and my first car. My friends and I skipped school so that we could make it to the first showing of the day. We went to classes in the morning, and then slipped out at lunch to get burgers and see the movie. The anticipation that morning was palpable. I was generally a good student, and wasn’t known for skipping or breaking the rules, so when my teachers asked me for a note from my parents to explain my absence, saying I had forgotten to get one was explanation enough.
This LEGO-fied poster features seven Minifigures, and an R2-D2 droid figure. The LEGO Star Wars connoisseur will probably note that my Anakin Skywalker and Jar Jar Binks are not exact. I don’t actually have either Minifigure. The Gungan I used in place of Jar Jar is the one that came in the 2012 LEGO Star Wars advent calendar. I made my own Anakin using various Minifigure parts, and a Luke Skywalker torso. After buying a set for Qui-Gon Jinn, padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul, and then special ordering Queen Amidala, I decided that I had spent enough money on this poster. You can also see from the image below that I did not use C-3PO in my poster. I used the U-3PO minifigure from the 2016 advent calendar. I chose to do this because C-3PO does not have his gold covering in Episode I, and looks more silver on the original poster with all of his internal parts showing. U-3PO fit the part better in my opinion. The ship you see on the poster is set 7961, Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator. All the characters were photographed individually, and then I had to learn how to use Photoshop in many new ways to do the rest.
As always, I would love to hear your Epsiode I tales, or your thoughts in general, in the comments below. This post was made as part of the April A-to-Z blogging challenge, you can click here to visit the official website for more information.
Until next time!
-Tom
I have fond memories of when Episode One came out as well. I think my mood at the time, and the mood among my circle of friends, was: “Yes! Finally!”
I love this one, Tom. It is great to hear tales of love for episode 1. As someone who saw Star Wars (in those days there was only one) at the cinema for his 9th birthday, I can appreciate way that attending the film can elicit experiential memories that last for years. I was disappointed that I didn’t get the same feeling from episode I, but by this stage I was 30… and no longer in the same head space. I am glad to hear you didn’t spend extra money to get Jar Jar…
Photoshop mastered, you have! Beautifully rendered, it is!
Do or do not, there is no try, right?
This is really nicely done! Well worth the time and effort you put into it.
Jar Jar lego? Love it. Love Star Wars too, and my youngest son is hooked. He loves Darth Maul and Darth Vader. I not sure if I should be concerned about his love of the dark side characters, haha. Anyway, great post thanks for sharing.
Letter E: https://writingiscommunication.wordpress.com/2018/04/05/eye-opener-the-space-between-bookstore-presented-by-a-to-z-100-word-stories/
LOL – It’s ok, I like the dark side characters too, and I am mostly normal 🙂
Tom,
I found you on the A2Z link up today and decided to pop over for a peek. The Lego Movie doesn’t inspire me but if I had young kids still then perhaps yeah. 🙂 I certainly need to do some backtracking to breeze over your other entries for this challenge. Maybe, if you find the time you can visit me. Happy A2Zing!
Curious as a Cathy
A2Z Creating iPad Art Sketches “E” – Eyes