Death Star Welding Robot Miniature 02 | STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)

Sold Stock #36658 | Sold Feb 14 2015

STAR WARS: RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)

Death Star Welding Robot Miniature 02

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Our expert's notes

This is an original Death Star welding droid model created for the production of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Two welding droids were built in the model shop at Industrial Light and Magic, to be used for Jedi’s VFX shot number OP 11. In the shot, Vader’s shuttle arrives in the waistband of the under-construction Death Star. The welding droids were storyboarded as an element in the top of the shot, and were constructed based on this storyboard. They were not ultimately used in the shot due to time and budget concerns about completing the film. It is possible they were filmed as an element at some point, but never composited into the final shot.
This model miniature was scratch-built in the model shop alongside all of the models built for ROJ. One of the basic shapes of the piece is actually a Biker Scout helmet miniature turned on its side. The miniature Scout helmet would have been made for the puppet version of the character that rode atop a miniature Speeder Bike. The detail greeblies on the piece are also kit-bashed from other sources. The model is attached to an aluminum rod to allow it to be mounted for filming, and the section of the rod nearest to the model has been blacked out to allow it to be removed during optical compositing. The rods, measuring 9 inches (29cm) in length, have not been cut down – rather a custom display base has been made to accommodate their size. The model remains in good condition.
Size

Item size: 5" × 5" × 16" (12.7cm × 12.7cm × 40.64cm)

This item comes with a Propstore Certificate of Authenticity

This item is located in London.

This item is located in Los Angeles.