This lot will be auctioned on Tuesday, November 9th. The auction will begin at 3:00pm GMT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on November 10th or November 11th.

A light-up Industrial Light and Magic X-wing filming miniature from the production of Richard Marquand's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. Rebel fighters flew X-wings - among the most iconic spacecraft in sci-fi cinema - during the climactic destruction of the new Death Star.

To save money and time during the productions of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, ILM bought in a handful of off-the-shelf model kits, which were heavily adapted and modified for filming. This miniature has been extensively modified to include: a weighted body; a full internal steel motion-control armature, with a motion-control mounting point running through the body; a rear main engine plate (concealing a removable plug); and light-up thrusters. It is finished with beautiful ILM paintwork and intentional distressing.

The light-up engine thrusters are built with an aluminium shroud housing each light, and are illuminated by connecting the power leads in the nose of the miniature to a power supply. Interestingly, the top of the wings are designated "Red 4", while the lower wings are designated "Red 5", indicating this could have originally been designed for long shots of Luke's (Mark Hamill) X-wing.

This miniature is believed to be the only model miniature X-wing with light-up engines ever to come to auction. Very few miniatures from the Star Wars series come to market and are therefore very rare. This model was acquired from an ILM model maker who worked on both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, as well as all three original Indiana Jones films, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and a number of the Star Trek movies.

This miniature was specifically used in Return of the Jedi, as all X-wings in A New Hope were scratch built, rather than built with kits. There were very few X-wings in The Empire Strikes Back, and those which were used had a slightly different paintwork and finish. In addition, the style, tones and colours of the paintwork and construction of this X-wing match other Return of the Jedi versions in the Lucasfilm Archive.

The miniature is mounted on a custom-built, mirrored base and presents in excellent condition having undergone some minor sympathetic restoration. Dimensions (displayed): 31 cm x 27 cm x 23 cm (12¼" x 10¾" x 9")

Contains electronics; see electronics notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Estimate: £200,000 - 300,000 M

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