Have you ever wondered how to build your own Death Star? What about a Millennium Falcon? Have you grown tired of fixing your own car and need to fashion an Astromech droid to help with repairs? All right, so maybe you're not as big of a nerd as some of us "Star Wars" fans out there. However, Lucasfilm and Epic Ink Books believe there are at least 5,000 English language fanatics out there who are at least interested in owning a rare copy of the new book "Star Wars: The Blueprints."
"Star Wars: The Blueprints" displays the designs and concepts behind the legendary settings, robots, creatures, and spaceships of George Lucas's epic space saga. This book includes highly detailed drawings of iconic locations like the Tatooine Cantina, Yoda's House, Jabba's Throne Room, and many more. It also features technical illustrations of vehicles like the TIE Fighter, a Speeder Bike, Jabba's Sail Barge, Anakin's Podracer, and others.
The book was compiled from decades of material stored in the Lucasfilm Archives. It includes detailed commentary from best-selling author and Lucasfilm executive editor J.W. Rinzler ("The Making of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "The Complete Making of Indiana Jones"). A panel made up of Academy Award-winning visual effects artists Dennis Muren (Industrial Light and Magic -- visual effects supervisor original trilogy), John Knoll (Visual Effects supervisor on the "Star Wars" prequels and 1997 special editions original trilogy), and Lorne Peterson (Industrial Light and Magic model-maker) chose the 200 images used in the book.
Consumer reviews for "Star Wars: The Blueprints" have been very positive. K. Dolen reported, "Superbly presented in an incomprehensibly large book, the blueprints are a fantastic look at how the sets were designed and constructed." George B. stated, "If you can afford this book, buy it. In every possible way this is a work of art ... the kind of book you'll show off to your friends and neighbors, and leaf through with a look of amazement." Mat H. declared, "This book is a marvel. Blueprints are superb. Accompanying text and pictures are first rate. This is a must-have for all 'Star Wars' fans."
K. Dolen voiced the only complaints. He said "not all of the blueprints have measurements on them" and "obviously, with the CG fest the prequels were, there's not much there to be covered - only an eighth of the book." He still said, "Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Absolutely; it's stunning."
"Blueprints" comes in a custom-dyed cloth material case that is individually handcrafted, assembled, and inspected. It has debossed foil stamping detail on the spine and cover. The case is 19 inches wide by 2.625 inches deep by 22.125 inches tall.
The actual book is 336 pages long and includes 10 gatefolds. It includes more than 250 featured blueprints; more than 500 photographs and illustrations; and over 70,000 words. The title page is hand-numbered. It's printed on 200gsm matte paper with a varnish seal and measures 15.5 inches wide by 18.5 inches tall. The complete package weighs over 30 pounds.
You can get "Star Wars: The Blueprints" in two different packages. The first one retails for around $500.00 and is hand-numbered. The second choice is an autographed and hand-numbered copy, of which there were only 40 left when last checked. The three surviving Academy Award-winners who shared the 1978 Oscar for Best Art Direction autographed each book. They include art director Norman Reynolds, art director Les Dilley, and set dresser Roger Christian. There were only 125 of these books made, and they cost $1,000.00 apiece.
For more articles by Eric Shirey, check out:
Voice Actor Dee Bradley Baker Talks About Being the Clones of 'Star Wars'
'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Cast Talk Favorite Characters and Plans for the Series Finale
Actor Clancy Brown Talks About Voicing Savage Opress for 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars'
Eric Shirey is the founder and former editor of Rondo Award nominated movie news websites MovieGeekFeed.com and TheSpectralRealm.com. His work has been featured on Yahoo!, DC Comics, StarWars.com, and other entertainment websites. Eric has interviewed and worked with actors like Harrison Ford, Brooke Shields, Gerard Butler, Brendan Fraser, Selena Gomez, and many more.
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