GOLD AND SILVER MODEL DROIDS CELEBRATE 35 YEARS OF STAR WARS

SMN report:

Coming up soon is the 35th anniversary of Star Wars Episiode IV: A New Hope, the first movie in the epic science-fiction movie saga, first shown on May 25, 1977. We’ve been fans ever since experiencing that mighty roar of an Imperial Star Destroyer sliding down the screen after the text-crawl intro, one of the best movie-openers ever made. Now here’s your chance to buy a bit of history, in the form of precious-metal miniatures of the famed robotic pair, 3PO and R2D2.

Droids ahead

Over the years there have been hundreds (if not thousands) or kits and collectibles, toys and trivia, all celebrating the famed science-fiction series. And two of the best-known names from Star Wars are the the two robots or droids: the tall, golden C3PO and the tubby little R2D2.

Display dome

The movie’s maker, Lucasfilms, has licensed the collectible to end all collectibles - a pair of 1:35 scale miniature droids, one coated in gold, the other silver. And each is placed inside its own glass display dome, for an excellent dust-proof presentation.

Cost considerations

These droids are hardly cheap, as they are designed to be a highly limited pair - scale: 1:35, weight: 35 gr (1.2 oz), edition: 35. It’s a pity the prices don’t more nearly match those numbers though, as the silver R2D2 costs some $1800 USD, the gold C3PO more than triple that, at $6000 USD.

Summation

These look a terrific little pair of collectibles, and we love the military model scale, but the price means they won’t arrive for decoration-duty in SMN Towers. A pity - still, at least we’ve left the way open for a hard-core Star Wars fan who wants to complete a collection.

Star Wars kits and collectibles here.

There’s more

SMN is a screen-only read, yet the desktop computer itself dates back only to that first Star Wars year, for the Apple II and Commodore PET computers (below) were both launched in 1977. They were state of the art machines, yet had small mono screens and no mouse, for the plastic rodent wasn’t yet a part of the mainstream computing landscape.

DESIGNER ADDS A CRUTCHBOT TO THE ROBOT HORDES

Science fiction fans generally have something of a love affair with robots. Whether they are small and helpful (R2D2), tall and shiny (C3PO), or deadly enemies (Transformer Decepticons), there seems to be just ‘something’ about a mechanical man that appeals, even more so if it’s a dangerous clockwork killer. And in Texas, designer-photographer Adam Voorhes has joined in robomania with the damaged machine-man shown above (top), its mobility-aid an old-fashioned wooden crutch under the arm. Adam’s even given a title to his creation: ‘Something seems to be missing’...

Japan is ground-zero for robotics, both real and fictional, and robo-culture there is sometimes obsessed with them. Magazines such as the excellent Hobby Japan run big features, and Euro-comics such as the UK’s 2000AD run strips based on robo-themes. The diorama here shows an excellent ABC Warrior from the strip of the same name, wreaking havoc while on display at a model show.

We recently reported on the T700 robot to 1:18 scale which came with the Terminator Hunter-Killer robo-flyer. But of course the small-scale T700 is just one of a seemingly endless horde of robots on sale, any of which would look great in a sci-fi based diorama. Some of the bigger ones are on offer at massive post-Christmas discounts, so it’s worth hunting around to see what’s available, meantime the T800 endoskeleton (bottom pic) is generally available in stores and online.

Visit Adam Voorhes here.

Terminator robots are available here.

And you can see more robots here.