Hero X-Wing

Lucasfilm sent an assortment of Star Wars props and models on a national tour several times. Fortunately, they did not restrict photography. As a huge Star Wars fan (the original movie came out when I was a freshman in high school and it had a significant impact on my life), the chance to see these models up close was a thrill. The modelmakers at Industrial Light & Magic were wizards in plastic and wood. They took a huge pile of plastic model parts and wood and created spectacularly-detailed miniatures that, if you didn't know were part of a fantasy world, look completely realistic. When you see them this close, you realize the passion involved. There are detail parts and paint in places that would never be seen on film, yet they are there. There is something intangible, a "feel" if you will, in these models that is completely missing in modern CGI. This is what's called a "Hero Model." In other words, it's a super-detailed model that's intended to be filmed up close as the "star" of a scene. Other models that will be used in distance shots or the background of a shot will not have this level of detail. The X-Wing (if you want to be nerdly correct, it's an Incom T-65 X-Wing Fighter) is probably my favorite of all movie starships. Olympus E-1, Zuiko 14-54mm