The Star Wars Miniland exhibit at Legoland California opened this week. If you live too far away to see it in person, make sure to check out the live webcam they've set up at the Model Shop. I guess if I lived in L.A., I'd drop by to check it out, being an AFoL (Adult Fan of Lego), but it doesn't look like there's anything on exhibit that can't be captured in a few snapshots.
To that end, I dug up an awesome Flickr gallery of photos of the exhibit taken by Amy Ratcliffe of Geek with Curves.
As described by the Legoland Site: Guests can enjoy seven of the most famous scenes from the six live-action Star Wars movies, as well as a scene from the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars™ all made out of 1.5 million LEGO® bricks built in 1:20 scale. Guests will be further immersed into the Star Wars experience as they pose with life-size LEGO models of Chewbacca, R2-D2 and Darth Vader.
Following a chronological path through the Star Wars timeline, LEGOLAND guests retrace the major events of the beloved Saga. Some of the 2,000 LEGO models will be more than 6-feet-tall. Interactive buttons will allow children to activate animations throughout the scenes.
How the LEGO models are created: The roughly 2,000 LEGO Star Wars models are being developed and built by eight model designers and two animation electricians at our sister park, LEGOLAND Deutschland in Günzburg, Germany. It is up to the Master Model Builders at LEGOLAND California to bring the scenes to life with the help of animation electricians, technicians and landscapers all working to ensure the LEGO models appear as realistic as possible with special effects and landscaping.
Planning started in March 2010. The individual film scenes were selected after careful consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd. Pictures and drawings of the figures, spacecraft, vehicles, landscapes, etc. were taken as the basis for the detailed construction blueprints. The model designers used a special LEGO drawing paper for this, on which one square is equivalent to one LEGO knob. In the next step, they calculated how many bricks and which colors and forms would be needed for the models. For particularly difficult model parts, prototypes are first built, before the model is constructed brick by brick. To help the LEGO models last longer, all of the bricks are glued together and then sprayed with a special UV coating.
Authentic Star Wars sounds, actions and lighting effects help to make the models even more lifelike. For all models, only commercially available LEGO pieces are used.
LEGOLAND Deutschland and LEGOLAND Billund will also be opening new Star Wars Miniland displays in 2011.
EDIT: The OCWeekly has posted a slideshow of the exhibits worth taking a look at. They also reveal some of the details behind the effort involved in building the displays. Apparently, it too over 1.5 million bricks to build all of the scenes. To give you a sense of scale, the "Turbo Tank," the forerunner of the AT-AT seen on Kashyyyk, is over three feet tall.
Episode I: Naboo Miniland
Naboo is one of the most geographically varied planets in the Star Wars galaxy. This scene depicts the Battle of Naboo and the capital Theed – both the Royal Palace and the hangar can be seen here. In this battle scene, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn encounter and fight the Sith apprentice, Darth Maul. Look closely at the details of this scene, but not so close that you may be pulled to the dark side!
Episode II: Geonosis Miniland
In this scene, visitors have a fantastic view of the Geonosis arena, in which Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker battle ferocious creatures. Witness the clash between Count Dooku’s droid army and the Grand Army of the Republic.
Episode III: Kashyyyk and Mustafar
In this scene, two planets are revealed: Kashyyyk and Mustafar. On one side, you'll be placed right into the Battle of Kashyyyk – the home of Chewbacca and the Wookiees. Here you'll discover fantastic vehicles modeled from LEGO bricks, such as the massive Clone Turbo Tank. On the other side, catch a glimpse of the fateful duel on Mustafar between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
Episode IV: Tatooine Miniland
Luke Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi, C-3PO and R2-D2 can be spotted in this desert planet...introducing Tatooine. Here you'll discover Uncle Owen’s moisture farm, where Luke Skywalker lived as a child; peek inside the Cantina where the animated Cantina Band plays and stand above the spaceport where the largest LEGO model of Han Solo's famous starship, the Millennium Falcon, sits ready for take-off.
Episode V: Hoth Miniland
Episode VI: Endor
Next we travel to a forest moon and home of the Ewoks, who fight against the Imperial Forces alongside the Rebels…Endor. The Endor system plays a key role in Return of the Jedi as the site of the Battle of Endor, fought to prevent construction of the second Death Star. This scene presents the final victory of the Rebel Alliance over the Empire. Here you can view a large-scale model of an Imperial shuttle on its landing platform, delivering a fearsome passenger – the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader.
For more information follow the Legoland California official Twitter account or browse Flickr for more photos.
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