Luke has been a film fan since first seeing Jurassic Park at the Odeon in Ipswich, UK back in ’93. The Odeon is gone but the doughy-eyed sense of idealism remains.

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December 1, 2016
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In the recent Local Trouble podcast, I promised I’d upload some of the pictures taken at the recent Star wars Identities exhibition at the 02.

The opportunity to see original Ralph McQuarrie paintings along with props, costumes and models was too good to turn down. Local Trouble co-host James Taylor and I chatted about this recently and some pictures below were some of our personal highlights.

Many of the costumes looked quite different up close compared to on-camera. The ANH stormtrooper helment (top right) was far more' homespun' in appearance than you'd expect
Many of the costumes looked quite different up close compared to on-camera. The ANH stormtrooper helmet (top right) was far more’ homespun’ in appearance than you’d expect

 

millennium falcon model from empire strikes back
As you’d expect, many of the ship models were simply stunning. This Millennium Falcon from Empire Strikes Back was a standout

 

princess leia metal bikini costume from return of the jedi
The slave/dancing girl costume isn’t particularly figure-hugging. You can understand what Carrie Fisher meant when she said “Boba Fett could see all the way to Florida”

 

jabba the hutt eyeballs return of the jedi
Poor old Jabba. The story has passed into legend, but it was unceremoniously destroyed after the making of Return of the Jedi. All that remains are these (very mesmerising) eyeballs

 

emperor star wars concept art
This concept art by Ralph McQuarrie from Empire Strikes back floated the idea of having the Emperor appear to Vader as a beautiful woman.

 

plo koon jedi costume
Definitely in my top 5 prequel Jedi – Plo Koon (right)

 

yoda puppet from phantom menace
This Yoda puppet was used in Phantom Menace

 

"He's no good to me dead" - the original prop from Empire Strikes Back
“He’s no good to me dead” – the original prop from Empire Strikes Back

 

dud bolt podracer
Always good to remember there were more puppets than you might think in the Phantom Menace. This is top podracer Dud Bolt

This is only a small sample of what was on show at Star Wars Identities at the 02 in London. Despite the slight issues with the audio tour we mentioned in the podcast, the experience was unforgettable. I’ve been to a few similar exhibitions in the past, such as ‘The Art of Star Wars’ which ran in 2000 – but it never gets old. The show is running until 3rd September 2017, so there’s plenty of time to get a ticket and make the trip.

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