ILM BEHIND THE SCENES: WIBBLY-WOBBLY WALKER!

Paul Huston and the model team prepare to bring down a soon wobbly AT-ST 'Chicken' Walker on a special miniature set situated outside of ILM in late 1982, for the memorable concluding Ewok battle of Return of the Jedi.

Retro feature on the Original Trilogy:

https://videoandfilmmaker.com/wp/index.php/features/a-look-back-at-star-wars-old-school-vfx/

Modelmaker Easy Owyeung on the challenges of working on the Trilogy:

https://vimeo.com/222299458

CLASSIC ART: MACHINE VERSUS EWOK!

A brave Ewok flees pursuit from two lethal blaster cannon wielding AT-ST 'Chicken' Walkers in this great concept art by Joe Johnston for Return of the Jedi circa 1981, where the brave furry heroes of the Endor forest moon were finally visually locked into as being Teddy Bear-like creatures. But Teddy Bears who could formidably crack Imperial Stormtrooper skulls open when they needed to!

Their popularity may have changed with the seasons across 35 years but Star Wars legendary composer John Williams and The London Symphony Orchestra gave the little critters a suitably grand, lovably rumbustious and inspiring main theme in Parade of the Ewoks, one of the main tracks of the original 1983 soundtrack album for Return of the Jedi that's now getting a well deserved remastering and re-release via Walt Disney Records, along with the rest of the Classic and Prequel Trilogies. Each CD comes at a nice price, and with a collectible mini-poster.

Get it here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Star-Wars-Return-John-Williams/dp/B075VNJCQ2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1528651771&sr=8-1&keywords=return+of+the+jedi+cd

CLASSIC ART: SCOUT WALKER ATTACK!

A sequence that would have been terrific had it ever have been conceived and realised for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK- as AT-ST Chicken Walkers break through the Rebel defensive line on Hoth in this fantastic, action-packed art pin-up by iconic illustrator Michael Golden for MARVEL, from the early eighties. The Chicken Walker, designed by Joe Johnston, ultimately appeared in just two scenes of the finished film's snow battle-a quick addition to the ambitious sequences of The Battle of Hoth as it neared completion in ILM post production. A planned third completed scene for the mechanical beast in the film ultimately wasn't used, due a problem with the backdrop (it's a pity that the 2010 Rinzler Making of book couldn't at least have showed a frame from that deleted sequence, or had it on the Blu-ray release as an Easter Egg-another wasted opportunity), though the vehicle would make a more prominent and spectacular appearance in the finale battle of RETURN OF THE JEDI.