StarWars.com: I think I speak for all LEGO Star Wars fans when I say, Finally! Tell us about why this was the right time for a big, accurate Mos Eisley Cantina set.
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: The Mos Eisley cantina scene is something special to most Star Wars fans but also for us at the LEGO Group. That’s why we have made it into LEGO sets several times; however, these sets have all been smaller models. The idea of creating a big, super-detailed version has been a dream for many years! We knew that a set like this would require a lot of minifigures — several of them with new molded heads. This time around we had the opportunity to make these, and then create the best set we could imagine, with most of the cool iconic aliens included as LEGO minifigures.
StarWars.com: The expansiveness of the set is incredible, from Han and Greedo and their booth, to the Dewback pen outside. What was the research and design process like?
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: We have, of course, watched the movie sequence of the cantina over and over again. We have also collected all the photographic reference we could, from Lucasfilm Licensing, books, and more.
We decided from the beginning that we wanted to create a model with a super-detailed interior. It should be possible to recreate all the scenes from the movie with it! That wasn’t enough, though. We wanted the model to look accurate and very detailed on the outside, also. We believe we succeeded there by adding the Dewback, the Jawa junk shop, and all the other smaller details. All this was included to give the LEGO model the very special atmosphere in and around the Mos Eisley cantina as seen in Star Wars: A New Hope.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
StarWars.com: I think I speak for all LEGO Star Wars fans when I say, Finally! Tell us about why this was the right time for a big, accurate Mos Eisley Cantina set.
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: The Mos Eisley cantina scene is something special to most Star Wars fans but also for us at the LEGO Group. That’s why we have made it into LEGO sets several times; however, these sets have all been smaller models. The idea of creating a big, super-detailed version has been a dream for many years! We knew that a set like this would require a lot of minifigures — several of them with new molded heads. This time around we had the opportunity to make these, and then create the best set we could imagine, with most of the cool iconic aliens included as LEGO minifigures.
StarWars.com: The expansiveness of the set is incredible, from Han and Greedo and their booth, to the Dewback pen outside. What was the research and design process like?
Jens Kronvold Frederiksen: We have, of course, watched the movie sequence of the cantina over and over again. We have also collected all the photographic reference we could, from Lucasfilm Licensing, books, and more.
We decided from the beginning that we wanted to create a model with a super-detailed interior. It should be possible to recreate all the scenes from the movie with it! That wasn’t enough, though. We wanted the model to look accurate and very detailed on the outside, also. We believe we succeeded there by adding the Dewback, the Jawa junk shop, and all the other smaller details. All this was included to give the LEGO model the very special atmosphere in and around the Mos Eisley cantina as seen in Star Wars: A New Hope.
Exploring the galaxy since 1978, Mark wrote his first fan fiction in '81 and been a presence online since his first webpage Fanta War in 1996. He currently contributes to ILM.com and SkywalkerSound.com, having previously written for Star Wars Insider, StarWars.com, Star Wars Encyclopedia, Build The Millennium Falcon, Starburst Magazine, Geeky Monkey, TV Film Memorabilia and Model and Collectors Mart.
He is a four-time Star Wars Celebration Stage host (the only podcaster to have appeared on every Celebration podcast stage since it began in 2015), the Daily Content Manager of Fantha Tracks and the co-host of Making Tracks, Canon Fodder and Start Your Engines on Fantha Tracks Radio.
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StarWars.com: I think I speak for all LEGO Star Wars fans when I say, Finally! Tell us about why this was the right time for a big, accurate Mos Eisley Cantina set.
