Our friend Tom Spina of Regal Robot shared some very special moments with the late Peter Mayhew at this years Celebration Chicago and he looks back at that and the process behind their very special signature edition Chewbacca bust.
Our limited edition life-sized Chewbacca Bust was originally intended to be a signature edition. With the passing earlier this year of Peter Mayhew, the legendary actor who originated the role of Chewbacca™, we worked with Lucasfilm, Peter Mayhew’s family and the Peter Mayhew Foundation to transform this limited edition bust into a tribute to the late actor who portrayed our favorite Wookiee™.
Sadly, Peter passed away just before he was to sign the plaques for our busts. Two special people stepped up to fill his very large shoes.
The plaques were redesigned to reflect that this was now a Peter Mayhew Tribute Edition and Peter’s wife Angie hand-signed each numbered plaque.  In addition to being Peter’s wife, she was also his voice in the fan community and continues to be Peter’s voice after his passing with the Peter Mayhew Foundation.
As an additional tribute, Mark Hamill graciously sent us hand-signed notes with some of his memories of Peter and we included one with each bust. In lieu of any payment for those signings, we made a donation to the Peter Mayhew Foundation to help continue all of the great work they do!
My greatest hope is that we have turned this into the best possible tribute to Peter. I had the great fortune of sharing one of the busts with him at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. I’m so humbled by how gracious and warm he was, and how much he appreciated the work we did. It was a truly magical moment!
I hope that each of the collectors that brought these busts into their homes is genuinely happy with the outcome. Their enthusiasm for the project and trust in us was greatly appreciated!
Tom Spina
founder, Regal Robot
