The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
May the Forres be with you, sci-fi super-fan Mark
Movie enthusiast takes three months to build his replica of bike
A Star Wars super-fan has built a life-size spacecraft from the series – in his garden shed.
Mark Donald spent nearly £700 making the model, and has forked out close to £14,000 in costumes and memorabilia over the years.
The 42-year-old, from Forres in Moray, has been an avid Star Wars fan since he was a young boy and has watched the films hundreds of times.
But he decided to challenge himself by building a model – and now has his very own 10ft-
“If I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan yet, I soon will be”
long replica of a speeder bike, which has proved a hit with daughters Nicole, eight, and Caitlyn, five.
And as the postage for one of their favourite droids, BB-8, was going to cost £800 alone, he decided to make that too.
Mr Donald constructed the two models out of odd bits of materials he found lying around, including everything from plywood and pipes to a Christmas tree base and bauble and a metal ashtray.
Mr Donald, a mess hand at RAF Kinloss, said: “I’m really chuffed with them. It was a lot of work. It took three months to build the speeder bike. I work eight hours a day and I’d come home and sometimes skip supper and spend another five hours out in the log cabin. But I’m really pleased with it.
“I’ve not had the use of a 3D printer or anything like that. I’ve done it all from scratch, drawing everything freehand. I’m now hoping to learn more about electronics to try and bring them to life a bit more.”
He has already rigged up an old mobile phone with an app to the speeder bike, which is sturdy enough to take a child or small adult, so it plays the Star Wars tunes.
But for now, the movie buff has been swayed to the dark side for his next project, which is to build a life-size Imperial tie-fighter.
“The Millennium Falcon is my absolute favourite,” he said.
“But I don’t know if I could build that, not a lifesize one anyway. Maybe one a third or a quarter of the size. But for my next project, I’m really keen to build a tie-fighter.”
Mr Donald hopes, once he brings a few more of the iconic movie features to life, he will gain enough interest to stage his own comic-con event to show off his own models, as well as his extensive collection of models and costumes.
He even has his own R2D2 droid.
He is now awaiting the arrival of one of his most expensive purchases, a 7ft Chewbacca costume which, at £3,200, will take pride of place among the other costumes he has displayed around his house.
Mr Donald, who lives with partner Kerrie Stephen, added: “If I’m not the biggest Star Wars fan yet, I soon will be.”