Artist Robert Burden's huge mural dedicated to the Star Wars universe celebrates the galaxy far, far away through a slightly peculiar lens — in it there are over 150 Star Wars characters and vehicles, rendered in their original toy forms from Kenner's classic toyline.
Burden spent 18 months creating the mural, which will be on public display for the first time at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim next month, is absolutely massive: a 15 foot x 8 foot oil painting. Not every subject on there is a toy — Burden included some Star Wars influences as symbolic tributes to the franchise, with everything from The Magnificent Seven to a toy Nazi soldier (to represent the imagery that inspired the Empire). But on the whole, while there are a few newer toys that have snuck in there (Qui-Gon, Queen Amidala and Darth Maul from the Phantom Menace hasbro toys all make appearances), most of the impressive mural is given over to Kenner's original Toy line for the first three films.
There's so much here, from playsets and vehicles to the classic, manually-extendable lightsaber versions of Luke and Darth Vader, even right down to the awkwardly bulky material pieces used to recreate capes and cloaks. Even the moulding lines and points of articulation! It's not just a stunning tribute to Star Wars but to the toys as well, and the impact they had on a generation of kids.
You can get a much smaller 36" x 24" print from Burden's online store — but hey, maybe you've got a 15' x 8' shaped hole in your life that you want to fill with an epic tribute to retro Star Wars toys. If so, the original piece will be on sale at Celebration for $200,000.
Holy cow.
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