A team of six sci-fi cosplayers took their game to the next level by building a life-size replica of the spaceship piloted by Luke Skywalker, a character from the popular movie franchise Star wars.

They had originally tried to replicate the Razor Crest, the Mandalorian-piloted spacecraft from the hit TV series of the same name, but their prototype was destroyed by bad weather in April 2021.

Ayaal Federov, 29, said in an interview to discuss the new X-Wing star fighter that “it took three months to build the ship” after he started building it in July.

He joked that he would gladly go to space to bring Russian actress Yulia Peresild back to Earth if she needed a lift. Peresild was sent as part of a film crew to the International Space Station to shoot a feature film.

The longtime cosplayer and his friends first decided to make the Razor Crest spaceship replica after watching the first season of The Mandalorian, which is part of Star wars universe.

Federov and his friends had planned to make a fan-fiction video featuring the two ships.

“We planned the X-Wing while the Razor Crest was being built and thought it would be really cool if the Mandalorian met Luke Skywalker in our fan video,” Federov said.

Building the Razor Crest allowed the team to gain experience, making building the second ship much easier. “This time we took into account all the mistakes [from] the first ship, and everyone knew what to do, “said Federov.” We started with the skeleton of the ship and started to strengthen it. “

The ship is made of different materials including wood, fiberboard, polystyrene, glass, metal and plastic.

“In addition to the ship, we also made a Luke Skywalker suit for the pilot, as well as a C-3PO and an R2-D2. We did the whole process at the same time,” Federov said.

Introducing the members of his team, he said: “Vanya is responsible for the installation, while Kolya, Ivan, Dima and Arsen are responsible for the costume and construction of the ship.”

The replica is 3.8 meters high, 14 meters long and 10 meters wide.

Federov isn’t fazed by the idea that the ship might prove difficult to move, noting that while this means the team can’t take part in various sci-fi events, “We can still show our work. in the world.”

He also hinted that they might have their own cosplay festival, noting that his love affair with cosplay began when he was 11, when he designed a knight costume after watching The story of a knight, with Heath Ledger.

Federov, from the city of Yakutsk in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, said earlier this year that he wanted to build the Razor Crest “because no one in the world had built such a ship before.”

He said the entire X-Wing construction project, as well as the equipment and storage costs, amounted to around $ 5,600 (400,000 rubles), comparing the intense activity of the workshop to that of an anthill.

Work on the project began in November 2020, when Federov began searching the Internet for photos of the ship from different angles.

“Everything was important to me: the front, back and side views; the color of the vessel; the details. It was especially difficult to find the layout of the cockpit. For this, I took screenshots of the ship in the series. I printed it all out and hung it on the wall. “

However, the project stalled due to funding issues. Federov sold his car and spent all his savings on building materials and garage space, but it still wasn’t enough.

To carry out the project, Federov fans and various sponsors came to the rescue.

He even managed to find a suitable hangar to store the spacecraft, which was no easy task, given that temperatures in Yakutsk are on average minus 41.8 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 41 degrees Celsius) at this time. period of the year.

“The most difficult task for us was to build the engine. It was necessary to make the engines as light as possible so that during installation the frame of the ship could withstand the load,” said Federov.

The young men eventually used a crane to transport the nearly completed replica from the hangar to a hill, where the final touches were made to the spacecraft for four days in temperatures of minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 30 degrees Celsius).

“It’s like we’re on the show right now, fixing the Mandalorian ship,” Federov said. “I’m inspired by the people who work on films, who come up with costumes for filming, build entire cities, but the audience doesn’t even know who these people are.”

This story was provided to Newsweek by Zenger News.