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Star Wars Modelmakers Rebuild ILM's Original Workshop!
⏱ 26 min video · 3 min read5 Jun 2026Worth watching
TL;DR
A group of passionate scale modelers recreated ILM's original 1976 Vandenberg/Van Nuys model shop at Wonderfest 2026 to mark the 50th anniversary of Star Wars model making. Over 40 volunteers, including contributions from original ILM artists, built a fully immersive 20x20 room complete with studio-scale X-Wing replicas, period-accurate tools, smells, sounds, and even recreated intercom announcements by original ILM staff.
Key points
1
The Vanese 76 project recreated ILM's original 1976 model shop in a hotel conference room at Wonderfest, engineered to be fully freestanding with no damage to the venue and assembled in under a day.
2
Over 40 community contributors built studio-scale X-Wing replicas representing Red One, Red Three, Red Four, Red Five, Red Ten, and Red Twelve, with some builders tackling their very first model kit.
3
Original ILM figures including Lauren Sheckler participated by donating items and recording period-accurate intercom announcements; original photo negatives were sourced to recreate the famous wall collage.
4
Immersive audio includes a two-hour loop of 1976 LA radio broadcasts, Fleetwood Mac Rumors, shop ambient sounds, and live intercom recreations recorded by Rose (Lucas's assistant) and Lauren Peterson.
5
The organizers are in talks with three parties about finding a permanent public home for the installation, with the 50th anniversary of Star Wars release coming in 2027 adding urgency.
Actionable insights
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Community crowdsourcing is essential for projects of this scale: a Facebook group called Vanese 1976 2026 coordinated donations of model kit boxes, tools, and financial contributions from both the modeling and ILM communities.
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Period accuracy can be achieved through obsessive reference hunting on eBay, consulting original ILM artists, sourcing original photo negatives, and using 3D scanning of actual surviving ILM artifacts to produce accurate reproduction castings.
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For anyone wanting to contribute to or learn more about the project or its future home, the organizers Jason Eaton and Norm can be contacted via the Facebook page Vanese 1976 2026.
Notable quotes
“Some kids play with action figures and say I am Luke Skywalker. A lot of us scale modelers are looking at these photos and go I want to be that modeler.”
“It was like being in an Esper situation in Blade Runner. Like I was on this side arranging the things and realized oh this is what it looked like from their perspective. And then I felt a little giddy and lightheaded.”
“What was once a sort of silly little joke for our personal giggles to put on the table very seriously now is a little part of a very big world.”
Worth watching?
✅
Worth watching the full video?
Watch if you are a Star Wars fan, scale modeler, or anyone who loves behind-the-scenes film history — the visual tour of the recreated shop and the emotional interviews with the builders make this well worth your time beyond what the summary can convey.
Saved you some time? The creator still deserves a like.
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