It’s hard to tell whether this is a new trend or not, but lately we’ve been seeing a lot of people building full sized replicas based on their beloved sci-fi shows and movies.
There’s a full blown Millennium Falcon in the works that could end up costing $200 -$800,000 when it’s all done. There’s a guy who builds fully working R2-D2 robots in his spare time, and there was even a silly petition to the White House about building a real life Death Star, which is just feasibly impossible. ($850 quadrillion!)
We’ve read so much about Star Wars and Star Trek replicas, how about Battlestar Galactica? As GiantFreakinRobot reports, one fan is working on his own Cylon Raider ship, and it’s going to be on full display for the upcoming Galacticon 3 convention. Frankly, I didn’t know there was such a thing as the Galacticon, but I’m not surprised, because both Battlestar incarnations have big followings.
This replica is being built by a fan named Eugene Haggerty in Clearwater Florida, and he’s also got a fanpage set up called Colonial-Cylon Alliance. This report tells us that Haggerty couldn’t get any blue prints, so he worked off a small-scale model to build his full-sized replica. It’s still a work in progress, and Haggerty has a ways to go before it’s ready for Galacticon in May. (This replica will also be appearing at other conventions as well, like DragonCon, and Hurricane Who).
The cost of building this replica could go higher than $20,000, and if you’d like to contribute, you can learn more info here. Like a Kickstarter campaign, there’s goodies built into each level of money you contribute. $20 gets your name in the plague that will appear in front of the vehicle as it appears in conventions. Between $20 and $100 you get an autographed picture of the Raider, $100 and over you get the autographed picture, a t-shirt, and over $500, you get to drive it at one of the conventions.
Yes, you’ll be able to drive this thing! As Freakin Robot tells us, this Raider will have hydraulic steering, power brakes, a regular car transmission, and a four cylinder diesel engine. You can’t fly it, obviously, but maybe that’s around the corner if they can raise enough money.
As crazy as most of us would think this is, there’s something to be said for loving a sci-fi show or movie so much that you’re willing to put the time and effort into rebuilding something from it. Making a full size Millennium Flacon, a fully robotic R2-D2, and now this Cylon Raider that you can actually drive? Now that’s dedication.
