A long time ago is right now. A galaxy far, far away is right here.
No, I’m not slipping into a 1990 Jesus Jones haze. Instead, I’m fondly remembering a recent visit to the abode of Biff Bam Pop’s Editor-in-Chief, Andy Burns, wherein I got some quality time to play a little My Little Pony (Princess Twilight Sparkle rules!) with his beautiful little girl (who, I’m proud to say, also happens to be my awesome Goddaughter).
And although friendship might be magic, it’s the vehicular quiz game that the two of us played that really raised an eyebrow and brought me back to when I was a kid.
The game was Star Wars. And our quiz instructor was the beautiful new hardcover book from DK Publishing titles: Star Wars Complete Vehicles.
It makes a great gift this holiday season for both the young and impressionable – and the older and impressed. Here’s why…
There’s definitely something special about seeing the inner workings and engineering schematics of various aspects of technology. Especially when it’s from an adored film series like Star Wars. It allows the make believe to become real while simultaneously firing the imagination to great heights.
Written by a team of researchers/authors including Kerrie Dougherty, Curtis Saxton, David West Reynolds and Ryder Windham and lavishly illustrated by Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore, Star Wars Complete Vehicles is a treasure trove of everyone’s favourite sci-fi and fantasy film series.
Here you’ll find planetary cruisers and deep-space carriers, ships fro the Galactic Empire to Gungan tech from all six of George Lucas’s movies in chronological order. It’s a wonderful trip down memory. But the hardcover book is not just for those old enough to reminisce. I had my Goddaughter explaining the Millennium Falcon and Yoda’s Escape Pods to me.
Star Wars Complete Vehicles wisely showcases important scenes from the film series including chapters on “The Boonta Eve Classic”, “The Battle of Yavin” and “Sailing the Dune Sea” among others. These chapters add a sense of story to the colourful schematics. Still, the main draw here are the cut-away’s of ships like the Naboo Queen’s Royal Starship, the Banking Clan Frigate and the famous T-65 X-Wing. You’ll see all the inner workings and tech layout here, from pitch and roll control pedals to power couplings to hyper drive wiring!
The giant cross-section artwork gatefold pages are truly something to behold! It’s with these pages that Star Wars Complete Vehicles really becomes something special to young kids and wide-eyed older fans of the movies. See the inner workings of the Death Star on foldout pages nearly as big as the actual machine! Wow! Study the interior designs of the Droid Control Ship or the Banking Clan’s “invisible Hand” star ship! These drawings not only bring to real life many aspects of the films that majority of people probably haven’t paid much attention to, but it deepens a fan’s interest and love for the pop culture mythology that is Star Wars.
Kids and young adults will love this book. And those of an older generation will be borrowing it, remembering all the talk and vehicular quizzing they had with their own Star Wars friends, back in the day.
You can find Star Wars Complete Vehicles here as well as at fine book stores, everywhere.
great gift suggestion