Page 75 - Star Wars Insider #187

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AT HOME ONAT-AT AVENUE
Building an Imperial walker on your doorstep
he Galactic Empire is known
for flexing its industrial might
T with massive starships and
planetary superweapons, so it would
undoubtedly be proud to count the
hulking AT-AT model—built by Ian
Mockett and his friends—as part of
its heavy artillery.
Although Mockett’s fandom dates
back to when he saw Star Wars: A
New Hope in 1977 at 14 years of age,
it was Star Wars: The Empire Strikes
Back (1980) and the memorable
Battle of Hoth that ignited his love
for the iconic Imperial war machines.
Hailing from the U.K., Mockett’s
impressive project was inspired by a
visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios
in Florida. Standing beneath a large
AT-AT replica, Mockett and his
WORLDWIDE
daughter’s fiancé, James Matthews,
pledged to build their own version
for the annual Scarecrow Festival in
their native Harpole, England. Upon
returning home, the pair enlisted
their friends Steve Loveder, Tony
Mockett, and Paul Hawes to aid in
their quest.
Starting from the ground up, the
crew deployed four 100mm fence
posts to hold the wooden legs, and
also braced the structure against
Mockett’s house for additional
stability (after receiving special
approval from his wife, Sue). “It’s a
timber frame skinned with 25 sheets
of hardboard,” says the architect of
the impressive structure. The panels
cladding the AT-AT’s hull feature the
detailing and familiar gray coloring
that characterizes the monstrous
all-terrain vehicle.
Devoting their weekends and
any other spare time to the build,
the AT-AT was constructed over
eight weeks, with the end result
being a model that looms 20 feet
tall and stands ready to target any
incoming rebel snowspeeders. “The
head actually moves left and right
with a modified wiper motor,”
explains Mockett proudly. The
cockpit’s viewport glows a deadly
red, courtesy of two 12-volt LED
lights that are activated from a
switch on one of its hind legs.
True to its maker’s original vision,
the AT-AT went on to amaze crowds
at both the 2017 and 2018 Harpole
Scarecrow Festivals. No doubt
Mockett is now busy keeping a
close eye on his build to ensure no
enthusiastic, lightsaber-wielding
pilots attempt to infi ltrate the
vehicle’s defenses!
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