What is the source for ILM studio model measurements?

[MichaelK]

Hey all. I browse a lot of these threads and have always had this question in the back of my mind.

There's a bunch of "common knowledge" information out there about studio models, such as "the Millennium Falcon studio model is 5 feet long" or "the ESB Star Destroyer model is 8 feet long" and what have you. However, coming in late and not having the first-hand experience of participating in these discussions for years and/or decades, I'm curious:

What are the actual sources for this information?

If somebody asked me tomorrow to cite my source for (hypothetical example) "The Tantive IV studio model from ANH was 6 feet 2 inches long", what would that source be?

Is this listed in one of the The Art of Star Wars books? The Making of Star Wars? Somewhere else?

I've undertaken cursory expeditions into Wookiepedia, the Data Bank (old name, I know), and a few other similar places, and while they seem to have everything you need to know about the life and times of "Unnamed alien #7 in the cantina scene", or the fictional technical details of the ships, there's not really much out-of-universe information of this type to be found.

And, to be sure, there seem to be piles and piles of random photos on random sites showcasing the ILM models under glass, but nobody has a tape measure showing, you know?

So, if you had to cite your sources and provide clear, unambiguous proof about claims of filming miniature sizes, where would that be?

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I think the older info came from interviews and books. Newer information could come from people who have befriended ILM people and have inside info. I know of a handful of people here who have or have had access to original models, kit parts, etc.

 

[LewisD]

There are a select few members of the community who have visited the archives multiple times, and have had some up close, personal time with many of the models and props. In addition, there has been a lot of reference material and measurements taken, going back as far as the Master Replicas days.

 

[13doctorwho]

A book called Star Wars To Indiana Jones, The Best Of Lucasfilm Archives has pictures of many ship models with overall dimensions (in centimeters).

 

[blewis17]

And there have been those on this forum who took laser measuring devices when the props/costumes were on tour, to try to get as close of a measurement as could be obtained without physically holding it in your hands.

Much of it comes from scaling; you know how big the actual model racecar/aircraft/tank/jeep etc. greeblie is in real life, then seeing it on the prop and measuring up from there. Laborious work, for sure.

 

[13doctorwho]

Another thing to keep in mind is there were multiple models for the various ships, and they varied in size/scale. They didn't make one Star Destroyer model and use it for every shot in all three movies. There were numerous versions (in different scales) of the Millennium Falcon across the first three movies.

 

[David3]

The dimensions of the 5' millennium falcon for instance came from many sources which was laboriously fine tuned precisely because of parts mapping of all the greeblies sourced from the original model kits. Once laid out together it's like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, every piece should fit precisely with the one next to it, so you'll be able to determine exactly if the dimensions you have fit with how you see everything fitting together on the real thing.

 

[MichaelK]

Thank you all. That's pretty much what I had gathered from context.

It sounds like the only published, easy-to-access, publicly-available information would be from "From Star Wars To Indiana Jones, The Best Of Lucasfilm Archives"?

 

[13doctorwho]

I'm not sure if other books also have the information. The book I mentioned has dimensions for the props and models that made it into the book, but it is not all inclusive. It's a great book with a lot of good information; I highly recommend it!