SPACE* SHIP SIBERIA : FANS

 

YAKUTSK : A spaceship in Siberia ''Star Wars'' fans build a Mandalorian aircraft.

Star Wars fans in Russia have built a giant replica of a spaceship from the spinoff series. The Mandalorian and installed it in a parkin one of the world's coldest cities.

The model of the Razor Crest - a gunship used by the hot TV show's mysterious bounty hunter to roam the galaxy's outer rim - now sits on a snow-covered hill in a park in the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk.

''The ship weighs more than a tonne,'' Ayaal Fyodorov, 28, said, adding that it had taken him and his coplayer friends around three months to build it.

The sci-fi vessel - which stands 4m tall, has been made from fiberboard, metal and plastic foam. The makers sought to meticulously recreate the spacecraft's interior and the vessel even has a lowering ramp and a seat for Baby Yoda, a small creature with whom the protagonist, Din Dajarin, forms an unlikely bond.

Fyodorov said he and his friends were ''shocked'' to see the ship getting destroyed in the series'  second season.

''We were very much motivated to make it. As if we were inside the TV series and rebuilding the ship,'' he said.

The youngster estimated the project cost more than 750,000 roubles [$13,500]. He first used his savings, then sold his car, then asked ordinary Russians and companies to pitch in. He is proud of the result.

'' This is the only such cosplay in the world,'' Fyodorov said, standing next to his creation.

The space vessel has become a major point of attraction for locals and tourists alike and has won praise from experts in the region known for its booming film industry.

''Honestly, I did not expect this to turn out so well,'' said Semyon Shishigin, head of the Taragai Cinema, a local film studio, who recently brought his family to the park to look at the ship.

''I see that there are  lots of locals here and most of them come to see the ship. That's just fantastic. [AFP]