After Fanexpo, I’ve had a chance to relax and catch up with all the online stuff.
I’ve got a few really interesting things coming up including a couple of pop up gallery days in Vancouver and being able to share more news and developments about the Terry Fox typewriter project Brendan and I have been working on.
This update I thought I’d chat more about the Empire Strikes Back, and Star Wars typewriters that we just completed.
Of course, being fans of the franchise and movie helps, and we are FANS! The Star Wars franchise started in 1977 with the release of Star Wars A New Hope. Growing up in the UK and being 8 years old at the time, the movie absolutely blew my mind! It’s one of my most vivid memories from childhood and after the closing credits, I was hooked!
Fast forward to 2023 and numerous additions to the Star Wars universe and we decided that we needed to create a true throwback from a galaxy far far away to analog.
The machines are absolute tributes to the movies, screenwriters and Lucas’s vision. When planning out the images I was going to use, it was challenging just because of the nature of the curves, angles and of course, the size of the paintable area. This is always the big challenge with machine bodies just because they are all so different. We also have to consider what is viewable to the eye and how the mechanics of the machine might hide or expose certain details of the work.
We went with the Olivetti’s on this project. A 1952 and a 1955 Lettera studio 44’s. This model is kinda the big brother of the Lettera 22 which we did the Adam Project design on. One of the biggest selling points of these was the large area on the back that gave such a great canvas for the widescreen shots of the crews in the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. There was originally a name plate with brand info on there, but we removed it, sealed the gap and sanded so it could be painted over so as not to interfere with the image.
You may notice also the key colour. On the Star Wars machine the keys are rebel grey and The Empire machine, Imperial black. Usually when we get machines, the keys are changeable, but we decided to go with as much original as possible and work around what we have. In this case it worked out pretty great.
There are a few elements on both machines that I personally really like and was very happy with how they turned out. One of my favs is the back of both machines with the widescreen images, but also on the Empire machine, I like the Luke Skywalker peering around the corner. Also the land speeder and Stormtrooper.
Really proud of these machines and how they turned out. After they were auto clear coated the colours really popped and gave such a great finished look and feel to the machines. Very exciting to have been able to share the machines in person with Star Wars, C3-P0 actor Anthony Daniels and have him personally autograph both machines. This is extra special sine he is the only person to have acted in all 11 movies. The best bit was the fact he was absolutely blown away at the fact we had this typewriter mentioning how absolutely wonderful it was and how in all his years of signing, this was a first! His reaction and kind comments were really amazing and made our whole Star Wars experience very special.
Are the machines available I hear you ask? Absolutely! Please understand the machines are meant for use and of course display, and they are made with discerning collectors in mind. Aimed at the Star Wars universe, or the antiquities and art collector market, please connect via the email form to inquire. But also keep in mind you too can have your own custom machine hand painted and restored with a full custom price and artwork package. There are so many factors involved in pricing such as year and availability of certain machines as well as amount of custom artwork requested.
May the Force be with you.
