THE TOWERING WOOKIE CHEWBACCA, proved both an immense source of joy and a considerable challenge to bring to life in LEGO® bricks. His impressive height and the constantly varied texture of his iconic fur kept us on our toes, demanding both creativity and sheer physical effort.
LEGO® BRICKS
BUILD HOURS
To truly appreciate Chewbacca’s scale, he stands at an astonishing 310 LEGO bricks tall, right up to the very tip of his formidable Bowcaster! In fact, each of his massive feet is larger than a standard 32×32 baseplate!
Capturing Chewbacca’s pose and expression was extremely important, and we had to pay incredibly close attention to his eyes and mouth to ensure this was accurate. It actually took us five distinct pose iterations before we landed on one that truly felt right! His head also needed to be attached at a specific angle, which required the clever integration of additional bricks and slopes to seamlessly blend the join. Great care and detail even went into the teeth in his mouth, which were attached using brackets and jumper plates to achieve the correct spacing and alignment.
Chewbacca’s extreme height, particularly with the relatively delicate Bowcaster extended so high in the air, necessitated careful consideration of safety during the design process. We had to ensure that both his arms and shoulders were positioned high enough to discourage accidental grabbing or swinging, and to prevent any risk of bumping visitors on the head.
Since LEGO bricks come in a limited selection of brown colours, we had to get creative with the building techniques for his fur. We achieved his textured look by creating large, tufted areas and strategically alternating between waves of Reddish Brown, Dark Brown and Nougat bricks. Chewie’s signature bag and bandoleer also served as crucial visual breaks from the otherwise overwhelming mass of brown bricks.
The design of the boxes on his bandoleer presented a unique puzzle that we worked on for quite some time. Ultimately, we managed to embed ball joints directly into the surrounding brickwork. This allowed us to attach each individual box and precisely rotate it to perfectly follow the contours of Chewbacca’s body.
One of our favourite additions to the model was Chewbacca’s infamous Bowcaster. This proved to be an exceptionally tricky design to execute – it needed to be both thin and intricately detailed while remaining structurally sound and sturdy! We began by constructing the distinctive SNOT (Studs Not On Top) spheres at each end of the weapon’s limbs. Then, we meticulously layered plate upon plate to create both curved limbs, ensuring they were as accurate to the source material as possible without compromising their strength. The Bowcaster also features a number of long, slender gaps along its length, which we cleverly filled with Transparent Clear bricks and plates to provide essential internal reinforcement.
Witness these incredible models and more at the world-first LEGO® Star Wars: The Exhibition. Embark on an epic, hands-on adventure through the Star Wars galaxy – Created by Ryan ‘Brickman’ McNaught and his talented team with over eight million LEGO bricks and 25,000+ build hours. Now open at Melbourne Museum.
