A Star Wars fan out in the wild can always expect there to be some kind of reference to their favorite franchise in stores, movies, or simply on the shirts of passersby. But one thing this particular lover of the space fights probably wasn't prepared to encounter was a life-size replica from the franchise sitting in the middle of their local mall. Beyond that, it was probably even more surprising to see it entirely made of LEGO pieces.
Reddit user RnK_Clan found just that in a mall in Montpellier, France. While strolling through their hometown shopping center, they found the unusual sight of a full-sized LEGO version of an X-Wing from Star Wars. Just sitting in the middle of the mall's atrium was an impressively detailed model of the classic starfighter model seen throughout the series, and RnK_Clan couldn't pass this opportunity up.
Looking like a pixelated picture of the real thing from a distance, the blocky ship features everything fans will remember from their presumably countless views of the Star Wars movies. From the weapon-mounted "s-foils" in non-attack position to an adorable replica of the LEGO version of R2-D2 in the astromech droid spot, it seems like the only thing missing is the ability to climb inside for some good old fashioned pretend space battles. Wait, what's that in the first comment on the Reddit post? Oh, it's just RnK_Clan happily adding "and yes you can go in."
Unfortunately, RnK_Clan doesn't appear to have taken any pictures of themselves or anyone else in the cockpit of this presumably extremely uncomfortable spaceship. But that's the only downside, really. The ladder next to the replica leads to what appears to be a gaming chair mercifully taking the place of what would have been a hard plastic pilot's seat, so for those skeptical of the user's claims, it's unlikely those two aspects would be included if people weren't allowed to plop themselves in there. Now if only the creator who made that life-size replica of the Razor Crest from The Mandalorian would let people do the same, then the world would be as it should.
Somehow, it seems that publicly displayed fan-made recreations of Star Wars ships, particularly the X-Wing, are rather commonplace out in the world. For those readers who hail from a certain area in Ohio, for example, there's a little restaurant in Kent called Mike's Place that proudly features a homemade X-Wing made from junk parts just sitting out in its parking lot.
Anyway, fans should keep their eyes open when out and about for similar fan-made homages, Star Wars or otherwise. It may not be a full-sized starfighter made of scrap metal and/or thousands of plastic bricks, but there are sure to be plenty more hidden gems out there.
Source: RnK_Clan|Reddit