Star Wars: Sideshow Shows Off Ralph McQuarrie Darth Vader Statue

Long before any studio agreed to take a chance on young filmmaker George Lucas, the film school student approached artist Ralph McQuarrie to help bring some of his ambitious science fiction concepts to life. To honor McQuarrie's impact on the saga, Sideshow Collectibles is releasing a statue based on early designs for Darth Vader. Check out production photos of the statue below. The statue is currently available for pre-order.

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Here's the official description:

"When words could not convey my ideas, I could always point to one of Ralph's fabulous illustrations and say, 'Do it like this.' " – George Lucas

Sideshow artists spend a lot of time creating 3D representations of some of the most recognizable pop-culture icons in the world and, for that reason, we are honored to present the Ralph McQuarrie Darth Vader Statue – part of our Concept Artist Series.

Ralph McQuarrie is the man who gave us the design and visual representation of Darth Vader, and our statue has been created based on his original illustrations.

Standing just under two feet tall, this polystone piece is our homage to the man who gave us one of the most amazing characters to ever take the screen."

Although Darth Vader's presence in the Star Wars films ultimately took on slight design differences, the incredible work from McQuarrie has left a huge impact on the saga's fans. In fact, some of his designs has proven more beloved than what was seen on-screen, and in some cases, McQuarrie's original designs were re-interpreted into different mediums.

Most notably, McQuarrie's original concept for Chewbacca was recycled for the animated series Star Wars Rebels, serving as the inspiration for the character Zeb Orrelios. The animated series also uses a visage of Darth Vader that is much more similar to McQuarrie's designs than was seen in Lucas' films, in addition to the show regularly replicating McQuarrie's paintings of lightsabers.

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[H/T Sideshow Collectibles]