Forres Star Wars fan adds home-made droid to collection
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A SCIENCE fiction fan from Forres used The Force to create his own robot.
Kitchen porter, Mark Donald, from Castle Street, Forres has added a Droideka to his collection of home-made movie props and models that includes a speeder bike and other droids from intergalactic film franchise, Star Wars.
He said: "I made it over a month in the living room but went to my log cabin when cutting to avoid a mess in the house. I used my jigsaw, sander, hand sand paper and a drill, along with some glue.
"The finished Droideka has been well-loved in my Star Wars social media group by die-hard fans of the films!"
Droidekas, also known as destroyer droids, destroyers or rollies, appeared in the Star Wars prequels of 1999 to 2005. They could transform their shape by curling into a ball, move up to 75km per hour or stand on three legs and utilize a shield generator while firing at a target.
Mark said: "My Droideka is made from a heap of crazy stuff including a kid's bike helmet, a section of a dog's bed, bits of a kid's paddling pool, pieces from sports training spiked poles, small bits cut from drinking straws, stems from plastic garden decorations and many, many screws.
"I'll either keep it in my house or in my log cabin."
Mark plans to start on his next project, a spaceship or ground transport from the films, in March.
He said: "I love making props - it's an escape from reality and the chance to channel my creativity, anger, happiness and passion.
"I'm proud of them, especially if they look good - it's nice when anyone appreciates my work or respects it.
"Making them by hand is special. I often rely on what's lying around so if there is nothing to use I can be held up or forced to move to another section until a bit becomes available."
Mark's family support his hobby, including daughters Nicole (10) and Caitlyn (7). The trio made a special appearance at Moray Playhouse, Elgin on December 20 for the premiere of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker dressed as characters Boba Fett, a Jawa and Rey Skywalker in Cosplay outfits they own.
"Fellow attendees loved us being there," said Mark. "Before the opening credits a lot of them had their pictures taken with us.
"We were given free movie tickets as a thank you!"
.
