Thursday 3 May 2012

CLASSIC ART: SCOUT WALKER ATTACK!


A sequence that would have been terrific had it ever have been conceived and realised for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK- as AT-ST Chicken Walkers break through the Rebel defensive line on Hoth in this fantastic, action-packed art pin-up by iconic illustrator Michael Golden for MARVEL, from the early eighties. The Chicken Walker, designed by Joe Johnston, ultimately appeared in just two scenes of the finished film's snow battle-a quick addition to the ambitious sequences of The Battle of Hoth as it neared completion in ILM post production. A planned third completed scene for the mechanical beast in the film ultimately wasn't used, due a problem with the backdrop (it's a pity that the 2010 Rinzler Making of book couldn't at least have showed a frame from that deleted sequence, or had it on the Blu-ray release as an Easter Egg-another wasted opportunity), though the vehicle would make a more prominent and spectacular appearance in the finale battle of RETURN OF THE JEDI.

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