Star Wars fans in Siberia build Mandalorian spaceship

YAKUTSK (Russia) • Star Wars fans in Russia have built a giant replica of a spaceship from spin-off series The Mandalorian and installed it in a park in one of the world's coldest cities.

The model of the Razor Crest - a gunship used by the hit TV show's mysterious bounty hunter to roam the outer reaches of the galaxy-now sits on a snow-covered hill in a park in the eastern Siberian city of Yakutsk.

"The ship weighs more than a tonne," Mr Ayaal Fyodorov, 28, said, adding that it had taken him and his friends about three months to build it.

The sci-fi vessel, which is 4m high, was made from fibreboard, metal and plastic foam.

The makers sought to meticulously recreate the spacecraft's interior and the vessel even has a lowering ramp and a seat for Baby Yoda, a small creature with whom the protagonist, Din Djarin, forms an unlikely bond.

Mr Fyodorov said he and his friends were "shocked" to see the ship getting destroyed in the second season of the series. "We were very much motivated to make it... as if we were inside the TV series and rebuilding the ship."

Mr Fyodorov estimated the project cost more than 750,000 roubles (S$13,500).

He first used his savings, then sold his car, then asked fellow Russians and companies to pitch in. He is proud of the result.

"This is the only such cosplay ship in the world," he said.

The space vessel has become a major point of attraction and has won praise from experts in a region known for its booming film industry.

"Honestly, I did not expect this to turn out so well," said Mr Sem-yon Shishigin, head of Taragai Cinema, a local film studio. "I see there are lots of locals here and most of them came to see the ship. That's just fantastic!"

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE