November first is Ewok Appreciation Day, a holiday that started only last year, as far as I can tell. We were introduced to the Ewoks in 1983 in the movie Return of the Jedi. To many fans, it was obvious that the characters were designed with merchandising in mind, so there was an “Ewok backlash.” That was later eclipsed by hatred of Jar Jar Binks from the prequels. But now enough time has passed since Return of the Jedi that there is significant number of Star Wars fans who loved the Ewoks as children.
David Mizejewski is one of those fans, and the first Ewok Appreciation Day inspired him to construct an elaborate Ewok diorama using his childhood toys! He also bought new ones, and the result is a little slice of Endor, unveiled today. The above picture doesn’t do it justice, because there are a lot of tiny scenes, with multiple levels, fire, living plants, and alien invaders.
See an entire gallery of closeups and read the story of Mizejewski’s project at Boing Boing.