Model Builder talks adding The Force Awakens to Star Wars Miniland

The Star Wars Miniland exhibition at the LEGOLAND California Resort is the first in the world to feature a new set of moments from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, focusing on the movie’s opening act on Jakku. With key moments, including Kylo Ren’s arrival, Finn and Rey’s escape and the pursuit of the Millennium Falcon over the ship graveyard.

StarWars.com has interviewed General Manager Peter Ronchetti and Master Model Builder Matt Slagle, who shared some insights into designing this new section of Star Wars Miniland, including how the designers bring the worlds to life:

One of the key parts of a large model like Niima Outpost is making sure that it isn’t just the buildings and ships of the scene but also making sure it is populated with a whole bunch of different denizens. Slagle explored the challenge of capturing the vibrancy of a location like Niima Outpost. “In this scene you have so much action going on not just with the main characters but in the background,” he says. “You really get a feel that it’s really a village, and there’s people with their jobs and their livelihoods. That was definitely a big point to hit. We really wanted to make sure there was a lot of characters out there, so it portrayed that this wasn’t just a scene, it’s an entire village and area where people come together to do work at.” And from Unkar Plutt and his thugs to some of the different scavengers, Niima Outpost is bristling with scum and villainy, but under the watchful eye of Constable Zuvio and his deputies.