Back in 2001, Mark Dermul traveled to Tunisia in order to visit where his favorite movie was shot. That movie is Star Wars.
Many fans of the series may know that Tunisia doubled as the desert planet Luke Skywalker called home - Tatooine. Over the years, Dermul went back on multiple occasions and guided over 50 other fans to locations where the blockbuster franchise was shot. However, by 2010 he noticed the Lars Homstead was in pretty bad shape and set out to begin a restoration project.
The Lars Homstead, which was featured in three of the six Star Wars films, was basically abandoned and left at the mercy of the brutal desert climate. However, Dermul, being the hardcore fan that he is, couldn't just let such a great piece of sci-fi history fade off into the double sunset. In July of 2010, he started the "Save Lars Restoration Project" with a group of other like-mined fans. After gaining the blessing from the Lucas Arts’ Head of Fan Relations, they were able to raise $10,000 for the project. The biggest obstacle was getting the OK from the Tunisian government, which finally gave them the green light in December 2011.
Working in nearly 115-degree heat, they finally finished their restoration this past May and I must say, it looks pretty great. I've posted some of the photos from the project below after the break, along with a video of the restoration's final day. Be sure to check out Dermul's website which also documents the project.
Stay nerdy my friends...
Via: Oddity Central
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