Customer Reviews

Star Wars Complete Cross-Sections: The Spacecraft and Vehicles of the Entire Star Wars Saga

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have loved these cross-section books since even before these came out (seen a cool Star Trek OS cutout of the Enterprise). What you are getting with this volume is every entry in the previous four cross-section books as well as some extras. That's right. Even if you have all four original books you are still not getting everything.

This book adds cross-section entries for the TIE Bomber, TIE Advanced (something only touched on in the original trilogy cross-section), A-Wing Fighter, B-Wing Fighter, and the Imperial Shuttle. That's roughly half the vehicles you would find on a regular cross-section book added to this volume. On top of that you get a forward by both artists/writers talking about the fun they had making the books.

So what does that mean? Well if you have never gotten a Star Wars Incredible Cross-Sections book this is the one to get. You get ALL of the vehicles fromt he previous books plus another 1/2 book's worth of exclusive material. If you don't quite have all of the previous books then I say get this one at the price of a regular book (shouldn't be hard at all). If you don't have the original trilogy book that makes the purchase that much more sweet as that's where the new material is.

If you have the complete collection then you have to make a choice. Do you buy the book, thus get the extra ships and more shelf space? Do you complain to Lucas for the double dipping? Personally I am one of those people with the complete set and figured I didn't need the new book, however I really, really love the B-Wing and relished the idea of having a view of its innards so I got it. I'm pretty pleased with the purchase, and besides I was able to sell my old books to recoup some of what I spent.

Previously, DK Books has release four volumes in their Star Wars cross-sections series, covering the various Star Wars films. In celebration of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, they've now combines all four of those volumes, along with new illustrations into the massive Star Wars: The Complete Cross Sections. This coffee table-sized hardcover book packs information on every ship and vehicle used in the six films into 152 full-color pages. John Knoll, the Visual Effects Supervisor for episodes I - III, provides the foreword to the book.

The book is basically an encyclopedia for Star Wars ships and vehicles. The items are shown in a cutaway art, allowing the reader to not only see the outside, but also see the interiors as well. This gives fans a unique viewpoint as you generally didn't get a chance to see inside many of these ships and vehicles in the films themselves. Most of these are given a full two-page spread which include data files about each one. The data files provide information such as design and manufacture, wingspan, speed, crew capacity, armament, dimensions, ship or vehicle type, and other special features.

The book begins with Episode I, The Phantom Menace with each of the first three episodes getting their own chapter while the original three films are combined into the last chapter. In addition to the data files, a host of other information is provided on each vehicle as well. Text keys with map lines are drawn to each, pointing out important features of each vehicle. These are about the next best thing to the actual ships blueprints. The detail is simply amazing! On the Naboo Cruiser for example we see where the fuel tanks and fuel lines are located, along with coolant ducts, deflector shield projectors, sensor arrays and even mundane things such as the crew lounge and locker areas. These allow the reader to get inside these massive vehicles and ships and almost take a virtual tour through them.

Get up close and personal with Jango Boba Fett's heavily armed Slave I ship with its blaster cannons, laser cannons, missile launchers, and mine layers. Other ships included from the episodes I to III include Padme's Starship, ARC -170 Fighter, General Grievous's Wheel Bike, Pod Racers, and Palpatine's Shuttle.

The final chapter dealing with the three original films has certainly the most popular ships for fans including the Millennium Falcon, AT-AT Walker, Jabba's Barge, and Darth Vader's Tie Fighter. Several of the major ships and vehicles get fold out sections that provide four full pages worth of data. Chief among these is the first Death Star. The Slave I makes a second appearance here that includes the modifications made by Jango Fett's son, Boba.

Hats off to DK Books for also profiling the two artists whose brilliant work is on display here, Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore. The detail and effort that went into these drawings is truly phenomenal. This is one of those items that is tailor-made for the hardcore Star Wars fan, a reference tool that can be consulted over and over again.

REVIEWED BY TIM JANSON

Take one look at the oversized "cross-sections" books on the shelf at the bookstore, and you're likely to move on. Don't; each huge, intricately-detailed drawing is breathtaking. The Herculean labor required for these works is obvious on each page. Illustrators Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore paid their dues for the privilege of working on the project: "We illustrated boring stuff, like plumbing and water pumps..." Jenssen recalled ruefully. The result? You find yourself staring deeper and deeper into the layers of detail on each design. It rewards you with additional insights with each viewing.

By the way, the Cross-Sections books were originally sold separately for Episodes I-III and IV-VI respectively. Buying the Complete Cross-Sections compendium here is a better buy.

The absolutely byzantine level of detail in these illustrations is remarkable to view in such a large format. Just like how Lucas wanted his vehicles to look "used" and "worn out" for his first 3 films these drawings have plenty of that "lived in" look that draw your eyes over all the little doodads behind the metal skins.

As an engineer I love technical drawings and I really get a kick out of seeing how these fictional craft can have their internals look so "purposeful". The real life technical illustration field is tough enough when working from real objects and so I am impressed by the amount of creativity required to invert so much "how and why" detail. You can see how the form and function were intertwined to give these designs plausible suspension of disbelief. For example, even though there are no shields in our real world, the way the emitters are located and shaped in these drawings causes you to envision how they "work" in an intuitive way. You can see the power conduits feeding them and see how they outline the profile of the ships.

The section at the end of the book where the illustrators show how the drawings go from pencil sketch to painting is fascinating and awe inspiring in this age of overwhelming CGI.

I only had one of the previous cross section books so for me the value of this title was a no-brainer. If you already own the others then it boils down to having them in a single volume and if that is worth it for you.

My only gripe is on the fold out illustrations. They are really almost too wide to allow easy use. I'd rather see the folds be vertical where the two open pages are joined across the top and fold upwards into more of a square. There have been a few books on NASA and spaceflight done this way and the result was better in my opinion because the folded out section supported itself. This landscape style foldout, while allowing a very wide image make the pages flop around more than I'd like for such thin paper.

I purchased this for my 5 year old because he loves Star Wars. We have a couple of other Star Wars guides. He loves the cross section book because "it shows all the ships and details and that's cool". He loves finding something small that I would have missed. Great book for all ages.

My boyfriend is (obviously) very into Star Wars. I bought him this for his birthday and he loves it! He couldn't stop looking at it. It has amazing detail and some of the pages open up into huge spreads. Would definitely recommend this to fans of Star Wars.

this book combines all previous cross section books of the star wars universe. the artwork is flawless and simply amazing.
this will enhance your experience of the whole star wars universe!

All I have to say about this book is WOW!!!!!!!!!!
You could spend hours looking at just one of the drawing, there is that much detail, and still not see everything. DK did a fantastic job with this book. I'm very, very pleased.

I bought this as a present for my son, who loves all things Star Wars. He is fascinated with maps and detail, and this book is perfect for him.

Don't know why but I was expecting technical drawings of the Star Wars vehicles. Instead I get beautiful drawings of the vehicles and some of the characters which was an unexpected plus. Especially for scale comparison with some of the bigger vehicles. The reason this item dose not get five stars from me is because when reading the book things can get somewhat confusing there is so much info on each page it practically spills out from the sides. I would recommend it to anybody who wants more information on their favorite Star Wars vehicles!