Over in Stockport, there’s a warehouse filled with all manner of Star Wars props – from Storm Trooper suits to Dak helmets – all created by a team of fans with a special set of skills.
Known officially as RS Propmasters, unofficially as the ‘King of Troopers’, they’ve created some incredible original Star Wars trilogy replica props for the silver screen and have had their work featured in some big Hollywood movies and at London’s V&A museum.
No strangers to the fantasy worlds of superheroes, they all met years ago in the replica prop community – a combination of painters, sculptors, mould makers and researchers.
Image: The Manc Group
That community, once comprised of secret groups and closed forums, is now very much out in the open – with the team going from fans making the cult props as a hobby, to becoming professionals in the movie prop world.
Brought together by their shared love of all the original Star Wars trilogy, they combined their passions to start creating what they saw on the screen – working from original moulds used in the 1970s.
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Those replicas got them noticed and, years later, the working prop studio has now worked with a large number of productions, including big studio movies.
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Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
Image: The Manc Group
Today, together the studio can make two full Storm Trooper outfits in a day with a team of six people working on it at once.
And if that wasn’t impressive enough, they also recently produced 50 replica guns over six weeks for a new Hollywood superhero film.
In total, RS makes five different Star Wars characters at its Stockport studio – and so much research goes into making these props exactly how they would have been made for the films 45 years.
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The studio’s SnowTroopers, for example, have a direct lineage to the original movie. These helmets are cast from an original studio-made helmet they managed to get their hands on back in 2017 – the only time this has ever been done.
Not satisfied with that, though, they even journeyed to LA to visit a private collection in order to find the most accurate cowl fabric to do the helmet justice.
Let’s just say there are no cutting corners here.
Image: The Manc Group
A community born out of fans with a shared passion, today the studio is run by a team of ten – all with their own individual skillset.
From ‘amour guy’ Pete O’Rourke, who it’s said has probably built more accurate Stormtroopers than anyone else in the world, to Becka Albrecht, who comes from a Fine Art and Humanities background and paints and weathers all the props, every single one of them has a true passion for the stories behind the props they are creating.
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Avid Star Wars collector Simon Windus, meanwhile, puts the ‘S’ in RS – having launched the company in its early days with his original Stormtrooper suit. As for his partner Rob McCormick, he was making props before RS was just a twinkle in their eye – but back then, it was all about Boba Fett.
So well-respected and knowledgeable are Simon and Rob, they were even invited down to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to help create a replica suit from an original costume piece back in 2015 as part of a British Film Institute exhibit.
And they’re right here on our doorstep, making magic from original cult prop pieces dating back to the 70s.
Progressing from hobbyists to esteemed industry professionals at the top of their game, it just goes to show if you are really passionate about something you can make anything happen.
To see more of the team’s work, follow them on Instagram here.
Feature image – RS Propmasters
Art & Culture
Lily Allen to play smash-hit new album in full on first tour in seven years
Danny Jones
Lily Allen has returned with one of the best comeback albums the British music scene has witnessed in decades, and it’s been received so well that she’s set to play the record IN FULL on a new tour – her first in more than seven years – and, yes, she’s coming to Manchester.
The noughties popstar and daughter of fellow musician and actor, Keith Allen, isn’t just having a renaissance, the 40-year-old singer-songwriter is now riding arguably one of the biggest waves of popularity in her career following the release of her fifth studio LP.
West End Girl, released earlier this month, has not only gone down a treat with die-hard Lily Allen listeners but has earned her plenty of new fans too, as well as winning over numerous critics.
Notching multiple five-star reviews, a shout for album of the year from Variety, and even being labelled “one for the history books” by the BBC, the demand to see her back on the road was ready and waiting, and now the genre-hopping Hammersmith heroine is giving the people what they want.
Without giving too much away for those who haven’t listened to it yet, the deeply honest and no-holds-barred material dives into her divorce from ex-husband, David Harbour, of Stranger Things and Thunderbolts* fame.
Leaving no stone unturned, it’s a deeply personal, scorched-earth kind of album that has resonated with a lot of people, it seems.
We’re not going to say any more than that; just strap in, give it a go and thank us later. You can see the full list of her newly announced domestic tour dates, where she’ll be playing West End Girl in its entirety, down below.
Lily Allen UK live tour dates
March 2026
2/3 Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
3/3 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
5/3 Birmingham Symphony Hall
7/3 Sheffield City Hall
8/3 Newcastle City Hall
10/3 Manchester Aviva Studios, The Hall
11/3 Manchester Aviva Studios, The Hall
14/3 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
15/3 Cambridge Corn Exchange
17/3 Bristol Beacon
18/3 Cardiff New Theatre
20/3 London Palladium
21/3 London Palladium
Here’s a little taste of just one of the tracks from the acclaimed new album, which is already being heralded as her best to date.
Honestly, there’s plenty more where that came from…
If you’re looking to hear the explosive 14-track diatribe from start to finish in person, she’ll be playing not just one but two nights at the Factory International’s Aviva Studios.
Tickets for all Lily Allen live tour dates, including her Manchester shows next spring, go live on Friday, 7 November from 10am – and given the reaction to the album itself, you can bank on them selling out fast.
Featured Images — Charlie Denis/press shots (supplied)
Art & Culture
A live Shaun the Sheep stage show and circus is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Brace yourselves, because one of the best fun-for-all-ages events is coming to Manchester: the official Shaun the Sheep stage and circus show is coming to Factory International.
This isn’t just one to keep the children entertained; we already know plenty of big kids who grew up on Shaun, Shirley, and the rest of the sheep are already thinking about grabbing tickets.
Created by Nick Park, the same man responsible for Wallace and Gromit, this live stage production and incredibly practical circus show of the beloved British cartoon is already critically acclaimed.
Now set to make its full European debut right here in our city, Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show teams up with leading performance company Circa to bring the TV show to life this winter.
‘It’s gonna be un-BAAA-leivable’.
Conceived not only by the award-winning minds at Aardman Animation, but the experienced performers at Circa, this ‘in the flesh’ (and wool) interpretation of the slapstick CBBC classic will not only delight younger audiences, but bring plenty of energy to keep the adults entertained too.
Promising a “live circus performance, simultaneously blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus for a visual spectacle packed with wit”, you can expect acrobatics and circus skills.
Stunts will include the likes of tumbling, juggling, aerial hoop, aerial silks, trapeze, Spanish web and Chinese pole, just to name a few.
And, of course, there’ll be plenty of Aardman’s signature heartwarming comedy in W&G, Chicken Run, Arthur Christmas, Flushed Away and more.
Naturally, all the usual suspects will be on show to: Shaun, Bitzer, The Farmer and the rest of the Flock – and yes, in case the trailer didn’t give it away, they are people who are not just dressed up as adorable real-life lambs but bouncing, flipping and flying all over the stage.
Coming to Aviva Studios this festive period, it’ll be taking place in The Hall: one of the venue’s largest and most dynamic rooms, with the state-of-the-art building famously able to alter the size of individual stages and spaces depending on the event.
John McGrath, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Factory International, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Circa and Aardman to present the European premiere of this fun-filled show at our home in Aviva Studios.
“Circa presents award-winning circus performances to audiences across the globe, and their collaboration with Aardman Studios creates a unique offering for families, circus fans and everyone who loves Shaun the Sheep“
Running from Tuesday, 11 December 2025 until Sunday, 4 January 2026, they’ve also ensured affordable admission from just £10; you can grab your tickets now.
Georgina Pellant -
25th March 2022 
