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.
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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.
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
A series of candlelit concerts is coming to some of Manchester’s most beautiful buildings
Daisy Jackson
A series of concerts that take place surrounded by thousands of flickering candles will be taking over several of Manchester’s most beautiful landmarks.
The Candlelight Concerts series takes the work of world-famous artists like Beyonce, Oasis, Fleetwood Mac and Coldplay, but strips it right back to basics.
Gone are the high-tech special effects and lighting installations we’re all so accustomed to now, replaced instead by simple candles and a small orchestra, plus occasional ballerinas.
As well as paying tributes to huge pop acts, there are some events focused on more classical artists, like a production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker with ballet performances.
The work of legendary composer Hans Zimmer (The Lion King, Interstellar and The Dark Knight) also stars in another event, and the late, great Amy Winehouse is honoured in another.
Venues being used include Edgar Wood, Manchester Cathedral, Stoller Hall and Halle St Peter.
The event organisers say: “Candlelight concerts bring the magic of a live, multi-sensory musical experience to awe-inspiring locations never before used for this purpose in Manchester.”
Each candlelit concert lasts around an hour and is fully accessible.
There are usually two showings per day, at 6.30pm and 8.30pm.
You can buy tickets for different zones within each venue, but then it’s first-come first-served to get your actual seat.
The full list of upcoming events is below and you can get your tickets here.
A Tribute to Beyonce – Edgar Wood – 2 December
Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker and More – Manchester Cathedral – 27 January
Christmas: Love Actually, Home Alone and more – 13 and 21 December
A Tribute to Fleetwood Max – Halle St Peters – various dates
A Tribute to Amy Winehouse – Halle St Peters – 24 November and 12 January
A Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald – Halle St Peter – 14 January
Hans Zimmer’s Best Works – Halle St Peters – 22 December and 2 February
A Tribute to Coldplay – Manchester Cathedral – 11 November and 20 January
A Tribute to Oasis – Halle St Peters – 15 December
Manchester Laces’ Helen Hardy honoured with massive mural painted on the Wembley steps
Danny Jones
Manchester Laces founder Helen Hardy has been honoured in a giant mural painted on the steps of Wembley Stadium in London.
Championing both women’s and non-binary football since the organisation was created back in 2021, Helen Hardy has been at the forefront of inclusivity in Mancunian and British sport, in general, reminding everyone that football is game for everyone.
To celebrate her incredible contribution, the National Lottery’s Good Causes scheme unveiled the massive piece of art stretching across the legendary Wembley steps.
England Women‘s captain Leah Williamson even turned up to show her support.
Channelling the pride flag’s rainbow palette, the mural is realised in vibrant technicolour — as are the LGBTQIA+ inclusive club’s already iconic kits.
Expressing her gratitude on social media, Hardy said, “It’s been an absolute honour to have my face painted on the steps of Wembley. I can’t quite believe it!” She also went on to thank the artist, Charlotte Archer (pictured right), who captured her likeness.
In a relatively short space of time, Manchester Laces has going from strength to strength, setting up their own division (the Alternative Foootball League) and even expanded into London, with three different clubs located in the capital.
Their work in providing everyone a place to play across Greater Manchester and further afield has already been recognised by the likes of the National Football Museum and many more.
The first of its kind in the UK, this wonderful group of people is only getting bigger.
Speaking in an interview with The Independent following the reveal, Euro 2020-winning footballer Williamson said that Helen and Manchester Laces are “normalising what should already be normalised”.
“That’s why I love this campaign… because it’s someone who doesn’t even see themselves as a leader, Helen, deciding to pave the way and something she believes should be available and a space that she believes should be available for people to be able to positively impact the world a little bit.”
The 25-year-old also went on to say of the women’s national team: “I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like it wasn’t their game. We wanted to show that supporting England is an open invitation to be exactly who you want to be, because that’s what we do too.”
Meanwhile, rather disappointingly, the England and Wales mens teams reneged on wearing the One Love armband at the 2022 World Cup under threat of punishment from Qatar.
The Lioness and Arsenal defender concluded by saying that while she’ll “support England until the day [she dies]”, people have been left “alienated in terms of the LGBTQ+ community” and believes that this year’s tournament is fundamentally “wrong”.
We can only echo her statement and reiterate our support for women’s and non-binary football, as well as wonderful institutions like Manchester Laces.
Georgina Pellant -
25th March 2022 
