An EVIL Hot Air Balloon?

Who says LucasFilm is the Evil Empire? Here’s one man’s story of his dream to build one big-ass tribute to he who represents the good and bad in all of us — that just happens to fly, too.

The creator’s dream found reality via the FanWars group, who presented the idea to Steve Sansweet of LucasFilm, who ran the gambit inside the company, finally obtaining permission for the project. Then the fun began, as he created a 3D vector drawing of the (in)famous helmet. (During manufacturing, they referred to the project as “Head One” to keep it secret.) Weeks of development and manufacturing — plus two full builds — later, the Vader balloon made its debut on March 14, 2007.

Darth Vader Balloon [Maker’s Site] [via]