When I tell people about Star Wars Celebration, I always mention that it’s not quite like any other convention. There are just more opportunities for memorable experiences. That can mean posing for photos on some of the amazing sets built by Belgian 501st Legion (they had a bacta tank!), talking with the R2-D2 builders, or building a diorama. Frank D’iorio brings the Diorama Workshop to each Celebration, and this year’s focus was Bespin from The Empire Strikes Back. The tables were blank surfaces on Thursday but by Sunday, Cloud City towered above the surrounding booths.

Hasbro joined forces with the Diorama Workshop and documented the build process with a time-lapse video so you can see the project from its humble beginnings to its impressive end. Overall, the diorama ended up being 640 square feet with over 400 pieces. Eight hundred (!) figures from Hasbro and Kenner were posed throughout the sets and corridors to make Cloud City look like a bustling hub.

The beauty of the diorama is that anyone could contribute. All you had to do was stop by and give up a little time to learn how to make your own piece for the diorama. They had plenty of supplies and action figures on hand. The Diorama Workshop had 12 builders on staff and about 1,500 fans sat down to contribute a tiny piece to the Star Wars galaxy.

I wandered by the completed diorama on Sunday and even though some attendees had already stopped by to take their contribution to Cloud City home, it still looked impressive. My photos are in the gallery below.