If you have been reading my reviews, you will know that I have been absolutely taken in by the gorgeous concept maquettes that have been created by Regal Robot. Not only that, I was also given the chance to procure the Mandalorian Plaque, which is equally as stunning. Already thinking what my next purchase would be, I decided to talk to the man at the top, Tom Spina. Tom is the founder of Tom Spina Designs and Regal Robot and has been working on Star Wars props and replicas for decades. Tom was gracious enough to spend some time answering the many questions that I had for him.
Jedi News: Where did Star Wars begin for you?
Tom: Long Island NY in 1977. I saw the trailer in TV commercials and got things like the storybook and was hooked!
Which is your favourite Star Wars movie?
The original cut of Star Wars for sure. Empire’s definitely the best of them, but Star Wars is my favorite. It’s pure. It’s self-contained and, above all, it’s got the cantina monsters! Can’t beat ‘em.
Before doing your prop work on a professional level, how do you get into the hobby itself?
I blame Kenner! As a kid, I was obsessed with their Star Wars toy line and collecting them. I’ve definitely got that “collector gene” that so many of us have. Watching the behind-the-scenes documentaries and reading cinefex, Starlog and others showed me the models and props. As a tinkerer, I would often make replicas of things I wanted to collect. Rubber monsters, props, costumes, all the fun stuff.
I’m sure there are a lot of people who you looked up to in the prop and model world growing up, was there anyone who particularly stood out as the most influential?
Oh gosh, so many. David Lady immediately comes to mind on the rubber mask side of things. Folks like Steve Sansweet who I first saw via his early book about the toys and prototypes. A little later, I met Bob and Kathy Burns and Bob’s famous “basement” collection was just mind blowing. As a prop and costume collector, it’s hard not to be inspired. It also helped that they were incredibly welcoming to me from the start and became very dear friends.
The reaction to the Han Solo Carbonite desk in the early 2000’s really made people take note of your work, what did that feel like?
Scary! At the time, it was a one off that someone was going to auction off for charity… but I was so worried we might’ve gotten on the wrong side of Lucasfilm! We lucked out that the folks there who saw it all thought it was amazing! That desk really was the spark of what Regal Robot would become about a decade later.
How do you decide to take a hobby and turn it into a profession?
Interesting question! That was a huge challenge for sure. I was working in television as a Technical Director. It was a good, steady job with great benefits. I had a house, a dog and a wife too! A lot on the line. But I had been building something with the restoration and sculpting work I was doing and eventually the scales tipped. I either had to make the leap or that side work was never going to grow further.
How did creating the company Regal Robot come about?
The short version is that it grew out of the work Tom Spina Designs was doing, both in terms of home theming and wild furniture ideas and what we were doing making aliens and costumes for Lucasfilm and official events, videos and commercials. We had the idea to make some really unique and different decor, furniture and eventually collectibles that no other licensed company was (or probably ever would!) be doing. The name, Regal Robot, came from a comment that a friend made about the Moai (Easter Island head) logo for Tom Spina Designs. I was toying with ideas that played off that logo. He said he’d always liked it because it looked noble and regal. “Regal Robot” immediately popped in my head, and we were off!
Let’s start with the Star Wars decor and furniture. Everything the company produces looks like immense fun! How do you go about deciding what to make into a piece?
When we’re talking about furniture or decor, I always love when you can look at something in a new way. Sometimes that’s finding function (like the Han Carbonite Desk), sometimes drama (like the Falcon Asteroid Coffee Table) or sometimes, just fun (like the Space Slug desk organizer). Other times, we want to find that deep cut decor. We dig into the things in the background like Jabba’s barge Rancor wall corbel or the docking bay 94 symbol. Or we’ll interpret a 2-D symbol (like Fett’s Mythosaur or prototype bird skull) into three dimensions with realism. Giving folks a new way to look at something is great. Giving them a way to bring it into their homes and lives – even better!
What’s been your favourite piece out of that decor range to have created so far?
There are two we’ve just released that I wanted to do forever. In fact, they were in our deck in 2016 when we first pitched for the license! That’s the Death Star Tiles as decor (in this case, magnets in the various styles of the props used to make the trench and surface models) and the Falcon Cockpit Seat as a rolling desk chair. There are so many other fun ideas on the decor side… especially in the custom one-off world. You know, maybe I do have a favorite… the Dewback Sofa! That was a very “us” idea and execution too.
Now the part that I’ve started to become obsessed with, the Archive Collection. How did the idea come about that you wanted to replicate these pieces from the archives?
Oh, that’s a dream I’ve had for decades. We’ve all dreamt of going there. For me, any time I’d see a documentary or book with props, I’d want them all! There’s something so amazing about the ILM magic behind the scenes. The archives has this mythos about it. It’s at Skywalker Ranch, it’s part museum, part Fort Knox! It’s full of all the stuff that made the movies we love so much.
The collection, however, is really a matter of good timing. Our access coincides so well with a rise in the technology that allows for safely duplicating items with 3D scanning. That lets us put replicas out there with direct lineage to the originals in the archives!
To be given access to the Lucasfilm Archives must be like Charlie getting to go into the chocolate factory. Can you remember what it was like the first time you got to go in?
I remember it like it was yesterday! This is going back about 15 or so years. We’d done some commercial work making monsters and helped out some folks one set who happened to be part of the archives team. They invited me with a “if you’re gonna be in the area…” and I immediately said, “I’ll be there in about 2 weeks, would that work!?” Bear in mind, I had NO plans to be in town at that point, but I wasn’t gonna miss that chance!
Going in the first time, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I told myself not to get my hopes up. I’d seen a lot of original Star Wars material before, at exhibits, at the early Star Wars Celebrations and even a huge amount in private hands in our restoration and display work with collectors. Maybe it wouldn’t be as mind blowing after that?
I could not have been more wrong! It was incredible. So much more than I ever thought it could be. I think I’m still recovering from the impact of that first visit! What’s great is, that each future visit brought new experiences and discoveries. It’s always very special.
How do you decide which statue or bust you are going to create?
A dartboard! OK, no, not really. That’s actually a tough one to answer. Sometimes it’s something we’ve wanted to make for years like the Wampa puppet replica. Other times, like Belloq’s Staff, it’s something we held in the archives and thought, “darn, this is COOL, we have to do it!” Balancing the timing of releases, the type of collectibles, the price points and overall sizes, can be a very big challenge! Robb De Nicola (our Creative Director) and I work very hard to come up with that line up and the timing of it all.
Do you have a favourite piece from that Archive collection that has been created so far?
Oh, don’t ask me that! (holochess set) I could never (holochess) answer (set) a question like that! Every creation we make (holochess set) is special and means so much (holochess set) to me and the whole crew so I could never (holochess set) answer.
But if I had to answer, I’d say the Wampa puppet replica 
All kidding aside, it really is impossible to choose!
What drove you to develop a line of replica concept maquettes?
The maquette line is really special to me. Seeing those in 1983 in the documentary, From Star Wars to Jedi the Making of a Saga really caught my creative interest. Later, they’d show up in several books. There were so many cool and oddball designs! I love stuff that’s “off to the side” of the final thing in movies or music. I love sketches and demos and alternate takes, that sort of thing. These are such incredibly wild and varied three dimensional “sketches” of sculpture. I love every one of them!
The archives have them grouped together. Seeing those shelves immediately took me back to those documentaries and books I love. I thought it would be AMAZING to get replicas of these. I’m so glad other folks have come along on the journey that line has become!
Not only do you get to create these amazing statues, but you get to meet the members of the team behind them for the signature editions. Ken Ralston, Phil Tippett and – most recently – Joe Johnston, to mention just a few. What is it like to meet these legends?
It’s just such an honor. These folks are the real stars of the movies for me! Meeting them has been humbling, but oddly comfortable. While I’m not (at all!) on the same level of these creative geniuses, there’s definitely some common language and shared experience. Ultimately, we’re all makers. There’s a great common ground in that. It helps, however, that they’re all super-nice and welcoming! They’ve also been so generous with their time. I really love giving them the chance to share their stories on the @RegalRobot and @TomSpinaDesigns Youtube channels! At the end of the day, meeting them makes me feel like the luckiest nerd in the world!
The legacy editions allow fans to own not just something from the archives but an original piece of artwork from the original ILM team. How did the idea of the legacy editions come about?
That was something Robb came up with. He’d gotten some art by a comic artist and thought that maybe that same thing would be cool with some of these ILM legends. He was right! It turned into a way for fans to get a unique, one-of-a-kind piece of artwork from the people who made the movies that mean so much to us.
Were you surprised at the extraordinary quality of the artwork that was produced?
What I love more than anything is the VARIETY of artwork. The different styles. Some color, some black and white. Ink, pencil, watercolor, marker. The varied styles of each artist and each individual drawing make that whole line something so unique, so special.
It seems a natural progression to start an Indiana Jones line. Was this always on the table for Regal Robot or was it a license you had to fight for?
It was something I’ve wanted from the beginning! Indy’s right up there with Star Wars for me. We had to push a little on the licensing/business side, but our reps at Lucasfilm knew this was a great fit for us and them. They give us a lot of support and they like what we bring to the table. They knew we’d put out things that other licensees wouldn’t or couldn’t do.
Is there anyone that you would really like to get for the signature editions that you haven’t been able to work with yet?
Oh man, quite a few, but if we’re saying “no limits” on this – how great would it be to have George on something? Unlikely, but hey, dare to dream 
What are the future plans for Regal Robot?
No spoilers Folks can join our Regal Robot Facebook Group to get sneak peeks at that sort of thing and interact with me, Robb and some of the crew. They can follow us as @regalrobot on all socials and YouTube for updates as well. We can’t say more other than this – we have a LOT in the works! It’s gonna be fun.
Out of the entire galaxy, who would be your favourite character in Star Wars?
Oh man, that’s TOUGH! Ha. Oh boy. If it’s for looks, I’d probably go cantina and say either Muftak or the spacesuit Duros alien that Jon Berg played. If it’s “character” – then probably Luke. Pretty basic but his arc in the OT is really incredible. And who among us hasn’t looked at the setting sun(s) and dreamt of something more?
A huge thank you to Tom for taking the time to talk to us at Jedi News and offering us a peek beneath the curtain to the company. As someone who has been on the Regal Robot Facebook group for a few months now, I can heartily recommend it. It is full of warm, caring fans who have a real passion for the work that Tom and everyone at Regal Robot do. If you haven’t already checked out the Regal Robot website for the incredible range they provide, I also can highly recommend that. There is something for everyone and everything I have brought so far has exceeded my expectations.
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