California man builds 14-foot ‘Star Wars’ TIE fighter on his almond farm

An almond farmer from Turlock, California, has built a life-size replica of a Star Wars TIE fighter—and it’s as cool as it sounds.

Erich Gemperle, who’s a dad of three in addition to being a hardcore Star Wars fan, told KCRA-TV he noticed one day that one of his water tanks looked curiously like the fictional spacecraft. A year of labor and $13,000 later, he has his own 46,000-pound model fighter.

“It was just a matter of time and strength to get it done,” Gemperle told the TV station.

Sitting on a farm in Turlock, nestled in a clearing between rows of almond trees and a barn is a daunting 14-foot steel spaceship.

This #StarWars TIE fighter was handcrafted by Turlock almond farmer Erich Gemperle.

Get a closer look at https://t.co/uCTIgLlCWN pic.twitter.com/qyNnRQeyw2

— kcranews (@kcranews) May 25, 2018

He built the 14-foot TIE fighter—which has a functioning driver’s hatch—using a water ball tank and thousands of dollars worth of steel. The design is based off a large toy model, plus Gemperle’s extensive knowledge of the Star Wars movies, which he’s been passing on to his kids.

https://twitter.com/MasonSilvaKCRA/status/999869362772164609

After finishing the pet project, Gemperle paraded his TIE fighter through nearby Modesto.

“Everybody just got a kick out of it,” Gemperle said.

Maybe next, he’ll go for a life-size Millennium Falcon.

H/T KCRA-TV