By Ed Chatterton
A dad who woke from a coma with newfound artistic skills he never had before has built one of the ‘world’s most complex’ “Star Wars” models – out of wood.
Moe Hunter, 42, managed to craft the only life-size handmade replica of General Grievous just by using MDF, clay and paint – bought for only £70 (more than $90).
The 7-foot tall figure of the Jedi hunting cyborg, which can also move and talk, took one month to make with Moe working for five hours every day in his workshop.
The only similar model in existence of the “Revenge of the Sith” character is believed to be owned by George Lucas himself – but is a 3D printed version, rather than handmade.
Moe previously baffled medics back in 2004 after coming out of a month-long coma with inexplicable creative abilities he never had previously.
Despite being “rubbish at art at school” Moe suddenly discovered he had a knack for drawing, painting and model building.
He went from working at Burger King to using his new skills as a professional carpenter and model maker and he has since also developed an talent for woodwork.
Moe, of Ledbury, Herefordshire, said: “I’ve always been a massive sci-fi and ‘Star Wars’ fan and loved the General Grievous character from when I saw Revenge of the Sith back in 2004.
“It was all fully CGI and it fascinated me. One day I was just sitting around a friend’s house and his mask just came into my head.
“I just thought there and then, ‘I’m going to make this, I think I could make that’ – it literally just popped into my brain.
“So I started with the face, which I just drew out 2D at first onto a piece of wood, which I then chopped into about 60 pieces.
“I was around my mum’s flat and she was like ‘are you OK?’ obviously worried about my brain injury and if I’d gone mad.
“But then I managed to staple it all together into the shape of a mask and she was left flabbergasted.
“My brother asked me ‘do you think you could do the rest of him?’ – and I thought why not.
“The whole process took about a month, working for around five hours a day.
“It’s around seven and a half feet tall. He’s about 85 per cent MDF and then I used clay and a bit of redwood pine my mum had lying about.
“The lightsabers cost me the most, they were £40 off Amazon, and the MDF cost me £30.
“The only other model of him that exists, as far as I can tell, is one that George Lucas himself has.
“But that is 3D printed. Nobody seems to have ever attempted this because it is one the most complex characters from Star Wars.
“I still have to pinch myself sometimes that I now have this artistic ability.
“Grievous is one of the most complex Star Wars droids that George Lucas ever brought to the screen as it was only ever CGI.
“Next to him I’m the only person in the world that has one and certainly made in this way.
“I’ll be taking it to Liverpool Comicon in May which is one of the biggest in Europe.”
Moe has been forced to put work on hold due to his ongoing neurological issues but continues building models as a hobby.
He added: “My disabilities have got worse but my skills have continued to get better.
“I do model making more as a hobby as due to my brain damage I managed to cut off the top of my finger.
“I’m hoping to have an operation soon which will allow me to go back to it full-time.”
Moe says medical professionals were left flabbergasted when he awoke with new talents before his neurologist told him: “Just enjoy it.”
He said: “I really wasn’t creative before in the slightest, in fact people used to laugh at my drawings.
“Even to this day some of my family can’t believe it, they’re still completely shocked.
“It’s insane but when I spoke to the neurologist he just said ‘enjoy it’ and said there’s so much about the brain they still can’t decipher and this is just a phenomenon.
“I look at all of my stuff now and I’m like ‘never in a trillion years could I do this stuff’.
“I have no idea how it happened. Nobody has really given a medical explanation for it.
“I just know comas can do crazy things to a human brain.”
