Bored worker makes 'Star Wars' models from office supplies

Janet Oravetz | KUSA-TV, Denver

Show Caption Hide Caption Dad uses office supplies to create 'Star Wars' models One Colorado dad has taken his love of 'Star Wars' to the next level by creating models from office supplies.

DENVER — Jeremy Brumage has been a Star Wars fan for as long as he can remember. The first film came out when he was 2 years old.

"It's kind of been my life on and off forever," Brumage said.

Several years ago while working at a call center, he wanted to decorate his desk with Star War items but couldn't find models that were the right size. Combine that with a little boredom, and you've got some pretty impressive models.

"Bored at work and I wanted something that they didn't make anywhere, so I thought I'd just make my own," he said.

And that was it. Between phone calls at the call center Brumage began making Star Wars models out of office supplies, or work junk as he called it.

"It started with one ship and then people around work started bringing me pieces of work junk and said, 'Can you use this to make this,' and I ended up making about, let's see, five or six or maybe seven," he said.

Brumage said he worried his bosses would be mad, but soon they too were bringing him boxes of supplies for his creations.

"Scrap materials. Each one has paperclips, folders, staples. Then some more complicated parts would be like telephone headset pieces, that, you know, their headset would break and they'd start giving me pieces," Brummage said. "Then to make the stands, I used either a marker or a highlighter and cut that in half and used the lid to plug it in and let them stand up that way."

Brummage also used coffee stirrers, thumbtacks and pencil erasers to make the models. Pens were used to make up the laser cannons on the X-Wing Fighter. Markers make up the thrust engines.

Darth Vader's Tie Fighter includes a tiny Darth Vader, made from pencil erasers that were painted black. The wings are even detachable just like they were on the classic toy.

"The first one I drew out, and got the measurements and everything. I went online to see what the scale was and shrink it down to inches. I made them all to scale until I got to one ship that I just couldn't do it in scale because I couldn't convince the bosses to let me have such a big thing on my desk at work."

The easier models took him about a week, but the more complicated ones took up to a month.

"The Millennium Falcon, that thing was a whole bunch of little tiny pieces that I had to cut out."

Brumage says he has a new position at work and doesn't have as much time to work on the models.

"The funny thing is for the longest time my daughter thought that's what I did for work," he said. "I'd bring those home, she was like, 'My daddy builds Star Wars models.' We had to tell her the bad news, as cool as I sound, I don't really do that."

Brumage plans to pass the models on to his five children.

"They're going to go to my kids. They've all called what they want and they've divvied them up."

Click here for a behind-the-scenes look at how the models were created.

Follow Janet Oravetz on Twitter: @janet15ou