I can feel a great distortion in the force… Corby man creates Guitar Wars!

Have you ever sat up, bolt upright, mid-way through a Star Wars movie marathon yelping “I need to play the Millennium Falcon like an electric guitar!”
Well, urm, now, you can, thanks to a novelty guitar enthusiast from Corby, Northamptonshire, who has crafted three Star Wars themed guitars from models of the film franchise’s most famous spaceships.
Now Han (guitar) Solo’s famous smuggling vessel can not only make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs, but also fly through chromatic scales at breakneck speed.
The man behind these amazing guitars, which also include playable Y-Wing and B-Wing models, is 64-year-old retired printer, Tom Bingham, who has been building themed instruments for the past ten years.
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His personal collection of custom builds includes guitars made from a cricket bat, vinyl record and even a model of the Large Hadron Collider. Tom’s musical versions of George Lucas’ space-based blockbuster however could be his finest work yet!
Speaking about his creations, Mr Bingham said: “I like Star Wars and I like other sci-fi stuff too. I saw a picture of a Millennium Falcon on the internet years ago and did my own version.”
Whilst countless fans of the series would love to own one of his creations, the man behind the custom-built guitars has no intention of selling them, even with big money offers pouring in from the USA and Russia.
Perhaps we’ll be seeing an Attack of the Clones on eBay anytime soon.
For those wanting their own slice of Guitar Wars, Tom explained how he went about putting his unique guitars together without using The Force. Aspiring Erocks and Dark Lords of The Riff take note:
“I use a replica [model] and attach a neck to it. With the Falcon I even put flashing LED lights in the back. It lights up blue in the dark, it gives it a hyperdrive look. The kids love it”
“The important thing is you have to make the body very rigid —l I had to take the Millennium Falcon kits apart to their 140 odd pieces and rebuild it so it supports the neck I attach it to. It isn’t easy and took hours painstakingly building it every day.”
When asked how it all began, Mr Bingham said: “I originally started making cigar box guitars but I got bored. Now I just make them out of anything. I’ve got a bit of an obsession with it now, it’s my hobby, one thing just leads to another.”
Although they do look cool, these guitars made from a 1970’s sci-fi icon don’t seem to be the easiest instruments in the world to play. Our advice? Use the frets Luke!
Do you fancy building your own Star Wars guitar? Maybe you’re a Trekkie who fancies themselves as something of a Captain Kirk Hammett?

Let us know what you think and add your best Star Wars music puns in a comment below!