Anyone who has ever tried to drive the perpetually gridlocked 405 freeway in Los Angeles knows the temptations of the Dark Side of the Force. But if you're strong enough to resist, to turn off that targeting computer and trust your Jedi feelings, you'll need a stellar ride. At least, that's Shawn Crosby's theory. The 36-year-old Hollywood prop builder and Web designer has transformed his car into a little bit of galactic rebellion on wheels.
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Photo by Gregg Segal 
Photo by Shawn Crosby Inside the H-wing�s cockpit.
Crosby – who calls himself Obi-Shawn – has spent three years converting his 1995 Honda Civic del Sol Si into an approximation of an A-wing, the delta-shaped fighter the good guys flew in Return of the Jedi. "Every vehicle I've owned – pretty much since my first bicycle – has gotten modified in some way or another," he says. The Jedi Option Package includes side-mounted laser cannons with electrified plasma balls, lightsaber rack, authentic Rebel Alliance flight insignia (with painted-on "battle damage" to cover up parking lot dings), and blue under-chassis lighting.
A facsimile of R2-D2's head pokes out of the trunk and makes droidish beeps and whistles, thanks to a voice chip stripped out of an old action figure. Behind the dash: a Mini-ITX motherboard with DVD-ROM and a 60-Mbyte PhatNoise PhatBox MP3 server. "It's the only case mod I know of that will do 130 miles per hour," Crosby adds.
He pulled together his "H-wing" for about $8,000 – including $7,000 for the Honda itself. Home Depot played a major part, as did moviemaking buddies who traded electronics for use of the car in their short films. The roadster definitely attracts attention, especially from the cops. But California Highway Patrol officers aren't exactly Imperial stormtroopers. "The CHP guys pull me over all the time to look at the car. They look inside, look at me, look down at the laser cannons, and they go, 'When are you gonna make the guns work?'" he laughs. "So I take their badge numbers down: 'OK, 8537 said it was all right to have propane cannons that shoot fire.'" If you see Obi-Shawn in your rearview mirror, you might want to let him pass.
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| Jedi Knight Rider
