Stamp collecting has often been looked on as the kind of hobby favoured by window licking loners, but every once in a while, a set of stamps will be put into production that even the hippest hipsters might covet them, especially considering that, in an age of digital immediacy, the days of the humble stamp might soon be a thing of the past. The Olympic Games, classic British album covers, Roald Dahl, and even Harry Potter have been immortalised by the Royal Mail over the years, and just in time for the release of the 7th episode in the epic space opera this December, Star Wars now joins that enviable roster.
A set of 18 stamps have been released to mark the December 18 release of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens, with a set that includes 12 main stamps, designed by Interabang, and a miniature sheet containing six stamps, designed by GBH. The 12 main stamps include illustrations by artist Malcolm Tween, which show nine characters from the previous films and three new ones from upcoming film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Characters included are classic heroes and villains such as Darth Vader, Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Han Solo, Princess Leia and Boba Fett as well as new heroes Rey, Finn (sir names not yet revealed presumably due to potential plot spoilers) and the menacing villain Kylo Ren.
The Royal Mail has released a set of 18 stamps to mark the December 18 release of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens
Each stamp includes a head-and-shoulders portrait of each character, alongside a smaller story corner in the bottom right, which depicts a scene related to that character. According to Adam Giles, co-founder at Interabang: “The inspiration for the stamps was very much your classic collage-style posters where you have the main character, and a montage vignette scene. That’s classic Star Wars language. We wanted to honour that tradition but also make them feel contemporary.”
The illustrations were based on photographic compositions, which Interabang designed in Photoshop. Tween then created the illustrations by painting them digitally. The idea to use illustration instead of photography was to give the old and new characters a unified look. Giles added: “We gave (Tween) the building blocks, then he refined it to make it look beautiful. We had contemporary images and also images from the mid-1970s, which often aren’t of incredible quality. That led us down the path of using illustration to help them feel like a coherent set.”
Each stamp includes a head-and-shoulders portrait of each character, alongside a smaller story corner in the bottom right, which depicts a scene related to that character
The miniature sheet, illustrated and designed by GBH, includes an epic battle scene between different vehicles and spaceships from previous and upcoming films. GHH co-founder Mark Bonner said the sheet “Collides classic vehicle characters with some of the about-to-be-revealed characters,” adding that they “Wanted to get a balance of good and evil coming across in battle, and very much enjoyed putting the viewer in the pilot seat.” The stamps will be on sale from 20 October on the Royal Mail’s website, and can be pre-ordered in advance, and from 8,000 Post Office branches nationwide.
