‘May the Fourth’ be with these action figures on Star Wars Day

Most Star Wars toys spend their lives on collectors’ shelves, or strewn on the floor by kids shouting “pew, pew, pew.” But a few lucky action figures (don’t call them dolls) get to live out scenes that look like they came straight from George Lucas’ imagination.

That may sound like the plot of a new “Toy Story” crossover movie. But if you look at Instagram hastags like #starwarstoypix and #starwarstoycrew, you’ll see that it’s really happening, thanks to some dedicated photographers.

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi…" #lukeskywalker #obiwankenobi #princessleia #R2D2 #tcb_feedingtime #hottoyscollectors #toyphotography #starwarstoypix #sideshowcollectibles #sideshowfreaks #toygroup_alliance #starwarstoypix #toptoyphotos #starwarseverything #toyspotcollector #hottoys #starwarsgroup #actionfigurephotography #epictoyart #toyunion #btstp_id #toyspy #toydiscovery #toypops #toyboners #sixthscalephotos #exclucollective #starwarstoycrew #starwars #artoftoyphotography #cnnstarwars

A post shared by Trevor Williams (@onesix_shooter) on Dec 21, 2016 at 7:07pm PST

Creative Director Trevor Williams has been a Star Wars fan since he was nine and started collecting action figures again as an adult after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” was announced.

“I bought a couple of figures to put on my desk. I told myself that would be enough,” he said. It wasn’t.

“I would re-pose them every few days and my inner retentive artist forced me to pose them precisely and realistically.”

They looked good, so he started taking pictures to document his work. The poses and backgrounds got increasingly involved. He bought more and more figures. And before too long, he had a new hobby.

"You are a part of the Rebel alliance and a traitor!" #tcb_likeabadstar #sideshowcollectibles #sideshowtoys #epictoyart #toyartistry #toyphotography #toygroup_alliance #toptoyphotos #toyspotcollector #hottoys #starwarseverything #starwarsgroup #toysaremydrug #toyunion #toyboners #toycrewbuddies #toypops #starwars #toydiscovery #princessleia #starwarsdaily #toy_nerds #darthvader #swsaga #exclucollective #toycollective #beststarwarstoyphoto #tga_best_of_2016 #toptoyphotos #toyspotcollector #cnnstarwars #deconstructmytoys

A post shared by Trevor Williams (@onesix_shooter) on Sep 28, 2016 at 8:04pm PDT

He does some shots outside, but his favorite figures are about a foot tall and kind of expensive, so he built some sets in his studios

“I now have shelves of props and large set pieces (a forest for one) just for my toy photos,” he said.

Williams says he usually takes a few of his smaller figures with him on vacations, and hikes near his house often turn into location scouting missions.

He’s also started using Lego figures as models and says they’re a challenge.

"Mission? What mission!?" ——————– #legostarwars #lego #toyartistry_lego #legominifig #toyphotography #starwarstoypix #starwarslego #toygroup_alliance #wheretoysdwell #starwarstoypix #toptoyphotos #toptoyphotos_lego #toyspotcollector #starwarsgroup #actionfigurephotography #epictoyart #toyunion #btstp_id #toyspy #toydiscovery #toypops #toyboners #exclucollective #starwarstoycrew #featurebait #tga_imissyou #tcb_roadtogreatness #brickingjoy #cnnstarwars

A post shared by Trevor Williams (@onesix_shooter) on Mar 16, 2017 at 8:08pm PDT

The figures are surprisingly expressive, considering their faces don’t move and many popular characters, like Darth Vader and Boba Fett, wear helmets, so you can’t see their faces at all.

"One last dance." ——————– As I was looking at this today a little back story came to me; maybe this was a moment after the award ceremony in ANH. A party was thrown and the famous (but relatively cheap now) Modal Nodes were brought in to play. There was a lot of dancing but this was the last of the night between these two who obviouslty felt and expressed something for each other (maybe after a few blue drinks). But in this moment they got caught up in, each of them were also thinking that they would have to give up a little of the thing they cared the most about to be with each other. Leading the Rebellion for Leia. Freedom/adventure for Han. It kind of harkens to the future they actually had and maybe accounts for them seperating and the for the way their son turned out. Maybe neither had enough time for him and eventually shipped him off to Uncle Luke to look after. Or not. 😉 ——————– #princessleia #carriefisher #hansolo #tga_backtothefuture #hottoyscollectors #toyphotography #starwarstoypix #sideshowcollectibles #toygroup_alliance #wheretoysdwell #starwarstoypix #toptoyphotos #starwarseverything #toyspotcollector #hottoys #starwarsgroup #actionfigurephotography #epictoyart #toyunion #btstp_id #toyspy #toydiscovery #toypops #toyboners #sixthscalephotos #exclucollective #artoftoyphotography #starwarstoycrew #popculturequest #tga_bestof2017

A post shared by Trevor Williams (@onesix_shooter) on Jan 1, 2017 at 7:05pm PST

Team up!

A post shared by Dagobah (@dagobah_days) on Apr 5, 2017 at 10:51am PDT

Dakota Spicer’s shoretroopers and death troopers manage to look tired but alert as they take a break on a rock outcropping.

“I’ve loved collecting figures and Star Wars since I was six years old, and I’ve been into photography since college. So I guess this was just a culmination of different passions rolled into one,” he said.

He takes the photos with his iPhone and his wife often helps by holding lights and giving constructive criticism.

“She’s super supportive and even buys me figures!” he said.

Inspired by @trooperallegiance incredible photo of Vader recently, I wanted to capture my own. @hasbro you have outdone yourselves with this figure. Outright amazing! #excluhope #CNNStarWars

A post shared by Dagobah (@dagobah_days) on Apr 17, 2017 at 4:49am PDT

Are you a Star Wars collector, cosplayer or all-around huge fan? Share your photos, videos and memories on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook with the hashtag #CNNStarWars and tell us about the first time you saw Star Wars.