My New Star Wars Home Theater - Death Star Hangar

azheat01

Active Hunter
Been off the boards for a while, working on some home projects, one of which is my new Star Wars home theater. My old "mini theater" was getting too cramped so I decided to convert the loft into a larger theater. Sorry if you've attempted to look at some of my older threads, I recently switched web hosting companies so my old photos are mostly off-line at the moment, I'll work on putting those up next.

I'm going to try and make this room look like the inside of a Death Star bay / hallway / hangar. I'm not specifically trying to copy any exact image, just the idea.

Here is the loft prior to starting, put in some new gray carpet and started priming the walls to cover the old color.

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I painted the front wall and ceiling black, mounted the new fans, projector, and screen. I'm running an Epson Optoma 3500. I was skeptical about getting a projector, but I wanted something larger for the room and still wanted 3D. For the price, I am incredibly happy. There was a lot of great feedback on this projector. The screen is 120".

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I wanted the room to look like you were in the hanger looking out, so I started framing the side walls and making the front wall look like a bay door.

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I'm going to paint the projector screen housing black along with the wire covers and control box. I also added a strip of blue LEDs that work off a remote.

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Started installing the panels, slots will be cut out for the windows and there will be hinged panels covering them so they can be easily opened.

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This room is bigger than my previous room, about 5' wider and 7' longer. I plan on putting some x-wings and tie fighters on the front wall, battling it out. Maybe some of those Fathead decals, not sure yet. So far this has been quite the project, especially since my carpentry skills suck.

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I also worked on the two slotted wall pieces that will be back lit. I used 1/2" MDF for those.

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To illuminate these I am using two, 4' LED light strips. Lowe's sells these but they aren't cheap, $40 per strip. I wanted to use 4 strips per panel, but just wasn't going to spend that kind of money. There may be other alternatives to this type of lighting, I just went with what was available locally. I also wanted LEDs so I didn't have to change bulbs and to reduce the heat.

Since I am only using two lights per panel, I decided to cover the wall area with aluminum foil to help with light reflection. I tested the panel against a white wall and with the foil and the foil did help reflect the light once the panel was installed. The lights run off a light switch so that I can turn them on as soon as I enter the room. The good thing about putting this theater room upstairs was that I had easy access to the attic. So I was able to run an extension cord through the ceiling to power both panels with one switch. I was able to completely hide all wires, so I am happy with how it came out.

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I got the last of the panels up today, finally. These were such a pain, lugging each 4' x 8' sheet up the stairs. I still have a few more screws to put in and some minor adjusting. I'm going to start working on the detail layers now. I picked up several lengths of 5/8" MDF trim and a few more panels to cut. I want to get all those pieces in place, fill in the gaps with caulk, then start painting. I'm anxious to get the speakers hooked up, I haven't seen LOTR BOTFA yet, I'm holding out until this room is done!

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i can't endorse a viewing of any of the hobbit movies, despite martin freeman, though i won't dissuade you from your choice either. however, may i suggest you christen the room with Empire Strikes Back, if not the entire holy trilogy, first.
Totally agree^...... And that room is Boss. Great work man!
 
i can't endorse a viewing of any of the hobbit movies, despite martin freeman, though i won't dissuade you from your choice either. however, may i suggest you christen the room with Empire Strikes Back, if not the entire holy trilogy, first.

Technically, the room has already been "blessed" if you will. When I first got the projector set up I couldn't resist watching. My son insisted we watch TPM. Not my first choice, but his enthusiasm for those movies is like mine when I first saw SW at his age. ESB is my favorite and up next.

That sucks to hear your thoughts on LOTR BOTFA. I was never a LOTR fan until I watched the first trilogy. Maybe ESB first then BOTFA.
 
Technically, the room has already been "blessed" if you will. When I first got the projector set up I couldn't resist watching. My son insisted we watch TPM. Not my first choice, but his enthusiasm for those movies is like mine when I first saw SW at his age. ESB is my favorite and up next.

That sucks to hear your thoughts on LOTR BOTFA. I was never a LOTR fan until I watched the first trilogy. Maybe ESB first then BOTFA.

i don't have any problems with the lotr movies, i really like them. however, turning a 300 page book into a nine hour trilogy, while taking liberties with the source material because no one has the guts to tell jackson "no." they're very prequel trilogy in my opinion, which makes sense since the hobbit is a prequel.
 
I like how the blue lights look on the black wall where the screen is. Really looks like you're looking out a hangar door! I'm definitely doing this in my theater since I'm getting a bigger screen myself. I know a thing or two about home theaters ;)
 
UM WOW!
do the lights dim during a screening?

Thanks guys......no, the panels don't dim. I can easily add a dimmer switch, I just need to check and make sure this style LED is compatible with a dimmer. That's a good idea, would be cool to have these dimmed low. I was actually surprised how bright these were, even through the plexiglass.
 
Just a thought..
I'm sure you can get colour changing LEDs, would dimming them down, and changing colour to resemble the carbon freezing Chamber work? Giving your screening room a subtle orange glow...:confused
 
Just a thought..
I'm sure you can get colour changing LEDs, would dimming them down, and changing colour to resemble the carbon freezing Chamber work? Giving your screening room a subtle orange glow...:confused

Yeah, that would have been cool, but I think I missed the boat on that. I already have these installed and don't know how easy it would be to modify them. Cool idea though.

Slow progress this week, but I managed to get some of the front detail pieces on. I had to take several liberties with my design. These front wall detail pieces are supposed to be recessed, but I didn't want to mess with cutting them in. So I saved some time and labor and just went with pieces on top. I still may add some greeblies to this front area.

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I also started on the side wall panels. I found some air return grills and decided to use those rather than building from scratch. Although not screen accurate, I think they'll feel the part once painted. I'm also going to line the inside of these grills with some black screen material. I temporarily taped one in just to get an idea of the look.

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I'll work on the rest of the walls this weekend. Because I had to make some design changes, I am not entirely sure how I want to alternate these panels.
 
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A little more progress, just about done with the walls and details. I once again had to take several design liberties. I want to get the speakers mounted today if possible so I can use the room despite still needing to paint.

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Your walls are looking awesome. I'm guessing the light panels in temporary till you have painted the walls.

Thanks for the comments guys.........no, I actually painted those panels before I even put the plexiglass in. It's hard to tell in the pics, but they were painted before I installed them. I didn't want to mess with pulling them down once they were in.
 
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