Today, visitors to the museum for Star Wars: The Force Awakens can see the Millennium Falcon's cockpit on display, but the smuggling ship's origins go back a long long way. Or at least to the time Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith was released. Started online by a man from Nashville, the project attracted 300 volunteers who assembled bits and pieces of the craft over the years. Then in 2012 a trio from Huntsville took the lead on building the cockpit.

From Upvoted:

It wasn't until 2012 that [Greg] Dietrich became the first of the eventual Alabama trio to join Lee's project. He found out about it after meeting Stinson Lentz, a fan and volunteer located in Philadelphia who had created a full-scale 3D model of the cockpit. Dietrich then reached out to Lee and quickly found he hadn't missed out on much despite joining the effort after so many years.

That's when Lee asked [Dan] Valdez, a friend, if he could help out. Valdez agreed and pulled in Polatty, his friend and a fellow Hunstville resident.

“We're both electronics guys and do home automation, smart home integration for a living, so it comes natural to us to add lights and sound effects and really cool things,” says Valdez.

The project is still very much a work in progress, so if you're stuck in the blizzard that's currently devouring the East Coast, no chance you can use it for an escape.

Still, it's a fascinating labor of love from some dedicated fans to try and replicate the actual physical set of such a beloved franchise. And it's been built piece by piece. Below, the replica Holochess table.

And at Upvoted's full profile, there's even an hour-long video about the project.