E.T. was one of the first movies I ever saw as a kid. Steven Speilberg’s classic 1982 movie was an immediate blockbuster, surpassing Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film of all time—a record it held for eleven years until Jurassic Park. Jon & Catherine Stead have captured the animatronic Extra Terrestrial’s departure from our planet as Elliot, Michael, Gertie and Harvey (the family Labrador retriever) bid farewell at the doors of his spaceship.

The model is constructed on a 68 x 68 stud base. The nine-engine spaceship weighs about 1.45 kg, and stands 45 cm high with a diameter of 30 cm. The main spaceship structure was based on a 24-stud diameter SNOT sphere. The builders point out that the landing feet were a big challenge to build in a manner that would bear the large mass of the spaceship.

After pointing to his heart and saying “I’ll be right here,” E.T. leaves Elliott as the theater erupted into tears of sadness mixed with joy—a poignant depiction of one of the most famous scenes in movie history.