Dad Creates Giant 'Star Wars' Death Star on Top of Family's Home

— -- The Force is strong with this father.

Colby Powell, of Lafayette, California, started out building this enormous 400-pound “Star Wars” Death Star on top of his house for Halloween, but it’s been such a hit with onlookers that he’s decided to leave it up until the new film’s premiere on Dec. 18.

“Three of my four kids wanted to be ‘Star Wars’ characters [on Halloween] so I said, ‘Ok, let’s do something ‘Star Wars’-themed outside. A couple years ago I had the idea to do a big Death Star but this year with the movie coming out and the kids wanting to be the characters it was the right time," Powell said.

It took about three weeks to get the entire project built, though Powell originally thought it would be a little less time.

“I originally thought it would take a week to build with the kids and everything,” Powell said. “We got into it and they realized it was real work, they’re still young, ages 4 to 12, and they started weaning off it a bit. But then neighbors and friends would come by, so it took about three weeks getting it all set up. Then we had to get the crane to hoist it up onto the roof to get it all set up.”

And if you’re wondering what happens when a strong wind gust blows through, “I added some quarter inch steel cables anchoring it in place,” he explained.

The feedback on the Death Star has been overwhelmingly positive for the Powell family.

“It’s all been totally positive. As we were building it we chose not to tell many people so we’d have them guess,” said Powell. “Somebody guessed it was a bio dome, and another guy thought it was a bomb shelter. There were a lot of interesting thoughts about what it was going to be.”

More than anything, however, Powell said he hopes his giant “Star Wars” decoration will inspire creativity.

“People do creative things all the time,” he said. “If it inspires people to do something creative that’s great. Halloween for me and our family is the door into the holiday giving season when everyone gets fired up about whatever, and it’s nice to get fired up about things that are positive and will bring people together. This has certainly done that.”