Soon the 7-foot (213cm) tall Wookiee Chewbacca might be spotted strolling beside Otago Harbour.
Macandrew Bay sci-fi megafan Jason Connolly spent six months crafting an imposing Chewbacca suit that used about 50 bags of hair extensions and 6m of mesh to make.
He has entered it to be authenticated by an international Star Wars costuming group.
If successful, it would be the first approved New Zealand Chewbacca, Mr Connolly said.
Mr Connolly was 5 when the first Star Wars film (now known as Star Wars Episode IV — A New Hope) took theatres by storm in 1977.
He was immediately a massive fan.
"It got me at the right age," he said.
His favourite film of the saga is The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and he had wanted to make a replica Chewbacca costume similar to the one used in the original series.
Mr Connolly’s son, Archie, is 6 foot 7 (200.6cm) and stands on polystyrene blocks to make up for the 8-inch deficit.
Making the costume was a laborious process requiring Mr Connolly to spend hours weaving bundles of hair extensions into mesh.
"You can spend hours and get about an inch done.
"I was basically doing that for four to five months."
He was very pleased with the result and was hopeful he would get the rubber stamp from the costuming group.
"I don’t think there is a Chewbacca that has been approved by one of them that’s accurate enough to be in this group".
The authenticators were quite pedantic and picky about what the group approved, he said. Height, fur colour, mouth openness and eye colour needed to be accurate.
The costume was Mr Connolly’s third attempt at creating a Chewbacca replica.
The others were stored in his shed next to a 183cm Dalek from Dr Who, a storm trooper and a samurai batman suit, which he also made.
