Star Wars and RoboCop special effects artist Phil Tippett closes legendary Burbank studio

Tippett Studio auctioned off its iconic work, including an AT-AT walker, over the weekend.

By Jarrod Jones  |  August 31, 2026 | 10:14am
Image: Music Box Films
Film News Phil Tippett
Star Wars and RoboCop special effects artist Phil Tippett closes legendary Burbank studio

Sad news from California: Phil Tippett, the venerated special effects artist known for hand-crafting the Hoth ice battle in The Empire Strikes Back, ED-209 in RoboCop, and his wild magnum opus Mad God, as well as for innovating new stop-motion animation techniques for a new generation of filmmakers (among a dozen other kudos), has closed his Burbank studio and auctioned off decades’ worth of creative work, according to a report from TheWrap. 

The auction, described as a “liquidation sale,” took place over the weekend, with scores of fans, collectors, and former employees queuing at Tippett’s warehouse to bid on iconic works such as the funky creatures from the Star Wars Dejarik sequence, a Jurassic Park jeep, a Bug model from Starship Troopers, and an Imperial Walker from Empire. The auction is now closed, but you can still view the lots here, with “props, costumes, stop-motion models, production equipment, cameras, effects gear, prototypes, [and] signed promotional material” among the incredible things now owned by private collectors instead of finding a new home at, say, a museum. Tippett says he’s kept his two Oscars, earned for his work on Return Of The Jedi and Jurassic Park, but that a “lot of painful decisions” following an industry pivot away from practical effects led the artist to clean house.

With its 2024 Chapter 11 filing, this auction is the latest blow to the legendary effects studio, co-founded in 1984 with Tippett’s wife, Jules Roman, though it shouldn’t suggest that Tippett is closing up shop anytime soon. Indeed, a recent statement posted on Facebook says that, while its Burbank chapter has now closed, Tippett Studios remains in the business of making movie magic. You can read it below. 

We have recently decided to evolve our physical footprint and production approach, and to exit our longtime Berkeley facility. As we make this transition, Tippett Studio continues its visual effects and animation work across film, television and entertainment. Our operations in Canada also continue, including our Toronto studio, which is currently in active production on a large feature film.

Stop-motion remains an important part of our creative capabilities, but maintaining a large permanent physical footprint is no longer necessary for our current requirements. When projects require dedicated stages, fabrication, motion-control photography or other specialised physical infrastructure, we will work with appropriate external facilities to meet the needs of each production.

As we move forward, we remain focused on the work ahead, continuing to collaborate with our clients, creative partners and artists on current and upcoming productions.

“I will die with my sword in my hand,” Tippett told CBS.

 
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