Steve Gawley Stephen " Steve " Campbel Gawley was an employee at Industrial Light & Magic ( ILM ) who was assigned as the supervising model maker on three . He was largely responsible for supervising the construction of such studio model s as the and . Additionally , he contributed as such , albeit uncredited , to the 1987 pilot episode . Gawley was interviewed for the " Space Docks and Birds of Prey " special on the " " DVD , where he discusses the design process of the studio models for that movie . Career outside " Star Trek " . Steve Gawley studied Industrial Design at the California State University in Long Beach , California . In 1975 he was hired by for a drafting job and found himself soon after this as one of the original first fourteen employees at Lucas ' newly formed company ILM . With his friend Joe Johnston ( an ILM staffer of " Star Wars " fame ) , Gawley commuted to his work in his pick - up truck , that would attain fame in " Star Wars " lore as it was used for filming the high speed Death Star trench sequence . In 1990 Gawley received an Academy Award nomination for Best Effects , Visual Effects for his work on the science fiction sequel " Back to the Future Part II " which he shared with Ken Ralston , Michael Lantieri , and John Bell . The team also won a BAFTA Film Award for Best Special Effects for their work on this film . In 2006 , Gawley won a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture for his work on ' s science fiction remake " War of the Worlds " , which he shared with Edward Hirsh , Joshua Ong , and Russell Paul . Gawley ' s first work was as model builder for the miniature and optical effects unit for the 1977 science fiction blockbuster " Star Wars " . He also had a small cameo part as a Death Star Trooper in this film . For its sequel " Star Wars : Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back " in 1980 he worked as modelshop foreman for the miniature and optical effects unit . On the third installment " Star Wars : Episode VI – Return of the Jedi " in 1983 he was the modelshop supervisor . Other films Gawley worked on during his time at ILM , included the " Battlestar Galactica " pilot ( 1978 , though actually being on loan due to slow business to John Dykstra ' s Apogee , Inc . , Dykstra having been one of ILM ' s " original fourteen " and therefore a former colleague ) , the adventure " Raiders of the Lost Ark " ( 1981 ) , the science fiction movie " Cocoon " ( 1985 ) , the science fiction film " Enemy Mine " ( 1985 ) , the short science fiction film " Captain EO " ( 1986 ) , the horror comedy " The Witches of Eastwick " ( 1987 ) , the science fiction comedy " Innerspace " ( 1987 ) , the crime comedy " Who Framed Roger Rabbit " ( 1988 , with Christopher Lloyd ) , the sequel " Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade " ( 1989 ) , the thriller " The Hunt for Red October " ( 1990 ) , the fantasy action film " The Rocketeer " ( 1991 , with Bill Campbell ) , the fantasy comedy " Death Becomes Her " ( 1992 ) , and the blockbuster " Jurassic Park " ( 1993 ) . Gawley worked on all three " Back to the Future " films ( 1985 , 1989 , 1990 ) as supervising modelmaker and was interviewed for the television special " The Secrets of the Back To The Future Trilogy " in 1990 . Further credits for ILM include the action film " Mission : Impossible " ( 1996 ) , the science fiction comedy " Mars Attacks ! " ( 1996 ) , the science fiction blockbuster " Men in Black " ( 1997 ) , the science fiction film " Starship Troopers " ( 1997 , with Dina Meyer ) , " Star Wars : Episode I - The Phantom Menace " ( 1999 ) and its sequel " Star Wars : Episode II - Attack of the Clones " ( 2002 ) , the action drama " Pearl Harbor " ( 2001 ) , the science fiction film " Artificial Intelligence : AI " ( 2001 ) , the horror film " Dreamcatcher " ( 2003 ) , the comic adaptation " Hulk " ( 2003 ) , the adventure " Peter Pan " ( 2003 ) , the fantasy film " Van Helsing " ( 2004 ) , the action sequel " Mission : Impossible III " ( 2006 ) , and the two " Pirates of the Caribbean " sequels " Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man ' s Chest " ( 2006 ) and " Pirates of the Caribbean : At World ' s End " ( 2007 ) . Gawley worked for ILM for 31 years until August 2006 . In 2005 ILM , in order to concentrate more fully on the digital techniques for creating visual effects , such as CGI , decided to split off the physical production departments for them to eventually become a separate company , Kerner Optical . Gawley , as a specialized physical model maker , moved to over to the new company . For Kerner Optical , Gawley worked as model / miniature maker on the 2007 comedy " Evan Almighty " .