(people murmuring in background)
- So this is one of the items that really started me
on the path to collecting fan made items.
It was in Mexico City in 2004 at a Star Wars Convention
and this won first prize in the pinata category.
And I just thought it was incredibly creative
because pinatas I had seen were just sort of tacky.
I waited 'til the gentleman who made it came back
to claim his pinata and I said,
"Oh, my God, I've never seen anything like this.
"Would you be willing to sell it to me?"
And he said, "Oh, I don't know how much I'd charge you."
And I thought, "Oh, here comes the hammer."
And he said, "It only cost me $4 in supplies."
And I said, "Yes, but your artistry, your skill,
"I'll give you $100."
And his wife went, "Oh, take it!"
So you can actually, don't tell anybody this,
I don't want this to get out, but you can actually
lift the saddle, see the paper mache,
and put the candy and the toys in there.
But people have attempted to get close to it
with light sabers and do, you know, but that doesn't happen.
I talked about the original Ralph McQuarrie design
for Star Killer on the banner I have.
This is a sandblasted and carved version of that
by Steve Gawley, one of the first hires
at the model shop and someone who worked on
all six of the Star Wars movies.
And he, it looks brand new, but he actually made it
in November of 1977 and this is the famous,
original logo that Ralph McQuarrie loved so much
and his version of Star Killer.
So Steve airbrushed this and then he had it all these years,
packed it away, obviously, 'cause it looks brand new
and a year ago all of the model makers got together
because one of their former colleagues
had had a stroke and had a tremendous hospital bill.
So they had a big auction and gala
and it was also online and I was determined to get
that because I thought this was the most beautiful piece
that I'd ever seen hand carved by
somebody that I had known for
decades and it was a great interview for my first
Star Wars book ever.
So this is really, it's a new piece and an old piece
at the same time.
Fans, you never know what people are gonna mash up
so we have Guernica, Pablo Picasso's famous
anti-war painting and we have a fan in Spain
who has used that as the basis for Guern-echo,
which is the invasion of the rebel base on Hoth,
echo base, by the Empire.
So it's an anti-war, Star Wars painting
from a certain point of view.
You like Salacious Crumb?
You don't need to be a great artist or have
just all kinds of special materials to make things,
so this is from Mexico, by Pablo Carrizales,
and it is crunched up newspaper and packing tape
and I think, probably, a little bit of fuzz from
a vacuum cleaner, I'm not quite sure what that is,
but yeah.
So great stuff and on the same shelf,
we have a tongue depressor R2-D2 sculpture,
also from Mexico, by Javier Vasquez,
and the legs have wheels and the third leg
goes up and down.
And, I mean, it's this kind of stuff that makes
me so admire the passion for fans,
that fans have for Star Wars and how they translate
that into these wonderful objects.
Tilly the Taunton is a rocker and a friend of mine
named Woodchuck in Florida made this,
has made several of them but he's only,
I said, "Chuck, I really want one that I can ride.
"This is a little too small for me."
So I also, now have the one of a kind
Bella the Banta, actually, it's a little big for me.
I get a little sore when I ride it.
This wonderful tile mosaic here,
we got an email from a guy named Mike Payne,
who lays tiles in kitchens and bathrooms
and he said, "I've done this piece.
"I would like to donate it to Rancho Obi-Wan."
Well, Mike is also the lead guitarist for a heavy metal band
in Southern California.
He was here the other day.
I love when artists come in here and they see
their items on the shelves and they just go crazy.
So it's been really a joy to have these out
at celebration.
You want to play holographic chess?
So we did a little display for JJ Abrams
before he started out on Episode VII.
And we brought a bunch of pieces to
Skywalker Ranch and this was one of the pieces
we brought, so I think that's why he decided to
bring back the falcon and make a new chess table,
not really.
And then there's a sculptor named Ian Martin,
who's starting a full set.
One thing I have always wanted and have asked
licensees for, is a scaled set of Dejarik
holochess pieces and we're finally gonna get a full set.
These are the first two of eight that will be done.
So, you know, I'm excited about these things.
This is a charity project for the Mandalorian Mercs,
who raise money for all kinds of underprivileged kids
and everything else.
And based on the Boba Fett armor
and artists do, this is the crate dragon,
this is a Stencil War, just again, using parts
of Star Wars to do iconic pieces.
This magnificent painting is the world's largest
Star Wars oil painting, done by an artist
in San Francisco, Robert Xavier Burden.
I do not own this.
It's a bit out of my budget.
It's a bit large but it would be a beautiful addition.
The Chicago Tribune just had a story about it
and was suggesting that George Lucas buy it
and put it in the new museum that he's going to be building
in Chicago.
So it's called 20th Century Space Opera
and it's Robert's toys that he payed with
and he refound a box of the toys in his parents' house
and he just didn't get the same thrill that he got
when he was a kid.
He remembered being so excited about it.
So he wanted to do a painting that would bring back
that awe and inspiration that he got when he first
saw these plastic toys at a very young age.
And so we've got almost all of the action figures
from the trilogy, ships, and we've got Easter eggs in here.
So Yul Brynner from the Magnificent Seven, of course,
based on a Kurosawa movie
and George was influenced by Kurosawa.
This stencil graffiti art
has attracted a lot of attention
so it's called LandObama
and so it's the President and Lando Calrissian
and a famous line from Empire,
"This deal is getting worse all the time."
And that certainly goes for Barack Obama too.
So a lot of top executives were through the booth
early Thursday morning who know the President
were really tickled by that one.
And then we have one of the first
iconic, use of iconic objects for artists,
the Vader Project, more than 100 Vader helmets
were sent around the world.
This one is Join the Happy Side,
by a Japanese artist, Yoko do Hamachi.
Even skateboard decks can be used by artists,
so these were done by tattoo artists
for the 30th anniversary of Empire Strikes Back.
A black velvet deck and Adam Hayes,
one of the best tattoo artists in the United States.
And of course, over here we have George walking
his AT-AT, so you know, this again, was done for charity.
And we have political commentary,
Che-bacca and Che-trooper.
Just amazing stuff.
A friend of mine from Peru came and said,
"Ah, you didn't know that George stole the idea
"for the characters of Star Wars from the ancient Inca."
I said, "What?"
And he said, "Yes, we've just dug up in Peru,
"all of these wacas, the ceremonial pots
"and look, they're all in the shape
"of Star Wars characters." (laughs)
Poor Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru,
those are the, well those are actually the inaction figures
of that wonderful couple who didn't quite make it
through Star Wars.
People have fun with this, great joy
and fun and a great outlet to creativity.
And that's just a few of the treasures.
- Slap high five.
(people murmuring in the background)