Sahara Fragile

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Sahara desert
  • Namib desert
  • Kalahari desert
  • Savanna desert
  • Fragile States

Sahara Fragile

Header Banner

Sahara Fragile

  • Home
  • Sahara desert
  • Namib desert
  • Kalahari desert
  • Savanna desert
  • Fragile States
Sahara desert
Home›Sahara desert›‘Star Wars’ fan once searched the Sahara Desert for priceless collectibles

‘Star Wars’ fan once searched the Sahara Desert for priceless collectibles

By Christopher J. Jones
May 12, 2021
0
0


The year is 1977, Star wars just opened in theaters, and a worldwide phenomenon has been launched.

Some fans celebrate their favorite characters through cosplay, like this unreal Carrie Fisher lookalike. Others show their adoration by recreating the famous John Williams Star wars hymn with a western twist. This fan recreated a viral TikTok meme featuring The Mandalorian duo, Din Djarin and Grogu AKA Baby Yoda. Someone even built a real Razor Crest.

And then other fans take a storage container to the Sahara Desert in Tunisia to loot a bunch of Star wars fixed parts.

Wait what?

Credit: Lucasfilm

It’s easy to immerse yourself in the Hollywood universe of Star wars franchise – from the casting of relative strangers in the lead roles to the two direct sequels New hope spawned in the global takeover making George Lucas a directorial mega-star. And yet the thing that kept the Star wars saga afloat for more than four decades is the fans.

One of the largest parts of the Star wars universe, apart from its blockbuster films, is arguably its constantly evolving collectible and toy collections – sometimes ultra-rare. Over the past 40 years, Star wars has released a gigantic amount of collectible memorabilia – like the Hasbro Black Series minifigures or the many LEGO sets now available – and with such a plethora of things to buy, trade and sell, Star wars collecting has become almost an industry in itself.

baby yoda macaroons
Credit: Disney / Lucasfilm

Among the space opera super-fans is a longtime collector – and founder of The Star wars Collectors Archives – Gus Lopez. Lopez started his gigantic collection at the time Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope released when the world was introduced to heroes like Jedi Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and the new big bad, Darth Vader (Dave Prowse). Speaking in an interview, Lopez revealed what brought him to the Star wars the franchise in the first place:

“It’s hard to pinpoint a thing, but Star Wars hit me on a visceral level when I first saw it in 1977 and my life hasn’t been the same since.”

gus lopez
Credit: Gus Lopez Instagram

He went on to say:

“This groundbreaking first film was unlike anything anyone had seen before and featured such a rich universe with different planets, aliens, robots, spaceships and characters for new adventures and lots of things to collect!”

Lopez is not wrong. New hope, or just Star wars as it was originally called, was such a surprising success that director George Lucas had not anticipated its huge success, stating that it was only when he saw the lineups at Mann’s Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard that he truly understood the power behind the space opera film he had created.

luke-han-and-leia-a-new-hope
Credit: Lucasfilm

Introducing heroes like Luke Skywalker, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), Star wars changed the face of the science fiction genre. He made weapons like lightsabers, aliens called Wookiees, and otherworldly planets like Tatooine, colloquial names. He also coined the iconic Jedi phrase, “May the Force be with you”. Collector Lopez commented that one of his favorite places to look for scenery is the location of Tatooine itself, in Tunisia:

“My favorite Star Wars destination was Tunisia, where they filmed for the planet Tatooine, which features in several films. On some of my travels I’ve been able to get movie props like the Krayt dragon skeleton from Star Wars: A New Hope and humidity sprays and Mos Espa doors from The Phantom Menace.. “

tattooed luke
Credit: Lucasfilm

Apparently, on one of those trips to Tunisia, Lopez took a shipping container to the North African country to secure so much Star wars loot as much as possible. Speak with Den of Geek, another toy collector – and The toys that made us (2017) creator – Brian Volk-Weiss, revealed that Gus Lopez is rather famous in the Star wars collection circles. Asked about the “epic lengths someone took to chase an object,” Volk-Weiss said:

“I think Gus Lopez is going to Tunisia with a storage container. This is probably my favorite. I mean, he literally walked through Tunisia to the movie sets and bought stuff from the owners of the land. The sets are still there.

gus lopez
Credit: Gus Lopez Instagram

You can almost imagine Lopez searching the Tunisian dunes for settings like the Jawa on Tatooine, or like Jedi Rey Skywalker (Daisy Ridley) on Jakku in the following trilogy. Reveal to The telegraph, Lopez managed to follow specific locations to begin his hunt:

“I brought back huge pieces of fiberglass bone that they left in the desert, for the scenes of their first landing on the planet.”

Star wars Fan Lopez – whose memory-packed Seattle home is known as Bobacabana – went on to describe how he managed to get his hands on some of the one-of-a-kind sets:

tattoo
Credit: Lucasfilm

“Some wandered in the middle of the Sahara, […] But there were also a bunch of children in the area. I made it clear that I was interested in the purchase and would come back tomorrow. They kept bringing me pieces. I have a ton of stuff.

Apart from his exploits overseas and his ongoing crusade to harvest the most Star wars objects as possible, Lopez also owns the original Death Star model used in the film. He revealed how other collectors found it in an antique store and, after much research to prove it was the real deal, returned to buy the priceless item only to have it. was sold to another local music store.

gus lopez
Credit: Gus Lopez Instagram

Lopez shared:

“Years later Todd, Pat and Tim were discussing the Death Star and heard that the music store had gone bankrupt. They went there to see if they could find it and when they got there they saw that everything in the store had been liquidated except the Death Star, which was used as a trash can.

The Star wars super fan ended up buying the Death Star model from collectors who saved him from his trash can legacy where he still lives in his home.

gus lopez
Credit: Gus Lopez Instagram

The world of Star wars collecting seems to operate on a different plane, where replicas of blaster pistols and character costumes are the bargaining chip. There is even a “gray market” that features things that should never have left the set. Collector Jason DeBord said The telegraph that there is a kind of basement Star wars collection operation:

“The most interesting plays are things that people will never talk about publicly because they are afraid Lucasfilm will come knocking. One of the best I’ve seen is a “hero” lightsaber (designed for close-up) from the original trilogy. “

Luke Skywalker with a green lightsaber in return from the Jedi
Credit: Lucasfilm

Volk-Weiss also hinted at the more exclusive Star wars collecting groups, revealing that there is a private Facebook group called “Deal or No Deal”. The group – which is said to have only 3,000 members – sees its items very high-end, mainly Star wars toys, “sell in the six figures.”

However, it seems unlikely that Lucasfilm will come knocking. With their packed list of upcoming Disney + shows like Obi Wan Kenobi, Boba Fett’s book, and Lando – the mini-series derived from Lando Calrissian – the Star wars the production company is aiming for streaming domination. The first also sees the return of Obi-Wan’s former Padawan, Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader (Hayden Christensen) to the live-action universe in a Star wars story following the events of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) in the prequel trilogy of the Skywalker Saga.

boba fett boom
Credit: Lucasfilm

Lopez is arguably one of the definitive Star wars collectors. To celebrate May 4 (AKA Star wars Day), – if Lopez doesn’t see his favorite again Star wars film or the appearance of Boba Fett in the Star Wars Holiday Special – he opens the Bobacabana to other fans for private tours of his collection. He even has electronic lightsabers connected to his Amazon Echo Dot and uses Alexa to turn them on.

It’s safe to say Star wars has loyal, if not the most loyal fans in the galaxy. What is clear is that whatever the polarization of the Star wars the franchise is or is becoming, it will always have dedicated followers to keep George Lucas’ dream alive.

Do you collect Star wars elements?


Related posts:

  1. Rochdale News | News headlines | Rochdale skin therapist to travel Sahara desert to raise funds for skin disease research
  2. Crossing the Algerian desert: “We were 15 at the start and only two at the finish”
  3. Corkman raises money for charity by trekking 260 km through the Sahara Desert
  4. Pastor RUGA Osinbajo: A Man’s Vision Turns the Dubai Desert into the Singapore of the Middle East By Bayo Oluwasanmi
Tagssahara desert

CATEGORIES

  • Fragile States
  • Kalahari desert
  • Namib desert
  • Sahara desert
  • Savanna desert

RECENT POSTS

  • NEW POLL SHOWS SIGNIFICANT MAJORITY OF HOURLY WORKERS FIGHTING HIGH GASOLINE PRICES AND INFLATION
  • Obituary of Richard Gauthier – Le Soleil du Désert
  • Three tips for investing in a recession
  • Norwich’s Joe Ringer Band flew to the Sahara Desert
  • Amber Heard will become a “full-time mom” in this remote desert town

ARCHIVES

  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • January 2016
  • November 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • November 2012
  • May 2012
  • October 2011
  • November 2010
  • April 2008
  • July 2006
  • November 2005
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions