‘Star Wars’ spaceship model sets auction record

Sixteen-inch model of flying ship featured in the first film

LOS ANGELES: A model of the Star Wars blockade runner spaceship has sold for record $450,000 — almost double estimates — at a Hollywood memorabilia auction. Auctioneers Profiles in History said on Friday that the intricate 16-inch model of the flying ship featured in the first film, 1977’s Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, became the most expensive Star Wars item ever to be sold at auction.

The miniature spaceship, which carried Princess Leia and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 in the opening scenes of the blockbuster series, came from the collection of late visual effects Oscar-winner Grant McCune and had been expected to fetch between $200,000 and $300,000.

Another top Star Wars item was Princess Leia’s slave costume, worn by actor Carrie Fisher in Episode VI — Return of the Jedi, which sold for $96,000.

The three-day auction in southern California, which ended on Thursday, also saw a record price for a TV costume, with actor George Reeves’ 1953-54 Superman costume selling for $216,000.

Harrison Ford’s signature bull whip from the Indiana Jones movies went for $204,000. The actor’s fedora, leather jacket and shirt worn in other films in the popular franchise each fetched more than $72,000, the auction house said.

The names of the buyers were not released. The Hollywood auction came some two months before the December release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which features original cast members Ford, Fisher and Mark Hamill in a new adventure set 30 years after 1983’s Return of the Jedi.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2015.

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