Record-breaking Star Wars memorabilia collection leads 2014 Guinness World Records book
I’d wager a few quid that most of Tech Digest’s readers have their own miniature Star Wars memorabilia collection, with items dotted around their homes. It’s almost unavoidable – the Star Wars films have spawned more licensed toys, gadgets, games, t-shirts…EVERYTHING than any other franchise in history. Even if you don’t like the films you’ve probably accidentally ended up with an R2-D2 bobble head somehow.
We’d doubt however that any of you have become quite as obsessive over it as Steve Sansweet. A journalist and author, Swansweet’s also the president of Rancho Obi-Wan, a non-profit museum in Petaluma, northern California that houses his collection of an estimated 300,000 unique Star Wars items.
From action figures to pinball machines, life-sized Darth Vader statues made of LEGO to an animatronic Cantina house band, Swansweet’s got it all.
Taking the collection seriously since 1996, Swansweet has so far only managed to catalogue around 90,546 items from his collection – still a figure large enough to outdo the second largest Star Wars collection by a factor of three.
Guinness World Records Online Editor, Kevin Lynch, said: “As someone who grew up gazing at the back of Star Wars figure boxes hoping to one day have the complete collection, Steve’s treasure trove of memorabilia is particularly impressive”.
“Steve is an excellent example of the dedication required to set a record, and is one of the many fascinating new record holders to appear in this year’s book. From the furriest cat to the world’s largest motorcycle – there really isn’t nothing else like Guinness World Records 2014.”
And the collection is only set to get bigger – with Star Wars Episode VII due to hit cinemas in 2015, expect stores to be full of more new intergalactic merchandise than you can wave a gaffi stick.
The Guinness World Records 2014 book edition is on sale now at all major retailers.
