The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

Let’s take a look at the colorful world of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles first released from Japan in 1978!

Keshigomu means “rubber eraser” and they have been a very popular area of collecting in Japan since the 1970s.  There are countless lines from almost every imaginable franchise.  So, it’s no wonder that there were multiple series keshi (as the word is usually shortened colloquially) of Star Wars characters and vehicles when the film was first released in Japan in 1978. 

We will only discuss one series now, but later installments will deal with the others.  If you can’t wait that long, there is still time to book a flight an attend Star Wars Celebration Japan in Tokyo where I will be on a panel entitled “The Colorful World of Keshigomu” on April 19 from 12:30 to 1pm.  Also, the Rancho Obi-Wan booth at Celebration Japan will showcase some of these interesting and fun collectibles so stop by to see them.

People (especially kids) love loopholes in the rules and that, I have been told, is the impetuous for the rise in popularity of Keshigomu.  An obvious rule is you can’t bring toys to school.  But what if you were only bringing an eraser to class?  No problem.  What if that eraser just happened to look like your favorite cartoon character or a starship?  Now you’ve managed to fight the system and have a fun way to escape the tedium of preparing for the rest of your life.  Don’t be fooled that any actual erasing took place with these toys [err..] legitimate school supplies.

Keshi are inexpensive and can be purchased in many ways from capsule machines (what we would call gumball machines) to kiosks and even premiums in food promotions.  The first line we will discuss is from a company called Maruka Toy Company.  These small size erasers (not toys) were sold in 50-piece bags.  I don’t know about you but I don’t think I have used up 50 erasers in my entire life.  These bags were filled with random Star Wars vehicles and characters roughly an inch and a half tall in a rainbow of colors.  Each color was available in opaque and translucent.  So, you can see that completing a full set can be quite a challenge.  And we all know collectors like a challenge.  The small Maruka series consists of the Millennium Falcon, Landspeeder, X-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Fighter, the Escape Pod (looking more like a Soyuz Capsule), and the intrepid droid duo C-3PO & R2-D2 providing the only actual characters in the bags.

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

If a 50-piece bag wasn’t in a young kid’s budget or they were a budding gambler, they could instead choose to purchase the keshi in sealed paper bags that each contained five random erasers (not toys) from the line.  Interestingly, it seems that a Star Destroyer was available only in these blind bags.  In addition to the five colorful vehicles or droids, there was a piece of paper letting the buyer know if they were a winner or loser.  If they were a loser, all the young student could do was hang their head in shame and exit the store.  But if they were a winner they were treated to a free exclusive keshi of either Darth Vader or R2-D2 (slightly different than the plain Artoo found in regular packs).  Four different images can be found on the paper blind bags: Darth Vader or the Droids (shown here) plus the Space Battle photo and the Japanese version of the Hildebrandt art.

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

You might think surely that is enough keshi for one movie, but, as they say in Japan “Au contraire mon frère.”  This is just the beginning.  But you will have to wait patiently for the next installment.

As a postscript, when Gus Lopez and I wrote our eponymous price guide “Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles”, we listed the 50-piece bag of the small Maruka keshi in the Toy chapter.  But don’t tell any Japanese teachers or the jig will be up and the loophole will be closed.

Take a look at a few of the galactic Star Wars auction items for the Rancho Obi-Wan fundraiser Oct. 5th!

Take a look at a few of the galactic Star Wars auction items for the Rancho Obi-Wan fundraiser Oct. 5th in Seattle at The Museum of Pop Culture.  Can’t attend the fundraiser, but want to be able to bid and support Rancho Obi-Wan? We’re excited to now offer absentee bidder privileges for event auction items with ANY Patronage donation!

Live and silent auction items added daily including a custom Star Wars guitar, art pieces, rare memorabilia, vintage collectibles, props and prototypes!

 

 

 

All funds/donations go toward maintaining and preserving the thousands of items in the museum and history of Star Wars. (Insurance, building upkeep etc)- We want to make sure that future generations can enjoy the collection and be inspired as so many have since 1977. Thank you for your support!

The Rancho Obi-Wan Experience will not be exhibiting at Celebration 2023

We wanted to officially let everyone know that Steve Sansweet and Rancho Obi-Wan will not be exhibiting at Star Wars Celebration in London next month.
We hope everyone has a galactic time celebrating the love of all things Star Wars!

If you would like to experience Rancho Obi-Wan in person this year with family and friends, we have tour tickets available now!

@ranchoobiwan Did you know you can take a tour of our world’s largest Star Wars memorabilia collection? #starwars #ranchoobiwan #starwarsmuseum #museumtour #starwarsisforeveryone ♬ Star Wars (Epic Main Theme) – Samuel Kim

See photos from Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Europe 2013 and 2016 here

Rancho Obi-Wan Partners with the Sharpsteen Museum for The Force of Fandom

Rancho Obi-Wan is thrilled to partner with the Sharpsteen Museum for “The Force of Fandom” exhibit celebrating creativity and inspiration in the Star Wars Universe.

The Force of Fandom Exhibit at The Sharpsteen Museum

Curated Star Wars memorabilia from our museum, the collections of Steve Sansweet and our incredible docents, Dwayne Smith and Marc Morita will be on display. Over 250 unique Star Wars pieces will be featured!

You’ll encounter some special guests from a galaxy far, far away during the grand opening launch party of The Force of Fandom exhibit at the Sharpsteen Museum on Fri. Mar. 10, 10:30am-Noon/PT

The Force of Fandom exhibit can be enjoyed February 24-May 5, 2005 at The Sharpsteen Museum in Calistoga, California.

Collection of Star Wars Prints from Rancho Obi-Wan are featured at Petaluma Arts Center

Petaluma Arts Center exhibit with Steve Sansweet and the curator Lisa Demetrios.

A collection of Star Wars prints from Rancho Obi-Wan are featured at the Petaluma Arts Center. The Petaluma Collects exhibition displays what members of our local community collect.  Our founder, Steve Sansweet, was invited to be part of this exhibit. We are excited to share Steve’s story of collecting with everyone!

A collection of Star Wars prints from Rancho Obi-Wan, and entire Petaluma Collects exhibition, can be viewed at the Petaluma Arts Center now through March 11, 2023.

 

Steve Sansweet at Petaluma Arts Center with the curator Lisa Demetrios. Petaluma Arts Center exhibit with Steve Sansweet and the curator Lisa Demetrios. Petaluma Collects Exhibit Steve Sansweet featured at Petaluma Collects Exhibit

Rancho Obi-Wan has been nominated for Best Pop Culture Museum!

Vote for Rancho Obi-Wan as Best Pop Culture Museum.

Rancho Obi-Wan has once again been nominated for Best Pop Culture Museum in USA Today’s 10Best!
We are in good company and have some tough competition in the Best Pop Culture Museum category. Wouldn’t you love to see a Star Wars Museum finally take first place? We certainly would!😉
You can VOTE for Rancho Obi-Wan once per day until polls close on Monday, February 13 at noon ET. We appreciate your votes and hope to stay on target for the win in 2023!

You can check out all the wonderful places nominated for Best Pop Culture Museum here!

Rancho Obi-Wan Tour Tickets for 2023 Now Available!

Rancho Obi-Wan tour tickets for 2023 are now available!

We are now offering tour tickets through Eventbrite to make seeing tour schedule and buying tickets more easy for everyone!

Through Eventbrite you will be able to:

– Buy tour tickets, add Memberships, and make donations
– Reschedule tour tickets or get a refund if needed
– Change the names on tour tickets
Members will receive a discount on tour tickets
– You do not need an Eventbrite account to buy

 

Get Tour Tickets NOW!