Tag: Rancho Obi-Wan

Posted on

Thank you for your support of The Saga Museum at San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

The Saga Museum Panel members SDCC 2025

We are still catching our breath after returning from San Diego, but wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who showed enthusiasm and support for The Sage Museum Initiative of Rancho Obi-Wan at San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

 

The Saga Museum at San Diego Comic-Con Museum

Whether you attended our panel on The Saga Museum, bid on items in the Julien’s Auctions and Turner Classic Movies: TCM ECHOES from the GALAXY auction or took the time to come up on the convention floor to say hello, we truly appreciated and felt your support. Thank you!

Stay tuned for an official recap of all things from San Diego coming soon.

Posted on

Echoes from the Galaxy Auction now open for Bidding!

Julien’s & TCM Present: Echoes from the Galaxy.

Comic-Con Museum presents: TCM  & Julien’s Auctions Echoes from the Galaxy

The exhibit and auction will feature many items from the founding collections of The Saga Museum® of Star Wars Memorabilia.

Additional featured collections include those of former Lucasfilm Art Director Rio Phior and former Lucasfilm In-House Designer Melanie Paykos.

The auction will end with live bidding at Comic-Con Museum® in San Diego on July 27. You do not need to be present to continue bidding.  See Julien’s for different ways to bid on the last day.

REGISTER AND START BIDDING TODAY!

TCM and Julien's Echoes from the Galaxy Auction

More about The Saga Museum® Initiative 

Posted on

Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Japan

Rancho Obi-Wan was excited to be at Star Wars Celebration Japan! We had so much fun at our booth meeting fans from all over the world who came to celebrate all things Star Wars!

We had a small display of Japanese Star Wars Collectibles and handmade crafts, but utilized most of our space for attendees to sit and create their own Star Wars sketch cards!

About 350 sketch cards were completed by guests of all ages and were displayed at our booth for all the enjoy!

We had fourteen volunteers that assisted with the booth and we couldn’t have done it without them.   Many fans had never heard of Rancho Obi-Wan, so it was a great opportunity to introduce them to our museum.  We also had visits from faithful fans who stopped by to say hello!

Friday evening the Lucasfilm Celebration Live Film crew stopped by and interviewed our volunteer lead (and wife of Duncan Jenkins!)  Anne Jenkins was interviewed about our booth and what we had to offer. It was another opportunity to highlight the beautiful sketch cards that had already been done at our booth and promote our plans for The SAGA Museum!

Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Japan

On Saturday of Celebration Japan, ROW board members and The Saga Museum founding collectors Gus Lopez and Duncan Jenkins gave a presentation at the Fan Stage titled “Inspiring and Serving the Community Through Star Wars Memorabilia.”  The panel allowed Gus and Duncan to reach a new audience regarding our plans to create a permanent public museum, The Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia, and our desire to bring inspiration to all who visit it.  The quickest way to impart our vision was to show the short video about the genesis of our project.  Duncan and Gus could tell the audience was excited about the possibilities when they eagerly applauded at its conclusion.  They then proceeded to share our goals, progress, and hopes of inspiring and serving the community with the combination of our collections.  Having our memorabilia serve a higher purpose is the core of this endeavor.  At the conclusion, there were many thoughtful questions and it was obvious our project had gained many new supporters who were eager to see the museum and its programs come to fruition. It was exciting to see that even half a world away, the universal appeal of the galaxy far, far away and its collectibles was strong indeed!

Rancho Obi-Wan at Star Wars Celebration Japan

Special Thanks to Duncan and Anne Jenkins for providing photos and recap!

Posted on

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.

Posted on

New SAGA Museum to Celebrate Legacy of Star Wars Fandom


New SAGA Museum to celebrate legacy of Star Wars fandom

 
New SAGA Museum to celebrate legacy of Star Wars fandom has been announced. This public museum will bring together four of the world’s largest Star Wars collections, including Rancho Obi-Wan.

 New SAGA Museum to celebrate legacy of Star Wars fandom

 

 5 October 2024 – Seattle, WA and Petaluma, CA:  A new chapter in the Star Wars universe is being written, not in a galaxy far, far away, but right here on Earth. The Saga Museum® of Star Wars Memorabilia (https://RanchoObiWan.org/TheSagaMuseum/) aims to bring together four of the world’s largest Star Wars collections—comprising over 1.5 million objects—into one groundbreaking, immersive experience. This highly anticipated museum will offer fans a galactic range of exhibits, programs, and amenities designed to be both fun and inspirational, while celebrating the rich legacy of Star Wars. Plans for the new museum were announced Saturday night at a fundraising event at Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP).

“Since Princess Leia’s spaceship first sped across the big screen and our collective consciousness 47 years ago, Star Wars fandom has continued to grow and evolve,” said Steve Sansweet, founder of the nonprofit Rancho Obi-Wan, the world’s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia as recognized by Guinness World Records.  “This new museum is for everyone who has ever felt inspired by Star Wars and its continuing legacy. It will be a place where the creative minds of tomorrow can come and dream.”

The mission of the nonprofit is to share the fun and excitement of Star Wars and to deliver a robust suite of meaningful educational, aesthetic, intellectual, and cultural exhibitions and programming for multiple generations.
“Our intention is that this combined Star Wars memorabilia collection will serve a higher purpose,” Sansweet said.  “The legacy of Star Wars is coming full circle to help teach science, technology, robotics, engineering, art, and mathematics in this new museum.”

The founding collections at The Saga Museum are from some of the most renowned Star Wars collectors in the world:

Steve Sansweet—Rancho Obi-Wan: Executive Chairman and Founder of Rancho Obi-Wan, Steve’s collection is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest Star Wars memorabilia collection globally. Steve was Director of Content Management & Head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm for 15 years and is the author of 17 official Star Wars books.

Gus Lopez—Bobacabana: Creator of the Star Wars Celebration Collecting Track and co-author of several Star Wars books and many articles. Gus’ collection includes rare and one-of-a-kind items like original art, toys, awards, and screen-used movie memorabilia.

Duncan Jenkins—The Sithsonian: Known for his international presentations at Star Wars conventions, Duncan’s collection is one of the most comprehensive in the world, with a focus on international and unique memorabilia. He has also coauthored four Star Wars collectibles books.

Lisa Stevens & Vic Wertz—Imperial Archives: Lisa, one-time president of the Official Star Wars Fan Club and Star Wars Brand Manager at Wizards of the Coast, and Vic, former associate editor of Star Wars Insider, have a collection rich in modern toys and high-end limited-edition collectibles.

“The Saga Museum is a natural extension of Rancho Obi-Wan,” said Anne Neumann, President of the nonprofit museum located in Petaluma, California north of San Francisco that opened to the public in 2011.  “Rancho Obi-Wan has inspired thousands of visitors through the ‘Force’ of imagination. Our intention is that The Saga Museum will build on that mission and legacy.”

The founding team, with decades of experience in collecting, curating, and preserving Star Wars memorabilia, has been consulting with museum professionals and fundraising experts to help ensure the success of this new venture. The Saga Museum has launched a campaign to raise $2 million for a two-year planning phase, which will involve working with cities across the United States to identify a permanent, engaging world-class museum design firms, hiring an architectural firm to draft renderings, and executing a capital campaign to fund construction.

“We want The Saga Museum to be a place where everyone, from hardcore fans to casual visitors, can experience the magic of Star Wars in new ways,” said Neumann. “It’s an opportunity to explore how these stories have impacted not just pop culture but the world at large.”

media contact:   
DP&A, Inc: David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

Posted on

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!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress