THE ULTIMATE TOY ROOM

(A tour of the Sansweet collection)

 

One of the greatest joys Shane, Darren, Justin and I experienced whilst holidaying in America, was the opportunity to stay with Steve Sansweet for a few days. Besides living in a very comfortable and inviting house set on the side of a hill, overlooking a large part of Los Angeles, it is also the home base of the world's largest Star Wars collection.

 

Steve has been collecting memorabilia since the earliest days of Star Wars, and in that time, he has amassed a collection so immense, one cannot help but be overawed by it. Anything and everything related to the films can be found in Steve's possession. In the time we were there, we were able to have a really good look at all the things that were marketed for the Star Wars movies. It really doesn't occur to you just how much there is until you see it all brought together like this. You see, the collection resides primarily in one long room under the main house. The "Toy Room" as it is more commonly known, is chock full of stuff, and once you have gotten over the shear immensity of it all, one can do some serious digging and find some really neat things. Such as: all the large action figures mint in boxes, complete rolls of every type of Star Wars wall paper around, all the model kits (including some of the forgotten ones like the Darth Vader and Artoo Detoo/See-Threepio Chevy vans) still shrink wrapped, every Star Wars rip-off and compilation soundtrack album as well as all the different books and novelisations you can think of, and literally stacks and stacks of T-shirts, bed sheets, pillow cases, mugs, games, belt buckles, badges, patches and novelties, all mint and unused. There were also enough different cardboard display stands to fill an exhibition, every piece of Star Tours and Skywalker Ranch merchandise you can imagine and hundreds of mint packaged action figures and toys from all over the world. It has to be seen to be believed. Despite the fact that a portion of it is currently in storage, the list cracks the million mark and accounts for about 96% of every piece of memorabilia (whether it be authorised or not) ever created for the Star Wars saga.

 

But it doesn't stop there. Among all the commercially available material lies some of the more exclusive items. Like some original movie props: See-Threepio and biker scout helmets, a couple of gun turrets from the Death Star as well as various Death Star sections themselves, some Imperial Officer insignia, the original Darth Vader costume, and two of the original chess pieces from the first film. Apart from owning an original piece of Ralph MacQuarrie artwork, Steve has also been very privileged to have received a number of gifts from ILM, such as a very large AT-AT model, a large snowspeeder, a TIE fighter model (in scale with the commercially released Darth Vader one), and an X-wing fighter as well, all presented in their own individual perspex cases. A couple of other very exclusive items consist of a gold album presented to John Williams for the Star Wars soundtrack music, a prototype Academy Award in the shape of See-Threepio which were going to be presented as actual Oscars at the 1977 Academy Awards but were abandoned, a Revenge of the Jedi paperweight, large prototype See-Threepio and IG-88 action figures, original sculptures from a couple of the micro figurines and the chess set, and every variation of Star Wars poster you can conceive both official and unofficial including a rare Star Wars marque poster personally autographed by George Lucas himself (Shane and I who are dedicated Star Wars movie poster collectors were simply stunned by what we came across). Ironically, Lucasfilmhas acknowledged Steve's Star Wars poster collection as being more complete and concise as their own. This just went to prove that Steve Sansweet is no ordinary Star Wars collector.

 

Steve, is in fact a lot more than just a collector, he has taken his passion for Star Wars a few steps further and made a name for himself promoting that which he loves. In his book: Star Wars: From Concept, to Screen, to Collectable, Steve was able to interview George Lucas to give his work a greater air of authenticity. The result is a book which is not only great reference material, but is a brilliant insight as to how the Star Wars magic touched so many of us, both through the cinema as well as the department store. (George was so impressed by Steve's work he gave a copy to all Lucasfilm employees.) The recently released Star Wars Galaxy Topps trading cards were created with Steve's input and he is also assisting in the production of a second series due to come out soon. He also had a hand in the full colour book of the various artworks used in the cards as well, which has since been made available. A couple of other projects in the works will require Lucasfilm's direct involvement. Next to that he plans to release the most comprehensive Star Wars collector's price guide in existence. This has already been endorsed by Lucas Film, and will virtually serve as the Star Wars collector's bible. Recently Steve was asked to become a regular feature writer for the official Star Wars Fan Club in the USA. All of Steve's efforts have not gone unrewarded. He is officially recognised by Lucasfilm Ltd as having the most comprehensive collection of Star Wars artefacts in the world, and is a regular visitor to Skyforce Ranch to further research these ongoing projects. (Make no mistake, Steve is going to be a name to remember in Star Wars' future. Not bad for the editor of the LA Wall Street Journal, hey.)

 

Steve Sansweet was very kind to let us practically take over his home and freely tour his collection (he honours as many requests as he can for this, happy to share his passions and fortunes with fellow Star Wars fans). One cannot resist playing the fully operational Star Wars pinball machine and video machine arcade, or to flick through the immense badge,  patch and swap card collection whilst constantly discovering that forgotten collectable you remember from your childhood.

 

Steve's enthusiasm for Star Wars has placed him in a unique position where he can almost sustain a living from it. He has progressed to the stage where an enjoyable hobby has turned into something far more productive and rewarding, with lots of great things still to come which will benefit all the Star Wars fans like you and me. It is also clear to see that he shall go a long way with each new idea he pursues, which should put a smile on every fan's face, particularly considering it is all coming from a man who still considers himself to be just another fan.

 

D. Maxwell

 

  • Just before this article was written, an earthquake hit LA. We were told by Steve that although the house shook violently, the damage was minimal. A lot of things were knocked about and many collectables were thrown to the floor, with the worst casualties being some of his ceramic Star Wars pieces, which were smashed. Steve himself, and everyone else in the house were shaken but OK.
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