Recommended music: Dean Martin – Winter Wonderland
It’s the last #SomethingElseSunday of the year, and I’m still going through photos from my California trip a few months back. I even brought my Star Wars Legacy Collection R3-A2 with me for the ride!
I snapped around a thousand photos during the weekend, but for the remainder of the evening in Petaluma, R3 stayed in my pocket at Rancho Obi-Wan. Steve Sansweet founded this nonprofit museum, which Guinness World Records recognizes as containing the world’s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia. The museum and its storage facilities collectively house about half a million unique Star Wars items.
I won’t be able to comment on every detail in the photos, since the night was such a fun blur of Star Wars excitement. Honestly, I’ve already forgotten more Star Wars things than I can remember from that night.
I think this leg cast belonged to one of Harrison Ford’s stunt doubles on the set of Return of the Jedi. I’m not sure what happened or whether it was Vic Armstrong or Larry Holt, but many members of the ROTJ cast and crew signed it during filming.
“Look at the size of that thing!” I’m pretty sure this is a fan creation, since you don’t usually see B’omarr monks bigger than 1/18th scale.
These 12-inch wooden figures of Vlix, Yak Face, and a few others are definitely fan-made.
I really like this shelf that showcases custom creations featuring Steve Sansweet, himself.
Disney Parks has added similar Dianoga references at Galaxy’s Edge, but I think Rancho had this incredible creation before they did.
Any mention of Camel cigarettes here is definitely unofficial. There’s also a jar with the real-life “sands of Tatooine.”
Since I’m a fan of both action figures and the Star Wars Holiday Special, I really liked this display. From Pimp2-D2 to Lumpy to a Wookiee leg lamp inspired by ‘A Christmas Story,’ there’s a lot of fun stuff here.
This group of Severed Limbs custom figures is both hilarious and really well done.
From right to left, there are Star Wars characters made out of pipe cleaners, some custom minions, and something interesting to read…
There are more fun customs here, like Carrie Fisher’s dog Gary and Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner—figures that Hasbro will probably never make.
Rancho has a huge collection of Star Wars Lego products, but what impressed me most wasn’t the boxed sets—it was the custom Millennium Falcon made for “Pimp Lando.”
There’s also a TIE Fighter and AT-AT in random colors, plus some cool Ahsoka and Loth-wolf creations.
And of course, there are Russian nesting dolls.
Ten years ago this month, BB-8 became a fan favorite and a big part of Star Wars merchandise after his debut in The Force Awakens. This display of all things BB-8 is really impressive.
This is just what a young Star Wars fan’s bedroom looked like in the late 1970s and early 80s. Rancho Obi-Wan has set up similar rooms at Star Wars Celebration, and it’s always fun to get a glimpse of the past.
Here’s one more picture for today: a photo op with a life-size Empire Strikes Back action figure, just like the ones used in Japan. This display was actually at Star Wars Celebration Japan this past spring. (That’s my mint-in-box action figure face) 😄
I planned to finish this series by the end of the year, but after looking through all my trip photos, we’re only about halfway done. I’ll share more Rancho coverage in January 2026. In the meantime, check out what they’re all about at https://ranchoobiwan.org/…
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