Recommended music: Taylor Dayne – Don’t Rush Me
Don’t rush me this #WhateverWednesday; I’m still going through photos from my trip to California a few months ago. I’m already on part eight of this series, and I’m still having fun looking at all the pictures…
Over the weekend, I snapped about a thousand photos. Some of them featured my Star Wars Legacy Collection R3-A2, but for most of the evening in Petaluma, R3 stayed in my pocket at Rancho Obi-Wan. Steve Sansweet started this nonprofit museum, and Guinness World Records recognizes it as the world’s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia. Altogether, the museum and its storage areas have around half a million unique Star Wars items.
I can’t describe every detail in the photos because 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.
These steps take you out of the main collection room, past a corridor that looks just like the Rebel Blockade Runner, the Tantive IV, and into the last expanded area.
I don’t know the story behind these Han and Leia puppets, but they look fantastic.
I really hope Jabba’s Sail Barge, the Khetanna, is safely mounted to the wall.
As a Star Wars fan, I wasn’t worried about standing under the sail barge—I just wanted a closer look. 😄
I bet Artoo could beat young Anakin at a game of holochess or Dejarik.
Some lucky kid won their own speeder bike in a 1980s promotion, but I wonder if they were disappointed that it didn’t fly and they had to move it with their feet. Also, the Yoda statue, Zuckuss head, and Luke on tauntaun pinata are all really cool too.
I don’t think I’d ever need these kids’ bikes or Star Wars golf bags, but the Darth Mr. Peanut is awesome. I wonder if it was ever used in an ad.
The Playmatic Space Gambler pinball machine from 1978 features a familiar-looking astromech droid on the backglass. Also, just like Jabba the Hutt, having a tauntaun head mounted on the wall feels like a real achievement.
Sorry, Ewoks—there just isn’t enough room for your landspeeder in the arcade.
You know what goes well with an Atari vector graphics Star Wars arcade cabinet from 1983? How about the Empire Strikes Back rail shooter cabinet, released two years later? 😄
Here’s a nice shot of the whole arcade, except for the Battle Pod machine that’s just out of frame.
Sega’s 1997 Star Wars Trilogy pinball table really highlights the 3D effect with its lenticular backglass.
Along with some traditional slot machines, Rancho also has a Star Wars Pachinko game from Japan.
I’m not really sure how this works, but it has lots of bells and whistles.
One last photo for today: here’s an awesome collection of helmets from a galaxy far, far away.
I meant to wrap up this series by the end of last year, “but I want to take it slowly, slowly”. I’ll have more Rancho coverage for you next month, so stay tuned… In the meantime, check out what they’re all about at https://ranchoobiwan.org/
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Dale's Toys 