Long-Lost 'Star Wars' Prop Found in Garage Breaks Auction Record

An original model of the X-wing Starfighter used during the climactic sequences in Star Wars: A New Hope sold at auction this weekend for a record $3.135 million.

The X-wing is a so-called “hero” prop, which in filmmaking refers to the most detailed level of model to be used for close-ups. It was used during the final battle sequence in A New Hope, including Luke Skywalker’s trench run. It was built by Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) around 1976.

The model was auctioned off in Dallas as part of Oscar-nominated model maker Gregory Jein’s (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1941) estate, setting a record for the most expensive Star Wars product ever to be sold. “This model has not been displayed or modified since it left ILM,” VFX historian Gene Kozicki told The Hollywood Reporter. “For those of us that grew up in the ’70s or ’80s, and those of us that work in visual effects, this model is as significant a find as the ruby red slippers or the Maltese Falcon.”

The acquisition is even more remarkable because the model was thought to be lost for years. It was uncovered almost by accident when Kozicki was helping Jein’s family inventory his remaining props. Kozicki said Jein likely came into possession of the prop around ILM’s 1978 move from California’s Bay Area to the San Fernando Valley, during which many props went missing and remained unaccounted for decades later. Ultimately, the X-Wing was found in a box packed away in Jein’s garage. (Jein is not credited with having worked on Star Wars, though he worked at ILM during its production.)

“We never could confirm anything,” Kozicki, one of a handful of VFX vets who recently found the model while helping Jein’s family catalog the late VFX pro’s collection. “It became something of a mythical ‘white whale’—the missing Star Wars X-wing.”

Though the X-wing is obviously the most expensive piece of Star Wars memorabilia, it's not the only item to fetch millions at auction. In 2017, an R2-D2 model used in several installments sold for $2.76 million. In June 2022, an almost identical X-wing model fetched $2.3 million.