Rancho Obi-Wan

I guess we were overdue for another road trip. Mike's family and I drove up to Central California yesterday (Friday) evening, and then finished the trip up to Northern California with Michael McMaster and his family, to deliver the Blockade Runner set to Steve Sansweet at Rancho Obi-Wan.



We were joined by several R2 Builders at Rancho Obi-Wan, who helped unload the Blockade Runner from the truck and get it set up in one of Steve's barns.



As chief architect of the Blockade Runner, Michael McMaster explained the wiring and setup to Steve.



Of course, the moment we'd been waiting for was a tour of Steve's collection. You will never find a more wretched... er, complete collection (or anything bordering on close) as what Steve has compiled. Literally tens of thousands of collectibles.



Steve talked about the background of several of the items in his collection. Many of his favorites are fan-built, such as this R2 figure made mostly from Popsicle sticks.



Other items were more immediately recognizable.



Yet other items were both recognizable and fan-built, such as this Millennium Falcon, built from tin by a fan in Mexico.



Some items were notable for their packaging.



When the visit was over, we took a group picture. All we can say is, "Thank you, Steve!!" Those of us in the picture include Kevin Allington, Ed Wamser, Gerard Fajardo, Michael McMaster & family, Chris James, Steve Sansweet, Mike Senna & family, and me.



Afterward, we met up with Don Bies for dinner, where Don had some fun chasing some kids around with Chris James' R2.



A passerby mentioned to Don to be careful about the surrounding crowd, but Don assured him that he'd done this before. :)