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The Star Wars franchise is one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world, and one family is getting a taste of that value after auctioning off a model from the very first film thought to be lost since the late 70s.
The model, in question, was described as the “hero” prop X-Wing used by VFX company Industrial Light and Magic while shooting Star Wars Episode 4: A New Hope in 1976, according to Men's Journal. It describes the “hero” prop as the most detailed model a VFX company would make for close-up shots, which in this model's case would have been the climactic Death Star battle and served as Luke Skywalker's ship during his trench run. The model was auctioned in Dallas, Texas, as part of the estate of Oscar-nominated model maker Gregory Jein and was ultimately went for over $3.1 million.
Jein's career in VFX began in the 1970s by working on various commercials and TV shows, including Wonder Woman. Some of his most famous work can be seen in director Steven Spielberg‘s 1977 sci-fi classic Close Encounter of the Third Kind, earning the model maker an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects. He would receive a second for his work on Spielberg's World War 2 comedy 1941, but lost both times.
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His career would continue well into the 80s and 90s, regularly working on various Star Trek films and shows during that time.
VFX historian Gene Kozicki said he discovered the model among Jein's possessions while helping his family sort through the assortment of props left behind by the late VFX artist. The X-Wing was found on accident, according to Kozicki, while he was sorting through boxes in Jein's garage from his days at ILM. Kozicki suggests Jein most likely got his hands on it when ILM was moving from its original studio in the California Bay Area to a bigger one in San Fernando Valley.
The X-Wing was one of “many props” that reportedly went missing during the move in 1978.
