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Big collection this is. Or so Master Yoda would say.
Some people collect cars. Others collect memorabilia from their favourite sports team. Moose Jaw’s Ryan Johnson, on the other hand, has seriously devoted his time to collecting all things Star Wars.
He has what he calls 24,000 unique Star Wars items. He has so many that he had to build an addition onto his house.
“It’s not the world record. He’s at over, last time I talked to him, over 300,000 and still growing. I’ll never catch him but that’s OK. It’s not really a race I care about.”
Speaking on Mainstreet Tuesday afternoon, Johnson called it a hobby and an obsession. Although he’s been a fan of the movie franchise since he was a kid 37 years ago, he’s been seriously collecting since the mid 1990s.
Different items come with different memories and stories for Johnson. He doesn’t even have the full haul out.
“I only have about a quarter to maybe a third of it actually on display. Most of it’s in storage just because I do not physically have the space to display it all,” he explained. “I’ve displayed what I call some of the more important pieces, unless they’re like high value items. I actually keep those off-site.”
Let’s hope Johnson isn’t going the way of the Dark Side considering that’s where his favourite pieces from his massive collection come from. He said he’s always enjoyed a limited release Storm Trooper helmet that was used to hold his baby girl in a newborn picture. Johnson also enjoys a 24-carat gold-plated Storm Trooper that was custom made.
All in all, he figures his collection is worth at least $400,000. He said he had it appraised in 2010 and it was worth $300,000 USD at that time. As much as it is worth, Johnson insists he’ll never sell it.
