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WATCH ECCC: Star Wars super collector Gus Lopez tells us about his amazing collection

By Mike Avila

Many Star Wars fans consider themselves to be collectors, but Gus Lopez takes collecting to another level. Lopez's passion for the film extends far beyond the action figures, toys, and statues. His reach extends to props from the films, crew jackets, and even Star Wars cereal boxes from around the world!

On the last day of ECCC 2019, Lopez was a special guest on the Live Stage, and he shared a few stories from his decades of collecting. 

"I feel like there's still a lot of awesome vintage stuff to be found," said Lopez. "It's not completely dried up. The past year was a very good year for me... I got an Ewok log that was used as a special effects miniature that was used to crush one of the chicken walkers. Then there were Harrison Ford's welding goggles from Empire Strikes Back... The big piece in the auction was Harrison Ford's jacket from Empire Strikes Back. It didn't sell in the auction, but afterwards... I ended up picking that up, too.”

However, Lopez also told us that he prefers not to buy things through auction. Instead, he attempts to track down crew members and relatives who originally owned the props and costumes.

"I actually prefer not to buy things at auction. Usually it's too expensive, and you're dealing with intense competition," related Lopez. "What's nice about finding it from original sources is... you usually get a fair deal out of it and the stories behind it. You get the real context and the story, where sometimes at auction, they abridge the story and it's harder to get."

For more collecting war stories, check out the entire video!