2021 is proving a big year for both the science fiction genre and movie memorabilia in general. The sale of a first edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818 – the first novel of the science fiction genre) for US$1,170,000 already marks it as a banner year but results from this week's auctions certainly add to that momentum.
The sale of the Marty McFly Lenticular Mattel Hoverboard from Back To The Future Part II (1989) for $501,200 (£375,000) represents a 400 percent increase in the value of the film prop in just three years, and the sale of the Phaser Rifle from Star Trek for $615,000 makes it the world's most expensive movie weapon, and science fiction weapons now make up eight of the most expensive movie/TV weapons ever sold.
$615,000 | William Shatner Phaser Rifle from his debut appearance as "Capt. James Kirk"
TV Series: Star Trek: The Original Series Second Pilot
Auction House: Heritage | Lot #89851 | 7 November 2021
Estimate: Not available
Auction Page Link
This weapon was created for the second pilot of the Star Trek TV Series in 1966, the episode that effectively convinced the television executives at NBC to give the series a green light. The pilot episode was used in the third Star Trek episode aired on TV, entitled Where No Man Has Gone Before, first going to air on 22 September 1966. The episode was the debut of William Shatner in his iconic role as Captain James T. Kirk.
Heritage Auctions’ auction description: reads “This one-of-a-kind Phaser Rifle is among the very top "Holy Grails" of the science fiction collector's universe, as it helped sell Star Trek to the network, forever influencing the genre.”
Heritage was right, as this is now the most expensive “weapon” from a movie or TV Series that has ever sold at auction, surpassing Han Solo's "BlasTech DL-44" from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (Lucasfilm, 1983) which fetched $562,500 at Julien’s in 2018 and John Wayne's Colt Single Action Army Revolver which fetched $517,500 last month at Rock Island Auctions.
The Colt remains the most expensive real gun to appear in a movie or TV Series, and appeared in The Cowboys, True Grit, Rooster Cogburn and many others. Remarkably, it's now the only real genuinely-lethal gun in the top 10 movie weapons.
$501,200 | £375,000 | Michael J. Fox-autographed Marty McFly Lenticular Mattel Hoverboard
Movie: Back To The Future Part II (1989)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #24 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £60,000 - £80,000 | $80,000 - $110,000
Auction Page Link
The Mattel Hoverboard from the 1989 movie Back to the Future Part II has been on everyone’s Santa list ever since the film was released a third of a century ago. The public profile of the Hoverboard grew exponentially after the film was released when Director Robert Zemeckis said on the film's behind-the-scenes featurette that the hoverboards used in the film were real, and had not been released to the public due to concerns regarding safety. This was untrue but helped to generate rumor, controversy and media attention. The resultant spike of interest subsequently convinced many inventors to attempted to create a hoverboard but no-one has yet succeeded, at least not in such a compact form factor.
Hence the props from the movie are appreciating better than gold, with one selling for $40,000 a few years ago, making waves in the media, then another of the film-used props sold for $102,000 at Profiles in History in 2018. Hence this sale represents a 400 percent increase in the value of the film prop in just three years.
$350,000 | George Reeves "Superman" Costume Ensemble
TV Series: Adventures of Superman (Warner Bros. TV, 1952-58)
Auction House: Heritage | Lot #89805 | 7 November 2021
Estimate: Not available
Auction Page Link
Easily the highest amount ever paid for a Superman costume, and the marketplace has spoken that George Reeves’ Superman costume from the 1950s TV show should be deemed the most valuable of them all. The Superman TV show was the one that the baby boomers grew up with (Faster than a speeding bullet. More powerful than a locomotive. Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!) and if you had to frame an experiment to determine the definitive "Superman" at this moment in time, the auctioning of the screen-worn Superman costumes of Kirk Alyn (Columbia Pictures, 1948/1950), George Reeves (Warner Bros. TV, 1952-58) and Christopher Reeve (Superman IV: The Quest for Peace - Warner Bros., 1987) in consecutive lots on the same day would be close to perfect.
There are only a handful of screen-worn Superman costumes in existence and this $350,000 sale now holds the auction price record. By comparison, there are around 100 copies of Action Comics #1, the first appearance of Superman. The record for one of those comics was also set earlier this year at $3.25 million. It could be argued that Action Comics #1 was the beginning of the entire superhero genre, but we think it's more that comic books are now a separate category of hedge fund altogether.
$317,420 | £237,500 | Industrial Light & Magic X-wing Filming Miniature
Movie: Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #339 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £200,000 - £300,000 | $275,000 - $410,000
Auction Page Link
To save money and time during the productions of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) bought in a handful of off-the-shelf model kits, which were heavily adapted and modified for filming. Those models are now among the most iconic spacecraft in sci-fi cinema and have ultimately become one the most sought-after categories of Star Wars memorabilia.
This light-up Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) X-wing filming miniature from the 1983 production of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi is the new auction price record-holder with its £237,500 (US$317,420) result, but there have been several other X-Wings to sell in the same price bracket. Propstore previously sold an X-Wing filming miniature for $144,120 in 2016, while Profiles in History has sold X-Wings for $270,000 in 2012 and $192,000 in 2016.
$300,710 | £225,000 | Anakin Skywalker's (Hayden Christensen) Hero Lightweight Belt Lightsaber
Movie: Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith (2005)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #319 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £40,000 - £60,000 | $55,000 - $82,000
Auction Page Link
The signature personal weapon of the Star Wars franchise, screen-used Lightsabers have fetched some astonishing prices, with the original lightsaber of Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) from the first two movies in the original Star Wars trilogy (Star Wars and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back) holding the record after fetching $450,000 at Profiles in History in 2017. The same lightsaber had previously held the price record for a Star Wars Lightsaber at $240,000 following a 2008 sale at Profiles in History.
Luke Skywalker Lightsabers are clearly the most sought-after as Mark Hamill's weapon from Star Wars: A New Hope sold for GBP£150,000 ($184,365) at Propstore in 2019.
This sale of US$300,710 (GBP£225,000) makes this Lightsaber the second most valuable to sell at auction. It isn't clear whether this is the same Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) Hero Lightweight Belt Lightsaber that sold at Propstore for GBP£137,500 ($182,463) in 2018.
$208,825 | £156,250 | Original Screen-matched Large-scale Eagle Transporter Filming Miniature
TV Series: Space: 1999 (T.V. Series, 1975-1977)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #290 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £80,000 - £120,000 | $110,000 - $165,000
Auction Page Link
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television program that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it, as well as the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, hurtling uncontrollably into space. It was the most expensive series produced for British television up to that time, and this is one of the wonderful filming miniatures created for the show
This transporter appeared in 45 of Space: 1999's 48 episodes, making it the most screen-used model of the series, and it screen-matches the Eagle seen in series finale, The Dorcons, through its markings and details on the bottom of the footpads. It was also used in nine of the 11 crash-landing sequences, meaning it had to be repeatedly rebuilt and repaired. In recent years it has been lovingly and carefully restored by master model maker David Sisson.
$187,500 | Christopher Reeve "Superman" Costume
Movie: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (Warner Bros., 1987)
Auction House: Heritage | Lot #89806 | 7 November 2021
Estimate: Not available
Auction Page Link
To more recent Superman devotees, Christopher Reeve is probably the best-known actor associated with the role of Superman but that relevance changes for each and every collector, and at the end of the day, this costume sold for just over half that of the price fetched by the George Reeves' Superman Costume from the 1952-1958 TV Series on the same day, in consecutive lots. An indication of the strength of the movie memorabilia marketplace at present is that this costume sold for $27,500 when it last went to auction at Profiles in History in April 2004. The record for a Christopher Reeve Superman costume was set last year when a costume from Superman III (Warner Bros., 1983) fetched $200,000 at Julien's Auctions in Hollywood.
$175,420 | £131,250 | Stormtrooper Helmet
Movie: Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #340 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £100,000 - £150,000 | $135,000 - $205,000
Auction Page Link
Screen-worn Stormtrooper helmets have a spectacular history at auction over the last decade, with previous screen-worn helmets at auction having fetched $245,000, $240,000, $196,756 (£159,900), $179,090 (£135,300), $137,500, $126,800 (£65,000), $122,985 (£86,500) and $121,847 (£79,950). They have a near-permanent spot in our end of year auction round-up because there are enough of them to ensure they regularly come to auction. As you can see, this one fell in the middle of the pack. There are also many variations on helmets from Star Wars, with the record for a Stormtrooper helmet at $245,000, the record for a Tiefighter helmet at $ 287,876 (£221,400) and the record for a Snow Trooper helmet at $276,750 (note that the linked pages do not include buyer's premium).
$167,065 | £125,000 | Light-up R2-M80/KR2-M80/R2-F1P Remote Control Droid
Movie: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) and Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #349 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £100,000 - £150,000 | $135,000 - $205,000
Auction Page Link
This astromech droid appeared as three different droids across the two films. R2-M80 can be seen in the Alliance base hanger in the Great Temple on Yavin 4 as the pilots run to their ships in Rogue One; KR2-M80 and R2-F1P were both in Solo, in the control room on Kessel and later outside as the slave revolt progressed, and at Coronet spaceport on Corellia, respectively. When seen as R2-F1P the droid was re-skinned in orange, as opposed to its current yellow.
Hand-built by Mike Filippidis, a founding member of the UK R2 Builders Club, the droid is made predominantly from aluminum, including an all-aluminum external shell. It is intentionally distressed to look well used and it has not been cleaned since its use on the Kessel set. The name of R2-F1P is based on Filippidis' nickname "Flip". R2-M80 is never officially used as a designation, and the droid was named "Matey" by Filippidis himself.
It is driven with a Spektrum DX6i remote control and features a rotating dome and light effects, powered by a rechargeable battery. A compartment at the back slides out, revealing the battery, power switches and internal workings. Inside there are several stickers, including one detailing the scenes, dates, locations and sets the droid was used across the two films, and which droid it was for those specific scenes.
$100,240 | £75,000 | Full-size T-800 Endoskeleton
Movie: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #378 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £60,000 - £80,000 | $80,000 - $110,000
Auction Page Link
At 182 cm (6 ft) tall, the T-800 Terminator Endoskeleton is not perhaps as big as you'd expect, but as the auction description puts it, it "is the signature piece from one of the most beloved science fiction franchises in cinema."
This T-800 was used in Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and like many of the Terminator 2 Endoskeletons, was rebuilt after production of the film, primarily for use in the Universal theme park attraction T2-3D: Battle Across Time and other related needs. This particular Endoskeleton was modified to be used in the planned Las Vegas show for magician Criss Angel, a project that the creator of the T-800, Stan Winston Studios, collaborated on.
This model comprises a combination of original production components, complemented by reproduction parts created from original molds, including the lower left arm, parts of the right arm, and both feet. The head is a reproduction created by Stan Winston Studios, complete with red-colored illuminating eyes powered by an included 210/240V power supply. There are cable loops present on both shoulders. The lot has been intentionally distressed all over, creating a battle-damaged appearance, and the right foot is missing a toe. The Endoskeleton comes mounted on a metal display base.
$93,750 | Billy Mumy "Will Robinson" Ensemble from Season 3
TV Series: Lost in Space (CBS TV, 1965-1968)
Auction House: Heritage | Lot #89833 | 7 November 2021
Estimate: Not available
Auction Page Link
Now there may be something we don't know about this lot, but previous Will Robinson (Billy Mumy) costumes from Lost in Space have sold in the $20,000 price bracket, with Profiles in History selling an outfit from Season 2 for $20,400 in December 2019 and Nate D Sanders selling a near identical costume to this one in for just less than $20,000.
No Sale | Full-size Warrior Robot with Animatronic Remote-control Head
Movie: Judge Dredd (1995)
Auction House: Propstore | Lot #212 | 11 November 2021
Estimate: £50,000 - £70,000 | $70,000 - $96,000
Auction Page Link
At 210 cm (6.9 ft) tall, this full-size ABC Warrior Robot from Danny Cannon's sci-fi adventure Judge Dredd is an imposing sight, particularly when you consider it as a form of industrial art, ideal for the foyer of the right company at very least. Hence, we're surprised it failed to make a reserve price of just $70,000.
