Star Wars: The Movie model found in a garage is up for auction

A model of the X-Wing fighter used in the original 1977 Star Wars film, A New Hope, was found in a garage and sold at auction for a modest $3.135 million. The miniature model started trading at $400,000 before reaching this incredible amount.

A 50cm-plus model that has been missing for decades is now the most expensive “screen-used” Star Wars prop ever sold at auction, confirmed Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, which is handling the sale.

Star Wars fans will recognize the ship – and its distinctive red stripe – as the ‘Red Leader’new hope, which is seen in close-up during the climactic battle in which the Rebel Alliance attacks Darth Vader’s Death Star. The car, by the way, is piloted by Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), especially famous during the race in the trenches. It was one of four “hero” models built for close-ups during the space show.

Built by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the visual effects company founded by Star Wars creator George Lucas, the model is one of four such miniatures, according to Heritage Auctions, and “Not published or edited after leaving ILMAccording to visual effects historian Gene Kozick (The Hollywood Reporter), who insisted on the importance of this discovery.

For those of us who grew up in the 70s or 80s and who work in visual effects, this model is as big a discovery as the Ruby Red Slippers or the Maltese Falcon.

The X-Wing was found in the collection of Oscar-nominated model maker Greg Jane, who died last year aged 76, in a cardboard box in his garage as experts helped his family catalog his collection.

Other Star Wars accessories were also there, including a Stormtrooper suit from the same film that sold for $645,000 at auction, according to Sky News.

A New Hope, as well as the entire Star Wars saga, can be seen on Disney+.