'Star Wars' a force in man's collectibles

BALTIMORE, July 2 (UPI) -- Thirty years' worth of memorabilia from the "Star Wars" saga took up one man's room, then a hallway and now a portion of a Baltimore museum.

The exhibit in Geppi's Entertainment Museum's Special Collection Gallery is a sampling of the merchandising force of "Star Wars": Queen Amidala bandages; Darth Vader and C-3PO PEZ dispensers; R2-D2, Chewbacca and storm trooper action figures; a replica of Han Solo's Millennium Falcon.

Thomas Atkinson, whose collection made "The Force is With Us: 30 Years of Star Wars" possible, said the display is a slice of his memorabilia, The Baltimore Sun reported Monday. The collector said he catalogued at least 12,000 items.

"When 'Star Wars' came along, there was this universe up on that screen that was clearly and obviously lived in and populated by people who were just going about their daily lives ... and it wasn't all clean and white and shiny," Atkinson said.

Atkinson said some of his collection, begun when Luke Skywalker was learning the Jedi ways, are toys from his childhood; others he's added throughout the years.

"I never got rid of any of the stuff and I never stopped collecting," Atkinson said.