Like many men of his age, Matt Fox’s fascination with Star Wars began the moment he first saw the 1977 classic as a young boy.
But unlike most, he has continued collecting toys and ephemera from the much-loved sci-fi franchise.
That enormous collection now forms the basis for a special exhibition, May The Toys Be With You, which opens at Lynn Museum on Tuesday, July 15, and runs until May 31 next year.
Part of the Star Wars exhibition at Lynn Museum (Image: Chris Bishop)
Teacher Mr Fox, 52, from Canterbury in Kent, said: “There are 250 exhibits, but I’ve probably got five times that many back stage as it were.
“I saw the first film when I was five and that kicked off what’s been a lifelong interest.
“On the way home, we stopped off at a toy shop and I asked mum mum to buy me a Star Wars figure, it was Darth Vader.”
Some of the figures in the exhibition (Image: Chris Bishop) The figure’s packaging showed all the others you could collect in that first series. So Mr Fox did just that.
Some bought for £1.50 almost 50 years ago are worth thousands today if mint and still in their original packaging.
Mr Fox declined to reveal what his collection is now worth, adding it was “six figures”.
Matt Fox with some of the posters in the exhibition (Image: Chris Bishop) As well as the toys, the exhibition also includes original posters and artwork.
“They’re amazing because they were all produced before there was Photoshop,” said Mr Fox. “They had to paint them all by hand.”
Mr Fox’s collection spans the so-called first trilogy of blockbusters Star Wars (1977), The Empire Strikes back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983).
Part of the Star Wars exhibition at Lynn Museum (Image: Chris Bishop) Critics hailed the movies, with their previously-unseen special effects, as some of the most important of all times.
They centred on the war between the Rebel Alliance and the tyrannical Galactic Empire, blowing audiences away with their special effects which were ground-breaking at the time.
The Star Wars exhibition’s logo (Image: Chris Bishop)
In 1977, the first Star Wars film broke box office records. Star Wars toys became the must-have playthings for an entire generation, with an estimated 300m action figures sold between 1977 and 1985.
One industry analyst reckons while the movies have grossed $10bn, the merchandise has brought in more than three times that.