Rancho Obi-Wan Wins Guinness World Record For Largest Collection of 'Star Wars' Memorabilia

Clearly, the force is strong in this one.

Steve Sansweet, former Director of Content Management and head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm, has been recognized by Guinness World Records for his Rancho Obi-Wan--a museum housing the largest collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia on the planet.

“I got interested in Star Wars as a result of loving science fiction growing up,” Sansweet told Guinness World Records in a video. “I read all of the classic science fiction novels, saw the cheesy movies and television shows, and then there wasn’t very much science fiction in the media. And then, 'Star Wars' came out and I was hooked from the very beginning.”

The museum, a 9,000-square-foot converted chicken ranch in Petaluma, Calif., is home to his reported 300,000 unique "Star Wars" items, and Sansweet leads personally guided tours of the grounds.

The collection includes a pinball arcade room, life-size Lego models of Darth Vader, R2D2 and Boba Fett, a full-sized battle droid and a dancing cantina band.

An avid collector and a former employee of the company that produced the “Star Wars” legacy, Sansweet reportedly started his collection before the first film was even released.

According to CBS, Sansweet pulled his first piece--a 20th Century promotional booklet--from the trash can of a colleague at the Wall Street Journal in 1977.

In 1996, Sansweet joined Lucasfilm Ltd. as the Director of Specialty Marketing, and his collection began to skyrocket. Two years later, he opened Rancho Obi-Wan.

“I’m delighted with the recognition from Gunness World Records, which for years has been the authority in these matters,” Sansweet wrote on his website. “We were really excited to work with the Guinness folks. Preparing the photo shoot set a record in my book for one of the most fun-filled days ever at the museum."