DALLAS (AP) 鈥 From an early model of the iconic alien mothership from 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind鈥 to a complete Stormtrooper costume from 鈥淪tar Wars,鈥 bidding opens Friday on thousands of pieces Hollywood model maker Greg Jein collected over his lifetime, including many he created during his nearly half-century career.
The collection amassed by Jein, who died last year at age 76, will be offered up by Heritage Auctions next month in Dallas. Jein, who had an Oscar and Emmy nominated career making miniature models, was also a collector of costumes, props, scripts, artwork, photographs and models from the shows he loved.
鈥淗e spent his entire lifetime in a movie industry at a time when practical effects and models were the way that magic happened," said Joshua Benesh, Heritage鈥檚 chief strategy officer. 鈥淭hey were the way that spaceships traveled through outer space. They were the way that aliens came and visited Earth. They were the way that catastrophes and disasters were depicted.鈥
Jein, who grew up in Los Angeles, began his career in the mid-1970s, and over the decades worked on movies including 鈥淭he Dark Knight Rises,鈥 鈥淭he Hunt for Red October鈥 and 鈥淎vatar.鈥 A fan of 鈥淪tar Trek鈥 from the start, he later worked on pieces for the franchise.
Jein was still early in his career when he led the team that created the mothership for Steven Spielberg's 1977 film 鈥淐lose Encounters of the Third Kind.鈥 The model that appears in the movie 鈥 just over 5 feet (1.5 meters) long but appearing gigantic 鈥 is now part of the collection at the Smithsonian鈥檚 春色直播 Air and Space Museum. But a small preliminary model, which is about 5 inches (12 centimeters) long, is among Jein's creations that will be offered at the auction.
鈥淚t is equal parts incredibly intricate and just sort of incredibly simple,鈥 Benesh said. 鈥淚t has this sort of whacked together informal quality to it but you see it and you know exactly what it is.鈥
Other creations from Jein's career going up for auction include a miniature wrecked spaceship from the 1997 film 鈥淪tarship Troopers" and a miniature shack, airplanes and newspapers from Spielberg鈥檚 1979 war comedy 鈥1941.鈥
Also being offered up are a dizzying number of items Jein collected from the 1960s 鈥淏atman鈥 television show and the 鈥淪tar Trek鈥 and 鈥淪tar Wars鈥 franchises. The 鈥淏atman" memorabilia includes Batarangs, utility belts and a Bat radio. There are phasers, communicators and tricorders from 鈥淪tar Trek: The Original Series鈥 from the 1960s, in addition to many costumes, including the formal dress tunic William Shatner wore as 鈥淐aptain Kirk.鈥 Jein even had the Vulcan lute played by Leonard Nimoy鈥檚 鈥淢r. Spock."
Then there's the 鈥淩ed Leader鈥 X-wing Starfighter miniature complete with a pilot and the top of an R2 unit that was used in the 1977 film 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope.鈥
Lou Zutavern, Jein鈥檚 longtime friend and shop supervisor, said Jein had a love for Hollywood history and a passion for collecting.
鈥淗e loved the search and finding things and making a trade,鈥 Zutavern said. 鈥淚t was part of the fun for him but he also really wanted to make sure the stuff didn鈥檛 just get thrown in dumpsters.鈥
Even as a child, Jein was not only a collector, but already an exacting model maker, said his cousin, Jerry Chang. Jein collected baseball cards, comic books and toys, buying one toy to play with and one to keep, Chang said.
When Jein was around 10, he surprised Chang and Chang's brother following a visit to Disneyland by creating a detailed replica of the theme park in his bedroom.
Jein graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in art. He then spent some time taking graduate courses and eventually embarked on his career in Hollywood.
Chang said that sorting through his cousin's collection after his death became 鈥渟ort of like a treasure hunt.鈥
鈥淵ou would move a set of books and all of a sudden you鈥檇 find something and you鈥檇 go: 鈥極h my gosh, that looks kind of familiar,鈥欌 Chang said.
Chang said Jein loved his work and also had a passion to learn about a wide array of topics. After Jein died, his cousin found that his book collection spanned topics from cooking to the military.
鈥淗e lived the life that he wanted and he enjoyed it,鈥 Chang said.
