• Al Bahiti, who is also garrison commander of the UAE outpost of the Star Wars uber-fan imperial costuming group The 501st Legion, claims to possess the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia outside the United States and Europe.
    Al Bahiti, who is also garrison commander of the UAE outpost of the Star Wars uber-fan imperial costuming group The 501st Legion, claims to possess the largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia outside the United States and Europe.
  • A fairly typical domestic scene at Al Bahiti’s house sees him chilling on the sofa with his friends — an imperial TIE fighter pilot and a Stormtrooper.
    A fairly typical domestic scene at Al Bahiti’s house sees him chilling on the sofa with his friends — an imperial TIE fighter pilot and a Stormtrooper.
  • A model of the all terrain armoured transport (AT-AT) from Star Wars.
    A model of the all terrain armoured transport (AT-AT) from Star Wars.
  • Miniature figurines of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are part of Al Bahiti's collection.
    Miniature figurines of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are part of Al Bahiti's collection.
  • A special edition movie poster of Star Wars sits in Al Bahiti's wall.
    A special edition movie poster of Star Wars sits in Al Bahiti's wall.
  • Al Bahiti’s R2-D2 unit is currently static and speaks courtesy of an inbuilt iPod featuring samples of the droid’s trademark squeaks and bleeps. However, inspired by the British droid builders Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, who have been taken on to build a complete working model for the new movie, Al Bahiti hopes to use a selection of turntables, motors and servos to bring his own model completely to life.
    Al Bahiti’s R2-D2 unit is currently static and speaks courtesy of an inbuilt iPod featuring samples of the droid’s trademark squeaks and bleeps. However, inspired by the British droid builders Lee Towersey and Oliver Steeples, who have been taken on to build a complete working model for the new movie, Al Bahiti hopes to use a selection of turntables, motors and servos to bring his own model completely to life.
  • The storm trooper blaster is the only item in Al Bahiti’s collection that has almost led to his arrest. Travelling through Istanbul Airport, Al Bahiti mentioned to security that he had a collectable item in his hand luggage, but was waved through. Unfortunately when the outline of the blaster showed up on the X-ray, the security staff were less understanding. After meeting half of the Turkish army and police force, Al Bahiti was eventually cleared to travel and escorted to the plane under armed guard. As a final punchline, when boarding the plane, Al Bahiti was asked for his passport by his escorts. He says: “You should have seen the guy’s face. It was post-911, and I was travelling on a Saudi passport.”
    The storm trooper blaster is the only item in Al Bahiti’s collection that has almost led to his arrest. Travelling through Istanbul Airport, Al Bahiti mentioned to security that he had a collectable item in his hand luggage, but was waved through. Unfortunately when the outline of the blaster showed up on the X-ray, the security staff were less understanding. After meeting half of the Turkish army and police force, Al Bahiti was eventually cleared to travel and escorted to the plane under armed guard. As a final punchline, when boarding the plane, Al Bahiti was asked for his passport by his escorts. He says: “You should have seen the guy’s face. It was post-911, and I was travelling on a Saudi passport.”
  • Al Bahiti's lightsabers are remarkably authentic, and mimic the unforgettable sound made by the ones in the films. Master Replicas was wound down following its takeover by Corgi a few years ago, so this is another part of Al Bahiti’s collection that is getting rarer by the day.
    Al Bahiti's lightsabers are remarkably authentic, and mimic the unforgettable sound made by the ones in the films. Master Replicas was wound down following its takeover by Corgi a few years ago, so this is another part of Al Bahiti’s collection that is getting rarer by the day.
  • One of the more understated parts of Al Bahiti’s collection is an original painting of the very first scene from the first film, Star Wars: A New Hope, by Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie was the conceptual designer behind the original trilogy and created characters including Darth Vader, R2D2 and Chewbacca. McQuarrie, who died in 2012, also designed characters for the likes of Battlestar Galactica and ET; this is one of only two of his original paintings of this particular scene.
    One of the more understated parts of Al Bahiti’s collection is an original painting of the very first scene from the first film, Star Wars: A New Hope, by Ralph McQuarrie. McQuarrie was the conceptual designer behind the original trilogy and created characters including Darth Vader, R2D2 and Chewbacca. McQuarrie, who died in 2012, also designed characters for the likes of Battlestar Galactica and ET; this is one of only two of his original paintings of this particular scene.
  • Al Bahiti says he has only around 30 per cent of his total collection on display — the rest in storage spread between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
    Al Bahiti says he has only around 30 per cent of his total collection on display — the rest in storage spread between Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

In pictures: Omar Al Bahiti’s Star Wars collection in Dubai

Olga Camacho

May 18, 2014

  • English
  • Arabic

Star Wars mega-fan Omar Al Bahiti, whose collection of memorabilia from the sci-fi franchise — from a Stormtrooper blaster to a lightsaber — is of epic proportions. All photos by Christopher Pike / The National.

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