Arguably, the most iconic prop from the Star Wars universe is a camera flash. The lightsabers used by Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader were both made from vintage camera flash guns. Due in part to the Star Wars minimal budget, set decorator Roger Christian had to scour antique dealers and thrift shops for prop ideas. It was at a shop in London where he found a 1940s Graflex camera with a 3-cell flash gun attached. The flash gun, with only minor modifications, would become Luke’s iconic lightsaber. The flash gun to lightsaber conversion cost Christian just $15, but one of the two he created was sold to a museum in Seattle for a whopping $250,000, making his flash handle the most expensive movie weapon prop ever sold.
