A 'Star Wars' prop that had been missing for decades was found in a garage. It just sold for $3.13 million.

• An X-Wing prop used for the original "Star Wars" movie was discovered in a garage in November.
• Friends of Oscar-nominated visual effects artist Greg Jein found the prop after he died.

A 20-inch X-Wing starfighter model for the original 1977 "Star Wars" movie just sold for $3.13 million.

The prop, one of four special models used for close-ups in the film's final battle, was discovered in the home of Greg Jein, an Oscar-nominated visual effects artist who died in May 2022.

Friends of Jein who were clearing his garage in November discovered the X-Wing tucked away in a box filled with packing peanuts, The New York Times reported.

The model, built by George Lucas' special effects studio Industrial Light & Magic, had been missing for decades, visual-effects historian Gene Kozicki told the outlet.

Jein's friends, including Kozicki, told The Times they didn't know how Jein came into possession of the X-Wing.

The model was put on auction, and on Sunday was sold by Heritage Auctions for $3.13 million.

The sale beats out the $2.375 million sale of another special X-Wing model, which was auctioned off in June 2022, making this X-Wing the most expensive Star Wars prop ever sold.

Heritage Auctions' website did not say who the buyer was, and the auction house not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Other Star Wars memorabilia collected by Jein, including a Stormtrooper costume used in the original film, production shooting scripts, and an assortment of action figures, were also put on auction.

The X-Wing model features motorized wings that could spread open into "Attack Position," electrical lights powered by internal wiring, metal heatsinks, a miniature pilot, and the domed top of a robot unit resembling the famous R2-D2, according to Heritage Auctions.

This particular model played the part of at least three starfighters in the film, including one flown by the main character, Luke Skywalker. It was used heavily in scenes for the famous "trench run" sequence on the fictional Death Star.

"This model has not been displayed or modified since it left ILM," Kozicki told The Hollywood Reporter, referencing Lucas' studio, Industrial Light & Magic. "For those of us that grew up in the '70s or '80s, and those of us that work in visual effects, this model is as significant a find as the ruby red slippers or the Maltese Falcon."

Until the discovery in Jein's garage, people had no clue where the X-Wing was, Kozicki told the outlet, calling the model a "mythical white whale."

Jein, who died at 76, worked as a leading visual effects artist for Steven Spielberg's films "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and "1941." He was nominated twice for an Academy Award — one time for each of these films.