This mega-fan heard Harrison Ford was in Wichita and drove 400 miles to get his signature
For eight years, Iowa resident Trey Laymon has been traveling the country with his custom-designed “Star Wars” truck, tirelessly tracking down stars of the franchise’s many films and asking them to sign it.
He’s been to Chicago, to Orlando, to Anaheim, to more “Star Wars” conventions than he can count. And during that time, he’s managed to meet and collect signatures from 35 different actors, including Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew, Ian McDiarmid — even director George Lucas.
But there’s one signature that’s been elusive, and it’s bothered Laymon, a 48-year-old husband and father of one who lives in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and works as a department manager at a nearby Walmart. No matter how many times he’s tried, he’s never been able to get a signature from Harrison Ford, the actor who played the iconic role of Han Solo.
That changed on Wednesday, when Laymon took the day off from work and traveled more than 400 miles — a six-and-a-half-hour drive — to Wichita to find Ford, who he’d heard was in Wichita for his annual flight training.
And he pulled it off. Using techniques he admits felt a bit “stalkerish” now that he’s repeated the story out loud, he got a two-minute audience with Ford in a Wichita parking lot. The 77-year-old actor signed Laymon’s truck, admitted it was a sight to behold, posed for a quick couple of pictures then sent Laymon on his way.
“It was pretty awesome that he took the time to sign it,” Laymon said shortly after the encounter, clearly still hyped up on adrenaline. “I was star struck.”
The Star Wars obsession awakens
Laymon was 6 years old when the first “Star Wars” movie came out in 1977. He was instantly hooked.
His obsession continued through his adult years, and today, he’s anything but a casual “Star Wars” fan. He and his wife of 25 years, Nancy, regularly attend conventions dressed as “Star Wars” characters. Their two yellow Labrador dogs are named Luke and Leia. The couple has thousands and thousands of dollars worth of “Star Wars” memorabilia in their basement.
At some point, Laymon decided he needed a “Star Wars” themed truck. Inspired by a group of Star Wars car junkies called the Road Squadron, Laymon bought a Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck in 2010 and spent two years designing the “Star Wars” images to decorate it. In 2012, he had the truck vinyl wrapped with his designs.
The showstopper of the truck is attached to the underside of the truck’s bed cover. It’s a life-sized Han Solo, encased in carbonite just like in “The Empire Strikes Back,” and when Laymon met Lucas at a convention in California and showed him the truck, Lucas was floored by that detail.
“He geeked out about the Han Solo,” Laymon remembers. “He shook my hand and said, ‘This is the best use of space on a vehicle that I’ve ever seen. This something I would drive.’”
Lucas signed one of the light sabers on the driver’s side of the truck — which by the way has its own Facebook page: Star Wars Raptor.
‘Let’s get it done’ in Wichita
Since then, gathering signatures has been one of Laymon’s main occupations. He knew from what he’d read and from other “Star Wars” megafans that Ford, who’s also a pilot, always traveled to Wichita for flight training in late January or early February, and Laymon developed a plan.
He was in Wichita twice already this year — once in late January and once in early February — hoping to find Ford. But Ford wasn’t in Wichita, delayed this year for some reason, and Laymon went home disappointed.
Then, on Tuesday, he read that Ford was actually in town. He got the day off of work and decided to try again. He arrived in town late and drove by the hotel where Ford is known to stay. Then, he returned to the hotel early on Wednesday.
He parked across the street and watched for a car that looked like it might be taking a movie star across town, and when he saw one, he followed it on to the highway.
Laymon said he got up beside the car, saw Ford behind the wheel and tailed it all the way to its destination. He said Ford exited his car, approached the passenger’s side window and said to Laymon, “Can I help you?”
“I said, ‘You know, Mr. Ford, I’ve got the ‘Star Wars’ Raptor and I would love for you to sign it,’” Laymon said.
And Ford replied, “Let’s get it done.”
He signed the truck’s tailgate with a gold marker Laymon provided, then posed for two pictures.
Laymon showed him some of the highlights of the truck, including Han Solo in the truck bed.
“He said, ‘That’s pretty cool, but I’ve got to go,’” Laymon said. “It was really fast. The whole interaction was two minutes.”
Laymon said he called his wife — who owns a Volkswagen Beetle painted like “Star Wars” droid BB-8, complete with a spinning head — and told her the news. Then he hit the road back to Iowa, mission complete.
“I was totally amazed,” Laymon said, noting that now he just needs to track down Ewan McGregor from “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.”
“It was a Holy Grail moment.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 2:47 PM.
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