Marty McFly’s hoverboard, Ripley’s flame-thrower and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s biker outfit were amongst the biggest sellers at the Prop Store auction in London last week.

The event, held at the Westfield Vue Cinema, was the company’s first-ever live auction and featured countless famous pieces of Hollywood history.

Just as it’s revealed a company in California has developed a real-life working hoverboard, it was fitting that the famous movie prop that inspired the idea was acquired by a passionate collector.

The board sold was one of the few surviving examples used on-screen in Back to the Future II, built in solid wood rather than some of the Styrofoam props that have fared less well over the years. Offered with an estimate of £14,000-£18,000, it sold after a little friendly competition for £22,500.

The highest price of the evening was achieved by a (non-working) flame-thrower used by Sigourney Weaver in the 1979 sci-fi horror classic Alien. Accompanied by a signed photograph of Weaver holding the weapon, it sold for £25,000.

The flame-thrower was just one of a number of props and weapons used in iconic sci-fi movies over the past five decades. Collectors were also quick to snap up a Biker Scout helmet from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi which smashed its estimate to sell for £17,000; a costume hand worn by Anthony Daniels as C-3PO in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope which realized £11,000; and a complete Mangalore creature costume and rifle from The Fifth Element, which sold for £7,500.

“The market for props has only come into the mainstream for the last 10 years,” said Prop Store founder Stephen Lane. “And there’s a finite amount of material – how many Batsuits are there? When they come up for auction, people get really excited.”

They certainly did, as the Batsuit on offer in the sale, originating from the 1992 film Batman Returns, brought a price of £11,000 – making it one of the most valuable screen costumes to cross the block.

There were also impressive results for a pair of Bespin Security Guard costumes from Star wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back which sold for £17,000 and £16,000 respectively; a Samurai warrior costume from the 2003 Tom Cruise film The Last Samurai which realized £15,000; and William Shatner’s costume from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock which achieved £11,000.

And Arnie’s famous costume from Terminator II: Judgement Day, consisting of a black leather jacket, trousers and boots (buts sadly not the motorcycle) was snapped up for a cool £18,000.