history of my collecting
last updated 12/26/06
Introduction
Lets see, where to begin? First and foremost I have not been
collecting Star Wars toys and other collectibles my entire life, as some
my think. Of course I still had most of my Star Wars toys from my
childhood, but I haven't been a die hard collector my entire life. When
Episode 1 came out in 1999, that is when everything changed for me. My
entire life dramatically changed from that moment forward.
They're Back!
Star Wars toys were first re-released back in 1995 with the Power of
the Force 2 line, and back then I wasn't too much into Star Wars
collecting. I thought of those items simply as toys and nothing more
than that. It was cool seeing them in stores as they brought back many
memories of me playing with my Star Wars action figures and vehicles,
but I had no intentions of buying any toys from this line.
Episode 1 came out in theaters and that is when I decided I wanted to
purchase some figures just for the hell of it. I wasn't sure what I was
going to do with those figures, but it didn't matter as I was determined
to purchase some. I originally had intentions of only getting a couple
Battle Droids and some of the main characters, but as time progressed my
Star Wars collection started taking shape. Not only was I buying action
figures, but I was also getting some of the playsets, beasts and
vehicles. I couldn't stop buying Star Wars toys. Weeks following the
release of this film, I knew where my life was headed. I would soon
become a die hard Star Wars collector.
My Collecting Focus
If you look at pictures of my collection, you'll notice that there's
an enormous amount of variety that shows that I don't have a true
collecting focus. For the most part though, if I had to say what would
be considered my collecting focus, it would have to be army-building. I
mainly army-build using figures who are known as “bad guys” such as
those from the Empire and Republic (clones). I've always been fascinated
with the role of the soldier in the films, and you'll see many soldiers
either standing at attention or marching in battle in my basement.
Shopping on the Bay
The online auctioning site known as eBay walked into my life several
years ago, and I started buying just about anything Star Wars related on
there. I started buying only a couple things here and there, but soon I
found myself buying way too much on there. It seemed like I was buying
at least one thing a day. Luckily that didn't last too long for me,
because if it had I would be in a lot of financial trouble.
Conclusion
Collecting is an addiction. I try to stay away from eBay if possible,
only because I don't want to get myself into that “gotta buy it” mode
that I had years ago. Collecting Star Wars related items can be a lot of
fun, but it can also be quite costly. If you're just starting to collect
Star Wars I would suggest starting off slow. Buy the things you want,
enjoy them as much as possible, and when you find something else you
want to add it to your collection. Don't go overboard with it. |