You want more collecting moments..... OK....

How about this for a story: in 93/94 I started getting beyond just basic loose stuff etc, and in 94 I also joined RAASC/RAASCV when it split. I also started getting all of the toy magazines around this time. I saw a piece in one of those magazines, Tomarts AFN that completely floored me,it was an unproduced prototype, and I vowed to myself that if it EVER was a possibility to own this piece that I would get it no matter what. At the time, me not knowing anyone, I just assumed that it was in Sansweets collection as he was the only "super collector" that I knew of at that early stage of my involvement in this hobby. I only knew his name from the team up he did with Tomart/Tumbusch co authoring the biggest guide that was out at the time,an just figured that it was 1) out of my league and 2) would never become available anyway.
Fast forward to 2001, I'd already established myself as an upstanding member of the online collector community, and Jordan Hembrough (Hollywood Heroes) announces that he is going to be brokering the Tomart archives (Tom Tumbusch's personal SW collection) Low and behold THE piece was on the list. It was a bit more expensive than I'd anticipated, but rather than haggle and have to come up with all the money at once, I worked out a decent payment plan and picked the piece up from Tom T in person at a toy show in NJ about 3 months earlier than the payment plan gave me for time.

I've been tempted to sell it when silly offers were made, and when times have been tight, but it's stayed in my collection so far, I've even added companion pieces to it, that also have great stories attached, none that compare to making a one of a kind(at the time) item that you had wanted since starting in the hobby, yours.

The big guy there is the item that I'm talking about. As you can see I've since added another example of the unproduced plush Salacious Crumb in smaller scale(that came also via Jordans help) directly from the original designer.


Cheers
Joe

What a great story, Joe!

I've had a few great moments in collecting. Not necessarily from finding amazingly rare or expensive things, but just finding the things that make collecting worthwhile.
For me, there's two things that really stands out in my mind.

First, I think it was around 2001-2002, and I had been just a modern collector since POTF2 came out. Anyway, my wife worked as a banker, and had helped someone get a loan that desperately needed it. I forget exactly why, but I believe it was related to a medical issue, and they were really relying on this bank loan as a last ditch effort. My wife worked really hard on it and was able to make it happen, and since then, this customer had been eternally grateful to her, often stopping by just to say "hello," and shooting the breeze. Well one day somehow it came up in conversation that I collected Star Wars stuff. At this point, the lady proceeded to tell my wife that she had worked in the art department for either ILM or Lucasfilm ( I forget which) and was a huge Star Wars fan as well. I've tried investigating her name to determine if she really did, but I haven't been able to find anything. Anyway, she ended up inviting my wife and I to her house to show me something.

We drove way out to an old mobile home where she lived, where she gave me what she had told us about. It wasn't anything spectacular. It was just 3 old photo albums full of Star Wars newspaper clippings, trading cards, Mark Hamill magazine pics, and some black and white press photos. But when she was showing them to me, you should have seen her face. It was probably one of the proudest moments in her life, to go through these albums with someone that actually appreciated what they were. She ended up giving them to me, even though I refused.

It might not seem like much, but these were essentially the greatest possessions in her life, and she gave them to me. No selling or bartering, just handed them to me with a smile. She ended up passing away a couple of years later. Of course I still have them, exactly as she gave them to me, and I'll never forget that look on her face when she showed them to me.


The second involved a member on here, Bill McBride. And I hope he doesn't mind me outing him like this. Well, over the past couple of years, I've done several deals with Bill. I've helped him find a couple of things; he's helped me find a TON of items. Anyway, it was right before Christmas last year, and I had purchased something from Bill (for the life of me, I don't remember what it was now.) As always, Bill shipped it out super fast and very well packaged. When I received the box I opened it up to find my purchase, along with a large, white envelope that said "Merry Christmas" on it. Inside, I was shocked to find one of the Vader proofs from Jordan's find of unproduced modern era vintage style card designs. For those of you that are unfamiliar with it, it was estimated to be from somewhere in the mid 90's, and was kind of a packaging "test" for a vintage-style line that Kenner nixed. This was the foil version, as Bill knew I already had the regular one. I was floored. It was just thrown in there as a "bonus." When my wife saw me open it, she said something like, "I don't know what that is, but I know it's good because you aren't even saying anything." I was literally speechless. To this day, I can't even express how amazed I was, and am, at that gift.

That's why I collect. For the community. And without beating a dead horse, was one of the main reasons I left RS. It wasn't necessarily the picture thing, (though it was a part of it) it was because of the way the webmaster decided to treat the members of that community. With no respect, and indignant elitism. The members of this community are too valuable, and too good of people to be taken advantage of, and minimalized for a "greater good."

That's all I have to say about that.

Well I have been collecting for only a little while compared to many of you so I don't have a lot of big time stories. But I do have two short stories.

The first occurred when I was about 12 or 13. I hadn't really started collecting vintage figures yet but I had "discovered" them as I like to look around in flea markets. My first figures were all beaters with no weapons. Well I was visiting my family in New York and we visited a flea market nearby where they lived. While I was in there I came upon a vintage chewy. It was in ok condition and if I remember correctly the seller was asking about 5 bucks. Before this I had spent most of my vacation spending money so despite that fact that I badly wanted it I had to leave without it. The next night I was watching tv and my uncle walked in. I looked up and saw something quite strange, it was that same Chewy in his shirt pocket. Apparently sometime that day he had gone back to the flea market and picked it up. I remember being quite excited that I finally had a vintage Chewy.

The second story doesn't involve vintage but modern figures which were what I spent my childhood playing with. When I was about 6 and was in Kindergarten I used to bring my figures to school. One day I was playing out on the playground. Now this playground had pea gravel around it and for some reason I got the bright idea to bury my figures. After burying my figures I probably went off to play with my friends and by the time my dad picked me up from school I had forgotten about them. When I finally remember where I had left them and had looked for them they were gone. Well a couple of years ago I was browsing through a flea market in Florida and I came across one of the figures that I had lost. Now I could have bought it on ebay at any time but something about finding it was much better.

Great strories, guys.
I just knew yours was going to be about the Crumb for some reason, Joe.

And that would of been neat alright, Tad. I bet she was just as stoked that she had found someone as interested in them as she was. Sounds like they went to the right home.

We could forgive you for burying Jar Jar, MT

Josh wrote:

We could forgive you for burying Jar Jar, MT

...Even though, when I was little, Jar Jar was my favorite character from ep 1 none of the figures I lost were Jar Jar. In fact I lost a few years before it even came out. The figures I lost were a sandtrooper and stormtrooper...the one I found in the flea market being the sandtrooper.

Aparently he has got the most fan mail, out of any of the SW characters, being sent to the fan club.

Honestly, he was aimed at kids, and they loved him, so....maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea afterall.
The SW brand has had a solider run this time round, as compared to the vintage era of toys etc.

Josh wrote:

Honestly, he was aimed at kids, and they loved him, so....maybe it wasn't such a stupid idea afterall.
The SW brand has had a solider run this time round, as compared to the vintage era of toys etc.

Not to take this thread too far off topic but...I had always figured that about JarJar and I am guessing it was the same with the Ewoks as well. I think that Lucas realized that the audience for the first two films, especially the first was a lot younger than he may have expected. So I think he tried to tailor the films to a younger audience. IMO its easier to appreciate these characters thinking of it this way, but I could just be biased.

We can take this thread anywhere you want. It's here to try and generate discussion.

I agree. I definately think this is what he was thinking. He certainly didn't give a toss about the 40 year old fanboys. Kids = dollars. Plain and simple.

I just catched up with your most recent Moments. This is great reading, putting me in a feel good mood, which is a good thing as the day has just begun for me!

Tad: The old lady that gave away her SW albums with a smile, that read like a X-mas story. Love it!