The Imperial Gunnery is proud to present our first interview. We thought it might be nice to sit down and chat with members about themselves, their family and of course a little vintage. Geordie (Andy) was randomly chosen and graciously gave me a glimpse into his world. Enjoy the read and post your comments and feedback!

TIG: Andy I appreciate you taking the time to chat with me. Let's start with the simplest request, tell me about you?

Geordie: Where do I start, lol

I'm 35 and live in the north east of England just outside Newcastle, with my girlfriend Julia and my son Jack, and our pet dog Clyde, my son was born on January 28th so its been a busy year so far and as every parent knows its a life changing event, less nights out and holidays with the lads But I wouldn’t change it for the world as every day he does something new ;D

I work in the automotive industry and have done for the last 14 years, its a job I enjoy but is going to take up more of my time over the next few months as we are really busy,

When I have the time I ride my Honda blackbird as much as I can including around Europe, obviously collecting vintage star wars is another hobby of mine as well as following the exploits of Newcastle United

TIG: What about your screen name Geordie?

Geordie: Geordie is a regional thing mate, if your from Newcastle you are a Geordie, we have a different accent to every one else and are devastatingly attractive to the opposite sex ha ha ha

Jay from middlesborough is a smoggie he will have a different accent

anyone from london is a cockney
liverpool is scouse
birmingham is a brummie


TIG: You are a busy guy and congrats on becoming a Dad! Hope you're locking up your vintage now LOL. Being 35 I assume you were a SW fan as a child? What was your 1st memory with the franchise?

Geordie: Work, look after my son, check classifieds for vintage, chat with Julia, then bed, get up and start again lol,,

my first memory was actually at the cinema seeing another film, it may have been Flash Gordon in 1980 so I was 6, I remember a lad behind me making loads of noise tearing some thing when I turned round he was opening loads of star wars toys in the cinema, he was holding a taun taun and some figures which I couldn’t see and I remember thinking they look great, money was tight so it was a while before I got any of my own I would get maybe 1 every other month as my bro had to have the same, BUT come xmas 84 me and my younger bro tore downstairs to see the biggest pile of star wars toys ever !!!!! millennium falcon, ice station (with collapsing roof ) snow monster, speeder bikes, at-st, about 80 loose figures , my dad actually converted the loft for us to play I just wish I had some photos ,,, AND (wish I) never gave the lot away to a neighbour about 10 years later........

TIG: If you track that kid down from the cinema you better buy him a pint for getting you into SW. Hug kudos to your folks for what sounds like the biggest haul of SW I've heard of!! Did you get attracted to anything in particular? Certain figure or set?

Geordie: Yeah, he's costing me a fortune now ha ha ha, when we first clapped eyes on it seemed like every star wars toy in the world.

Probably just like every other kid I loved the falcon and the x wing fighter , I used to get some figures from Menzies (shop) and dream of owning every figure on the back of the card or some of the other ships that I didn’t have but that’s as far as it went really as far as getting a full house, we did have quite a few doubles of figures just to stop us fighting over them

We loved the ice battle on hoth and played that out countless times, as I never had an at at we had to keep inviting a lad from round the corner to play..... only if you fetch your at at mate.. I will get one sooner or later it .

Maybe now at the grand old age of 35 am I edging closer to completing a set, hopefully this time next year I’ll be there

TIG: Well that's as good an opening as I might get to talk about your collection so I'll take it. I also have an AT-AT so can I come over to play if I bring it?

Your collection has been a great one to watch expand since joining TIG. What made you decide to collect as an adult?



Geordie: You sure can as long as the batteries have plenty power ,

I was actually going through eBay one day looking for toys for my son, teddies, rattles etc and there was a cap2 boxed in amongst the teddies, someone had put it in the wrong section, I thought that’s cheap I'm having that as a mate had one years ago, ( I was going to sell it on ) when it arrived I opened it up and the smell............. you cant describe it you just have to smell it for yourself, the scent of vintage instantly took me back over twenty years and that was it really, I thought I need to get some more of these so I looked up for star wars toys on eBay and seen there where loads and couldn’t decide what to buy first,

MILLEMIUM FALCON it had to be , it arrived with a few figures so I looked them up and seen different terms next to them... coo , no coo, scar, raised bar, I actually thought coo stood for cloak or other .. don’t ask why

I got another couple of loose figures then did a search for a star wars forum so that I may actually find out what all the abbreviations stand for and get a bit more information about the hobby I was about to get involved in, and that is how I come to find myself here

TIG: Well we're glad you stayed! I understand the smell thing also. I had a MOC break in transit and I took out the figure and the smell was like a time machine. What a flood of images and sounds that came back to me!

So your goal is a complete set. How close are you now and what surprised you most about vintage collecting once you got into it?

Geordie: Its amazing what a whiff of vintage can do, it is as you said like being in a time machine,

As for the full set, well I'm maybe ten figures short from the initial set and that’s my first aim to complete that but I keep getting sidetracked when I see other stuff for sale I’ve tried being strict with myself and saying right nothing else until I’ve got the full set then I see some thing and think" oh I never had one of those I’ve got to get it or I had one of those I’ve gotta get another one ", the "last 17" will be a separate challenge for me as they are tougher to find and at price that’s easy on the pocket. But a very kind chap on TIG has done me a good deal on my first one so that’s on its way from the US as we speak

Once I started to look at the collecting side of the hobby a bit more seriously rather then just buying another figure I noticed different coo's and mention of variations??? It wasn't until people posted pictures of figures side by side that I realised the same figures where different, very slight variations in colour for example or some with hollow cheeks or a bigger tasche. This was something I had never noticed as a child and was stunned when I realised what some of the rarer ones are going for even for loose figures, I wondered straight away if those ones I gave away years ago where some of these variants.....

TIG: Don't think about it. I'm sure there are plenty of people who gave away Orange Haired Luke's LOL

Just a few final questions for you and I'll let you go back to your day:

1) Favorite Item from your collection?

2) Your "Holy Grail”?

3) Favorite collection you've seen here on TIG and why?

4) What do your girlfriend and mates think about your collecting?

Geordie: orange hair lukes??? that rings a bell ha ha ha

my favourite item is my misb tie interceptor I really don’t know how i haven’t opened it, especially as I never had one when I was younger

a holy grail would have to be a mint boxed at at , again as i never had one when I was younger, I’ve seen plenty for sale but are either way out my price range or have parts (chin guns) missing

my favourite collection as in limelight would have to be burnsy's loft, if I live to be a hundred I will never get that much vintage in one place, it was like Fenwick’s window at xmas, brilliant

my girlfriend is happy for me to collect star wars and says it keeps me from under her feet, she just don’t quite share my enthusiasm when the postman arrives, my mates however had a good laugh when I told them, one or two just looked open mouthed, but a few have came up... on there own and asked me loads questions about different pieces, have you got one of these I always wanted one etc. I think some are a little bit jealous as they would love to do the same but don’t or aren’t allowed by wife’s or kids ha ha ha

TIG: I can't thank you enough for your time. Good luck on completing your loose set and keep updating us with pictures!! Cheers!

Geordie: Thanks John, as usual it’s been a pleasure to speak to you and I have a few parcels due any day which I will of course share with the rest of the TIG members

Cheers
Andy (Geordie)

Hey Andy

What does it feel like to have made history on the TIG Forum

Its a really nice touch and yet another recommendation as to why this forum is such a cool place to 'hang out' night after night after night

Tony

I just finished reading the whole In-TIG-View ...great way to know a member!!!!...

GREAT WORK!!!!!

That was a good read. Thanks Andy, John and of course Jay for making this possible.

I have to say a big thanks to both John for setting up this new feature and the top class format of the interview and also to Andy for been a great sport and providing some cracking answers to Johns questions!!

Cheers Jay

good job guys

Cool!!!!

Looking forward to more interviews!!!

This was a really fun interview to read and a great way to get to know Geordie. Good job on the both of you.

Great idea but u missed 1 BIG question........ How well do you know Ant and Dec ?

xxGANDALFxx wrote:

Great idea but u missed 1 BIG question........ How well do you know Ant and Dec ?

It was supposed to be Andy and Dec but i was sick on interview day


Thats turned out really well guys and for once i havn't ( imho ) come across as a thick Geordie, LOL
sorry about the smoggie Jay as know some of yous arnt too keen on it
Am looking forward to seeing who next is in the hot seat

Andy

What an awesome addition to TIG!
Well done Andy on a good interview mate And well done John for some great questions, and Jay for making it happen
That's what I love about TIG - cool stuff like this. Look forward to the next big interview!

geordie wrote:

xxGANDALFxx wrote:

Great idea but u missed 1 BIG question........ How well do you know Ant and Dec ?

It was supposed to be Andy and Dec but i was sick on interview day


Thats turned out really well guys and for once i havn't ( imho ) come across as a thick Geordie, LOL
sorry about the smoggie Jay as know some of yous arnt too keen on it
Am looking forward to seeing who next is in the hot seat

Andy

Haha im a pround smoggie its when people call me a Geordie i get wound up! lol

This is a cool idea, guys. Congrats Andy for being the first of many to come and to John for doing it. This is, as other said, a great way to know your fellow TIGers. Can't wait to see the next one.

This is a very cool idea! Thanks Geordie for sharing with us!

Man, I know exactly what you mean by the smell. I've been collecting modern for 15 years now, and just started getting into vintage. And modern stuff just doesn't have that same smell. I could almost smell it when I was reading your interview!

I wonder if other people read this forum and think we're all crazy for talking about the smell of Star Wars toys!

Thanks again for sharing!

DarthTad

Tad, they already think we're crazy for collecting plastic toys, let alone the smell of them.

DarthTad wrote:

This is a very cool idea! Thanks Geordie for sharing with us!

Man, I know exactly what you mean by the smell. I've been collecting modern for 15 years now, and just started getting into vintage. And modern stuff just doesn't have that same smell. I could almost smell it when I was reading your interview!

I wonder if other people read this forum and think we're all crazy for talking about the smell of Star Wars toys!

Thanks again for sharing!

DarthTad

here you go, DarthTad...

http://www.imperialgunneryforum.com/vintage-chat-f1/the-smell-of-vintage-t1011.htm