Collecting as a hobby

The Jawa I got when I was nine.

My mother bought me my first Star Wars action figure in 1981. It was a Jawa. When I got tired of the action figures, I guess puberty hit and my interests went in another direction, I sold all my 50 or so figures to a friend's little brother. Cheap I might add. Way too cheap. Maybe I should be thrown in The Great Pit of Carkoon for that?

When I became a father myself 20 years later, I felt regret over getting rid of my childhood's most priced possessions. I knew that many who grew up with Star Wars collected the vintage era but I didn't think of it more until one day when I found a box with old stuff in the attic. My first Star Wars action figure. The Jawa!  This became the start of my collection.

The Star Wars vintage toys was in the early years of the millenium rather cheap to collect. The Swedish market was in fact the buyers market. You could get almost mint condition loose figures for less than 6 USD. I bought a couple of figures or smaller ships per month during the first couple of years and my collection today is containing more than 40 figures and nearly a dozen ships of various size. My favorite until this day is Luke's landspeeder from 1977. Collecting Star Wars vintage became more popular over the years to come and the price went up. When it was announced that Disney was planning a new movie, it sky-rocketed. Today on the Swedish market, you will pay 20 USD and up for the same figures you payed 6 USD for only 7-8 years before.

Part of my collection.

Today I buy a figure or a ship/vehicle a couple of times a year, but the collecting as a hobby is also much about just that - to search and track down the perfect figure. Just the one you want. I usually pick one I don't have and make it a quest to find that particular figure no matter what bargains show up along the way.

As of now, I have a bookshelf with glass doors and no lighting to display my collection. I am working on getting a better type of display. Like glass monters stores use to display merchendise. My plan for the future is of course to have a room or atleast a whole wall for my collection. We'll see how it goes.

I am a fan of pop culture as you know, I collect other stuff as well. Anything from the movie or

Talking Heads' debut album

gaming world really. Mostly from movies though. Music is another thing, and here I collect some vinyl records. The direction of my vinyl collection today is towards music I grew up with, this usually means heavy metal and classic rock/pop, and new age and punk bands that sometime played at the legendary bar CBGB in New York during the 70s.

The classic rock/pop thing comes from my father's interest in music. I have been listening to Beach Boys, Otis Redding, Rolling Stones, Beatles and all the other great ones since I was newborn. No wonder that kind of music sticks like glue still.

I don't know what it is really, I like retro stuff. Nomatter what it is really. Mostly it goes back to the 60s and 70s but also in some cases further back. When I visited my brother who lives in Ohio I went to a local antique store and found really cool 1950s milk bottles  from an old dairy that once was found in the town there. I think the name was Wooster Dairy. Didn't buy that one because the logo was a little too worn off for my liking, but next time I will find one in mint condition. Old truck licence plates from the 30s and 40s was also very cool. They have a certain old feel I like, and they actually make a nice interior decoration wall piece.

Collecting as a hobby is my thing, and it can be exciting and really fun. The Star Wars collection is my main thing though and it probably will for a long time still. What is your favorite?

Later, awsome Nerds!