Hi everyone - I've been a regular visitor to SWF.UK for a while but I haven't got round to a who's who post until now. Better late than never I suppose!
My story is very similar to many others on here - I loved the toys as a kid and now I'm a bit older (though still a kid at heart) I've got into collecting. Even when I was 7 or 8 years old I used to keep my eyes open at jumble sales and the like, but I'd also get vehicles and mini rigs for birthdays and Christmas (praise be to the
Argos catalogue) and the odd carded figure here and there.
(I know I'm not the only one who wanted an AT-AT for Christmas but got a rebel transport...)
As I grew out of the toys I kept them packed away and I feel very fortunate to have nearly my entire childhood collection... except that damn pop up lightsaber and whatever other accessories that ended up down the back of the sofa! I kept all my old cardbacks too although they ended up being the only SW casualty of a parental clearout.
I remember getting a few trilgos (as I know them to be now) at the market some time in 1986-87. Two for 50 pence - figures I'd never seen before like Paploo, Romba, Han Carbonite and pop up R2. How times change.
I briefly started recollecting in the mid 90s - on a minuscule budget - and picked up a few loosies to fill some gaps in my collection. Anyone remember the old Star Wars Emporium in Norwich? (The first / second location, not the final one. A small cave of vintage.) After a long hiatus I dug out my old stuff and began collecting again in late 2016. Prices were a bit of a shocker but there are still bargains to be had out there with patience...
Likes: Finding missing parts to complete vehicles. Bargain beater MOCs. Anything first 12 / 20 if not horribly expensive. Having an AT-AT for the very first time in my late 30s!
Dislikes: U-grades. Repros, particularly the latest ones that are harder to spot. Early on I bought a bundle of repro accessories - 'for display', I thought - but they started to annoy me so I cut that out and now only have a few hidden away for reference.
Focus: I went a bit scattergun when I first returned to collecting (not uncommon) but I've completed my loose run (except for the black endor blasters and a pop up saber, which I don't think I can justify at current prices). I really enjoyed putting together a run of SW, ESB and ROTJ cardbacks - I keep them in 6x9" toploaders and they're great. I'm a bit more focused now and I'm slowly putting together a run of budget first 12s - either beater MOCs or reseals. I also have a bit of a Vader focus which I should showcase at some point.
I've found SWF.UK to be an absolute goldmine of information about the hobby. For anyone new to collecting, I'd highly recommend going through old threads and of course listening to the amazing podcast.
That's quite enough from me for now I think!
Cheers, Paul