Sunday, November 04, 2007 Star wars: A Collector’s Love and Obsession
People know him very well as a philatelist but far beyond that, Rich Uy is also a very serious Star Wars collector. “I collect anything that is Star Wars,” he said.
He started collecting Star Wars items in 1977. His first collections included movie posters and promotional pictures as they used to own movie houses in their province. He also had a large comic book of “The Empire Strikes Back” and a Marvel issue of the movie. At his personal expense, he started buying Star Wars items in the late 90s until now.
Presently he has quite a number of Star Wars collectibles, which include books published by Bantam, DelRey, Scholastic, Skylark and even Lucas Books. Like other collectors here and abroad, he also collects mugs, post cards, calendars, posters, videos, magazines and trading cards. Not only that, he even has a lot of Star Wars on stamps which were newly issued by the US Postal Service last May 25, Japan Pepsi Cola caps that feature Star Wars characters, and more than a hundred action figures.
Among all his collections, the little Anakin action figure in Episode 1 is his favorite because the toy always reminds him of his little son who is now three years old. Next to Anakin is Darth Vader, the Jedi’s worst enemy in the movie. “I have a number of Darth Vader toys including a bobble head which my son loves to play with,” he said.
Unlike many other collectors, Rich Uy collects Star Wars items not just for the sake of collecting them. He says that just by looking at them, he gets transported to another far away galaxy without taking a space ship to get there and makes him feel like a little boy. He believes that as long as there are items available and extra cash is in his pocket, he will always continue to acquire them and find ways to preserve them.
In fact, due to his love and obsession with such interest, he created and planned several projects to maximize his collection and encourage other Star Wars fans to do the same. One of his undertakings is creating dioramas for his Star Wars figures which he has started conceptualizing and hopes to finish in few a months. A Star Wars diorama is a miniature recreation of a scene from the Star Wars movies.
Another project in his plans is creating a nonprofit organization for Star Wars fans of all ages by early next year with the help of collector friends. It will be open to the public and no dues will be collected from the members. Along with it will also be the creation of a website to further the cause of the club and fulfill its purpose.
According to him, “Having a Star Wars club is one avenue where members get to see other members’ collections, get tips on how to acquire similar items, share Star Wars experiences and get updates on Star Wars events.”
Aside from that, he adds that members can also trade collectibles, books and toys, play games and just have fun!” He pointed out though that such kind of fun is not financially easy.
As of the moment, the cheapest Star Wars action figure in the malls would cost around P299. There’s an item in eBay, which costs more than P70, 000. Regardless of the price, and whether one is collecting stamps or Star Wars, the fact remains that the collector has to have a keen eye for details, a bit of patience, and some resources.
