Collector’s Edition is een onderdeel op deze site waar we , in samenwerking met Echo Base, een aantal vragen stellen aan hele fanatieke Star Wars verzamelaars, over hun passie en over hun collection. In dit tweede deel een kort vraaggesprek met Shane Garrad, ik heb Shane zijn collectie ontdekt door zijn Instagram en ik wist direct dat hij meer dan geschikt was voor deze rubriek.
Hi Shane, please introduce yourself.
A big hi from Australia to all Dutch Star Wars fans. My name’s Shane Garrad, 46 years old, married, with 1 daughter (named Leia Ahsoka) from a small country town called Port Pirie where I’m employed as a Night Duty/Fill Manager at a Large Supermarket Chain. I’m a lifelong Star Wars fan and 6 months ago decided to start an Instagram page devoted to sharing my collection, hoping to connect with like-minded fans across the world. So far it’s been a lot of fun.
How did you get into collecting Star Wars?
I guess collecting sort of become an extension of my childhood. I remember as a kid growing up with toys like Star Wars, He-Man, Transformers etc. in the 80’s, but my first love was always Star Wars from the 1st time I watched A New Hope. My collecting became rekindled with the relaunch of the Power of the Force 2 during the Mid 90’s. I remained pretty active collecting from there up until about the release of Attack of the Clones. Unfortunately I had to sell my collection then due to personal circumstances. I picked it up again at the time of Revenge of the Sith on a casual basis until about late 2014, where now it’s my hobby and passion.
You have a big Star Wars room, what is the focus of your collection?
I guess my main focus collecting has always been predominately about the characters that populate the Star Wars universe, so I mainly target 3.75 figures and also Black Series 6 inch. My goal is to one day own complete sets of every figure line released. It’s a patient focus that takes time, but the reward is great when you accomplish. I’m also passionate about original vintage Mint n cards as these were the toys I loved the most. I think currently I have 204 vintage MOC which includes a lot of variants. I guess over the last 5 years I’ve also just expanded to include anything I find that I think is cool for the collection. It’s definitely become an eclectic mix of everything.
What is your most valuable item?
My most valuable item in the collection is a tough one… I would probably have to go with my collection of vintage Mint on card Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker figures. Like a lot of fans growing up Luke was and still is my idol. Watching Return of the Jedi and just being in awe of this powerful Jedi was just so impressionable to an 8 year old. So I have a weakness for the vintage carded version, currently owning 16 (lol). The other item that is priceless to me is an autographed photo taken with Mark Hamill at Star Wars Celebration Orlando in 2017.
Any white whales you are still searching for?
There are still a few “white whales” I’m keen to find and add to the collection hopefully in the next few years. The primary one is a vintage Mint on card Luke Farm boy which I know will take some saving and patience. That would complete my Luke collection for vintage. A few others are a nice complete loose vintage Yak face, Naboo Royal Starship & Duel on Mustafar playset (both mint in box) are on the wishlist.
Any items in your collection that were exclusive for Australia?
No, unfortunately I can’t say there are any specific to just us here Australians in the collection. It has been increasingly more difficult to gain any international exclusives either. It can be a frustrating time for collectors with all the US exclusives launched over the past few years. A lot of patience needed and fingers crossed they can be sourced.
Is there a big collectors scene in Australia?
Absolutely, there is a very healthy community of collectors here in Australia. Like many countries there are plenty of Facebook groups for all different facets of collecting, ranging from vintage figures, modern stuff, Black Series, etc. Many discussion groups, buy/swap pages and some good sites to just chat & share information.
Thank you so much for your time Shane! Please follow Shane Garrad on Instagram @leias_legacy_74
Heb je al een verzameling of wil je er een beginnen kijk dan eens op de Facebook site van Echo base.