Funnily, my first Star Wars memories predate me having even heard of the film. It all began sometime in 1979, when my parents gave me a toy robot they'd bought at a mall in the middle east. I remember the card it came on pictured the robot against a bland starfield background, and sadly did not in itself inspire much play. Some years later I saw a film on a bootleg tape with a monster attacking people in what I believed to be sewers. The bootleg was so bad that most of the time you couldn't see what was going on. (Later I would come to realize this was the Dianoga attack in the trash compactor). A year or so later a friend showed me a tape of a movie called The Empire Strikes Back and I was awestruck. Star Wars had at last gotten my attention. Working backwards from that moment, I have realized that the "monster movie" was the first Star Wars, and that dull toy robot I had was actually a Star Wars character, R2-D2. I'd receieved my first Star Wars toy without even realizing it, and it remains in my collection to this day.(See it here.) Since then there have been hundreds more, all motivated by wanting to relive the sensation of The Empire Strikes Back. To a child the Star Wars toys were simply great toys.

So, how does the shift between playing child and adult collector occur? Not overnight, to be sure. As most Star Wars collectors will tell you, there was a time when their toys were stashed away in the closet, even sold because they weren't playing with them anymore. Fondly remembered, maybe even kept for sentimental value, but not part of the grown up child's conscious thoughts. Then, one day, something sparked a memory, maybe they caught Star Wars on TV, maybe they happened upon the toys in the attic, perhaps a cumulative effect of all manner of Star Wars influences? For every collector the awakening is slightly different, but thus it begins. Subconsciously maybe, but the process has begun.

* Caught up in Star Wars collector circles, it is easy to overlook the fact that to the general public this is still an infantile hobby. In the "real" world people still regard the toys as throwaway items and find it ridiculous for an adult to spend time on them and even display them. The only argument that seems to make sense to them is that they are worth money. The toys' value is the only socially accepted alibi for collecting them as an adult.

Many argue the current Star Wars collecting boom was triggered by the new Star Wars novels by Timothy Zahn published in 1992, some attribute it to the re-release of the movies in 1997. For me it (re-)started in 1993 after reading TV collectables, a small supplement to a video hardware magazine. The magazine listed the (then) current collector's value of the vintage Kenner toys and I couldn't believe the prices collectors were paying. All of a sudden the stash of Star Wars odds and ends I'd been storing in my mother's basement went from items of sentimental value to dollarvalue. I started thinking about them differently, suddenly it felt legitimate to like Star Wars toys again*. I was not keen on selling the toys but curious about how much they'd be worth today? I took them out, started checking their condition. Were the boxes OK? Had I kept the inserts and instructions? How many of the figures and accessories had I lost over the years? I found the toys were amazingly well preserved and complete. I always did take good care of my things. Presto! -instant Star Wars collection. (Annoyingly, I am still missing some items, but the search goes on.)

For a long time after that I was satisfied with what I already had. What really got me spending money again were the new 12" figures from Hasbro. As a kid I discovered Star Wars too late to catch the original 12" figures. I was already playing with the 12" Action Man (G.I. Joe) and the mini Star Wars figures left something to be desired. I did find the vintage 12" R2-D2 but that was it. In an in-package catalog I caught a tantalizing glimpse of the 12" range -an indistinct photo that remained my only evidence of their existence for many years. The late 90's re-emergence of 12" figures from Hasbro brought all that back. The detailed sculpts and the richness of the materials new production methods could provide revitalized my interest in Star Wars "toys". That's when I went from a passive owner of vintage Star Wars items to full-blown collector. I bought my first Star Wars product in 15 years, trying to satisfy my unfulfilled longing for the vintage 12" figures.

(Then, one fateful day, I discovered an online retailer selling the original 12" figures. My VISA hasn't cooled down since.)

Then, after a flurry of activity during the "prequel period", I peaked and suddenly lost the urge. I had subscribed to the buy-what-you-like school of collecting. I bought the items I thought were well made and actually appealed to me as an adult. There was always the temptation to buy any old thing with the Star Wars logo on it but did I really need a Queen Amidala pencilcase gathering dust in my closet? Maybe that was part of the problem? Star Wars was becoming overexposed. The market was oversaturated with Star Wars items and no-one could keep up with it all. I found my interest in collecting cooling off. Once again, I became a passive owner of Star Wars items. It's all still there in my basement, but my days of collecting everything Star Wars are over. (I still couldn't resist the Star Wars birhtday set -party hats, candle, napkins and paper plates, table cloth -gorgeous!)

Like every Star Wars fan, I had accumulated several versions of the films on video over the years. I was aware of most of the different releases in North America and England, but always considered them too numerous to ever collect them all. After DVD took over for VHS as the media of choice, a friend of mine gave me his UK tapes. The problem is, he didn't have a matching set. The first movie was widescreen, and the last two were the fullframe versions. The completist in me balked. It couldn't be too hard or expensive to complete the set? I headed over to eBay...

...and here we are.

I now collect all home video renditions of the Star Wars saga and it's spin-offs exclusively. As such, I tread in the footsteps of many a great collector before me, who after a period of great diversity settles into a niche that is both more confined and rewarding. To me, collecting the videos makes perfect sense, they are cheap and display extremely well (if I had the room to display them). The Star Wars videos have been released in astronomical numbers worldwide, so scarcity does not yet hike up the prices. Most videos can be had for a pittance, but some of the Japanese laserdiscs still command a premium. Like most of you, my wallet (and wife-approval factor) limits what I can buy. Still, collecting the videos has been the most fun I've had with Star Wars in years.

Collecting Star Wars videos is still not part of the collecting mainstream, and there seem to be few people out there who focus on this. The value of sharing a hobby cannot be overstated, so I have reached out to several Star Wars collecting forums in search of like-minded collectors. Mostly the reaction has been one of indifference. The few people who share my hobby don't seem to have a presence on the web. So, if you're out there, give me a holler, okay?