FAN OF THE MONTH: JULY 2021

Collector: Thomas R.

Location: Pennsylvania, USA

When did you first start collecting?

I have always been a collector, dating back to my youth but my collecting really blossomed in the 90's. Star Wars was also part of my collection, but it slowly eclipsed the rest of my collection thanks to the GG busts.

How did you first start collecting?

I started with action figures and a smattering of statues, and then GG started to produce their busts based on the Star Wars license and things took off from there.

What do you collect? Does your collection have a theme, such as Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, etc.?

98% of my collection is focused around Star Wars, specifically Troopers. I had expanded it beyond troopers to include the bounty hunters, the animated statue line and a few others but as the troopers have expanded I've had to further tighten my collection and narrow my focus almost exclusively to troopers. Though I find myself weak when a really cool bust comes along like the recent Lak Sivrak bust. He was just too nice to pass up!

What was the first item that started your Gentle Giant, Ltd. collection?

It was either the Boba Fett bust or the initial Clone Trooper bust. I remember ordering the white clone trooper and when I went to my local comic book store (shout out to Comix Connection!) and they has substituted the Red clone and I was initially devastated. I really liked the look of the plain white trooper, but I quickly changed my tune as I fell in love with the red trooper, and then had to complete the various other colors over the next few years.  

What are your favorite/most prized pieces in your collection?

I've waivered on this quite a bit. For the longest time it was the Commander Neyo bust, for awhile it was the limited edition gold Sandtrooper bust but I think ultimately I would have to settle on the original Dewback and Sandtrooper statue. If there was a fire in my house and I could only grab one item, that would certainly be under one arm for sure.

What is the most recent item you've acquired?

My most recent acquisition was the Sith Stormtrooper bust with Lak Sivrak and the McQuarrie Concept Sandtrooper only slightly ahead of that purchase.