Click on the picture to see this Collection!! Name: Eric “Darth Erok” Location: Virginia

1- What is it that you collect?
Action Figures, Toys, Comics, Books, Die-cast vehicles, Fast food & cereal premiums, Pez, Trading Cards, Timepieces, wind-ups; pretty much anything that features Superheroes and characters from cartoons, Star Wars, or Japanese Anime.

2- What was it that brought you to collecting? And what is that keeps you going?
It’s something I shared with my brother growing up. Now it’s a habit. The thrill of the hunt, finding that piece you’re looking for – the acquisition always keeps you going!

3- When did you start collecting?
When I was eleven years old. My brother whom I mentioned earlier had been collecting for some time and gave me some comics he had upgraded for his own collection. Then ‘Star Wars’ hit movie theaters later that year and the rest, as they say, is history.

4- Why do you Collect what you Collect?
Colorful and exotic creatures – a fascination with the ‘out of this world’ and the amazing, I guess.

5- When did you start displaying them?
When I bought a house and had a spare room to display my collection properly.

6- How do you get your inspiration to organize and display your collection?
From your website! Seriously, at first I tried to arrange the stuff so that you could see as much as possible; now I just try to fit new stuff in the room!

7- Do you have a favorite character(s) you collect?
Darth Vader, Gigantor, Batman, Felix the Cat to name a few.

8- Which item in your collection would you say is your absolute favorite and why?
I enjoy the statues a lot – right now the Talking Darth Vader figure available exclusively at the San Diego Comic-Con comes to mind but it varies – new items are always my favorite items until the next new acquisition comes along!

9- Which item was the most difficult to obtain? And which one is your prized possession?
I waited a long time to find a Mattel Darkseid character figure from the Superman Animated Series, but it finally turned up in good condition. Right now my favorite item is a really beautiful Gigantor Soul of Chogokan toy by Bandai – really high production values.

10- What is the oldest item you own? and the one with the most value?
I have some silver-age Marvel comics and some superhero ‘Pep’ buttons that came inside cereal boxes in the nineteen-fifties. Also an incomplete set of Mars Attacks Trading Cards from the fifties. No one item stands out as far as vintage that comes to mind at the moment.

11- What inspires you to purchase an item to add to your collection?
Production values, mostly. “Quality over quantity”, I always say.

12- Customizing figures and statues has become very big, have you ever purchased a custom figure or statue and have you ever tried making one? What do you think of the custom Craze?
I’ve haven’t had more than a casual interest. Some people do a really nice job from what I’ve seen in some magazines. The closest I’ve come was when, for my birthday once my brother put together a complete set of Mego Fantastic Four figures and customized a couple of ‘Mr. Fantastic’s with heads of a couple of characters from ‘Planet of the Apes’ to create the Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm characters for a truly unique complete set. I still remember my excitement when I was presented with those figures! Wish I still had them today!

13- Where do you make most of your purchases from? ebay seems to be a favorite with collectors these days, are you an ebayholic?
Once in a while I’ll check out what is up for bid. Mostly I shop a few favorite websites and a couple of local specialty retailers. It is nice to be able to obtain items otherwise only available in Japan intermittently by using the online auction house.

14- Is your collection insured?
I am in the process of having my collection insured now.

15- What is missing from your collection that you hope to one day acquire?
I would like to fill in some gaps in my collection of 12” Star Wars figures and I lost a Felix the Cat pocket watch in a fire several years ago that I would love to replace.

16- What is the usual reaction when people see your collection?
It depends on their level of interest, I suppose – usually the gaping mouth, glossy eyes, gasps for breath…”that’s not a room – that’s a STORE” someone said recently.

17- Do you attend conventions for some of your purchases? could you tell us about that?
I really enjoyed attending conventions all the time when I lived outside of New York City. Here in Virginia there don’t seem to be as many collectible shows happening – I wish there were more!

18- Most collectors today go on what they call a toy run, do you participate in that as well? And what are your favorite spots? Do you have a routine?
When I visit New York I make sure I visit Amok Time Toys (which has been featured in your Store Spotlight column) and Fantastic Toyage, both on Long Island. Locally it’s usually the Target, Wal-Mart, and Toys ‘R’ Us.

19- How do you decide what to take out of the package and what stays sealed?
It all stays sealed unless of course I’ve picked up a second one. With a five-year-old in the house I sometimes have the luxury of keeping one “m-o-c” and playing with the other one – HIS!

20- At what stage do you think your collection will be at 10 years from now, do you think you would have grown tired of it?
From time to time I find my interest in certain genres waxes and wanes…in ten years I may be collecting something totally different!

21- What advice would you give someone who just started a collection?
Be selective – you can’t have it all so make sure can get the items you love best!