Click on the picture to see this Collection!! Name: Justin Leiter Location: Hackensack, NJ

1-What is it that you collect?
A better question might be what don't I collect! Mainly, though, its toys, comics, original comic art (which you can see at:http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDetail.asp?GCat=2246) and music. I love loads of different toy lines, but my main focus is on Japanese toys, including Henshin Cyborg, (and other 1/6 and 1/8 scale figures), and Microman, as well as vintage and current die-cast lines. Characters that I collect include Kamen Rider, Mazinger, Red/Mach Baron, Getter Robo, Kikaider and Inazuman Flash, heroes from Sentai and other team shows, and anything else that looks cool! For US toy lines, I've got stuff from a number of different lines, everything from Kenner Star Wars and Aliens to Toy Biz Marvel figures to Smurfs to McFarlane to Mego Monsters to Skeleton Warriors. Add in Japanese/American licensed figures like The Micronauts and Transformers and you've got a sense of my collection's hybrid feel of East meets West. For comics, I buy books by all kinds of creators nowadays among various titles and publishers, but for my vintage collections, my main focus is and always has been Silver Age Marvel - Amazing Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four, along with Captain America, Daredevil, Iron Man, and more. Mainly Marvel, with a fair smattering of DC's.

2- What was it that brought you to collecting? And what is that keeps you going?
My first real interest in collecting with intent to possible value was when I was nine and I got a box of old 60's Marvel comics from a student of my dad's. Out of curiosity my mother found her way to the local library to look up a price guide for comics, only to discover that the two copies they had were both out. Upon tracking one down, she realized that comics could be worth some serious cash and from there, helped me in acquiring some prized Silver Age books early on. Other than that, though, collecting, in the sense of holding onto things that I had acquired I feel has always been with me. I've still got comics of mine, from when I was 6 and 7 and toys from when I was the same age. What keeps me going is the constant flow of new releases and the possibility of tracking down and picking up stuff from the myriad of toys and comics from the past that I still don't have!!

3- When did you start collecting?
As a possible means of investment, when I was around nine/ten. Seriously, though, I don't think I ever intended to sell the books that I was buying, like my Spider-Man collection. And I still don't! Whatever I've gotten, I've tried to hold onto. Still, even though I still have some stuff from when I was a kid, most of it is pretty beat up; not of neccesarrily 'collectible' value as much as sentimental value. Comics were the main thing I collected, seriously, with grading and bagging and boarding, when I was young. Toys were to be played with and alot of them did wind up in the garbage, unfortunately. I was pretty much out of buying toys from around age 13/14 until I was about 27, although I was still buying comics on a weekly basis during that entire time.

4- Why (what you collect) The main reason with toys is I just love the way they look! There's just something cool about having small versions of the characters you grew up with or just love for their asthetic value. With comics, it's another thing I've just always loved since I was old enough to know who Spider-Man was, when I was 3 or 4 and have continued to love, all these years. I guess it's also a way to connect with your childhood, as I had alot of the toys I've gotten in the last 10 or so years when I was kid. But the thing is, I've always been a kid!

5- When did you start displaying them?
I always displayed at least a few figures that I had growing up, sometimes hanging a ship from a string from the ceiling. But for really putting out a bunch of stuff as a 'display' I didn't do that until around 1994, 1995, after I'd got back into buying toys. The first thing that reignited my interest in toys was the Bandai MS In Pocket Gundam line. I started seeing these at Forbidden Planet in NYC and picked a few up. From there, I found out about the Yaohan mall in Edgewater, NJ (now the Mitsui mall) and they had a Japanese toy store, Pony Toy-Go-Round, where I found more of the In Pockets and current Japanese toys. (Only a year or two after discovering it, though, the Pony Toy-Go-Round was taken down and replaced by a shop selling pottery.) It started blossiming into buying old Star Wars figures from the original Kenner line (I still had a box of my own vintage figures), pouring over the ads in Toy Shop, going to toy shows and buying various old and new things.

6- How do you get your inspiration to organize and display your collection?
For years, I only had room for a shelf or two and various things around my computer set-up when I lived in a one bedroom apartment. Since then I've bought a house, and I've been able to break everything out of the boxes from storage and put up most of it. I do have a decent amount still in packages, back in boxes, that even if I were to take out, I wouldn't have enough room for them now. I like to organize stuff into sections. For instance, all the Microman/Micronauts together, Henshin Cyborg together, Toy Biz in one area, etc. There are exceptions to the rule, like putting the Microman Aliens/Predator line alongside the Kenner Aliens/Predator lines, but usually it's due more to space constraints in one area and the availability of space in another that leads to those kinds of decisions. About once of twice a year, I'll due a little overhaul of the setups...moving one shelf around or things from one place to another for whatever reason..mainly though, the setup has remained consisitent over the last few years. The main culprit of things changing is the constant flow of new stuff being acquired! (and the need for a good dusting/cleaning at least once a year!)

7- Do you have a favorite character(s) you collect?
The main character line that I collect is Kamen Rider. Other favorite characters to collect are Spider-Man, Mazinger, Getter Robo, and Sentai teams.

8- Which item in your collection would you say is your absolute favorite and why?
That's a tough one to answer. I love so many figures for various reasons. I'll put one figure, out there, though, in terms of how long I took to get one and how cool I think it is, and that would be my vintage Dokuro King from the Henshin Cyborg line. I'm sure I could have gotten one from Yahoo Japan earlier on if I really wanted one, but when I was offered one to buy thru a seller on Ebay, I took the opportunity to finally get it. I also hold special affinity for my Henshin Cyborg 'Open The Breast Android A' figures (can you find a better toy line name than that?).

Aesthetically, one of my all-time favorite figures is Blazord from the Z.A.P. Police Force figures put out in 1994. These are in fact, US released vers. (identical as far as I know) of figures from the Japanese live action TV Show Cybercop, originally released by Takara. When I first discovered these, at Kay-Bee toys I just thought they were cool, not knowing their history. They looked to be some cheap knock-off, judging by the packaging, but in fact, they were fantastically poseable and cooly designed Japanese figures. My favorite of the five released was Blazord, though they were all really cool. Best of all they were very cheap, at one point, selling for 2 for $6 or something..and they had stacks of them. The equivalent Japanese originals (rereleased a few years ago) sell for $60-$100, if you can find them. The Japanese packaging, though, is much nicer!

Other figures I love are the 18" Spider-Man from last year, Mezco Hellboy line of figures (Lobster Johnson from the new 'comic stlyle' line is fantastic), the 16" Galactus and especially Sentinal, that you can make from the recent Marvel Legends lines, the Kenner Original Trilogy Collection 3 3/4" Stormtrooper and Boba Fett. The small Thing figure from the Super-hero Showdown 2 pack. The Lego Galidor line was really cool. There are alot of really nice figures out there.

From a purely sentimental reason, I hold near to me, my Popy Kamen Rider Amazon Popy die-cast figure from 1974, even minus his left leg. I used to watch the Kamen Rider Amazon TV show every day (I think it was every day...could it have been every week??) at 4:30 when I got home from school, when my family lived in Japan for a year from 1974 to 1975. I had alot of the early Popy Chogokin die-cast stuff, including Mazinger Z, Robocon, Getter Robo 1,2 and 3, as well as all the Getter Robo ships and the base and the Getter 2 Jumbo Machinder, the Bullmark Godzilla, the Jumbo Grip Denzin Zaboga, Inazuman Flash's Grand Car, Bullmark Mach Baron vinyl, and all kinds of other stuff. Some of it I still have, like the Kamen Rider Amazon. I'm just grateful that I actually got to play with all those toys.

9- Which item was the most difficult to obtain? And which one is your prized possession?
Now, with Ebay, just about everything is out there to obtain, if you've got enough money. I haven't really delved into the Japanese auction sites, as it seems kind of prohibitive to get around all the restrictions (incld the fact that many people don't even sell outside of Japan) and the crazy prices. I've seen stuff on them that I don't see on Ebay and eventually I may buy some things that way, but mainly it comes down to money - if you've got it you can usually get what you want. So, with that said, I'd say the most difficult to obtain, in the sense that I had to wait around until they showed up on US Ebay, would be the Henshin Cyborg Android A and Dokuro King figures. I had lost an auction for a boxed figure a couple of years ago for the Android A and didn't see new ones listed until relatively recently. Since then, there's a been a few that have been offered. There's a Henshin Cyborg Satan King costume that's currently for sale on Ebay, and that's pretty rare, but the cost right now is too much for me, for just a costume.

Going back to my comic collecting, the answer to this question is much easier. It would be my Amazing Spider-Man #1. My mom bought this for me when I was around 13. The same day we also picked up Amazing Spider-Man #4. Coming in a close second to #1, as my most prized possesion, comics wise, is likely my Spider-Man #14, the first appearence of the Green Goblin. I don't remember where I got this book from, but I'm grateful that the copy I have is in beautiful condition.

10- What is the oldest item you own? and the one with the most value?
The oldest item I own toy wise is my Henshin Cyborg stuff, which dates back to 1972, although I do have a few old die-cast cars that are pre-1950's. Comics wise, it would be some various old books, possibly some Classics Illustrated from the 1950's. Besides that, I've got some other, older, printed paraphenelia and books from the early 1900's. Value wise, it would be the Spider-Man #1, with the #14 close behind. Toy wise, it would be the Henshin Cyborg stuff mentioned above.

11- What inspires you to purchase an item to add to your collection?
If it looks cool is usually the first criteria for new toys. For vintage stuff, I look for items that are of my favorite characters or would be cool additions to exisiting lines I've already got. My collection is mainly figures, with a few motorcycles and car items here and there, so I usually look towards figure based items. However, within the Cyborg line, there are some vehicles, including a very cool Motorcycle, with side-car, that I've seen for sale a few times, but have yet to pick up. With comics, I look for books to fill in holes in my collection or upgrades to better condition books for issues I've already got.

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?
I bought a customized Jango Fett figure on Ebay before Attack Of The Clones came out. It was based around a Captain Action body and head, with some elements borrowed from the Kenner Boba Fett 12" figure and repainted. It was pretty decent, but nowhere near the coolness and amazingness of some of the custom Star Wars and other characters I've seen on Ebay in the last year or two. I've seen some Darth Vaders and Stormtroopers, as well as a couple of Batman's that have been astounding. I've never tried making one; I've thought about it briefly, but I'll leave it to the people that are doing an excellent job of it already.

13- What do you think of the custom Craze?
If you mean the limited edition artists vinyls like from Kid Robot and Super 7, I think alot of them are very cool. I've never been that big of a vinyl guy, preferring poseable figures (though I do have alot of Kamen Rider and other Gashapon, as well as statues and mini-busts!), but I love the design on alot of them and have a few little vinyl and plastic figures here and there. I'm not entirely crazy about having one figure and then just having it repainted a 100 different ways, though. I appreciate all the various versions of the character, but bascially it's the same character over and over. Then again, someone can see my Kamen Rider collection, and likely say the same thing.

14- Where do you make most of your purchases from? ebay seems to be a favorite with collectors these days, are you an ebayholic?
Most of my vintage purchases are from Ebay. I used to go to shows and a local toy shop (The Outer Limits of Clifton, NJ, sadly no longer operating) but alot of those outlets have dried up and the internet and Ebay are the only resources available. And thankfully so! I'd definitely say I'm an Ebayholic, checking in on certain things on an almost daily basis. Still, there's so many lines and items I'm interested in, I can't keep track of 1/8 of it. For new stuff, I pick up new toy releases at my weekly comic stop, Midtown Comics in NYC, sometimes venturing for stuff to area comic shops by my home. Then there's always Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, K-Mart, Kay-Bee, etc!

15- Is your collection insured?
I'm in the process now of going through the entire collection and giving it a rough appraisal and then will go ahead and finally get insurance on it all!

16- What is missing from your collection that you hope to one day acquire?
There are various items I'm looking for...certain Henshin Cyborg costumes and figures as well as some vintage Popy die-cast, such as the Kamen Rider Amazon Jungler motorcycle and some other things. Most of it is available for the right price. For comics, I'm looking to fill in certain back issues of The Amazing Spider-Man and The Fantastic Four. One day I hope to get a nice copy of Spider-Man #9, the only issue of the first 25 I'm missing.

17- What is the usual reaction when people see your collection?
Well, it usually begins when they first see my studio room and it's one of a quiet 'oohhh'...and 'man...'..then when they go down to the basement and it's more like 'woww...' and 'sheesh'.

18- Do you attend conventions for some of your purchases? could you tell us about that?
I used to go to local toy shows more often, but there are hardly any of them anymore. I love to actually go to a show, with dealers putting out all their new and vintage stuff. I was at the Big Apple Con in NYC this past weekend and there were alot of dealers with toys, but most of it was new stuff and alot of people had the same Marvel Legends, Kenner Star Wars figures and Bowen mini-busts. The Chiller Theater show used to have some good dealers with old Japanese and US stuff, but lately, it's just model kits, newer items and dealers selling grade Z horror flicks on video.

19- 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?
I don't know if it's neccesarily a routine, but I make the rounds, so to speak. Once a week or so, a couple of friends and I will take a walk down to TRUTS (Toys R Us Times Square) and see what they've got...or we might take a ride down to Toy Tokyo or Kid Robot in Greenwich Village once in a while if we have more time. Around my house I might take a drive on a Saturday to a couple of diff. area Toys R Us', then maybe Target and/or K-Mart. But not on any specific days, just when it becomes a good time or there's one where I happen to be. If there's something I'm looking for at the moment, I might make a special trip, looking specifically for that. (like when the last Marvel Legends line came out and I was looking for one of the figures to complete the Sentinal).

20- How do you decide what to take out of the package and what stays sealed?
Usually I take the figures out. Sometimes, though, I might have two of the item, so I take one out and leave one in the box or packaging. I've got a few things where I leave it in the box, even though I don't have a loose one. Those decisions are for aesthetic reasons, mainly...I might like the way it looks in the box, or the box art itself, etc. Some of my Kamen Rider die-cast that are in window boxes, are displayed like that..at least that way, you can have the box art and still see the figure.

21- 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 ?
I don't think I will have grown tired of it. I might have cleared out some parts of it and gotten more complete in other areas. Every now and then I think of getting rid of most of it, but those thoughts don't last long. The main problem, though, is lack of space, as I'm already having a problem with that. In ten years, going at the current pace, I have no idea where it would all go, so definitely, some things will eventually have to go to make room for new ones.

21 -What advice would you give someone who just started a collection?
As a number of people here have said, I'd agree and say just buy things that you like. If it's for new stuff, don't worry about it being worth more money in the future. Some of the limited edition stuff might be, but alot of the toys that you can buy at TRU aren't going to make you a fortune down the road, since so many are produced. If it's vintage stuff and you're prepared to spend some money, than try and get items in nice condition - it's worth it to spend a little more to get something in better shape, at least for me. Boxed items are nice, but it's not always important, especially depending on how much room you have to display your items.