The bachelor life. Oh, how things were different back then, especially when it came to Star Wars. By having an entire house to myself, I was beholden to no one. I could have my domain exactly how I liked it. For me, this was essential when it came to my Star Wars collection. Back then it didn’t just consist of books and comics (although there were a lot of those) but also of vintage action figures. I had a loose figure collection of all the figures released for the Original Trilogy, along with a focus collection on the character of Ree Yees.
I first watched Star Wars when I was five years old and I fell in love. Unfortunately, in 1990, there wasn’t much Star Wars merchandise available for a child who wanted to reenact all his favourite scenes or carry on the adventures of Han, Luke and Leia. Thankfully, I had an incredible nan who found as many second-hand Star Wars toys as she could. They were slightly beaten up, but I didn’t care. One Christmas though, she was able to find a single figure. A single figure that was still sealed – on card. That figure was Ree Yees. He was one of the most common characters to litter the shopping pegs, but for me, well I was staring at the only vintage Star Wars figure that was going to be mine from new. He held such a special place in my heart that when it came to starting a vintage collection, I knew I wanted to focus on him.
Thankfully, with a home to myself I could display a vintage collection without worry. A room in my house was dedicated to it. Even the windows were blacked out – no natural light was going to get to my collection! I’m sure some people who came round thought I was crazy, but as other vintage collectors can testify, sunlight is the bane of many a vintage (and modern) collection. As I sat often in that room, arranging, and rearranging my collection, staring at the items I had purchased I would daydream of a time when I had a family. Of still having my own Star Wars room; of children looking in awe at the collection. It also led to thoughts of showing them the films; the original trilogy first (of course) before moving onto the Prequels. Oh, the naivety…
When that family did arrive, my world changed dramatically. Suddenly, there was no space for a blacked-out room and the decision to sell my vintage collection had to be made. With no right place to have it without inevitable damage occurring, I wanted it to go into the hands of fans who could look after these pieces and appreciate them as I had. My focus shifted from vintage to Star Wars LEGO, that I could share with my sons (at least the building part) and we could admire without obsessing (too much) over the wear and tear of time. My bits of LEGO weren’t for playing with but were a cheaper alternative to display my passion in the house. My boys had seen the films in order and loved it just as much I did.
Then my daughter arrived. At the moment, she is three and a half and loves to play with me. We play Frozen, Paw Patrol, Duplo – all the things you’d expect a child of that age to play. Which brings us to a few weeks ago. Playing with some alien creature, my daughter looks at me and says that really, we should have a spaceship for him. Without thinking, I emerged with the LEGO Force Awakens Millennium Falcon in hand, asking if this would do? Her jaw dropped before a massive grin appeared on her face, “Daddy, that’s wicked!” Before I knew it, we were flying the Falcon around, blaster noises emerging from the both of us as we swooshed around the house. She soon found another ship – the Ghost (with Phantom I attached at the rear). Each with a ship in hand we flew around her room, and before long she wanted to know who everyone in these ships was. I got them all out and we spoke about each one. She was naturally drawn to Hera Syndulla and Rey. Before long, she told me we needed some ‘bad guys’ and suddenly my LEGO collection was on her bedroom floor.
Excited to be playing Star Wars with my daughter, I sent a photo of her with the Ghost to the rest of the Jedi News Team. Well, she looked cute, but they were concerned at how much money she was holding in her hands! “Do you know how much that ship costs?!” It’s not a cheap LEGO model on the secondary market. Yet looking at my daughter, how could I say no? She was loving playing Star Wars, and even better, she was playing Star Wars with me! Did the value of the model really matter?
As more and more LEGO pieces emerged, the more I was re-enacting scenes from Star Wars Rebels. By the time I came into her room with Captain Rex’s AT-TE, she wanted to know even more. So, we sat down to watch some episodes of Rebels together. Not the Original Trilogy that I had always promised I’d show any offspring. No. Rebels instead. She was enraptured. She pointed out every time she saw the characters we had as LEGO minifigures, and when the vehicles came on, she was ecstatic! It made her appreciate the toys even more. The more she saw of Hera, the more she loved the character, insisting that she be the twi’lek every time we played.
Knowing that Hera was in Forces of Destiny, we watched those shorts too. If you’ve read my previous articles, you’ll know that my daughter loves the Ewok movies. So, when Wicket showed up, she was thrilled! She also got her first view of Rey as well, with one of her other favourite characters, BB-8. Just like with Hera, she was drawn to the character. When she wanted to know what she looked like in ‘real-life’, I showed her the video of Daisy Ridley reading BB-8 On the Run by Drew Daywalt. She sat there with my Black Series figures of Rey and Finn (yes, she found those as well) and didn’t move a muscle. When Ridley had finished reading, we had to watch it again straight away!
For my daughter, Luke isn’t going to be the hero that she looks up to as I do. It’s going to be Hera and Rey. My younger self might have felt some shock at this news, but as a father this seems so natural. Strong women who would make any father proud – who could be better role models for my daughter? It doesn’t matter that she isn’t seeing the films as I did. It doesn’t matter to me that we’re playing with these items that have now taken on status of collector’s items. For me, it’s all about spending time with my daughter. Sharing my passion with her. It allows me to appreciate my love of Star Wars in a whole different way.
Star Wars has always been about moving forward, not staying still. It’s easy to hold onto the memories of our youth. Yet with each release, whether it is a movie or a television series, new characters emerge that engage a new generation. I have always loved the work of Dave Filoni and the character of Rey. Now, that reaches a whole new level for me, just by seeing how my daughter engages with these wonderful characters.
Star Wars was always fun. The films, playing with the toys, talking about the endless possibilities. Somewhere down the line I lost that, and it became about accumulating and not enjoying. My daughter has brought the fun back. Watching her telling LEGO Darth Vader that he needs to be good and does he want to play with her toy bunnies, well, how is that going to fail to bring a smile to my face? You might want to say I’ve matured. I’d rather think it’s the opposite, that I’ve gone back to being a kid again. A kid who wants nothing more than to play with his Star Wars toys, running alongside his daughter and shouting “Pew, pew”’.
