The Free Press, Mankato, MN

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November 24, 2008

Star Wars collector has 3 of everything

Man gathered treasures for sons as well

By Dan Linehan

MANKATO — Hanging on walls in the basement of Jake's Stadium Pizza are just about every Star Wars action figure imaginable — in triplicate.

There are three Leias with the golden bikini as seen in The Return of the Jedi. Three laser-wielding Han Solos. Three 2-1 B Medical Droids, as seen briefly in the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

“You probably think I’m nuts,” says Wally Boyer, who owns — or, more accurately — holds an estimated 1,500 Star Wars toys.

Boyer’s first son, Jonathan, was born in 1977, and his two other sons, Andrew and Christopher, followed over the next seven years. Star Wars was released in 1977, and its sequels were released in 1980 and 1983.

Only coincidences, to be sure, but the movies provided “something that’s been fun to do with the boys.”

At first, the boys opened and played with the toys.

At some point, perhaps the early ’90s, they started collecting. Sometimes they’d buy from other collectors, other times it was on a ‘we-don’t-have-that’ whim. They tried to pick up three of everything, one for each boy.

The family has Star Wars sheets, pillows, mugs, a footstool.

As owner of Jake's, Boyer also picked up a life-size Yoda as a result of his Pepsi distributorship.

Collectors have determined how much each type of Star Wars action figures is worth. Most are less than $30, but there are some in the thousands, even one Obi Wan that is apparently worth $19,999.99.

Boyer doesn’t have any of these big-ticket items.

He says it’s often the minor characters that end up being valuable. Nobody wanted them, so not many were made.

Take Sio Bibble, governor of Naboo in the Star Wars prequels. Originally the figure sold for about $5, and it’s worth $35 now. Boyer has only one of them, though, so far.

Boyer’s son Christopher was in a serious car accident six years ago and suffered brain injury, and now has the mental state of a 14- or 15-year-old, Boyer said. Christopher now lives in an adult foster facility in Rochester, but the Star Wars collecting remains a connection with his family, and his youth.

Boyer and his wife, Brenda, were selling some extra toys this past weekend in the former Maggie’s restaurant, which his wife’s family owns. (They’re looking at possible tenants, but don’t have anything determined yet.)

He says the economy doesn’t put a huge dent on collecting because most people don’t do it for the money. If people don’t buy and sell quickly with the hope that prices will go up next week, prices don’t change all that much.

Not that the money hurts.

Boyer has this collection insured, and plans one day to give one of each toy to each of his sons.

“Maybe it’ll be a down payment on a house,” he jokes.

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