Collector Snapshot #23 – Fonz Napolitano

Welcome all to the twenty third episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. Check out our last collector snapshot here –  Michael Molloy.

I met Fonz a few years ago on Rebelscum and then met him in person at Celebration Orlando last year. Fonz, Shawn Moynihan, Clint Garniss and myself had a few drinks and a bullshit in Orlando and I’ve been meaning to get him onto the blog since. Not only does Fonz have an incredible collection, but he’s also an intelligent, warm, easy-going and modest dude. Yes, you might have guessed that there is a clearly discernible trend with the type of people I interview here 🙂

Fonz was born and raised in Syracuse, NY where he lives with his wife Katie of eight years and their two labrador retrievers Max and Gus.  Fonz is the District Manager at a biotechnology company and has been involved in pharmaceutical sales for 18 years ( nine at his current company). Fonz has lived all across NY state, but moved back to Syracuse 17 years ago.

Now to the questions! 

1.How long have you been collecting?

I’ve collected my entire life, starting at four when Star Wars came out.  My parents really encouraged my collecting. They took me to the stores to get the figures and ships and sent in the proof of purchases to get the free figures.  I actually have the five original Boba Fetts my mother mailed away for. They are very well played with and of course do not have their weapons. I actually saved almost all of my Star Wars toys from when I was a kid. Most are missing several pieces and are not in great condition but they do hold a lot of memories.  I started keeping the figures MOC (mint on card) about midway through the ROTJ waves.  So I have many MOCs that I purchased from Jedi, POTF, Droids and Ewoks, including a MISB (mint in sealed box) A-Wing.

I took a three year break around 13 and started collecting baseball cards.  I grew tired of that pretty quickly and sold a lot of them off to buy more Star Wars figures. I bought a lot of stuff through Toy Shop and was always excited to get a new Action Figure News and Toy Review because it had a price guide.  I had a collectible toy shop near me in college and bought a lot of MOCs and MISBs there.

In 94 or 95 I got ‘From Concept to Screen to Collectible’ off QVC when Steve Sansweet was selling the books there.  He subsequently signed it for me when I visited Rancho for my 40th b’day.

Speaking of Steve Sansweet…

About 4.5 years ago, from an article about collectible toys on Yahoo, I discovered Rebelscum, followed by the Facebook groups.  That opened a completely new world for me of new information, awesome toys and what I love the most, like minded collectors who have become some of my closest friends.  I attended my first Celebration in 2016 in Orlando.

2.What do you collect?

I collect high grade MOCs and MISBs.  Recently started a tri-logo run and started collecting some foreign toys.  I also have a Boba Fett focus that I blame my mother for.  She started my obsession with him.  Waiting what seemed like an eternity for his figures to come in the mail.

I also have an affinity for 70s MOPARS.  I have a 1970 Dodge Challenger.

3.What’s your grail?

It is currently a skinwrapped Canadian General Veers.  I would like to have the figure of the only guy to beat the rebels in a battle in the OT (original trilogy).

4.What collector’s inspire you?

I had the most trouble with this question because I could name fifty and I would inevitably leave somebody out. Each have different collections and collect different ways but all of them would be willing to do anything for a fellow collector.  That being said, the collector I most admire is the leader of the Empire State Star Wars Collector’s Club (ESSWCC), Tom Quinn (VSWC – we all love Tom! Check out his previous interview with usTom Quinn).

Fonz (fourth on the right) and the ESSWCC gang

Fonz hosted an ESSWCC event in January this year

‘Fonz Con’ swag

Fonz Con cake

Fonz Con cake – best Star Wars cake ever!!!!

Christian (VSWC – that’s me!) was the first to reach out to me when I joined Rebelscum and he put me in touch with Tom because he knew he ran the ESSWCC.  Despite not knowing who I was, Tom was incredibly welcoming and made sure I knew about the upcoming meet-ups.  Once we were able to meet in person we quickly became friends. To say he is the heart and soul of the ESSWCC is an understatement.  Not only does he have a great collection, he opens his house up to collectors multiple times each year, plans and organizes our meet ups, gets us involved in events like Celebration and can always be relied on to help out if we need him

5.What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector?

I keep it hidden, but the amount of time and money I put into collecting modern figures is ridiculous.  I have a large modern collection that sits in my parents basement which I have just started to sell off.  When I think of the vintage items I could have purchased instead of having stuff like six Ric Olie figures (VSWC – I have no idea who that is!) I’m disgusted.

6.What is your favorite Star Wars film?

The Empire Strikes Back. I have the most vivid memories of this film.  Whether it was going to see it in the theater or collecting the toys.  I also like to see the bad guys win.

7.What would you change about the Star Wars collecting community?

I hate the divisiveness that has been created after the purchase by Disney.  I was not the biggest fan of The Last Jedi, but I still really liked parts of it.  I don’t understand the blind hatred for anything new now.  I really liked Rogue One and Solo.  It’s a faction of fans that have never existed until recently.

8.Forums or Facebook groups?

I like the Facebook groups.  I love seeing so many pics of other people’s collections. I also like how easy it is to make deals over Facebook.

9.What Star Wars character do you most resemble?

I’m a pretty quiet and unassuming guy, so I think I most resemble  Hammerhead.  At collector events, you’ll most likely see me hanging out in the corner of the bar quietly drinking my Grey Goose.  Similar to what Hammerhead was doing  in the Mos Eisley Cantina.

10.Is there one thing collectors might not know about you?

I played D1 baseball in college and signed a pro contract after I graduated.  I played in the very low minor leagues for two years on an independent team in Welland, Ontario.  I also received my Black Belt in MMA about 10 years ago but haven’t kept up with it.

While I was in college in 1994, I designed, patented and sold the first protective device for Star Wars MOCs.  It was called The Figure Frame.  We vacuuformed plastic around a wood and plaster mold.  It took forever to make one and was not very profitable. We sold a few through Toy Shop.

The Figure Frame

VSWC:  Well thank you so much for coming on Fonz! I’m sure everyone feels like they know you a little bit better now! 

Collector Snapshot #21 – Lee Harris

Welcome all to the twenty first episode of our collector snapshot, where a vintage collector answers 10 short questions. The same questions will be given to every collector appearing in this segment. It has been almost a year since our previous collector snapshot (Snapshot 20- Todd Thornhill/) so we’ve done out best to make sure this interview is a cracking one.

I’m extremely pleased to present my friend and fellow Australian Lee Harris onto the blog. While I’d seen Lee around the Facebook groups for a while, I hadn’t met him face to face until Celebration Orlando, where we sank booze and dropped the c-bomb every ten seconds. All part of being an Aussie I guess….

Lee going full turtle neck…. Image courtesy of Ryan Lee-Taylor

I warmed very quickly to Lee  and to his laid back and extremely friendly attitude but I was particularly impressed when he organised a boxed 12 inch Stormtrooper figure as a present for our mate Jez Allinson (The Running Stormtrooper), who had broken his back on a running machine for all four days of the convention. Lee gave the present to Jez on behalf of all of us but I don’t think Jez knows that it was actually Lee who paid for it. When we asked if we could contribute, he simply told us to pop some cash into Jez’s donation box (not a pun…). What a bloke…

Lee and his wife Nicole own and operate a school bus service, so he’s busy dodging kangaroos, wallabies, snakes , echidnas, kookaburras and eagles on country roads while driving kids to school. Along with their two girls, Dusty 24 and Drew 22, they live in north-eastern NSW, in an area called Diehard. Yippie Ki Yay. I don’t know the area myself but Lee tells me that it’s a very beautiful mountainous area and that he wouldn’t trade it for anything.Lee is still shocked that somehow his wife and kids have put up with him after all these years….

Lee’s beautiful girls Dusty and Drew

Yippie Ki Yay

Although Lee lives in Diehard now, he was actually born in Narrabri NSW and then lived in Sydney until 1980, when he was around eight years old and moved to Cairns in far north Queensland in 1980. In 1984, his parents split and he and his dad moved again , this time across the Pacific until they landed in California. He then moved back home to Australia in 1988 and has been living back in Australia ever since.

Now to the questions! 

1. How long have you been collecting?

This is my second go at collecting as an adult, I started back up around 2 1/2 years ago. Before that I had collected in the late 90s early 2000s after I found eBay and went a little crazy. I’m definitely enjoying it a lot more these days, compared to the old days of going to the post office and sending away a western union money order and then waiting weeks and months for things to turn up. So much easier these days.

2. What do you collect?

Anything vintage that I like the look of. I’m a bit limited with room for displaying stuff at the moment so really have only been picking up stuff in SW packaging. Would like to finish that off and then move onto the other lines. Also hoping to build a man cave / display room later in the year so I can go a bit harder.

Some of Lee’s awesome collection

More of Lee’s collection

Yep that’s a Toltoys landspeeder in there…

3. What’s your grail?

I don’t like to use the word ‘grail,’ it’s more like what’s next on my hitlist. At the moment a 21 back Fett is pretty high on the hitlist to finish my 12/21 MOC run. Also anything Toltoys. I would really love to pick up any 12/20 back Toltoys MOC. Gotta have dreams..

4. What collectors inspire you?

I would have to say the person that has inspired me the most would have to be hands down is Jez Allinson (The Running Stormtrooper) I was fortunate enough to meet Jez at Celebration Orlando and to see him giving his all for such a great cause – that was one of the best things about my trip. Then for him to head straight home and grab a world record in the London Marathon and then smash the 40km run for ‘May the fourth’ was pretty special too. Very keen to see him smash his 100km run that’s coming up soon. Good luck mate.

Jez and mini-Jez at C8

Lee, Jez and the SWFUK lads at C8

5. What is your most embarrassing moment as a collector? 

This is a hard one for me to answer. I don’t feel that I have embarrassed myself as a collector yet 🙂 Can I pass?

6. What is your favourite Star Wars film?

Not even a contest. Star Wars. I was hooked from the moment my dad took me to see it. We lived in Sydney at the time and I can still remember walking into the cinema and seeing cardboard X-Wings hanging from the ceiling.

7. What would you change about the collecting community?

Probably would like to see the end of u-grading. Not really a fan of any grading myself.

8. Forums or Facebook groups?

Facebook at the moment, as I’ve never really enjoyed forums to be honest. I do though keep planning to get more involved in forums.

9. What Star Wars character do you most resemble? Han. I can be little bit cocky and have a smart mouth at times. So my wife tells me 🙂

10. Is there one thing that collectors may not know about you?

I’ll give you a couple of things. Most people probably don’t know I’m half yank and that I did my JR high and Freshman and Sophmore years of high school in California. Also I am a mad keen dirtbike rider. I’ve been on a bit of an enforced holiday from riding the last 18 months but I’m getting very close to getting back on my bikes though (Little Katie and Dirty Hussey) yes they have names 🙂

Okay, he’s not lying about the dirtbiking…

Little Katie

VSWC:  Well thank you so much for coming on Lee! I hope everyone enjoyed that as much as I did. Was great getting to know you a little bit better. Looking forward to our next beer mate!