Josh Budich's Star Wars Collection
 Most sites dedicated to "Star Wars" figures leave something to be desired (for example, a reason to look at them). Josh Budich's Star Wars Collection is different. Notable for its crisp design as well as its baffling number of Lukes, Hans, and Darths, this online shrine is unlike any other. We were so impressed, we arranged an interview with Josh. Read on for a look into the mind of a man who's on a quest to possess...
Many people love "Star Wars," but clearly you love it more than most. What is it about the movie that "speaks to you" (so to speak)? "Star Wars" will always remain the quintessential story of how righteous morals will forever prevail over the forces of evil and corruption... However, now that I'm older and wiser to the "true ways" of the world, I'd have to say that I identify more with the bad guys. The Jedi, passive users of the force, only show their true power when it becomes absolutely necessary, and in order to protect and defend the innocents of the galaxy. The Sith, on the other hand, realize that their powers are a "gift" that should be used proactively to enhance their own position in the world... Maybe it's this internal struggle that speaks to me... the realization that all of us can be both good and evil at the same time, and that certain paths, taken through our own choices, ultimately define on which side of the Force we will stand. Which figure was the hardest to track down? My most coveted of figures in my entire collection is the 2002 New York Toy Fair Silver Vader figure with the lightsaber that pokes out of the top of the bubble. But looking back on what it took to procure it, it was far from the most difficult. Some of the hardest figures for me to get are, in effect, some of my least favorite. The primary one being my Episode I Jar Jar Binks (Naboo Swamp) figure, which for some reason ended up being a fairly rare figure that appeared right at the end of the Episode I figure-line... Ever been tempted to burn your Jar Jar figure(s)? Like all "Star Wars" fanboys, I have a very deep dislike for Jar Jar, not to mention ewoks. A very, very deep dislike. But, for a collector, these characters are an integral part of the collection as a whole, so I collected them just the same as I would any of my beloved Vaders and Mauls. From the looks of your collection, you tend to focus on newer figures. Are the old ones (those figures released in the '70s and '80s) just too much money and too difficult to find? I wouldn't say that they're any more difficult to find than any of the new figures that I collected, but they can be more expensive... I actually have quite a few of the original "Star Wars" action-figures in my collection from when I collected them as a child. I didn't include them in this collection for a few reasons. In 1999, when Episode I was released, I made a decision to try to fulfill a lifelong dream that I'd had since I was a child: to collect not just a few of the figures, but all of them, and keep them all in their original packaging. I cherish the time I spent playing and make-believing with my original "Star Wars" figures. But today, I wish that I could have had the foresight to have kept at least one of them in the original packaging. MINT-ON-CARD! Seeing how unreasonable that is to ask of a 5-year-old child, come 1999 I decided to make my dream a reality, and thanks to the most understanding, patient, and supportive wife a man-child could ask for, that dream finally came true. Which figure do you not own that's currently in your cross-hairs? When I started this collection, it was under the strict guidelines that one day I would eventually stop. So, "officially" I would say that I don't really have any particular figures in mind for adding to my collection. Unofficially however, I'm a huge fan of the Galactic Heroes line and continue to collect them as each new wave comes out. I'm also eyeing the new exclusive Mighty-Muggs that are supposed to come out sometime next year. I'll also, most likely, continue to collect any of the exclusive figures that come out during the "Star Wars Celebration" events, since I can justify making "just one" Star Wars action figure purchase per year. For many collectors, the ultimate dream is stumbling across a garage sale where the owner is selling mint-condition figures/records/toys/etc. Have you ever come across "a big score"? To only be so lucky as to stumble across one of those yard sales. That would be a dream-come-true! There was one instance where I was lucky enough to find a collector who, sadly, had to unload his entire Power of the Force collection. That was a pretty big online score for me. In real-life however, there were a few times where I can remember scoping out the same toy store, going in every day to see if the new shipment had arrived, and then finally lucking out and catching the stock guy as he cracked open a fresh box of figures I needed. "Just give me the whole box." There have also been several occasions when I searched online, forever for an ultra-rare figure and bought it at an inflated price, only to find it the very next day in the toy store as if it had been there all along. Collecting is funny like that. It's only when you're not looking for something does it, ironically, show up everywhere you look. Thanks for talking to us, Josh. May the Force lead you to your next ultra-rare figure!
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