Storage solutions: YodaJohn
Posted by Huw,
Here is quite some Star Wars collection that encompasses more than just LEGO:
I am a 70-year-old AFOL going by the name of YodaJohn. I had been collecting Star Wars anything that included Princess Leia or Yoda. Somewhere about 2003 my son asked if I was aware that Lego made Star Wars sets.
I was familiar with Lego as we had bought numerous sets for my children when they were younger. So with that information began an obsessive quest to obtain each and every Star Wars set available.
It has continued and expanded a little to include some Marvel and DC Comics sets. My other obsessions include mini figures and poly bag sets. My search for sets involved many many yard, rummage, and flea market sales.
I was very fortunate to find quite a number of Lego brand display and storage systems which I incorporated into my "Lego Room" display area. I was thrilled when they opened a Lego store in a local mall. I am very particular when it comes to package condition on new sets. I have approximately 750 Star Wars sets. Most of which are still in sealed condition.
I have approximately 6800 mini figures in loose condition or included in sets. Most of the sealed sets are stored on wooden shelving. The majority of the constructed sets are displayed in a variety of fashion, wooden shelving, Lego shelving units, and Lego display cases.
The drawer units were sold under the Lego brand and were manufactured locally.. I modified them to include wheels. They are used for storage of spare Star Wars mini figures, Collectible mini figures, and mini figure parts.
I slowed down my purchasing in mid 2013 but still attempt to purchase any set that includes Princess Leia or Yoda. Except for two sets, I have at least one of every Star Wars set released from 1999 through mid 2013.
My spare parts are stored in 20 10 gallon totes and 20 20 quart bins.
Due to cancer issues my yard sale days are over but my children are always willing to shop for me!
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33 comments on this article
Wow! Amazing collection! I really like the choking hazard sign.
Some very nice LEGO store display cases there (with the yellow brick branding around), the old style! I don’t recognise some of the content in them, are some of them custom builds within?
Nice collection!
I really love those old displays! If I remember correctly they had lights too. Pity the pieces are glued together
Oh for the love of cleaning!
Nice!
That is truly an awesome collection. The room looks completely full! Thanks for sharing it!
I sincerely hope you have many more years of Leia & Yoda hunting in you!
That's a mind-blowing collection!
How did you get so many store displays, did you work for Target or have a close friend that did?
What a legacy you have there, congratulations!
Damn, that's some set up and collection!
I hope my kids will do some shopping for me as well (if I'm around long enough). Great collection!
Fleamarkets! Yard sales!
I've been able to find Lego at these places probably only 1% of the time!
I don't know how you do it :-O
Looks like a store to me, especially with those Lego store displays.
"Welcome to my store"
Wow, just WOW! Amazing collection. Wish you many more years to enjoy and go on with it! :)
While the collection is impressive with size and scope, and I admire the hunt for all sets, from a storage spotlight article it feels way too cluttered in the photos, as if the room can't hold what's inside of it. I agree that it feels more like a store or a flea market pop up than a personal Lego room.
It may appear to be more cluttered than it actually is. There is plenty of room to walk around and stand back to look at everything. Someone from Toys R Us said she thought I had more inventory than they did. I do miss Toys R Us. There is plenty of space in an adjacent room to set up sorting and assembly tables. I try to keep the "display" room just for display.
On the contrary, impressed with how organized it is for a collection of that size!
Would you believe that every loose mini figure has a 3/8 X 1/2 inch tag with it's Bricklink ID , it's name, and set number strung by a thread around its' neck . Yes, I try to be organized. What else can you when you're asked to be housebound due to the Covid situation. My family would rather that I do not go out. As long as they shop for me I'm fine with it.
@Yodajohn said:
"Would you believe that every loose mini figure has a 3/8 X 1/2 inch tag with it's Bricklink ID , it's name, and set number strung by a thread around its' neck .
I LOVE this idea! Handwritten, or computer?
"
Hand written. I get them at the local craft store and then trim down the thread so its not too long. Take the head of the mini fig off and tuck the thread around the neck section and hold it in place when you put the head back on. That way the tag doesn't fall off.
@Yodajohn said:
"It may appear to be more cluttered than it actually is. There is plenty of room to walk around and stand back to look at everything. Someone from Toys R Us said she thought I had more inventory than they did. I do miss Toys R Us. There is plenty of space in an adjacent room to set up sorting and assembly tables. I try to keep the "display" room just for display."
Maybe cluttered is the wrong word, "busy" ? There's is so much to see at any given place that I'm getting lost in the photos and can't really understand what am I seeing. Might be the photos and not the collection itself. Anyway, sorting/display are personal anyway, there isn't right or wrong. And like I said before, it is an impressive collection for sure!
Busy is probably correct. There is a lot to take in and the photos are not the sharpest. I see what you're saying. Would have had to submit a hundred photos to really do it justice.
It's awesome to see collections such as this. It's like exploring a secret vault full of Picasso's or Rembrandt's, except it's for nerds like me :))
Tremendous collection. And one of the best room displays I've seen. Wonderful stuff you have.
Best to you always.
I’m speechless! That is one amazing collection, thanks for sharing your story!!
An amazing collection! Not Lego, but I have to ask, what is that "Heir to the Empire" product in the first photo with "look inside"? I didn't know they made merchandise for that series - is it a special edition of the book or what?
Immaculate. Well done. You did it. May the Force be with you!
@Brick_Master:
It looks like a book from that angle, but it appears to be the Galoob Micro Machines Epic Collections pack. Included are a standard ISD (maybe the paint deco was different, I can't recall), Lando's Lady Luck, a Skipray blastboat, and figures of Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Wedge. They did similar packs for Jedi Search and The Truce at Bakura. It was really weird because previously the only stuff they'd done had been based directly on the OT movies or Shadows of the Empire (which _did_ have a huge tie-in line of merchandise). And then they release these three packs that include the first book each from two trilogies, and a standalone novel, and then they just stopped. Two years later they made some Ep1 stuff, but that was after Hasbro bought them out (and before they just closed shop on Galoob and transferred the Micro Machines line to the Hasbro brand).
@PurpleDave said:
" @Brick_Master:
It looks like a book from that angle, but it appears to be the Galoob Micro Machines Epic Collections pack. Included are a standard ISD (maybe the paint deco was different, I can't recall), Lando's Lady Luck, a Skipray blastboat, and figures of Thrawn, Mara Jade, and Wedge. They did similar packs for Jedi Search and The Truce at Bakura. It was really weird because previously the only stuff they'd done had been based directly on the OT movies or Shadows of the Empire (which _did_ have a huge tie-in line of merchandise). And then they release these three packs that include the first book each from two trilogies, and a standalone novel, and then they just stopped. Two years later they made some Ep1 stuff, but that was after Hasbro bought them out (and before they just closed shop on Galoob and transferred the Micro Machines line to the Hasbro brand)."
Thanks for the info! I never noticed any of that that material at all, only the stuff based on the OT and prequels. I really liked that trilogy by Zahn and always thought it a shame it was never canonical / famous enough to get Lego sets later. (But at least we got the Thrawn minifig eventually)
That speeder bike poster in background reminds me of one of the old Decipher SWCCG posters.
@Brick_Master:
Towards the end of their independent run, it became difficult to find the full range of their products. Nobody had any trouble finding the three named OT packs of Micro Machines, and most of the numbered sets that followed were pretty easy. I don't think I saw the last couple numbered packs more than once or twice, and the six packs that were based on novels were a flash in the pan. I had an even worse time with Babylon 5, where I'm still missing one of the handful of packs they released (though I _think_ I was able to collect the full run of Star Trek packs). Then Hasbro bought them, and flooded the market with Ep1 Micro Machines that really didn't sell, and that was pretty much it for the line. I don't remember ever seeing any Micro Machines released for Ep2 or Ep3.