Bob Raspet Interview

C O L L E C T O R ’ S
Bob Raspet gives us a brief insight into his fantastic
Star Wars collection
I am 35 years old, was born and raised in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, USA. I was hooked on Star Wars around
age six in 1977 when I saw the first movie trailer for
Star Wars. I remember begging my father (who was
very reluctant to stand in the long lines) to see it.
I remember my mother buying me my first two figures,
C-3PO and R2-D2 at a Gold Circle store, and ripping
them open in the car and playing with them all day.
I still have those two figures mixed in with now over
1,300 other figures, and over 5,400 other Star Wars
pieces in my collection. I collect pretty much anything
that has to do with Star Wars. Figures, comics, posters,
arcade games, cake pans - you name it, I either have it
or want it.
Star Wars
Star Wars
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V I E W P O I N T
shampoo bottles. Actually one of the hardest to find
pieces, and one of my favourite figures is my carded
Yak Face figure that was never released in the United
States, but was released in, you guessed it, Canada!
I try to get something Star Wars from every country
around the world. The foreign items and oddball items
always seem to get everyone’s attention. I have pieces
all over my house in seven rooms plus the garage.
The only rooms that don’t have Star Wars items in them
are the bathrooms and kitchen. I've been to so many
conventions, and have spent hours upon hours standing
in line for autographs and exclusives over the years.
I also enjoy getting as much stuff autographed as I can.
Some of my favourite collectables are the stand-up
arcade games, prototypes, Micro Machine 4up, and any
one-off a kind pieces I can find. I also love the oddball
Star Wars items like the toothbrushes, shoelaces, and
Above: Bob Raspet with some of his
collection. Bottom right is a young
Bob at Christmas.
Shown here are various images of Bob Raspet’s
impressive Star Wars collection.
I’ve probably met hundreds of actors, actresses, authors,
artists, etc. that have all had something to do with the
Star Wars movies.
One of the walls in
Bob’s house.
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COLLECTABLES
I frequent the internet, posting on sites such as
www.rebelscum.com, www.yodasnews.com and
www.jedidefender.com. The online community is an
essential part of collecting. One day while searching the
net, I discovered that a fellow Pennsylvanian (Bill Cable)
had started a local collecting club The Pennsylvania Star
Wars Collecting Society www.pswcs.com. I joined in
1999, became the Western PA contact, and now we’re
going strong at well over 300 members! We have a
group meeting once a year, smaller region meetings
throughout the year, and are a part of SW events such
as the Star Wars Celebrations, local collecting shows,
charity toy drives, etc. It’s a great way to meet with
others who share the same interests, discuss Star Wars,
and trade, buy, sell Star Wars collectables. I’ve met a
lot of great people over the years, and have built some
wonderful friendships. It’s always fun to see what
everyone else collects.
COLLECTABLES
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