Putting figures through their motions, with Galactic Repertory Theatre.

What we collect and why changes over the months and years. Sometimes collections are punctuated by stand out items for sentimental reasons, sheer coolness, or things we simply enjoy owning or displaying. But, more rarely, they also become a gateway into a whole new hobby. I loved learning about Galactic Repertory Theatre’s collection which has all this, and seeing how he gives it new life by putting his figures through the motions, literally!

An OG Star Wars fan, Galactic’s earliest memory of fandom is seeing A New Hope as a kid back when it was just ‘Star Wars’, at a drive-in during the late 70s. Hooked from then on, the rest is history. That first viewing marked the moment Star Wars became ever-present.

Growing up with the movies, Galactic’s earliest days of collecting were all about grabbing the toys to play with. From there, and as he became an adult, his collecting journey evolved into the odd display piece, and more functional things like household items and clothes. I can relate to this as a now-adult collector looking for ways to bring fandom into the day to day!

Galactic has some awesome items in his collection, including an original “Revenge of the Jedi” crew shirt. All the more amazing than just buying this in an auction or market, it was gifted by a colleague who got it first hand from a family member who worked on the production, and was looking for the ‘right fan’ to make its new custodian. An aspect of fandom I love is kindness like this, centred on mutual appreciation of these pieces of history - what a brilliant story.

Another stand-out piece of AWESOME in Galactic’s collection is a Toys R Us Millenium Falcon. Yes, most of us probably have a Falcon of some sort, but this is an amazing 6ft long Toys R Us display Falcon, used to hang from the rafters and help hype up the prequels in-store. Galactic won it in a send-in sweep stake, posting around 200 postcards and becoming the worthy winner of a Falcon - who didn’t dream of having one of these as a kid!

A 6ft Toys R Us Falcon at Rancho Obi-Wan, like the one in Galactic’s collection

Galactic’s original RoTJ crew shirt

Not content with just owning his collection, Galactic has found ways to blend fandom and collecting into other parts of his life. As a professional stage technician he gets a chance to be around some cool people, sets and props - including the incredible James Earl Jones. As a fun twist on collecting he started taking photos of pocket size ‘Galactic Hero’s’ figures with colleagues and on sets, this started with a Darth Vader figure but has proven a brilliant excuse to collect more Galactic hero figures, creating opportunities for fun picture combinations. A brilliant way to bring fandom to work, share it to create a moment of frivolity during the work day, and capture memories with colleagues.

It doesn’t end with work-life though, Galactic has turned his collecting into a whole new hobby too. When Covid hit, the live theatre industry was shut down. Galactic was stuck at home and on the hunt for a hobby to pass the time and provide a new creative outlet. That’s when inspiration struck to combine a love of theatre, stop-motion animation, and collecting - specifically, a bunch of old Star Wars action figures.

A long-time admirer of stop-motion, and inspired by work in the Original Trilogy, and media like Robot Chicken and the Nightmare Before Christmas, Galactic set about putting his figures through their motions with the help of an app. The result has been an amazing and creative undertaking, a labour of love that has long outlasted the pandemic, resulting in over a hundred videos.

Now operating with professional-grade software, Galactic has upped his skills and shows no signs of slowing down. A virtuous circle of passions means that new animation ideas feed a refreshed love of collecting figures that can bring those ideas to life. Black Series are usually the go-to, with superior articulation and size.

In simple terms, the process of stop motion is taking a series of photos of an articulated model, capturing small movements one at a time which are then played in sequence to create the illusion of independent movement. However making this work requires not only great creativity, but patience and precision.

An animation has to start with an idea. These can come from all angles for Galactic, including suggestions from loved ones. Using figures to replicate TikTok trends, or parodies of scenes from Star Wars or other films. Replacing Palpatine with Jar Jar Binks anyone? or how about Hocus Pocus as portrayed by Tusken Raiders? Galactic focuses on humour so his stuff is a great lighthearted watch. All these things you never knew you needed are on his TikTok channel!

Galactic explains that something relatively simple, like two figures moving around a bit as they tell each other Star Was themed dad jokes (a staple for Galactic), only takes a few hours to create. But something more complex may need a script first, and he even occasionally enlists some willing friends to take on voice acting roles. A skit that lasts just a few minutes can take around 10 hours to create during a week after work (even without voice-work), with all the prep, scripting, animating, and not to mention editing.

When I originally started talking to Galactic about a blog-piece it was focused on some of the cool pieces in his collection. As surprising, impressive and fascinating it is to hear about others’ collections, especially when they include things like original crew shirts and 6ft long Falcon’s, the thing I’m most pleased to discover and learn about is his stop-motion work. As somebody who sometimes wishes I was ‘doing Star Wars’ instead of being at work, I really admire how Galactic has not only shared his passion for Star Wars to capture fun memories with his colleagues, but has combined his love for the theatrical arts with it too.

Dedicating the time to something like stop-motion work, and over a sustained enough period to create over 100 individual pieces of content, is no joke. It has to be borne out of a real love for Star Wars, a creative spirit full of ideas, and desire to reap the rewards that come with developing mastery of a craft. Check out Galactic Repertory Theatre to see some of his work. You’re guaranteed to leave with a smile!

MTFBWY