Passion! (Turn to the Left)

 

The man, the myth, the legend that is, David Bowie

[No, that wasn't a typo. I'm paraphrasing one of the Bowie's song titles.]

I watch a lot of Youtube. I don't know if it's because I've a terribly short attention-span at the moment, but I do enjoy watching those talented crafters like Studson, Nerdforge, Bill Making Stuff and Dan Does. My wife watches all the videos about painting and art, and frequently I get videos appear in my recommendations about creativity. Inevitable I guess. 

One appeared on my feed recently by someone called Creative Codex, and it was about pursuing ambitious projects. The thumbnail used an image of that great combo of Davids - David Bowie and David Lynch. Of course, I had to watch...

The end of the video features of a clip of David Bowie's interview in 1997 about creativity. It focuses on a quote which I'm sure you've heard many times before - 

"If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting."

- David Bowie

And there was also the rest the video, where it discusses ambitious projects and some creators immersing themselves in a passion project that takes years to complete. It really got me thinking about these passion projects (hence the name of the post) and those times when I got completely and utterly absorbed in a project. When you'd need to keep a notebook close to the bed for those thoughts that surface just as you're falling asleep, or in your pocket for long journeys and your mind wanders and reveals a solution to one of your creative roadblocks. 

It got me thinking of times when I was completely immersed in a project that it completely took over everything I was doing. 

Drowning in Darkness

Cover for second printing
of Drowning in Darkness

Many years ago, we're talking mid-late 80's here, I wanted to write and draw comics. A friend of mine, Pete, decided to start publishing comics under the "Swampland" name, and my first comic, Drowning in Darkness completely consumed my life. It was a small, 32-page A4, comic. Sold a few copies. One comic review magazine called me the "Goth Hergé" which I was really chuffed with. It was a pretty basic story of an ex-government agent turned vigilante taking on vampires. Madness, I know, but I enjoyed it.

Pete wrote a massive sequel called Mirrors of Darkness that I started drawing and inking, but it kinda fizzled out about page 80-something. I also did the usual thing that creatives do, which was to go back and start re-making Drowning in Darkness with new art and an extended storyline. Never finished that one... I still have it all somewhere, though it's probably an embarrassing read. 

Ghostbusters: 'Spooky Science' and 'Back to Transylvania'

Very old illustration I did of me 
typing Ghostbusters adventures.

My two great passions in the late 80s were comics and roleplaying games, and after discovering the Ghostbusters Roleplaying Game by West End Games, I really wanted to write RPGs. More than that, I really wanted to write for the Ghostbusters RPG. This is back before the internet, so this involved writing a letter to West End Games (including 'international reply coupons' to cover return postage from the States to the UK), and waiting months. 

First it was a letter to see if they'd look at some stuff, and get the Release Form which allowed them to look at it without any legal problems (in case they were working on something similar already), and their writers guidelines. Then, days upon days sat over an electric typewriter drafting an adventure for Ghostbusters. 

They weren't great, and their movie-parody style was a little too close to some other major franchises, but the encouraging letter I got back from West End Games gave me the drive to keep going. I spent every spare moment writing those adventures, even doing stupid illustrations for them that they'd never be able to use. 

Missing

Covers for Issues 1, 4, and 2 of Missing

After going off to art school (sorry, University), my desire to write and draw comics was bubbling to the surface. Inspired by Twin Peaks, I became totally immersed in the world of Missing. Planned as a multi arc story over around 90 issues, it featured a wide cast of weird characters thrown together at a hotel on the border between Scotland and England, after England had become a US State, and after global warming had raised the water levels. 

There were multiple plots crossing over, featuring the kidnapping of the President's daughter, a bunch of 'Neuromatics' - surfing highwaymen who were holding up traffic heading for the border. There was murder, betrayal, intrigue, scandal, and more. It was even funded by the Prince's Youth Business Trust. My mind was filled with plot lines, characters, and plans for the future... but after I lost distribution after four issues due to low orders, I shelved the whole thing and haven't gone back to it. I have one complete set, but looking at it now I feel myself cringe a bit. Definitely a product of its time.  

Conspiracy X 2.0

Promotional image for Conspiracy X 2.0

After Missing went... well... missing... I was at a bit of a loss. I started thinking about my next big comic venture which was a post-apocalyptic comic of religion and divine-like alien beings influencing a strange cathedral... but it never went anywhere. I just kept reworking it over and over again. 

However, I'd continued roleplaying, and got talking to the lovely folk at Eden Studios (initially about a potential Conspiracy X comic) after a friend of mine told me I needed to read the Conspiracy X RPG, knowing I was a massive fan of The X-Files. I ended up helping with a number of their games like Terra Primate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and All Flesh Must Be Eaten. Conspiracy X was amazing, but it frustrated me that it wasn't the same game system as the other games produced by Eden that I'd worked on. 

I put together a pitch and met with George while he was in the UK at one of the last UK GenCon conventions to convince him to let me convert Conspiracy X to a new edition using Unisystem. 

The week after I signed the contract for four books which would adapt and convert most of the existing content into new concise volumes, my father died. I did the slightly unhealthy thing where I squirrelled myself away into our tiny office room, and buried myself deep in the world of Conspiracy X. I contacted American government agencies to ensure everything was up to date after the restructuring with the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Pulling in previously unpublished material, I was left to just get on with it and piece together a brand new edition of the game. With the amazing editorial skills of Alex Jurkat, the core rulebook finally came out... and many years later, the remaining three books were released after successful Kickstarter campaigns. 

I may have gone a bit deep on that one, but not only did it produce a game I still love, but it helped during a particularly tough time. Unfortunately, one of the stretch goals for the fourth book (the Conspiracies Sourcebook) was to ensure development of the 'sequel' game called Extinction. Set after the Saurian aliens had returned to Earth and decimated the population, it was announced just as I'd lost my mother - rather depressing bookends for my Conspiracy X career - and I just wasn't in the headspace to work on a title that involved so much death and destruction. I'd hoped that someone would take over on Extinction, but I think the Conspiracies Sourcebook was the final Eden Studios release for the time being. 

Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space

Cover of the first edition of Doctor Who:
Adventures in Time and Space RPG

After Conspiracy X 2.0 was handed in (before the Kickstarters for the remaining books), I started talking to Chris Birch, Angus Abranson, and Dominic McDowall about how a good license could bring in a new generation of gamers. One thing lead to another, and we were pitching to the BBC for Doctor Who. Thanks to my day-job working in a bookstore with a Dalek, I'd been excited to see the series return in 2005, and by that two-part finale I knew that a Doctor Who RPG would be amazing. 

Once we had the license secured, I was in the strange position where I was kinda left to it. I recruited a few other writers I knew to help with adventures and some of the sections, but once again I immersed myself in the world(s) and trying to get the game to echo the feel of the series as much as possible. It was kinda weird... a few rounds of massive playtests, feedback incorporated, and then the text went off to Dom and Angus... and then it miraculously appeared in my inbox. A cool boxed set, multiple books, dice, cards. It felt amazing to see something go from pitch to product and hit the shelves. 

WILD: Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming

Cover for WILD

With Doctor Who handed in, I worked on a few of the supplements before it became too big a beast (and an award winning beast at that) and Cubicle 7 grew to accommodate it. I was still working in my little retail job, but came out of the cinema after seeing Inception that opening weekend and my mind was buzzing with ideas. It was like someone had hooked up my brain to a Christopher Nolan's creative drive, and I just had to do something. And thus, WILD was born - Wake Initiated Lucid Dreaming, an RPG of dreamshare technology. That was 2010. Ten years later, Stoo told me to stop messing about and to actually get something finished for WILD, so that he could run a Kickstarter for it. 

Stoo was a legend, sorting the printing, commissioning the awesome cover art (above) by Qissus, and the Tarot art by Gareth Sleightholme who I've known longer than I'd like to admit to. Stoo ran the Kickstarter, fulfilled the shipments - let's face it, without Stoo chivvying me and getting the publishing side organised, WILD would never exist. 

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You know what all of these projects had in common (besides me), was that they were a cool challenge, and maybe a little over my head. But I had the love for the story or property that I wanted to see it through. 

At the moment, I'm just feeling burned out and unmotivated. I want to feel that drive, that passion (beep beep), that desire to completely immerse myself in something that it infiltrates my idle mind, sparking ideas. I miss that. Right now, my mind is like it's tuned to a dead channel and the white noise is drowning everything else out. 

Soon, though... soon. 

I'll finish with another of Bowie's quotes from that interview:

"Never play to the gallery… Always remember that the reason that you initially started working is that there was something inside yourself that you felt that if you could manifest in some way, you would understand more about yourself and how you coexist with the rest of society. I think it’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations — they generally produce their worst work when they do that."

- David Bowie

Sidequest: Every TTRPG played 11-20

Well, it's been one of those months again. In such a funk, and kinda down, that I can't really think of anything exciting to add to my blog. It's a good job I've got these ridiculous posts listing things to keep me moderately occupied, rather than just staring into the void. 

So, to continue from the previous post, Kieron Gillen inspired me to list every tabletop roleplaying game I've played. I did the first ten in sort-of chronological order starting with those first games I ever played. Lets see how bad my memory is as continuing the list from 11-20...

#11 - The Adventures of Indiana Jones RPG

Cover of TSR's Adventures of Indiana Jones game

I know, the much maligned Adventures of Indiana Jones RPG from TSR. I freakin' loved this game. Not as free and easy as you may think, involving lots of tables and weird slide-rule thingy, along with lots of cool cardstock miniatures and 3D models. I bought everything you could get for Indiana Jones, and I loved it. I even made a video about it last year. 

Loved it. Wish there was a new version so we can explore, adventure, and punch more Nazis. 

#12 - Warhammer Fantasy (1st Edition)

Cover of the old white box Warhammer RPG

Another game bought by one of our regular players wanting to run something different to AD&D. We should have realised it was going to be very different by the name - Warhammer: The Mass Combat Fantasy Role-Playing Game. It really was quick, brutal, and our characters died very, very quickly. I don't think we got many games in, but after the GM moved to the other side of the world, that boxed set now sits on my shelves.

#13 - Golden Heroes

Cover of the Golden Heroes RPG

Next on the list is possibly our first foray into superhero gaming. We didn't do an awful lot of supers stuff, and when we played Golden Heroes it was just after I'd read Watchmen so we played with powerless vigilante characters rather than having proper 'super powers'. It was pretty cool, but the superhero Odyssey game we played later was better - not because of the game, Golden Heroes is still great, but just because someone else was GMing rather than me and they did a better job. I'm sure it'll come up in a later post...

#14 - Paranoia

Cover of the West End Games Paranoia RPG, 
published as a hardcover in the UK by Games Workshop!

Next is something a little different. Wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started running Paranoia, but it was madness and we loved it. Played all the weird adventures from the time, like HIL-Sector Blues, and Clones in Space. Heck, I even bought those Citadel miniatures and did an awful job of painting them.

#15 - Twilight: 2000

Cover of the original edition of Twilight: 2000

It was the Eighties, and (as you'll see by another later entry) things were a bit tense when it came to international relations. Good thing we sorted that out after all these years! (sarcasm) But, yes, we had a go at Twilight:2000. I don't remember much of it, just creating some characters and wandering around the roads near Krakow. I don't think we played very much of it. 

#16 - Doctor Who The Roleplaying Game (FASA)

Cover of the FASA 2nd edition of the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game

Much like the old FASA Star Trek, we also played the FASA edition of the Doctor Who RPG. We were lucky to have a GM who was not only our Call of Cthulhu keeper, but also a massive Doctor Who fan who knew his stuff. Being a fan of the creepy Hinchcliffe and Holmes era of Tom Baker's run, he ensured the game played like a spooky Cthulhu adventure, with our resident Time Lord, the Collector, strangely absent most of the time (the player hardly ever turned up). 

#17 - Judge Dredd the Roleplaying Game (GW)

Cover of the original Dredd RPG

As mentioned in an earlier post, I'd been reading 2000AD since issue #2, the first appearance of Judge Dredd, and most of us in the gaming group read it to some extent. It was inevitable that we'd play the Dredd RPG. We played a handful of games, engaged in a Block War or two. I'd love to see a new edition soon - I must admit, I'd love to see a TV series done like The Rookie but only with MegaCity Judges...

#18 - Odyssey

Image from the movie ALIENS

Okay, home-brew time. This wasn't just your average home-brew, this was Pete's most epic RPG, taking up a chunky ring-binder of rules. Taking elements from RuneQuest and turning the volume up, Odyssey was Pete's generic RPG to work in any time and any genre. I remember he said "I've a murder mystery RPG to test" and we all joined in on this simple game of regular people who had won a prize to go on a cruise. We thought it was going to be a murder mystery, and then *RUG PULL* the ship sank and we were washed up on a desert island, with superpowers. Inspired by the old Elementals comic, we played the heck out of that. 

However, Odyssey really came into its own when we started using the system to play Colonial Marines in the ALIEN universe. The encumbrance system was genius, and I remember this frantic run for the drop ship and shedding my smart gun to speed up so we could escape the nuclear blast of the terraforming plant exploding. He also ran a brilliant game where one of the players was a villain, working to sabotage the plans for his own benefit. Lots of note passing to the GM, and it was only when combat started and the dice rolls started matching up did they realise who was shooting at them. Decades before Free League's game of marines and hidden agendas, Pete was doing it in the 80s. Brilliant stuff.

#19 - Ghostbusters

Cover of the legendary Ghostbusters RPG by West End Games

Here we come to one of my favourite games of all time - West End Games' Ghostbusters Roleplaying Game. You wouldn't believe how much I love this game. I've written at length about how reading this game made me want to be a game writer and designer. It's just a joy to read, brilliantly simple, and based on one of my favourite movies and franchises. How could I not love it? We played so much of this, so much that the Ghost on my Ghost-Die started to wear off. 

Again, I'd love to see a new Ghostbusters RPG - especially as the D6 system that powers it has returned recently in the Carbon Grey and Planet of the Apes RPGs. If anyone at Ghostcorps is listening, you know who to call. 

Here's a link to another video I made!! 

#20 - James Bond 007 Roleplaying Game

The Victory Games RPG of James Bond 007

Finally for this batch, here's another one of my favourite RPGs of all time. Victory Games' official James Bond 007 RPG. Amazing game, with some brilliant and revolutionary mechanics, and some of the most amazing presentation (especially for the adventures). Absolutely love this game. 

I'm going to sound like a stuck record, but again I'd love to see a new version of a Bond RPG (who knows, it may happen now the Amazon deal has happened - I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they honour such a legacy). And, again, here's a video I recorded if you want to check out what the game looks like. 

We played a heck of a lot of this too, and I ran a couple of the adventures multiple times for different groups, each with very different outcomes. Awesome.

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That's it for this batch. We're getting close to the 'break' I had from gaming, and I'm keeping track of games I've bought and not yet played, just in case I wanted to do a Sidequest of the Sidequest!! 

Until next time, stay multi-classy. 

Sidequest: Every TTRPG Played #1-10

Over where the sky is blue (that's Bluesky just in case you haven't been on there), much respected and loved comics creator and TTRPG writer, Kieron Gillen, posted to say that he was trying to make a list of every TTRPG he's ever played. 

Alt Text - Trying to make a list of every TTRPG I've ever played, which presently includes such classics such as 'the very complicated home-brew game made by my friend James when I lived in America' and 'The one where you're all sad people at the end of the world with a name that sounds ominous'. 

I'm really hoping that his results appear on his relatively recent blog-site that he launched https://oldmenrunningtheworld.com/ . However, it did inspire me to think... 'Can I remember every TTRPG I've played?'...

Challenge Accepted!!

I know I've been doing my "My Nerdy Life in 100 Geeky Objects" series, and there's bound to be a little crossover, but I thought I'd try and do this as well, just to keep my brain busy and so I don't spiral into the mire. Do forgive my indulgences. I'm not going to drag this out into another 100 posts... I promise.

Let's take it a chunk at a time, starting from the very beginning. The order may be a little off, but hey, it is 40+ years ago...

#1 - Traveller

The first three "Little Black Books" for the original Traveller RPG

The first tabletop roleplaying game I ever played was Traveller. I had no idea what I was doing, but I generated a character that sunny Saturday afternoon in what must have been 1983(?) up at JR's place. I remember thinking how old my character was by the time I left military service. I didn't do much, just sat in the background and took in the experience, but I was already hooked by the end of the first game. 

#2 - Advanced Dungeons & Dragons

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (2nd Cover)

Had to be there, didn't it? Usually everyone's first game, I leapt straight into Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. None of this Basic or Expert stuff, I was thrown into the deep end of AD&D. Admittedly, I didn't even roll a character to begin with. My first character was a Paladin called Ivanhoe that was already at 8th or maybe 9th level. One of the players in the group was bored of playing the goody-two-shoes, and it was just the sort of character I liked playing. I gave him a last name after a few years, Navarre, from watching Ladyhawke, because, let's face it, Rutger Hauer was the coolest thing around. Played him for years, never got higher than 9th level, but always liked playing Paladins ever since.

#3 - Runequest

Cover of Runequest 2nd Edition

That same gaming group seemed to alternate between AD&D and Runequest most of the time, so it was inevitable that Runequest would turn up on this list, and very early. I really liked the way that individual locations had their own armour ratings, but I remember the GM had bought the Big Rubble setting and we kept heading into the Rubble to seek our fortunes, getting a fraction of the way in, and getting our arses kicked so badly we retreated back to the inn and healed up before doing it all again. 

#4 - Star Frontiers

Front cover of the original Star Frontiers "Expanded" Rulebook

Everyone was running RPGs and I really wanted to get in on the GameMastering action, and I preferred SF to fantasy. Traveller was cool, but it just wasn't saying "Star Wars" to be enough. A trip to the local (if you can all it that) game store and that cover for Star Frontiers literally screamed "Look!! I'm like Star Wars, look at me!!" and I had to get it. Absolutely loved that game. Played so much of it, you wouldn't believe. All the way through to the Zebulon's Guide update and beyond. I'd love to see a proper revival, not the nonsense that's happened recently. 

#5 - Gamma World

Much like my desire to GM something, I remember Coop wanted to GM in our group, and his game of choice to start was TSR's other SF RPG, Gamma World. The weird, post-apocalyptic RPG of an irradiated future. I don't remember playing too much of it, but it was pretty cool. Spent most of my time worrying I was going to grow an extra arm or something from the radiation...

#6 - Call of Cthulhu

Cover of 1st Edition Call of Cthulhu

Of course, the other big classic from the early days of gaming had to be Call of Cthulhu. I hadn't read any Lovecraft, so I had no idea what was going on, but I loved seeing those weird silhouettes and wandering around in the 1920s. I ended up buying my own copy (the Games Workshop hardcover version, rather than the boxed first edition) and we played a heck of a lot of that too. Most of my characters went mad, except for the one that died when another character threw a bottle at me to get me out of their tent. 

#7 - FASA Star Trek

Cover of FASA's Star Trek Roleplaying Game

Our "Keeper" for Call of Cthulhu ran a couple of other games for us as well. One is FASA's Star Trek RPG. I used to watch classic Trek on TV as a kid, and a lot of it went way over my head. It wasn't until much later that I really *got* Star Trek and really loved it (but that's one for another story). I don't remember playing too much of it, but it was cool. I remember us playing the Star Trek III Starship Combat game more...

#8 - Space Opera

Cover of the Space Opera RPG

What the hell even is the Space Opera RPG? I have a dim recollection of this, and remember it being so darn complicated that we spent two evenings just creating characters... and then never actually got around to playing it. Does this one still count? I've cut many a game from this list that I've read but never played, but does character creation count? I think so... maybe?

#9 - Stormbringer

Cover for Chaosium's Stormbringer RPG

Another one of those "one of the players wanted to have a go at GMing" games was Chaosium's Stormbringer. I remember it being very similar to Runequest, so the learning curve was really easy as we'd been playing that for ages. The tricky thing for me was I was completely unfamiliar with Michael Moorcock's Elric stories, so I was mostly confused by what was going on. Still, the art was cool. 

#10 - Middle Earth Roleplaying (MERP)

The cover I remember the most of the old 
MERP game, with the Balrog looking like
Lobo in the background.

Finally, for this first selection of every game I've played, we'll stop at number 10 with MERP, or Middle Earth Roleplaying Game. And I think this was another of the players wanting to GM something. Again (please forgive me, I was young, and not much of a fantasy reader) I was not very familiar with Tolkien. I mean, everyone else in the gaming group had read The Lord of the Rings, but I'd just watched the 70's animated movie. I tried, and I just didn't have the attention-span until much, much later (thanks to Babylon 5 - see, I told you I was a SF nerd). We did play a lot of this as well though, and I have fond memories of the critical tables. 

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So, that's the first 10 TTRPGs I remember playing. I'm sure I'll go back to this list soon, and try to do the next little batch. When I wrote them down, I did manage to get to 100, but that included RPGs I'd bought and read but hadn't actually played. I may cut those ones from the list, or have a sublist - a side-sidequest. 

Until next time, stay multi-classy!

My Nerdy Life in 100 Geeky Objects – #4: Palitoy Chewbacca and R2D2

 #4 - Star Wars Action Figures: Chewbacca and R2-D2, Palitoy (1977)

Something big was coming in my young and impressionable life, and I had no idea how much of a massive impact it would have. 

I'd seen that double-page spread about the upcoming movie Star Wars in the 2000AD Summer Special Supercomic, and, while I thought it looked cool, I just went back to reading Judge Dredd and MACH-1. But those images of Stormtroopers, Han Solo, and Chewbacca must have stuck in my subconscious, ready for a little more fuel. 

That fuel came in the form of a pair of gifts from my dad. My dad was a nurse. I don't know how he got into that job – I'd heard stories about him doing his part during the Second World War in various positions until they realised how short-sighted he was. He ended up working in a hospital, and that's how he met my mother. They married, relocated to my hometown, and worked at a huge psychiatric hospital as a nurse. 

Once a year he'd get called away from work for something to do with work, some conference or training or something. He never really talked about his work. It never seemed to be easy, though I visited his work a few times when he needed to pop in to pick up something he'd forgotten. It was huge. I mean HUGE. They had a massive hall which they used for special occasions like Christmas parties, and I remember going with my parents and discovering that my dad could play the drums. Another of his little secrets. (I'd later discover, many years after his passing, that he had piano qualifications from some fancy school in London). 

However, it was after one of his work training conferences, and he'd had to go away for two or three days. He came home, travel bag in hand, with a few gifts. Always was the way in those days, wasn't it? You went away on a trip, you always brought something back for the family. I don't know why. I'm sure he'd bought mum something she usually liked, something like dates or coconut ice - remember that pink and white stuff? I never liked coconut... 

Palitoy Chewbacca from 1977

Anyway, my dad handed me this little bag and said that the guy in the shop had told him this was going to be "the next big thing" and that they'd just arrived. I looked inside and there were two carded figures – Chewbacca and R2-D2, from the new movie called Star Wars. 

And there was that fuel. Those characters were the coolest things I'd seen for a while, and I remembered seeing them in that 2000AD Special. It was all starting to make sense. 

My parents knew the value of things, and how valuable things could become, and my mum instantly told me to open the blister card carefully. Not just ripping it off the card, but carefully cutting the top of the blister so that the figure could slide out the top. That way, when it wasn't being played with, I could slip it back into the packaging, and it'd be safe.

So I did. I looked after those figures. They were my prized possessions for many years. But it was the start of a bit of an addiction. 

Y'see, on the back of those first two figures was an illustration of the other figures in the range. The first twelve. I had no idea who these characters were at first, but they looked so incredibly cool. 

The list of names were awesome, the pictures were cool, the vehicles at the bottom were fantastic. I needed to know more. 

It wouldn't be long before I found out. Dad came home from work one Friday night after popping in to the local newsagents and brought home the first of the two oversized comic adaptations. When I mean 'oversized', they were huge. Almost A3 rather than the usual book or comic size. And it was only the first half of the movie! But at least I knew who everyone was now, and immediately wanted to be Luke Skywalker, and I'd basically sold my soul to Star Wars.

(Like many, many others at the time)

Star Wars became a heck of an obsession for me, and eventually I managed to complete that collection of the first 12... I even cut the nameplates out of all of those backing cards to mail off for the mysterious Boba Fett figure. And I continued collecting through all of The Empire Strikes Back waves.

They were my favourite thing in the world. When I went away on holiday to those lonely self-catering bungalows in the middle of Scotland or Wales, I took a selection of Star Wars figures with me. 

Of course, when I was older, I thought I'd grown out of them and sold the lot... One of my biggest regrets. What an idiot... 

Palitoy R2-D2 from 1977. Glorious!!!