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AFHub Handle: RG
Real Name: Rene Gerard F. Galvez
Year of Birth: 1969
Location: Pasig

I met Rengie (or RG, as he is known online) in person for the first time during AFHUB’s Christmas party last year. Unfortunately, that meeting was sorely brief and embarrassingly uneventful – which shamefully was all my fault. Trying to play good host to everyone, I was desperately juggling my time between tables and barely made it to RG’s when he told me he had to leave. What? So soon?

We managed to meet again during the TAGCOM toy event last March where he brought his custom figures of characters from the DC animated universe. I got to know a little more about the guy and was happy to find out that I am not the only person in my age bracket who still gets giddy seeing new toys based on the Justice League cartoons.

He’s a husband, a dad, a restaurateur, a vocalist for a band, and of course, an action figure collector (and customizer to boot) – this not-so-brief exchange aims to highlight a few of the many hats Rengie wears.

1. When did you start collecting action figures?

I started in 2005 when my cousin sold me a lot of DC Direct figures for a song. Prior to that, I was purely into reading comics although like many other collectors, I used to have most of the mego dolls and early release robots when I was a kid. Like or unlike many of them, I let my mother give them all away though.

2. What toy lines do you collect? And why?

I’m strictly a superhero figure collector.

DC Direct: Started it all for me. The wide range of characters are just too hard to pass up, and it covers most of the teams.

Marvel Legends: What can I say, aside from the same reason I collect DC figures, I am fascinated by the articulation and attention to detail. However, I have been dissappointed time and again with the over all quality since Hasbro took over from Toybiz.

JLU: this one does it for me.. TOTALLY! It was and still is my all-time favorite TV Series It’s actually a dream come true that a series like this actually came to be. Secondly, because it is on the whole an affordable, albeit selectively difficult line to complete. Third, the quirkiness of the figure design, large torso-small legs and all just makes it a fun line.

The DCUC Line also looks promising.

I’ll start anything DC or marvel oriented…but I have veered away from being a completist.

Recently, I’ve ventured into batmobiles .

3. What was it that brought you to collecting? And what is it that keeps you going?

As I mentioned, I started when my cousin who’s been into toy collecting much longer sold me a lot of his DC direct stuff. I have always been fascinated by the superhero teams: The Justice League, The JSA, Avengers, Defenders, you name it…so at the time, I decided that I was going to start forming teams. To this day, that is still my main consideration when I buy a figure. More often than not, if I decide to pass on a figure, chances are it’s because that figure doesn’t belong to a team at all. Just a side story to all this, before I started buying my first figures, I would often stare at all the figures in stores I’d enter and wonder to myself what if….? It was sad actually…haha!.

I love “talking shop” with people and since I found the Hub, it’s been wonderful being able to do that about toys and comics without getting a reaction that says: “grow up”, or worse, “stay away, freak!”..haha! Seriously, collecting action figures and reading comics are some of the things that I truly enjoy but it doesn’t hurt when you can talk about it with others who share the same passion.

4. When did you start customizing?

I started last year. Obviously, there were (and still are) a lot of characters missing from all the lines. When I started hanging around the hub, I saw the works of CASIMIR and ofcourse GRUNDY and was awed by them, and I said to myself: “Wow! It’d be amazing if I could actually do that!” I was particularly floored by the the way they captured really minute details, so much so that they actually looked like production material. I realized then that I could actually and finally complete teams like the classic XMEN, the JSA, and especially, the JLU line. ” So one day, I bought myself a few paint brushes, some paint and a few “fodder figures” and skipped work!!!!!

5. What’s your inspiration for customizing a particular character?

Again, it’s first and foremost, completing teams. Even villain groups arent spared. Course, the occasional missing character or variations of a favorite character are also considerations. Sometimes, I’m inspired by the works I see on the web and sometimes, I have an idea of who I want to make and just jump into it, even at 3 am!

6. Which among your customs would you consider your best work and most priced possession? Why?

I don’t know if I really have a favorite figure but I think I put a lot more attention to the JSA figures as well as Guy Gardner. So in that respect, I guess those are the ones that I find myself handling with care at all times. Recently, I finished a Stripe but wasn’t too happy with it.

7. What do you plan to cusomize next?

Right now, I’m working on a Black Lightning, Crimson Fox, Paran Dul and Classic Angel. I plan to complete the classic Xmen( my first and last venture into doing Marvel figures with the JLU line). I am also looking to add more villains which I find are more challenging to make because of the varied little details. Guys like Atomic Skull and Dr. Destiny. I also want to move into customizing ML Legends.

8. How do you display your collection?

I usually open them. I do not however, PLAY with them..hehe!

9. Which item in your collection would you say is your absolute favorite and why?

My entire JLU collection with the customs included is definitely my favorite. Individual figures I truly love though are: The Justice Series Aquaman, The Superman/Batman Hawkman, The DC Direct man-bat, the GL Series Shark, the Mattel 12” DCSH Batman (Blue) and the Toys R Us exclusive Version, The Icons Hulk, and the Corgi 1/18th scale 1940’s Batmobile. So knock on wood, I’d have a difficult time deciding what to save if I had to pick one…

10. How do you decide which items to open and which ones to keep mint-in-package?

I usually open them in order to complete teams..however, I have taken to not opening figures that belong to my Batman or Aquaman “shrines”. The Batmobiles stay boxed.

11. Of all the super heroes, why is Aquaman your favorite?

It’s a sympathy vote….not enough people treat him with respect…hehe! No, really..I think it has a lot to do with my own fascination of the ocean. If I could live down there for extended periods of time, I would. So I could definitely identify with this guy. Secondly, I love that especially in Peter David’s run, and in the animated series, he is a grumpy kick ass but reluctant superhero who just wants to spend his time with his family, and for peace to reign in his kingdom as well as make sure that it’s safe from them damn surface dwellers. I think that he’s also innately determined to show that he will not be taken lightly ever again and will go to extremes to prove his points. Along with this new “BAD” demeanor is an extremely wry and sarcastic sense of humor which sets him apart from the original Grumpy fart that the Batman is. Infact, one of my all-time favorite comic book stories involves my two favorite characters: The fishman and the bat from BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #18 (August 2001). Here, Batman has a slow night and is apparently lonely. Aquaman calls but Batman interrupts him and tells him he doesn’t want to talk. He goes out and beats up a few small-time hoods, gets bored with his nightwatch and goes home at dawn. He then calls Aquaman to come over and pick up the giant penny that had fallen during the earthquake. Aquaman realizes it is immovable and that Batman knew this all along and says the next time he (Bruce) wants company, he should just ask him to bring over some beer and videos.

12. Where do you do most of your toy purchases?

Mostly here but I do find myself splurging on toys whenever I am out of the country (to the criticism of my 2 daughters who think I buy more stuff at Toys r Us for myself than I do for them)….

13. Do you shop online? How about eBay?

Yes, I actually do that a lot especially for backtracking purposes.

14. What’s the first thing people tell you when they see your collection?

Hmmm…let’s see…my friends say I’m weird, my kids find me weird, my sisters think I’m weird although my brother is a recent convert, indulging in Transformers stuff…none of them have ever denied knowing me though so I guess it’s okay. My nephews though are a different story and the first thing they say when they’re over at my place is: “Can we go up to see your stuff(again!!!)?

15. What does your better half say about your hobby? Has it ever been a problem explaining things to her?

I used to hide my purchases and sneak them in at night but as my room kept getting filled and all, it became quite impossible to keep answering her question(‘Is this new?’) with “Ofcourse not..that’s been there for ages!” Now however, she’s taken a slight interest in some of my stuff and actually asks me questions about them..or comments about how nice the details of some of the figures are. I actually get thrilled when she talks to me this way..kinda like “talking dirty”..haha! Basically, she doesn’t have a problem with my purchases as long as the bills are taken care of. I could, after all, have worse hobbies….

16. You were part of a band before. Tell us a little about that.

Yep…I truly enjoy singing..always have. Right when I was feeling low about my job then (in 1996), a friend of mine told me that there was going to be an opening in an up and coming band called Mulatto and asked if I was interested in auditioning. So I did and I got the call a couple of days later that I had been accepted. I quit my job immediately and never looked back.

Mulatto was frontlined by four vocalists and patterned after Gladys Knight and the Pips. The band was into 70’s soul (which I grew up listening to) and ushered in the 70’s retro trend of the mid 90’s. We sang stuff from The Fifth Dimension, Friends of Distinction, Tavares, Aretha Franklin, and Tower of Power to name a few. We did really well and one of the things I can say proudly was that during our time, we never had to audition for a single gig. That is unusual even by today’s standards. Eventually, like many other bands though, having eight individuals usually stuck in enclosed spaces wore down on relationships and we just began to implode so I left in 2000 a couple of years before they finally disbanded.

It all seems like a blur to me these days but the five years I spent with the band (practically everyday) rank as one of the most exciting, fun-filled, and fulfilling times I’ve ever had.

17. Are you still into music these days?

Insofar as my mp3 collection and my ipod are concerned, yes I am still very much into music..haha! Seriously, we just had a reunion show December 8 and we plan to sing together ON occasion only. We are currently working on a bigger reunion concert set for April.

I also still have this unfulfilled dream of performing in a major musicale which I doubt I will ever get to do.

18. Tell us about the restaurant/bar you (co-)own.

The other thing I’m into is food. I love to cook and I love to eat even more. After I left the band, my good friend and former band manager and I decided on a whim to put up a café to satisfy the craving to cook (and eat!!). We did okay with PETRA CAFÉ GALLERIE for about two years until another partner who came in much later screwed (can I use that word??) us out of our finances and we were forced to shut down. I swore I would never try to run a restaurant again but two years ago, some friends of mine from La Salle decided to put up a bar and asked me to partner up, in particular to set up the menu. Of course, I couldn’t pass that up and so we agreed on the name Chivz (which is how Mayor JV Estrada used to call his buddies in school). I have 12 partners in this thing so you can imagine there really is nothing to be earned here..hehe! It’s just a place where old friends can hang, get together and talk about the good old days and get plastered doing it! We are incidentally celebrating our 2nd anniversary on February 8, 2008.

19. Getting back to toys… in the next 5-10 years, do you see your collection growing or would you have grown tired of all this?

Oh man! The way I see it, I’m gonna keep going till I’m old and gray. Hopefully, my one year old son will grow up to appreciate my stuff and I can actually have a decent conversation with him about superheroes and all. My second daughter has taken to collecting superhero figurines and is proud to have completed her Who’s Who collection. With the way things are going…nope, I don’t think Im gonna get tired of this at all.

20. How about showing us some of your stuff?

 

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