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Real Name: Eric John A. Cruz
AFHub Handle: ThunderBreak
Year of Birth: 1971
Location: Cainta, Rizal

Rarely do we see collectors cover so many different toy lines and still be able to maintain focus at the same time. Eric Cruz aka Thunderbreak is one of those rare collectors.

I have long been amazed by Eric’s collection which, for the purpose of keeping things simple, I’m just gonna describe as diverse. I’ve seen many collectors, novice and veterans alike, who try to collect everything that comes out in the market only to lose steam along the way. In contrast, Eric seems to be picking up more steam as he goes. How he is able to sustain such a huge number of toy lines is perhaps going to remain his trade secret. What is known to most of us is that whenever he posts photos of his recent acquisitions, the PC slows down drastically waiting for all the images of his nice toys to load.

Eric also prides himself in knowing almost everything there is to know about the characters and toy lines he collects. You can ask him anything about Great Mazinger or The Transformers and expect to get all the low-down details about the characters’ history to the toys’ availability. This is another thing I admire about him – he knows everything about the stuff he spends on. And ever willing to help out his friends and fellow collectors, Eric is definitely a stand-up guy.

1. When did you start collecting? How did you start as a collector?

I guess I’m a collector all my life albeit I do it on and off. I started collecting comic books when I was in grade 2. It continued until I finished high school. I moved on to collecting Transformers when I got into college. After graduation, I was heavily into anime and manga. Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma ½. Maison Ikkoku and Lum: Urusei Yatsura) was my favorite back then. I also went back into collecting comic books and expanded it to superhero trading cards.

Early to mid 90s was an exciting time. I set-up a comic book/collectible store called Total R.E.C. together with a couple of friends (one of them being Charlton Soriano a.k.a. bowenrules). We were the first to market Magic: The Gathering here in the Philippines. Our passion led us from school to school to spread this great collectible card game. We even had several TV, radio and print interviews just to advertise MTG. We even held huge Wizard of the Coast sanctioned tournaments that pitted the best MTG players in Metro Manila. The mid-90’s also made me a fighting game enthusiast. Aside from playing the game, I collected fighting game videos, posters and toys.

Super Robots have always been an integral part of my collection. I started collecting them in the mid 90s. Although I don’t pursue every SR collectible that gets released. I just buy one or two every so often. Most often I buy what I see in toy stores.

I only pursued serious toy collecting in 2002. It was right after I saw my wife’s toy collection. She was an avid collector of Disney, Simpsons, Flintstones and the like.

2. What toy lines do you collect? And why? (please give a short reason for each toy line)

Transformers – I was so obsessed with this line when I was in college. I did everything to get as much TF as possible. Playability is amazing. It’s like having 2 toys at once. Sometimes 3 or more for other TFs (combiners, triple changers, etc.)

Super Robots (e.g. Go Nagai bots, Romance Trilogy SRs, etc. Even real robots like Macross and Neon Genesis Evangelion) – Super Robots are vital element to every martial law baby. I would watch SR shows everyday when I was young. Back then, we could not afford getting all of the SRs. Bandai’s SOC gave me an opportunity to own all of these SR heroes I grew up with.

Tokusatsu (Ranging from Sentai, Kamen Riders, Metal Heroes and Kaiju) – I got into this line because of the show’s great storytelling.

DC Superheroes – Who did not dream of having super powers? Kids role play their favorite superhero. It was easy for me to get into this line since I have been a long time comic collector. My wife being a huge batman fan is a big bonus.

Iron Man – The sole surviving Marvel character in my collection. I’m amazed at Tony Stark’s armory. Honestly speaking, they remind me of Kamen Rider armors.

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

There are two factors that got me into collecting — Nostalgia and good storytelling. First, I just want to have something tangible to represent the memories that I have as a kid. In the case of Japanese shows, their great story lines made me a big fan of the genre. This inspires me to collect them.

4. How do you display your collection?

I only have 2 display cabinets. One houses the statues and busts. The other holds my Japanese collectibles. I really need to invest in display cabinets. Most of my collectibles are inside balikbayan boxes.

5. Do you have a favorite character(s) among those you collect?

There are lots. I probably have one (1) per genre. But if I need to choose just one, it would be Great Mazinger, hence my handle ThunderBreak.

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

I don’t think I can answer this. There are just so many parameters to consider to just choose one. Let me name a feature, then, I will tell you my favorite toy or line.

• Die-cast content – Soul of Chogokin line
• Engineering – MP-01 Optimus Prime
• Articulation – Revoltech line
• Playability – Transformers
• Combiners / Gestalt – Sentai Mechs
• Light-up feature – Light up Kamen Rider Faiz and Kaiza

7. What prompts you to purchase an item?

Price, quality, sculpt, playability, show accuracy, collectible feature, fun factor.

8. Where do you do most of your toy purchases? Do you shop online?

I like buying my stuff locally. For Japanese collectibles, I get my stuff from Greattoys, Patrick’s toyshop and Wasabi Toys or even in malls if the collectible finds its way to the mass market. My Cybertron Philippines buddies also help me acquire stuff abroad since most of them have friends and/or relatives abroad. For US collectibles, I get them from Druid’s Keep and sometimes, CATS. AFHub friends also help me get stuff in the US.

9. What do you think of custom figures/toys?

Custom figures are works of art. You can see the amount of time and effort given to one’s custom. Given the chance, I will do my best to support toy customizers… especially those who do it for the love of the hobby.

10. Do you customize your own figures/toys? What’s you inspiration for doing a particular character?

Unfortunately no. I have two left hands. While I can imagine how one collectible should look like, I lack the necessary skills to put it all together.

11. Do you purchase items online? how about eBay?

I try to avoid ebay and other on-line stores if possible. I prefer to purchase a collectible locally. I’m kind of OC when it comes to my collectibles. I want to choose the best one among the lot. However, there are times when I buy on-line because it’s either no longer available locally or a particular collectible goes on sale in an on-line store.

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

During the 80s and 90’s, I mostly hear snide remarks like “isip bata ka ba?” and “grow up, will you?” But now, toy collecting as a hobby or past time are more accepted. I hear praises most of the time. Common question include “how much did you spend to get all of those?” and “do you still need anything?”

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

I only leave the limited edition ones (convention/event exclusives, limited to a certain number and signed collectibles). I open the rest since I love playing with my toys. I want to tinker with the collectible and see what it can really do.

14. Correct me if I’m wrong, but your collection started out consisting of Japanese toys only. What prompted you to get started with DC and Marvel toys?

My wife is responsible for that. I, initially, wanted to jumpstart her Batman action figure collection by getting her DC Direct and Mattel Batman figs. My jaw literally dropped when I placed them side by side. After that incident, I decided to pursue DC collectibles. I always thought that migration to action figures was natural since I have been always a comic book fan.

15. You mentioned before that your wife is also a Batman fan. Mind telling us a little about her?

She has the biggest crush on Batman ever since she was young. If you ask her why Batman, she will only say that he is a regular person with extraordinary skill. He drove his body to near perfection. His mind is his best weapon. He doesn’t need superpowers to become a superhero.

How do I know all of these? She just told me. She’s here beside me. There is only one thing we cannot do in our household. That’s say anything bad about Batman. Believe me. I almost got into trouble just by telling her that Deathstroke beat the heck out of Batman.

Kidding aside, I’m very lucky that she married me. She has been very supportive of my hobby. She also makes sure that our family stays happy always. She’s the best wife one can have and the perfect mother to our two kids.

16. Speaking of the missus, what does she think of your passion for so many toy lines? Because of the sheer size of your purchases, do you ever find yourself having to “smuggle” a few things into the house?

When we were starting our life together, I constantly smuggle collectibles inside our small apartment. I even hide some of the collectibles in my parents’ house. I just have a hard time explaining why my stash keeps getting bigger and bigger even if I “never” buy anything.

Anyway, she knows that I know my priorities. She will always support my hobby for as long as I prioritize our family first – meaning pay all of the bills first, build up our savings, secure the future of our kids and have something to make my family comfortable.

17. How do you manage to balance between your hectic work schedule, your job as moderator of another toy forum, a family and your toy runs?

Normally, I start my day at 6:00 AM. The first thing I do is play with the kids. I go to work around 8:30 AM. and stay there until 6:00 PM. Then, I rush home to play with the kids again. We tuck them to bed at around 9:00 PM. Then, my wife and I spend some time talking. Sometimes, I still go on-line before I go to sleep.

My mod duties at Cybertron Philippines are relatively light. I’m in charge of the boards marketing directions so it is relatively light compared to others. I’m mostly on-line during lunch break. Steve (Wildstar), Stephen (Protoform-S), Rommel (Rohml), Kyx (KR Green) and the others are the ones who run the message board while Alec (blackbison) is the one running the webpage.

I am also fortunate that my office is just across Greenhills. It is easy for me to just cross the street to do my toy run. I also get a lot of help from the guys at Cybertron Philippines. They keep me informed on what is new in the market. They get the stuff once I tell them that I’m interested.

18. Do you see your kids following your footsteps and carrying on the torch, so to speak? Would you encourage them to?

My kids will eventually own everything that I have. But before I turn over everything to them, they must learn how to be responsibile first. I will have to teach them to prioritize their education. Only then, can they pursue this hobby.

19. In the next 5-10 years, do you see your collection growing or would you have grown tired of all this?

I doubt it if I’m going to get tired of this hobby anytime soon. I think I will still be a collector. It may be in a different level, but it will be considered collecting just the same. Besides, I tried quitting so many times, only to be drawn back in.

These are just some of what’s in Eric’s collection…

To see more of Eric’s stuff and updated collection photos, please bookmark this link: http://thunderbreak.afhub.com

 

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