The heart wants what the heart wants – and for Andrew Garthwaite, that’s Jurassic Park memorabilia.
The 37-year-old is a maintenance manager but spends his spare time filling his cabinets, from ceiling to floor, with dinosaur merchandise.
He even has the iconic Ford Explorer vehicle.
Andrew, from South Shields, Tyne and Wear, has parted with £100,000 for his collection so far – but says there is still money to be spent.
He says: ‘I don’t have any regrets about how I spend my wages.
‘There’s still so much merchandise for me to buy, I don’t think I will ever stop adding to my collection.
‘A third of my collection is on show in 27 cabinets and the rest is in storage.
‘I have around 1000 items including 40 Jurassic T-shirts, around 400 different variations of dinosaurs, over 40 variations of the films on blu-ray, DVD, videos, cassettes, boxsets, laser discs – every version of the film is essentially part of the collection.
‘To name a few of the significant and easily recognised items; I have the Barbasol can which is a modified shaving cream can that Dennis Nedry used to smuggle dinosaur embryos from Jurassic Park on Isla Nublar.’
But it doesn’t stop there.
He also has the John Hammonds cane with amber topper and night vision glasses.
Some items are also incredibly rare. Andrew even found a themed box of Christmas crackers and a set of children toothbrushes that are still sealed from 1992.
He adds: ‘I have purchased items from all over the world through social media and eBay.
‘I’ve had dinosaurs shipped over form Australia, America, and Thailand.
‘My most expensive item has got to be my car.
‘It is the 1993 Ford Explorer replica car imported from America and custom built in the UK for £15,000.
‘I also have a miniature replica for children.
‘I also have a £2,000 arcade machine and a breakout T-rex statue which was £800.’
Andrew’s wife, Rachael, is supportive of his collection, knowing how much it means to him – but he did have to buy a shop to store it all, as it was taking over the house.
The shop in South Shields, called Rexys Reviews: The Dino Den, welcomes other Jurassic Park fans to admire the collection.
He says: ‘I have watched the film over 100 times.
‘It is an iconic blockbuster film that brought visual effects to the big screen that nobody had ever seen before.
‘The whole story captivated the globe.
‘It brought all these pre-historic features back to life.
‘It has been almost three decades, yet it is a film still spoken about and loved by many which shows how well the directors and special effects team did.
‘There will always be a demand and interest for dinosaur movies.
‘They will never go extinct – the style and visuals may change as science reveals more about how they looked.
‘But people’s love for dinosaurs will never go out of fashion.’
Andrew’s most expensive items:
- Car – £15,000
- Arcade machine – £2000
- Night vision goggles – £500
- Gulper T-Rex (orange one in photo) – £300
- Demon Carnosaurus – £300
- Break out T-Rex statue – £800
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