Collector amasses restaurant toys

APALIT, Philippines –– From the age of 5, Filipino graphic artist Percival Lugue has had a passion for collecting toys from fastfood restaurant chains such as McDonald’s, Burger King and home-country favourite Jollibee.

Now, nearly five decades later, the 50-year-old has about 20,000 toys packed from floor to ceiling in his home and holds a Guinness World Record from 2014, when his collection reached more than 10,000 items.

“The toy is like a storyteller in itself,” said Lugue, explaining his hobby while sitting among an eclectic mix of toys in his three-storey home.

“For example, it gives me a glimpse of that particular period when I got it, the story of what’s going on, what are the incidents that are attached in the acquisition,” he said.

Lugue, who lives in Apalit in Pampanga, a province northwest of Manila, built his home especially to house his collection.

He likens the excitement that getting new toys gives him to Christmas morning.