Rice Krispies Lifeline was my first medical professional on my team.
I would almost say that this was the best "prize" in a cereal box ever, but a Transformer cereal mail-in was so much better. Even though I'm a much bigger Joe fan, getting Jazz from a cereal I can't recall the name to, well, that was simply awesome.
It wasn't too long after that in about 1992 or 1993, that a friend gave me an '83 Doc figure. The medical team was set! A doctor and a paramedic.
In my more recent task of possibly trimming down my personnel roster, I just asked myself now how important a medical specialist would be? Would I need a dedicated medical character/ figure on my small team?
Or would a medical specialist simply become another "static" figure, like Lift-Ticket, or '86 Wet-suit..., a figure that has one real strong purpose, but doesn't feel like they "fit" in other roles. '86 Wet suit is a Navy SEAL, however, the guy is in his wetsuit with dive gear, and he's never felt right running around in an imaginary mountain or city setting in my mind. Would a future medical specialist figure simply just end up staying in whatever storage box 95% of the time?
When looking at the future, I am finding I should consider the past.
I've put this picture up before, it's a small set up of a small skirmish. In it one can see how my Cobra Viper team looked for many years.
Lifeline made it into this battle. And while pulling Low Light to safety is huge, I have to wonder, why was Lifeline there in the first place? What does Lifeline bring along on a mission that adds to the mission, other than simply being a guy that pulls his buddies to safety?
For most of my imaginary adventures that I can recall, I think Doc pretty much stood around in the HQ with Lifeline and Stretcher, and even a more recent added figure, Sideswipe.I'm not sure if I felt like I needed a dedicated medical professional to march around with every little squad of Joes I mixed up for adventures or what.
For a character/ figure that is often in one spot, like the HQ, or in the pilot seat of the Tomahawk, or in a Dive Suit in the SHARC...., I wonder if their roles are too limited for maximum play adventures?
And it's not that I dislike any of the medical figures, or any of the firefighter/ flamethrower types. When I consider the future, though, how much "pull time" will they get, or will they simply stay in a bag in a box 95% of the rest of the time I have them?
I wasn't going to give away too many names for who I was going to pick to keep on my small team. For those readers who might have interest in my "small team" thing I have going as of late, I wanted to make my "final team" picks a bit more of a surprise. That's why I broke it down by year in prior posts.
In previous posts, I've mentioned how I had a quick pick and got some 80 figures as a result, and then I got it down to 60, and then to 50. Well, I have it down in the mid-30's, believe it or not.
I've almost been forcing myself to a point where it's turning into work on seeing where I might want a potential small force to go.
But, the figure that inspired me to consider whether or not I "need" a medical specialist figure is Stretcher. (yes, I chose Stretcher over the others as the "keeper.") Check out the file card, which is the base from which I add to a figure's character. Medical Specialist and troop transportation.
The actual figure really stands out to me more than Doc or Lifeline. And Sideswipe just swiped his outfit. But really, it's a nice touch looking figure mold-wise and all. And he's not dressed in red. (not that I dislike red...) I like that he's not stated as an avowed pacifist, too. While he's only got the flare gun, maybe Stretcher could do more in my possible small force?
I've got vehicle drivers, but with his troop transportation SMOS (and no, I don't use his flying stand thing...), I wonder if he would make a great driver? This way, he can contribute to more missions, even if he would only be out when the vehicles are. With that huge backpack, and I think RTO gear, Stretcher could also contribute in the communications arena.
I guess I'm 50/50 on keeping Stretcher in right now.