BF2K: return as new sci-fi alternate universe?

We're well passed the year 2000, and 1987 BF2K team is for the most part, "dead."   At one time, somewhere around the early 2000 mark of that particular benchmark of a relaunch, powers that be said "dead is dead."  That was then.

I'm not sure where the modern GIJoe product is at as far as new stuff coming or what that will be.   So, left with imagination and time, I was thinking I would throw this idea out there:

A seven-pack of Battle Force 2000 figures for the modern ages.   Except, with a added twists!


Ever see the movie, "universal soldier?"   Yeah, something like that.  Except in the GIJoe universe(s) the scientists that bring our 6 dead Battle Force 2000 soldiers back to life are none other than former scientists that worked with Dr. Mindbender on creating Serpentor.   Only now, they are working with some shady military program, that is planning on using them for secret missions with futuristic sci-fi weaponry and vehicles.  Of course, the scientists and the lot are all up to no good....

In the end, it is up to Dodger to convince his reanimated teammates who they are, what side they are on, and what is really going on.

The figure 7-pack, would feature the figures after they are brought back into the fold of the GIJoe team, and would include a comic with the story of how that plays out.   (Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles would make an appearance in this epic story....)

The 7-pack would essentially allow us to bring the old BF2K into the modern age, but would allow imaginations to push the sci-fi element into its own through potential vehicles and technology that would follow. 

Tomorrow's battle field technology today!       


(Of course, the "Future Fortress," would be something like the 2005 RHINO or ROCC (crossed with the Fort America) where the main vehicle has other smaller mini vehicles to deliver the action.)

A utility truck, what would fit?

My GIJoe motor pool is small now, while the Tomahawk is the core transport/ workhorse vehicle for my team, I was thinking I could use some kind of wheeled ground utility vehicle.

On the ground, I currently have "officially" an AWE striker and a Desert Fox 6WD.  I would like to add in some motorcycles, too, but I kind of want something that is somewhere between the Desert Fox and the old '83 A.P.C.  Something that is a little cargo and utility, but a little bit battle vehicle, too. 

The Hammer (1990)/ Brawler (2001) could be an option, but it is really wide with the side gun platforms, and left a lot of space in the middle inside that wasn't of much use to me.   It had a larger foot print than the Equalizer if I remember right.   Although, I do like that rear sliding trunk compartment.  But, still, it might be just a little too big.  (The actual 'Joe humvees-2004/ 2005 are too realistic for me.)

I mentioned the '83 A.P.C., and in some ways I wish they were making this Coyote.  But, with all the action features (which are cool) it might not have that much extra interactive play space for figures, nor the tighter realistic detailing that kicks it a notch above other toy vehicles sitting in the toy aisle.

I can't think of any wheeled vehicles that would fit what I'm feeling.

I'd like my motor pool to have a size progression from motorcycle, to 2-wheel drive (AWE), to a four-wheel drive (Badger, maybe, too bad THIS wasn't coming...), to a six-wheel drive (FOX), to a four or six-wheel truck that is just bigger than the Desert Fox, but narrower than the Hammer, and shorter than the A.P.C.

The MUV is sort of close in some ways, but the remote control parts and blocky form take away from the detail that I would prefer.  And if it wasn't for the blocky forms, the Splitfire and maybe even the Smokescreen would be good to try, but I am afraid I would want to modify these into something they're not.  If I'm going to start modifying, I think I might consider almost all scratch-built so I have the most possibility of what I want in the end.   But that can get tedious, and I would like to have it be a durable, playable toy after all.

Can you think of any wheeled vehicles that might fit, if this makes sense at all?

No Joes at Fleet Farm toyland

This follows on the heels of my brief trip to the barren retail shelves that had no Joes, no Joes at Fleet Farms Toyland this year.

I suppose I'm not surprised, but I don't think that a Toyland flyer was even put out this year.  I could be wrong, but it seemed like a flyer would get into the house without my effort. 

I will say Toyland had some cheesy military toys available.  The limited articulation army guys style figures were there, but what really made them not interesting were the vehicles and things that were included were scaled for figures half their size (or less).

But, like I say, I'm not surprised, as no one has any Joes on the shelves now. 

Well, my Walmart does, but they are all first wave Rise of Cobra Baroness figures for the most part.

barren retail

Took a trip to our larger city next door, haven't done that in awhile.  In a lot of ways I would have liked to hit up ALL the old spots I'd run through years ago, both retail and thrift, looking at new Joes that might be out there (even when I rarely bought any).  Since it was rainy and more little people were along with me, the outing was a little slower and much shorter than years ago.   We ended up only hitting a pseudo-antique/ flea market type shop and Target on the toy end of things.   I was hoping to at least see some Joe on the Target shelves, but nothing.   Kind of left me bummed, even when I wasn't looking for anything specific.



I was going to stop in at this thrift store ---> (link to craigslist), and I must have passed right by it (no signs).   I don't think I would have bought anything here, something feels like the prices might be up high on these, with small chance of bartering.  (there's one '93 Headhunter on the Terrordrome, too, so there could be a larger range of things here than the photos show.)  NOT that I need to be trying to acquire a Flagg, either, or other things, but there could be a pile of parts and accessories that would be useful to collectors here.  Sometime I'll maybe swing in, but I don't get to the "big city" hardly at all these days. 

This is more by choice, as I remember back years ago, making runs to the Twin Cities for stuff that wasn't there, or back over to this end, especially when I was hunting for the Operation: Crimson Sabotage sets (running over there almost weekly several times, to wait in early morning hours only to find on person bought them all the day before when they arrived).  


But it still just fun to go out and look.  At least I think so.   It's kind of a let-down when the retail spaces are completely empty of GIJoe, though.

Well, I don't need tanks

Initially when I made my motor pools smaller, I was thinking I would do best with one big vehicle per area; I mean, one big tank, one big plane, one big boat, things like that to cover all the "places" that Joes (or bad guys) might go.

But then I thought about the grounding of an imaginative play scenario, like with the X-30 I had kept, it isn't a huge plane, but it is going to need a runway.  It's going to need a support staff and supplies.  And it is pretty much a support vehicle that makes a bomb run, dogfights other planes, or is there simply as a show of force.   And these are all good things, but it does not make for a well-rounded, very-well and very often used vehicle.   Despite being a very cool plane, it kinda ends up sitting on the shelf until being called in/ sent in more than it is used.  In my imagination, I think I have the ability to call in air support help from nearby active air forces. 

The same was kind of happening with the Equalizer for me.   I've thought about if I really need tanks before, and before that.  And so, out goes another vehicle, the Equalizer.  When it comes to a favorite GIJoe tank, yeah, this tank was it.   When I picked out the big "staple" vehicles, the "land, sea, and air" parts of my collection at that time, I had also kept my '83 HQ.  As you likely know, the '83 HQ has a landing pad, a "jeep" bay, and a "tank" bay.  The Equalizer remained as a pick also due to this, as it fit, and in some ways became a part of the HQ behind its armor walls as another weapon to an extent.  But, then I also decided to step away from the "base," it wasn't huge, but it became a target in itself that had a good size to it.  Also, the "tank" is heavy duty, has big ordnance, uses (pretend) fuel, and creates a large target for the enemy.   Not the best thing for my somewhat speedy, somewhat covert team.  Plus, a (supposedly) self sufficient team has got to work harder to drag a tank across the globe......, with the potential to get stuck in the mud.

On one hand, I think it would very fun to get a big tank department, fill the tanks with Joes and have a big battle against a Cobra arsenal.  But in reality, I don't think I'll ever get much time to do all that.   And overall this goes into my reasons for keeping a small collection.   I would like the adventures I have time for fit and be fun with what I have.  I suppose, like the imaginary aircraft I can launch at any time, I can really imagine my GIJoe team (or Cobra) running amid a large tank battle, with tanks all over the place, and my Joes ducking and weaving in an adventure.

That's the kind of imagination, or the pretending, I really had to do back in the day.  

Maybe my imagination is too serious and I've put too much thought into it?  Really, despite my original reasons for keeping the Equalizer in my tiny trimmings, the Equalizer still ended up sitting on a shelf very often.  Either way, we say goodbye to a cool tank and hope it has many adventures at a new base of operations!

However, would an Armadillo be handy to have around......?

Dreadnoks at the HQ today

My 'Joe team has been made tiny, and Cobra simplified, and even the Dreadnoks weren't exempt from the trimming I did awhile back. From my dismissal of the swivel-neck jointed style figures, it was an all or nothing decision. I did it, and the Dreadnoks took the hit in possibly most recognized characters with the loss of Buzzer, Ripper, and Torch.

Does it feel empty without those three?  Yeah, but, even the Dreadnoks had to evolve a little bit.

I chose the Ninja Force Zartan as my "keeper" in the end, too.  I end up with ninja action gimmick-ery that I don't really care for, but I like the upper half of this Zartan.  Sure, there were more subdued or less "loud" versions of Zartan I could have picked, but something about the mohawk and absence of the hood with a little flavor of biker that makes Zartan fit, and seem more modern to me.

I think he fits in with his siblings in this figure incarnation pretty good, too.  (it's just too bad those pants are lime green....) 
(yes, Zarana is shorter than her brothers.)

Every other "classic" Dreadnok made the cut, though.   The more "road-warrior" like Thrasher and Roadpig.  Man, Road Pig is huge.  Back in the day, Thrasher was one of my toughest Cobra baddies (along with Sea Slug)

And the others, too..., the pirate, the poacher, and the boom-boom maker complete the crew to make for a still wild bunch of destructive enemies for GIJoe to tangle with.

Perhaps not character-wise, but figure-wise, I think Monkey Wrench is really close to a favorite , but I'm not sure if I want to say my absolute favorite Dreadnok, yet.   Monkey Wrench has the classic blue jeans which match with the original trio of Dreadnoks, but really holds his own in my current mix of Dreadnok figures with that patched jean style.  

The guy has a great simple vest has an awesome collar with a little shoulder chain (which sort of circles back with the biker-looking style to the ninja force Zartan).  The grenades also stick out really convincingly to me, too, not like some figures where a sculpted grenade might be half-buried into a figure, and yet on Monkey Wrench they are not sticking off so far where they feel obnoxious or get in the way of figure-to-vehicle interplay.

The shoulders are really interesting to me still, possibly my favorite looking bare-arm shoulder arm muscle joint feature on figures like this.  Everything about this figure looks really natural as a little human figure.  Being a 1986 figure, the head wasn't embellished up a little bit, either, furthering my like of this guy.

Overall, the small mix of Dreadnoks here have a lot of neat features.  Right here I have "ninja action," multiple knife-sheaths on the figures, color-changing parts, and removable body armor and wrist weapons.