2014.... goals?

Keeping things small, I've got a fairly effective rapid deployment force I think.  One may disagree, and I very well may change the line up.   I may even consider more "custom" builds on each one at some point.

Maybe for 2014, I should focus more onto my Cobra and other "bad guy" forces.   Cobra is fairly simple here with Vipers making up the core.   I'm still pretty happy about this direction, with more 3rd party gear available, making effective bad guys will be more fun.   I would like to build more small vehicle forces for Cobra though.   I would like Cobra to be a little less small island based nation like army, and more of a very covert hidden network of personnel and material that is small enough to hide in plain sight.   Things like the Cobra Ferret, the Hydro Sled, the Piranha, and yes, even the Jet Pack, among many others, are things I would like to assemble.    The challenge is finding these at good prices (and they must be) in complete conditions.  No large Cobra vehicles, the HISS tank (05) is as big as it gets for me for now.

That's a fairly simple plan for Cobra, and I would like to build up my Iron Grenadier forces and Headhunters, too.   A fairly simple basic troop build here, and I would like these to rival my Cobra forces.  These are going to be all separate enemy factions from here out for me.   I would like to keep vehicles small for these, too, but there's not as much official gear for either out there.  So, this is where maybe a slightly larger vehicle will be needed for each?

Of course, Night Creepers are going to be something for me, too.  I've got my eye on ONE specific figure type for these, and it is going to be a bear to try and army build these I think.   For "the modern era" seemingly being supreme, the old school still doesn't want to pass these things on to old folks like me.  I wonder where all this old figure loose oring technology that is out there is being stored and why?


But this seemingly simple plan, goal if you will, is going to be quite a stretch these days.   I know there is a huge real life window that is going to need some attention sooner than later.  I know some HQ shell landscaping is on the horizon, and there is never any telling what sort of issues will arrive as the days go by.

But, if anyone out there has any of these "basic" things I'm looking for, let me know, I would appreciate the assistance!

a random flashback

I had a flashback moment to back in the day, not way back, but mostly far back when I thought about how many Optimus Prime figures have been on the shelf in my travels to the stores.   One character but so many versions.  

I would have never guessed there would have been so many versions back in the day.   For Transformers on my end, my best bud (the same one that helped start me on my collecting bit) had an original Optimus Prime.   I thought that was a great Transformer, and he took tight care of it, too.  He would have it out and when finished it went back into the white foam insert and slid right back into the box.

Sort of randomly (like in 10 years after it was on a Christmas list....!), I got the G2 version of Optimus Prime for a Christmas present.   But the G2 Laser Optimus Prime I found on clearance shortly after turned out to be even more fun with more articulation for me.    This Optimus Prime really got me interested in Transformers again at this point.  I bought the G2 Constructicons and Dreadwing eventually, all on clearance, and this was about the extent of my spending dollar at this time.

This was 1995-1996, a little into 1997 most likely.   GIJoe was mostly off the retail shelves at this point.
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Look at us now, though, an Optimus Prime of all shapes and sizes.

Back in the early to mid-'90's it seemed like the big lines on the retail shelves were the same main headline figures.   Like Batman.   I only ever had an old Super Powers Batman.  Being younger, I think I lost the capes for all of those figures somehow.   But I did have a substantial Super Powers group of toys back in the day, I had that Batman and Robin in the Batmobile.   (these all went to some cousins at one point when my parents were cleaning house and were looking at toys to donate at that time;   kind of funny how the Grandparents supported them a ton more now that were all "grown up" and look who is more successful and who has no cool Super Power toys in his collection; I'm the one with no Super Powers toys, btw.).

But with Batman, in the '90's I had some interest in them, I just wanted a Batman, but there were so many Batman versions and I couldn't find a more plain-jane Batman, ya know?

Even with no GIJoe figures to be found at retail in my parts for so long there's been a lot of figures that have come out over the years.

Snake Eyes version 67.  Wow.   And then there is Snake Eyes v8.   So that, not including mircro figures and everything, that is a lot of Snake Eyes figures.

Back in 1995, for instance, I would have never guessed that many all these years later.   As far as my knowledge went then, there were five, and the fourth one (version 4) was my most go-to after the only other one I had, the version 3.   (The ninja force version didn't interest me at all, and the Shadow  version even less.)



I wonder how the non-collector child collection looks these days in comparison, I mean, are there multiple Dukes and Snake Eyes and Cobra Commanders?   Even in the '90's, did a kids Batman collection have a few villains and multiple special Batman figures?

With no GIJoe on the retail shelf do very few kids have GIJoe like we had back in the '80's?




Here is the extent of my Transformer collection when I traded it in:

And here.

And my favorite rendition of Megatron here.

And because Hook broke on me WAY back in the day, leading me to give all of my old Devastator to my cousins, I had to by the G2 Contructicons.

With the exception of the original Constructicons, Perceptor, an original Ironhide,  plus some garage sale finds, and minus my original "collectors case," this is most of my original Transformers from back in the day, but some gobots.