General rambling I suppose is what this is.

Here we are closing out 2018!   I didn't get much done in the G.I.Joe department this year.  The HQ's sub-level (a.k.a. the basement) is not that warm fun creative space that I just feel like would be a great permanent set up that a fan could just enjoy until retirement or whatever.   There's so many distractions and things to do around the HQ, too, that that necessity or other hobby fun activity somewhat uses that focus of doing rather than sitting in the sub-level.

I wish I had taken more pictures of the stuff I had, too.  Lots of pictures I have just make me want to get a lot of that stuff back, though.   I was getting close to just buying some things but the lack of an awesome space to put it kept it from happening.

I am still unsure of what that awesome space would look like.  I know I don't want Rubbermaid containers full of stuff stacked all over.  But I don't stuff getting full of cobwebs, either.   And then there is the lack of a base in the HQ where I really want that base ('83) but I want it to be set up where it can be a sweet display.   Lots of considerations and still after years I feel like I am looking at that blank canvas unsure of where to start.

The smaller collection really didn't allow me to instantly grab stuff out as fast, either, for that fun set up and play.  I still have a lot of individual bagged figures, and I don't want to get too disorganized, but I am not ready to separate into a something else yet; like a tool box.   With drawers, a lot like, the right tool for the job, quickly find and make your selection and grab your vehicles and adventure!

Maybe a "battle table" could be cool?   Something in the center, just a landscape?  In one corner an HQ '83 and in the other corner a Terror Drome?   With my focus on smaller missions and more covert like things this table would still be huge!

We'll see what 2019 brings!

Blast from the not-so distant past at BBTS

It has been some years since BBTS dropped their vintage department.   I really like checking in there to see what might be new.   I am more of a vehicle fan in toy collector origin and even still.  

Kind of a refreshing thing to see a couple "vintage" vehicles on the page after so many years.  I have no real need or interest in these Battle Force 2000 vehicles but I they are tempting.    If other similar condition Battle Force 2000 vehicles could be had so that the Battle Fortress could be assembled, I think I might go for it.  Well, depending on the price total, too.  

Mace

Years back when I had the Comic Pack Clutch figure I thought it was a nice body on that figure.  I thought I had mentioned this on here but, despite being quiet, the HQ is still in existence even if it is deep underground and rarely visited (or, it's in the basement and I just haven't had the opportunity to do much with it lately, regrettably.)

However, back to the story.   So, I really liked Clutch here and didn't give heavy consideration towards Mace.  But I had to get Mace and check out the original figure in person. 

Take away the wild spring-action launcher on the helmet this is a solid figure that to me fits in with the D.E.F. angle.  Or expanding on that, Mace was a figure that felt like a great agent of sorts that could work with Chuckles.

Either way, I enjoyed the figure while I had for the relatively short time in my collection.   The yellow highlights were the only thing I just didn't care for.

Out in the wild finds

Having a surprise day off I went over to the nearest next biggest city.  While I checked out some other things, I checked out Retro Distortion, a small shop with an assorted variety of toys.    This was my first time there.   I was there before the shop opened but I could see a Rolling Thunder on the front table on the inside of the store.   I was kind of excited to see it.  It was not unlike an experience I had back in the fall of 1998 here in the HQ's hometown where while walking by a downtown shop to see a Cobra Terrordrome in the front window on display (no, I didn't get the Terrordrome, spendy and missing some parts and no real home to bring it at the time. I had a Rolling Thunder that I got from that shop that had the Terrordrome but years later. )

And I can't remember exactly where my Rolling Thunder ended up going, here it is in late 2004 but I think it might have been gone in a trade as early as late 2005!




Today I had to pass on the Rolling Thunder.  As cool as it was to see one in person in this rural area, I just don't think it would do more than sit on a shelf like the one I had did.  Missing the recon car, one side yellow missile, bent antenna and missing chin gun..., at $165 it was way too much for me.  I didn't closely inspect it any further but suspected it matched the play wear on the various figures that surrounded it on the table.

Yes, I overpaid on these.  (I have a thing for small shops and hoped it helped some.)   These are all C65 with various spots of worn paint and loose joints.   But I was there and maybe some future customs or parts upgrade or something.   Still, G.I.Joes out in the wild here, something different.

I picked Gyro Viper since I could definitely use this Cobra pilot, the arms could use replacement but not a bad figure and at $7, it should work.
I have my original Night Creeper Leader that I opened myself but I thought getting this Night Creeper Leader would give me some potential painting opportunities that I would never have attempted on my original figure.   Night Creeper Leader also came with Zartan's (I believe) battle stand.   
I chose the 2008 Collectors Club Gristle to keep as my Gristle over the original one I had.   This is an example of two figures that both had strong qualities I liked when I chose to keep only one.   I still like the 1993 Gristle head more than the 2008 Convention figures head.   I was thinking a head swap, but some hair was worn off the back of the head that I didn't see.   This soft jointed figure was still high-priced at $10.
Dr. Mindbender is a one of those characters I couldn't see my Cobra Commander being able to trust or keep around.   That's why I didn't keep Dr. Mindbender in figure form.   I really like the design on this figure,though, and at $5 this one might be painted (I wouldn't have done this on the C85 one I had before).

Interesting to me is that the seller who brought these into the shop to be sold had the figures (like Gristle below) holding their spring-firing launchers.   These are things I usually put into a spot together rarely to be even look at.

Nothing on the accessory side that was a big score.   This is my first "Gristle" style launcher, however.   My first Gristle (1993) did not have any accessories.

late 1995

There's the new header for the HQ.     Except for the shell of the Stargate All Terrain Cruiser, all of that has been gone for several years.    The old header along with many images were blocked by 3rd party hosting source that I had put many pictures on, so I thought I would grab this scan and use it for awhile.

Not unlike the last entry that was looking at an old film picture, this picture of my old Headquarters is in the same sense.  Not only does it bring back memories of the cool stuff that I don't have any more but also brings back the challenges of reality and being happy with what I had.

On the reality side of the topic is that shelf underneath.  There were two of these small 3-1/2 foot high units that gave me three shelves plus the top, unless I stacked these.  But the potential of the shelves tipping over was too much for me to want to risk.    Of course, these were given to me, used, but that's what the resources for me were like in those days.   Had to get inventive with what was laying around was the mission for the day.

In the picture, the cardboard is supporting the Headquarters, it is almost a "PIT" set up when I was never thinking in those terms in those days.

Major Altitude almost looks really good on his way to the Sky Hawk that sits on top of the landing pad that is covering the jail.

I can only guess if I had any Cobras in the jail cell now, but I think I do as you can see my Crimson Guard Commander "army" and Firefly are after something...., and Pathfinder was taken out already.

To the right of Firefly hidden behind the Headquarters front wall protrusion it almost looks like the Ninja Force Night Creeper.   I am not certain it is but I am shocked that a figure that I really didn't love was used here.  But options were more limited and maybe I just really needed that sneaky ninja to lead the rest?

Dusty and Gung-ho are on the wall and the Badger is in the bay.    Above on the wall is a poster of an SR-71.



Good times.   

I haven't been able to re-capture any of this lately.  Not having hardly anywhere near what I had before does limit potential options but I just haven't been able to get that spark of a simple set up or a few minutes of creativity to just flow.

I could get more stuff but I would not want to get more stuff if it doesn't bring a strong amount of enjoyment?

Random thoughts from pictures.

I was looking for a picture of something I sold a few years back.    I took several pictures back in the day with the old 35mm film.  More recently, as I sold off most of my stuff I was taking pictures, too.

Well, I didn't find the picture I was looking for.   And in some ways I thought I was taking too many G.I.Joe pictures then but I actually wish I had done more now.

Two random pictures that were not in the spot with the rest of them I thought I would put up here.  

Coming up first is my G.I.Joe team in December of 1997.   This is a scan of the photo taken by my old point and shoot 35mm camera.  In those days, things were lean, but had been improving and I was in my second year of a technical school program.  The school was near what used to be the short lived Toys R Us in that area.     There was a Children's Palace store near that location but it had closed by early 1995 I think.    But that Toys R Us and having cash from working plus I think the K B toys was still in the mall, also in this area.   

So in this photo from December 1997 you can see I have the new Slugger .   I didn't open up the Gung-ho figure that was in this one.   I had a Battle Corps Gung-ho and that older '84 figure simply was going to replace him.   The Battle Corps Gung-ho didn't slide into the Slugger, either.   In the Slugger it looks like I chose Back Stop.   If I remember right, Back Stop was a Goodwill store find, and it was a few years to be until I even got a helmet for him.

What else is going on is you can see how I finally got that A.W.E. Striker and V.A.M.P. added to my collection.   Yes, that is the 1995 Stargate All Terrain Cruiser that I likely got on clearance in 1996.  The chassis of the single seat Stargate vehicle was replaced by my Eco-Striker chassis.   I wanted that A.W.E. Striker and swapping some parts back in the day resulted in a rather solid substitute for those years.   Of course I was still stuck with that spring fire rocket launcher, I just wanted the classic gun on top.

And then the V.A.M.P., which is of course the Street Fighter Street Striker.    I had a very well used '83 V.A.M.P. I bought from a person who had had a "collection sale" ad in a newspaper for.   This was before internet reached us on the lower end, I don't think I used the internet really until the fall of 1996.   No matter, but the old used V.A.M.P. I had for that short time was easily replaced by not just one, but TWO of the Street Strikers as I came across one on clearance likely after this photo.  I had one that I stickered to emulate the G.I.Joe V.A.M.P. and the other I kept sticker free.   In the photo I see some white looking rockets, maybe I put some W.H.A.L.E. rockets in it for the picture?  Eventually, the second one I traded or sold to VolleyDan for his most awesome V.A.M.P. collection.   (That is still a cool thing to see so many V.A.M.P.s like that to me)

Finally we come to the loaded A.P.C..    With a likely amount of 33 figures throughout the photo, this is likely most of all my G.I.Joe team figures at this point in time.   I remember when I bought the 1991 Snake Eyes that that figure had become my actual 50th total figure.   The two boxes in the photo were my storage boxes for figures.   The one on the left is looking full and is likely holding all my Cobra figures.   In the box to the right is most likely an '84 Deep Six, a loose-kneed worn '84 Cutter,  and then one might find an '86 Wet Suit replaced by a '91 Wet suit, and perhaps a '91 Hawk, while '86 Hawk was in the A.P.C.     Then again, I might have gotten that A-10 at this point and the new Hawk is in there somewhere.   The photo is fuzzy and hard to tell, but still some more figures in the boxes that were doubles of characters in the A.P.C..  You can find Dinohunter Low Light in the A.P.C., too, that was a favorite figure of mine for some time, so the play worn '86 Low Light is most definitely in the box.

Here's one of the groupings of things I was selling off somewhere between 2010 and 2012.  This is from my (more or less) point and shoot digital, and the date had to be reset every use so I regretfully didn't get more tight dates on the more modern photos.  Not that my old 35mm point and shoots date function works anymore, either, that battery is also most done.


I had already traded out my Street Fighter vehicles for the most part and as this point in my life I was making more decisions based on what kind of collector I was.   I had a variety of things at the "high point" of collecting, but I started to really narrow down on what I was and what I wasn't.   One of the things I wasn't was a Street Fighter collector.   Even though I think the Street Fighter G.I.Joe line would make a really excellent and rarer collection, it just wasn't "my" G.I.Joe, and so these figures were out.  And yes, even the Mortal Kombat "Budo" figure acquired at the 2005 convention, had to go.

I think the file cards and packaging are from figures that I had already sold off and discovered I still had them.   This happened as I really did have a lot of random stuff and I missed them.   

That's my original L.A.W. in the picture.  Even when I was really younger, and I didn't feel like setting up the whole '83 H.Q., the L.A.W. would often become a little base in itself.  There were much fewer figures in those days, too.    And then the Air Defense, I bought that one a very short time before selling it again.  I wanted to use earnings from what I sold to buy more focused things for my collection, the Air Defense sort of added to my Headquarters, but as I add more of these "base" ornaments, the more actual shelf real estate was almost needed.  And in the case of the Headquarters, if I went in the direction of the large sprawling base it was going to need some big space to really be cool.  And at that time we were renting and things were up in the air, so the entire "what kind of collector" I was question started to focus more on my collection becoming truly a mobile collection.

I didn't have the battlefield vehicles  very long, either.    The howitzer felt antique, the bomb disposal and weapons transport were interesting but rather limiting, and best suited to a "large base" set up.   The M.M.S., that's one I maybe should have kept, but as I started thinking of making my collection "mobile," I guess I don't know, would a mobile force stop and set up a rocket trailer when a vehicle or figure, already had a similar capability?   

So, that's kind of that for this bit of random.  You can see that Jurassic park figure and other random figure in the mix, too.   The Jurassic Park figure had hung around for years not doing anything when I bought the vehicle to "customize."  Neither lasted, but I hung onto it for too long.  I probably shouldn't have bought some things to begin with.