It is rare to have the Junior Joes* not around the HQ but there was a day with really not a lot going on. In real life, there is enough to keep a person busy around the HQ shell** and over the last few years a couple new side adventures have taken up some resources.
But on the day of..., well, nothing, I carried the Rubbermaid of my collection upstairs along with some figures and parts I picked up quite awhile back. I thought I would do some sorting and maybe get some adventure set up after some G.I.Joe neglect. Hard to believe a couple things just ended up sitting on a shelf for years.
While I can't say I would get much more use out of stuff I have let go many years ago, I rather would like the 1983 Headquarters back. Even though it is a piece that really fits best with the 1982 to 1984 years, and my figure collection is more '86 and on, maybe it would be more fun to have it again.
While stuff was out, I am glad I took the time years back, I think it was 2011/2012, to really sort stuff out like I did.
One of those "not essential" moves I made years back was to reduce and simplify the ranks of Cobra. Characters that have turned on or otherwise were really not wise to have around Cobra Commander were trimmed out.
Big Boa was out, well, as the Cobra Trainer. The figure was tough looking and huge but lacked that sense of costume that this was a truly fearsome opponent to all. So, as-is, Big Boa was kind of the figure that was stuck in the Cobra boxing ring.
I've put some thoughts out on Big Boa before, hard to believe that was 2011.
I am glad I have the opportunity to put some of my thoughts out there, and pictures. The old hard drive from 2010 recently went out. A lot of things were previously on other sources, CDs, SD cards, actual film print, etc., and I put a lot of that onto the hard drive from there. So, I am pretty sure most everything is around somewhere, but I think it is nice to have this stuff from my life out in the world. I have enjoyed a lot of it and I hope some of this adds to that enjoyment for others.
Back to Big Boa, I have tried some easy parts swaps to make a more fun "commando" Big Boa before.
Well, the Major Bludd I picked up in 2016 literally has sat on the shelf for most of the time since then. I really like the head and put that one on the 2000 Major Bludd to give that character some more...well, character.
I did not keep my previous Big Boa creations and stuck a spare Big Boa head that I had in my limited parts pile onto a rough 1986 Viper body. I wanted Big Boa to feel more like a Cobra infantryman or a squad leader. Or something.
Well, while playing on my nothing-going-on day, I thought I would give this a try. I have the original Big Boa arms but they are on the loose joint side of things. I kind of liked it.
I like the colors. In some ways I think of Tomax and Xamot with the shirt. Not combat-gear-like Viper or ceremonial like a Crimson Guard but still functional. If that makes sense.
The original silver on the helmet ties into the shins, and the Toxo-Viper pants may be leaky but are still likely pretty tough.
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| Cobra Big Boa |
Another adventure was deciding on whether to toss the bubbles from a couple of opened cards that were still sitting around. Putting the cards with the other cards pretty much demanded full removal. Years back, we are talking around the mid-'90's, I would open new figures and kept most of the plastic bubbles. Eventually the bag of stacked bubbles I did toss sometime still in the '90's. I will probably come across some inventive use for them after I throw these out. |
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| Plastic Bubble |