Duke GIJOE M. Sgt.

Duke was never a big featured character for me back in the day of real play (neither was Snake eyes) but comics and cartoons kept him right in the forefront of my attention. I don't think anyone I knew even had Duke, and that was just fine, since I had Hawk, the GIJOE commander.

Pictured at the top is what I've been using as my "default" Duke.

For the head, I've got the 1994 Star Brigade Duke there. I like that head, it's got that plain, clean-shaven, good looking face that one would expect Duke to have. And it fits in the torso just right without alteration.

This is a nice torso, a simple design.

The green torso used came most likely from 2001 Leatherneck. Now, that figure was almost ALL original Duke parts, and it just didn't feel like Leatherneck to me at all. I never had the 2000 Duke, so I know it didn't come from that figure, although, I would like those legs now! (Longer story shorter, I have another green vest that I don't know the origin of.) The tan torso came from 2004's desert patrol Stalker.

Once again, that's a figure that's almost all original Duke parts, and by original Duke parts, I'm talking about the 1992 Duke mostly.
The legs and waist came from the 2002 Dusty that came with the Night Rhino, and the arms came from an original 1991 Dusty figure that had a broken crotch.


When it comes right down to Duke in my collection, the 1992 Duke was my very first Duke. And in the picture below, you can take a look at him.

I guess mostly due to the popular media, like the old cartoon mostly, I kind of always wanted a Duke. And here he was brand new on the peg back in the day! And he wasn't too far-fetched from his first incarnation.
I think he was in the Patriot quite a bit as I had that vehicle about that same year, but if you don't have this figure, look at his arms. They are OUT THERE. Getting him in my Dragonfly wasn't going to happen, and he didn't want to share any elbow room on the bench in my APC.

Those arms have bugged the heck out of me since then. Just compared to my "default" Duke next to him, it's pretty obvious that they stick out.
Otherwise, the 1992 Duke is a nice figure, even with the red detail. But my favorite part is the torso on the figure, so with the re-molds in later years, it's gotten some good use.



The 1992 Duke had his own riding mortar cannon, too. (Anyone think a more modern Grand Slam should have come with this thing?) Check out the YOJOE.com archives for more on this. On my particular figure, ALL the brown accessories seemed to de-laminate like a chocolate bar in the sun. The gun literally crumbled softly away, and the knife fell into two parts. The tri-pod is still intact, but it's got the same thing happening to it. Sooner or later...

On the plus side, one the various O-ring multi-packs that had a variety of weapons had 1992 Dukes gun and knife, so, that worked out. And it is somewhat better in that getting an original weapon set might just prove a means to an end if most of these brown accessories are crumbling away. (that's why those are black in the picture...)


1992 Duke may have been my first Duke, and he got some adventure time right away, but the 1992 version really got almost completely retired from my interest when the 1993 Battle Corps Duke came out very soon after.

Below is what was my main Duke for many years. It's just a simply nice figure. Really, it's very simple, but at the same time, Duke is seriously the Ranger that is ready for action here. The shotgun and the sub machine gun were the standard weapons for use back in those days.




So in summary, right now I really only have these three Dukes. And the body of the Star Brigade figure, so kind of 4, but kind of not really. ;)

But, Duke is still not THE man in my little Joe verse. I don't go by the old cartoon rank, where it was Hawk, Duke, Flint, and then Beachhead. But, I do think that Flint and Beachhead have just as much of a role as Duke does; Duke is not "above" them really, other than the E8 rank.

An E8 is the level at which my Duke is going to stay no matter what, no officer promotions for my Joe verse. (needless to say, the live 2009 movie has had very little influence on my imagination...)

So, anyone have so few Dukes?

I think it is interesting that from 1983 to 1994 there were just a handful of Dukes to be had.

After that.....

MIRAGE from GIJoe vs. Cobra!

3 out of 5 ain't bad. But yes, it is a post about Mirage. More specifically this Mirage, as it is the one I've been using the most, and I was just using this guy in my recent little team as the artillery man. (Or, Bazooka man, anti-tank man, etc.)

As you can see above, I have 3 of the 5 Mirage figures ever produced. Back in the GvC days, you probably remember, Mirage, along with Big Ben, was one of the most available figures that most collectors couldn't get rid of. If you search long enough on the internet, you may find old forums or something where one might see the lament of excess Mirage and Big Ben figures.

And this is all because of that "army building" bug that got many of us, and Hasbro got us good with the "versus" double pack. Myself, I was never an "army builder," but after seeing Vipers available in the pack (and these were double figure packs, no way around it!) and me digging Vipers, I ended up buying six. Yep, so I had a squad of 6 Vipers. Here they are now:

I haven't altered these Vipers. And Yes, only 5 of these guys in the picture is what I have now, along with the five Mirages that accompanied them. The sixth Viper at that time came with the Mirage below that I have been using as my "main" Mirage. The sixth Viper was traded early on.

Really, that's a lot of Mirage figures! I remember some collectors at the time were making these excess Mirage figures "green shirts" for their GIJOE army. Even after getting an actual "green shirt" generic GIJOE army builder set available, I found that generic soldier concept didn't work for me and my collection. I'm much more drawn to the unique characters, and I have enough character figures to make for a very interesting army. Although, don't get me wrong, I did try the "green shirt" concept out, and I even tried to advance that into a "B-team" inductee training thing, which sort of led to them being tapped for "Allied Nation Forces" use under the codename: "Street fighter." But that's another story.....

Right now, we're still looking at Mirage, and here's my "main" Mirage:



I picked this Mirage, as he was the more unique of the six Mirage figures, but also, I liked the two greens. The lighter green on top doesn't seem as visually heavy as it does on the other GvC figures. And he's not invisible! The Winter Ops Mirage has to be one of the more literal takes on a figures codename, ever. The figure looks cool, but I still don't really have a use for it, so therefore it sits in a box being cool. (anybody want to trade something for this figure?)

I picked out Sonic Fighter Zaps double-barreled bazooka, or as I see it now that I think of it a little more, a recoil-less cannon. Much like what is on top of the AWE striker. I think this would be a fairly effective weapon for the guy.

Something I kind of like about more modern O-ring Joes is they didn't have their unique accessories with them, so I had to re-arm them with something. Mirage is a figure that I don't think has ever really had a good compliment of accessories, though.

Consider the file cards:

He started out as a Bio-artillery expert. Essentially from his file card, I see he is meant to lay down suppressive fire and launch rockets. Primary MOS is Rocket Fire assaults, and secondary is Heavy Artillery. That's the original, and really it seems VERY open ended as to what he does.

That's probably why he became a Weapons Expert in the GvC days. The file text expands into his expertise on crew served weapons and anti-armor systems.

But then the figure that has to be more on the rare side, is the Hoverstrike Mirage, where now he is a Rocket Fire Assault specialist. But the rest of his file doesn't add anything new to the mix. Although, for some reason, he is the pilot of the Hoverstrike. I would have chosen Cutter, myself.


Also, consider the weapons and accessories that this guy has gotten through his variations. None of them really add to the character, in my opinion. Perhaps the bio-armor from the Mega Marines original, and its spring fired missile launcher is the closest to unique accessories as it gets.

Either way, from what I can put together with the information, is this guy can shoot anything effectively, but does really well with shooting rockets.


So, what do you think? Is Mirage an effective replacement for Zap or Heavy Duty? How do you use Mirage? What weapons does your Mirage carry? Did you forget you had these figures in a bin in the back of a basement closet?

Marauder, Inc, new stuff announced!

Over at the JBL, Marauder announced a heads-up to new stuff a-coming!

While I might not buy a ton of stuff here (or anywhere, for that matter), for the past what, 5 years+ it's just cool stuff in and of itself.

While I'm a little more "pure" accessories on my older style O-ring classic Joes, Marauder has great stuff that has really added more, I guess, personality and options for my more modern O-ring Joes. These are the Joes that perhaps came with a generic weapon, or maybe even a weapon that looks way out of wack in a sense of style or size.

In some ways, it's like fine-tuning the wheel for my Joe collection.

I guess, what I'm saying is, check it out if you have not. If you are already familiar, or a long time fan, are there any certain favorites from the multiple series that have been produced over the years? Anything that just doesn't work for you?

I think I'm very partial toward the "sci-fi" realm in the style of Marauder product. Like, especially with my Iron Grenadiers, the "futuristic" but still realistic really compliments that whole group of my collection.
I like the multi-shot grenade launcher quite a bit, too, as well as the RPG-7, and most "soviet" style weapons for my Oktober guard. Mostly, the AK-74 styles.

Anyway, I hope to be able to get a few of the new items when they come available!!!

Cobra FANG 2

My first GIJOE vehicle was a Cobra FANG. That picture in the link is THE FANG from the very beginning!! Except for the missile, that's all I've added back on the rebuild of it. So far.

But that is old-school. In the new school, at least as far as I am concerned, the Fang II is where it is at.

This small one-man tilt-rotor gives Cobra a sneaky sized little package that can unleash 6 devastating missiles and pound GIJOE with the nose cannon! It needs no airfield, and can fly at fast speeds for lightning quick strikes!

Well, I may be getting dramatic, but really, the FANG II has been my Cobra forces best aerial weapon platform for years!


It is part helicopter, part airplane, and all Cobra. Unlike a larger real-life Osprey, or the expensive and large Cobra Rattler, the FANG II provides air support like no other.

Two powerful engines drive this craft, mounted out on the wing tips. In toy form, I think these are proportioned out very well. And the FANG II has plenty of wing (lift) surfaces for stable flight!
In the toy, the "thumb wheel" really does work nice, and the tail makes a nice hand hold, leaving the front business end to making its attack. I've read where some FANG II's don't seem to hold their "tilt axle" well, or at all. I have two and they have worked well for me. It's one of those old-school things where the designers really put some fine work into things, where if one tab snaps, or wears down, or is not lined-up, .... things don't work as well as one would want them to.


I think the nose cannon is one of my favorite features. It has a full range of motion, and just enough detail where I can believe that there is an ammo feed in there somewhere. This thing is also the only thing really keeping that nose end from coming apart any more at the parting line.
If I have any one real complaint about my FANG II, it is that not-quite completely tight nose area.... it's just enough of a split where I really notice it. I kind of wish it was together tight, and maybe it is just mine? Anyone else have this issue, or figured out how to fix it up?


It's not a helicopter, but it's not an airplane. It does have enough wing surface on it to convince me that it would fly. I also think it is very cool that the landing skids were blended into the bottom wing. It's very simple, but that says to me that this thing is about delivering its load of firepower with the most efficient package as possible (skids? we don't need no stinkin' skids!!).

Although, at times, I would like to have that bomb in the middle on the bottom. Just like the original FANG, with its "negator" bomb. Or even a fuel drop tank to extend the mission. It seems like an area that could be added to as I see it.

Being that this is not a helicopter, nor a plane, who better to fly this thing than a Gyro-Viper?
The Gyro-vipers have the flight suit and helmet on that I think would allow a person to survive flying the FANG II.
Just take a look at the padding around his head, then put on that blast helmet.... no top-wing mounted missiles will harm this pilot. Much, hopefully.


But really, I think it works. The Gyro Viper even matches just enough to make me think he could have come with the FANG II all along. His suit really seems more like something that is meant for a pilot that is pulling G's, and that is what this pilot would have been doing in his original vehicle, the MAMBA. Putting a MAMBA and a FANG II side by side, I think Cobra has some really advanced vertical flying platforms! Where the Gyro Viper was inside a high-tech cockpit in the MAMBA, in the FANG II, this guy rides in the wind on the edge of his seat!



The Cobra Logo on the front is kind of nice, too. The "aerial Cobra" really separates out that the air power is a threat in itself!


For the size of the FANG II, I think it fits for what I would like to build for my Cobra forces. I would like to get some more FANG I's to add in to my collection, too, but they are a little more expensive. I would just as much like to add more FANG II's to my collection, so if you have either/ or, let me know!

As of this post, I still have just my two FANG II's.
My first one, I bought around 1992 or 1993 at a Ben Franklin store. At that store, there were still a lot of older toys on their shelves, I thought it was a cool find. (I also got a Revell VAMP model kit at the same store!)

My 2nd FANG is a Chinese version, I traded my AH-74 Sonic Apache for it from a fellow in Texas around 2004 or so. Had I known the value of the AH-74 as it sits now, I might not have made the trade. But really, past the "value" on the collector market, for whatever reason it is, I think the FANG II has more value to it than that undersized AH-74. (guys arms hung out the cockpit frame...)
Either way, the Chinese FANG II is just a little more bright in its red color, the picture sort of shows that. (left Chinese...)


When it comes to the red, though, it doesn't bother me much. It's like the Stinger missiles are very similar in the shade of red. Although, I have seriously considered giving the red parts a paint-makeover. Perhaps some weathering to make the FANG II seem more realistic, perhaps putty in that split in the nose.



All-in-all, it is a very useful, shelf-able, craft. What do you think about it? It doesn't seem to have much of a huge fan-base, at least from what I've gathered after a few years of online activity.

If I add anything new to my vehicles this fall, I think it is a strong possibility that I may add the Cobra Renegade Black Dragon. It looks really good I think, and it looks like an armored/ updated FANG II in many ways. Here's the direct picture at GeneralsJoes.com.

Heck, if the Black Dragon is really similar in size, and is really well-detailed and priced right, I might just replace my FANG II's. Really, why not? I only have two hands to fly and drive all this stuff, so if the Black Dragon proves "effective" for my Cobra forces, well....UPGRADE!!

A possible "A" team?

Well, in a couple posts just previous, I've mentioned the possibility of trimming back on my figure collection. I've been playing with some ideas, in my head, here and there.

Lately, I was wondering if I could make a good effective "13-man" team out of thinking about what specialties would be strongest suited for a small team. "Back in the day," when we all didn't have it all, I think we still had fun with what we had. We really made more out of less, at least I think so. Even more recently, like in about 2006, I was having fun with just my security team. But, could I just have 13 figures now and have fun with it?

I started with trying to focus on JUST the needed specialties.

Then that plan sort of fizzled into just looking at all my figures and thinking these are all cool.

Then I was contemplating just the collectors series figures ('97-'02), seeing if it would be better to try and make a team out of the figures with softer hands as opposed to getting the harder older Joes in the mix. I've thought of just having more modern "O-ring" figures on hand at times.

Then I started asking myself why some figures appeal to me, and I started to think about different character personalities that have been presented to us all over the years.

Well, essentially, here's one possible team that I came up with and will be evaluating on how much fun these would be if this was all I had:

Heavy Duty
Wild Bill
Roadblock
Dial Tone
Outback
Tracker
Stalker
Lowlight
Jinx
Snake eyes
Gung ho
Flint

I guess I'll explain some of these choices separately below, the same list, but with the reasons why these are chosen now:

Heavy Duty, Heavy Ordnance trooper, laser weapons systems, indirect fire. I thought, here is an anti-tank guy most obviously, and I've liked this Heavy Duty, while strongly disliking every other incarnation after.

Wild Bill, he's a helicopter and fixed wing pilot, my team would have to get places and the Tomahawk is most likely going to be a major player. There are plenty of other pilots that could do it, too, but Wild Bills air cavalry scout character add-on's are giving him the edge for ground adventure/ versatility. Plus, he has a removable hat.

Roadblock. I think there may be more cartoon exposure affecting me with this pick, even though, a heavy machine gunner is very important to have. Plus, the guy in Renegades is a different take, but, still, I'm digging it. And I really like the Battle Corps mold for him.

Dial Tone, well, I think this is the character I would pick, being 1986 was a bigger year for me, and Breaker hasn't really stood out to me. Plus, add in that I'm thinking of using the 1994 mold, where I think it is pretty neat, the only thing I don't like is the yellow pack, otherwise I would feel really good about this pick for my communications slot.

Outback is really mostly Big Brawler in body here, but I think it works. I was thinking a survival expert all around would be pretty handy. I think his Marvel Comic appearances really sit with me for personality. Being the one guy to get out of that gulag really made him feel like a guy that could go it alone if need be.

Tracker would be my Navy SEAL. The head and torso are the only things "Tracker" in the picture above, but, the way I read the file card, he seems like a guy that can go out there alone and keep pace with the likes of Snake eyes. On this team, as-is, I would have a land-based SEAL, and Tracker is really a fairly "open-ended" character that could be fun to build up in my head.

Stalker is simply the man. Really, I don't hate Duke, but Stalker is a natural leader in my books, and in some ways would very much be the sarge-in-charge Ranger.

Lowlight has been with me from back in the day. With Hawk and Sci-fi, those three were the real army men figures that did most of the battle for many years. He's kind of the team sniper, essentially. But, it's all night spotter, night survivalist, night fighter, dinosaur spotter. He's been around, and in some ways like his file impresses on me, he is the quiet guy. I may have to replace my original one, but it's a great mold. I guess if he were on the team, he could play his traditional role, but also I could see him becoming a door-kicking commando, too.

Jinx has been around for awhile, and in a red suit, not a real stealthy feel. The Vypra is in the picture, and I've not really gotten a 4WD driver sense out of that figure. It's Jinx, all around, right down to the accessories. So, while I don't like re-naming figures somewhat, I think this figure as Jinx is going to be very useful. Relative to Storm Shadow, and NOT Scarlett. This way we have no hooking up on the team. Plus, Jinx can better serve in the intelligence role, assassin role, and take care of the teams finances.

Snake eyes: Do I really have to say anything more than, commando?

Gung ho. The craziest, hairiest, scariest, of them all! Airborne, Recondo, Ordnance. Jungle Warfare training instructor. The thing is, he's a Marine, and I think the team would have the best advantage with a well-rounded group made up from as many branches as possible.
Gung-ho hasn't been one of my favorites by any means, but, consider that he has been around and been back again true to his original form form over and over. A consistently done character, despite multiple generations of designs and media?! Is it possible?!
Being that I did attend the GIJOE convention in 2005, that Gung-ho figure would represent that trivia fact of my GI-history.

Flint is a character that really sticks out to me from not only the old cartoon, but also the Marvel comics. He's even in Renegades. He's got hostile environment experience, Desert Paratrooper experience, Night Force experience, as well as Tiger Force, a vacation in the shadows, among others.
Plus, he's a helicopter pilot. This would be useful on my small team. I've often thought of him as a commando of sorts that parallels Snake eyes in some adventures. The hardest part is picking one figure out of all of his, without picking just the 1985 version.



Below are some of my older set-ups where I was playing more with creating "squads." These were small teams that were like teams in the whole team that operated separately.

Above: Each team had a it's spread of weapon specialists. And every team had one AWE. I guess I didn't plan on how everyone would be able to get a ride. But, this is late 2004, early 2005, I would say.

Below: I think this was about later than the above picture, maybe in early 2006? But, really, the small team idea is something I've been kicking around then and now, as you can see. In the team below, it's a 13-man team. It's got a lot of the same figures as what I picked out in my recent picks way up top. Except, instead of Storm Shadow, I have Jinx. Instead of "chief Torpedo", I have Tracker. Duke was replaced with Stalker. Then Beachhead, Grunt, Tunnel Rat, were replaced by Dial Tone, Wild Bill. Downtown became Heavy Duty.
(And I'm just now figuring I have only 12 figures in my team at the top. HA!)

Something about the team below, where I think it is nice to have a matching team, a "uniform" team, the Night Force folks matching is something while I think it looks great, well....it just doesn't mix in what I want. In such a small team, it looks like a team within a team, or the non-N.F. guys look like they are too cool for the Night Force school?


Below: This is my original team, before "becoming a collector." I've posted about it before, but it's kind of interesting to me when I look at this.

Dreadnok Thunder Machine

I've mentioned how 1986 was really my "big year" when it came to getting into GIJOE and COBRA. In 1986, you may already know that the Dreadnok Thunder Machine was new that year. It came with Dreadnok driver, Thrasher.

Along with the Dreadnoks vehicle of destruction, I also had Zandar, Zarana, and the Swampfire in my early collection back in the day. That is how my Dreadnoks were shaping up at the start of things. That's kind of an interesting mix of characters now that I think about it, Zarana, Zandar, and Thrasher.

I can't recall off hand if this was a birthday or a Christmas present back in the day. And, I don't know if this is THE very Thunder Machine from back in my day, either. I know I had two Thunder Machines at one point, and I think I picked the better one to keep in my big vehicle draw downs in the past few years. Not knowing that sort of bugs me, more since it's a memory thing, but it also bugs me in that I had been accumulating so much and not really getting much enjoyment out of it.

But it has a tow hook. And front steering wheels . And real rubber wheels. And a JET ENGINE. And a rear view mirror. And removeable armor plate. And foot pegs for eight! And a big twin barrel machine gun with ammo.
It's a lot of detail. Headlights, tail lights, roof-top lights, emergency lights, and whatever that thing is with the yellow dot.

It's a lot of that very detail that was a decision in me keeping this vehicle when I was making cuts in my motor pool. Everybody, every faction took a cut. The Dreadnoks lost a Swampfire (my 2nd one), two Air Skiffs, and two Cycles.

The Thunder Machine is really pretty awesome, and thinking back, this was kind of my main Cobra "Jeep" back in the day. I had a STUN at about the same time, but when it came to just normal "army guys" style action I think I used the Thunder Machine more often that not. (versus a Tiger Cat, ha!) I did have a Cobra Stinger join in the mix at a later point, though.


Thrasher was really one of THE big characters, I mean big as in tough, He came with a stick and spiked ball (that's how I thought of it). As much as I would have rather have had a gun instead, I at least was able to find a spot to store it on the Thunder Machine. Hard to say if that is what that open spot behind the seats was left for, but it works!
Of course, I've lost the antenna. I don't really remember the antenna at all. And I'm trying to remember it, but was it just left on the parts tree? I dunno... (if anyone has an extra, wink, wink....)

I don't think I ever "elevated" the gun barrels when I was playing with the Thunder Machine back in the day, I was one of those guys for the most part that felt like, I don't know, non-destructive to my stuff. I wasn't gonna chance breaking something. Looking at it now, it is a nice simple thing, and really, how many toys nowadays have just big chunky blocks with cylinders sticking out of it. The detail is there, and that's good design in my book. Seriously, what toy in recent general retail-o-sphere has a front "cage" brush guard this thin? It could have just been left without that little feature from the get-go.

The interior is pretty accessible, the whole top comes off without me feeling like something is going to snap or some tab is going to wear down. And it's got seat and floor details, as well as dashboard gauges and controls. Man, if this is 25 some years old, that's 25 five years worth of toy design that should have been evolving into things we have today!

And you know, since archive pictures and other reviews don't show the bottom sometimes, I thought I would. Just for the heck of it.

I guess as I write, I should say I'm considering chopping more vehicles off the shelves. But for the size and basic nice design of this vehicle, I'm thinking this one is a keeper.

What do you think of the Thunder Machine? Have you never had one? Did you only have the Beast Blaster? (that's one S.F. vehicle I never had, although I did see it in the stores back in the day)

I have never seen this T.A.C. page, either, until this write up.
Evilface has a nice custom here. Look at how tough this looks with the new detail!

Here's an older picture I took with the Dreadnoks hanging out by the Thunder Machine:
The Thunder Machine has played an important part in helping Cobra stay dangerous.

Can you pick just a few figures to keep?

Well? Could YOU really do it?

A lot of my thoughts may be in this area for awhile. While most of life is always a big set of unknowns, I'm considering a pre-emptive draw down of figures.

Not simply because of the possibly of not having income to stay in a home which serves as storage for my stuff, but partly for maximum enjoyment of what I have. It's like a quote I suppose in a Cheryl Crow song, "It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got."

There's so many things out in the toy and hobby world that I would consider "cool." And I bet I would have a hard time finding people who would disagree on many of the cool things that are out there. But, do I NEED it all? What's the ultimate purpose? Does my collection say anything about me? When I'm dead and gone, does it all just end up in the Goodwill?

With SO many cool GIJOE figures in my collection, it's going to be a hard choice to pick just the essential characters. To start with, I thought I would take a look at the "Original 13" GIJOE members specialties and see if it is something I can perhaps get some good basis for what my potentially small GIJOE team would need.

____________
Communications
Driver
Laser Rifle
Laser Artillery
Infantry
Missile Commander
Machine Gunner
Mortar soldier
Counter Intelligence
Commando
Ranger
Tank Commander
Bazooka Soldier
--------------------

I don't know, are these the essential end-all-be-all tasks that make for the small GIJOE anti-terrorist task force? I think Tank commander, Missile commander, Laser artillery and rifle, and Driver would spots I could nix. So 5, if I kicked out these and replaced them with the next offerings in the line up, I might see which of those are more essential, and nix those I don't think are.

So, to add in the mix:
______________
Communications
Infantry
Machine Gunner
Mortar soldier
Counter Intelligence
Commando
Ranger
Bazooka Soldier
+
Fighter Pilot
Helicopter Assault trooper
Wolverine Driver
Medic
1st Sgt.
Arctic trooper
Marine
SEAL
Mine detector
Helicopter pilot
------------------------

That gives me 18 on the team. Right now, I think I'll nix Fighter pilot, Wolverine Driver, Mine Detector, and Infantry, and Arctic (we'll put thicker coats on).
________________
Communications
Machine Gunner
Mortar soldier
Counter Intelligence
Commando
Ranger
Bazooka Soldier
Helicopter Assault trooper
Medic
Marine
SEAL
Helicopter pilot
1st. Sgt.
-----------------------
So, I think I will play with a process like this for a little bit and see which specialties remain, which are nixed, and perhaps by some reasoning I can pick out 13 of the strongest, more needed spots on my potentially tiny team.

Have you ever done this, or are there any specialties on a team that you think a person like me should never go without? Let know!

Maybe I'll even go out to the forums and ask, what are the 13 most important specialties?